Setting the hard side out today for a derby tomorrow. I’ll set some lines while we are getting the house tied down.
Excellent! My son and nephew (4 years old) joined me. We caught lots of yellow perch, crappie, pickerel and a couple largemouth bass. The kids had a great day. Normally when I’m fishing by myself I go In search of bigger fish using large bait. Lots of hours without any action. But it was fun to see the boys excited about catching fish.
This coming weekend is the annual Meredith rotary club derby on lake winnipesaukee. Unfortunately it looks like the local lakes are taking a beating with the warm weather we are having. I’m hoping things look better up there. Nothing worse than water and slush on top. Makes for difficult travel.
Looks like fun! Im the same way... When I take kids out its all about catching a few fish to get them "hooked" They dont seem to care that they are catching little fish as long as they get some action.
Boy, not many people out today on my local lake. At least it was quiet and I was toasty warm in the shack, while it was -15f outside when I got set up by 7AM. Fishing was pretty good too prior to 9AM. I stayed until 10:30 since I already had enough for our weekly fish dinner, plus some for breakfast and lunch the next day. Took a 6.5lb pike and 7 bluegill sunfish.
I was going to go yesterday but it t was to cold out for me to want to go. I had a surprise visit from my brother who has come out from the west coast to hang with me for my birthday weekend. If the weather warms up we might go out on the lake tomorrow which would be his first time ice fishing. We arent going out in -25c/-13f though.
Ice block is about 27" and getting hard to pull out. This block must weight over 200lbs. This fish is destined for pressure canning for summer fish salad sandwiches, and hot dish recipes.
Today's catch. Fish were running the whole time I was out from 7-10AM. Pike by spear. Bluegill, 1 perch, 2 LMB by angling in spear hole. In addition to these fish, I caught and released a 19" bass, and passed on two pike, including one fish that was about 35". February sun is feeling strong now by mid-morning.
Nice catch! Are the sticks in the pic to mark the hole after you leave? Wouldn’t want to step in that one!
Yes it is state law in MN to mark the hole. It would be bad for someone to drop a wheel in an unmarked hole, or worse yet, someone walking by and falling in. Luckily by mid-winter you could drive a truck wheel across a hole by the next morning, unless it we are in a thawing period for a few days.
I ordered this the other day and it should be here just before the end of the month. Im looking forward to being able to site fish for trout. 28 lbs, 88 x 88 inches. My 13 year old son is excited to try it out. It will be nice to have something portable. I prefer fishing in the open but my wife and son like this idea. I have to admit on a cold or windy day this could be kind of fun. When I did my one season stint ice fish guiding we used to use a hard floor version of these. The clients loved them.
I went a half hour from my house to this 4 km long lake which is known for its big rainbows and sometimes great kokanee fishing. Although kokanee salmon (native land locked Sockeye) arent known for their size they can be an elusive and seasonal fish but some times if you hit the season right you have non stop action. They are scrappy, soft mouthed and fun to catch when the bite is on! Air temp was around -14c/7f for the time I was out today. It was a real treat to be in the sun and there was no wind! Its been 15 years since Ive had a new fish finder. Its light and portable. Im still getting used to it but check out that school. Some of them were 15' all the way down to 50' as they passed through. Fun to watch as they came and went.
I brought home 15 of the little guys (the daily limit) and pan fried 5 of them in butter and sprinkled with Mrs dash and once cooked we topped it off with fresh squeezed lemon. I shared them with my wife and son. He was very jealous and wished he could have come but hes had a fever the last few days and spent most of the weekend curled up inside. We went out last week to the same spot and got skunked. The rest of the fish will be added to another future batch and smoked in the Bradley.
Looks beautiful! All the lakes around here have McMansions littering the shoreline. Most are empty all winter long. We fished New Hampshire’s largest lake Saturday. My son caught his first lake trout. He is super excited we will be going back next weekend.
Love it - brings back happy memories. Now the kid wants to take his old man up to the Adirondaks for lakers through the ice. He’s 21. I’ll be there for sure.
