Homer Is King

Congrats!!!

Congrats!!!

Great job!! Congrats on the PB!

Ice cracks when it is cold and the lake is "making" ice. It's growing, casing stress, which is released by cracking. That's way "loud ice is safe ice". Melting ice makes no noise!!

As far as shutting the fish down. It probably doesn't help. Thunder seams to shut them down too.

If it's gotten really cold out that means a high pressure system has moved in. High pressure cold fronts tend to slow the fishing right down. This could be a bigger factor than the noisy ice.

Navionics

 

Ifish

X2 on both of these apps!

Ifish Ontario has lots of info and easy links to the regs.

Navionics is the best nautical map deal you will find anywhere!! $15 for all the lakes in Canada and USA. Can't beat it!!

Nice job!! You definitely have them dialed in!!

WOW, solid gold!!

I took a drive by the pier in Newcastle on Saturday. There were four people fishing it. Don't know if they are catching anything but their were there!

Nice job!! Some great looking fish there!

Well done guys! Looks like a great trip! Congrats on the PB!!

have the 32 inch ML it is amazing, one of the best rods i have seen in a while.

That's good to hear!! I am a little worried about the small eyelets. They are very small, ice up might be an issue...

I just picked up a 32" ML. Seams to have a nice sensitive tip but lots of back bone when it's loaded. I'll let you know how it works if I'm lucky enough to get some fish on it!!

Pan fish are better than no fish!!! Especially when they are Simcoe jumbos!!

B-E-A-U-T-Y !!!!

Congrats on your PB!

Yep, that's a typo, the box (1/2") is what I used.

Beauty fish!!! Great job!

I love the last pic! Trout Gun!

Thanks for the info. That's a nice tidy technique.

I've never done it but my buddy catches minnows in the spring and then salts them. He puts a couple dozen in a sandwich ziploc bag and salts them heavily and freezes them. We then us the salties to chum holes when we ice fish. It really brings them in.

Salts is supposed to be a trigger for fish. A lot of the plastic baits now come packed in salt. I don't know if it's all hype but it does seem to bring the fish in. We have caught fish after chumming a hole that have a belly full of salties!

Great thread!! Thanks for sharing! Lots of awesome looking harnesses here!

I've bought a spinner kit from luremaking.com a couple of years ago. I really enjoyed making those. I've wanted to get into the harnesses but time is the issue. After this tread I think I have to make some time!!

Nice fish! Where there is a will, there's a way!!

You just made all the BOQ ice fisherman cry...

Beauty fish!! Congrats on the PB!

I'm not sure on the longevity of this "upgrade". They are not stainless but appear to have some type of galvanizing on them. No signs of rust yet after 2 trips. I anticipate some wear but I think it will take a lot of wear before the "grip" is affected. Time will tell....

It was very slippery!! My buddy went down twice. The hardest thing about that was not laughing!!

I did this to my boots:

Works great! I had no problems!

I have tried several different types of cleats on my ice fishing boots. The all fell off, slide around, or didn't really work. So I grabbed a box of #8 - 1/4" self tapping metal screws with hex heads. I then screwed a bunch of them into the soles of my boots.

I've had them out twice now and I'm very impressed! They grab the ice great. They don't feel funny under the boot. I'd recommend it!

Headed out of Port Bolster for a little perch action with a buddy of mine. It was a wet rainy day but it was the only day we could make it so we had to go! This was only my second time on Simcoe (went out of Sibbald Point last March).

First we stopped by Casey's for some minnows and advice. I picked up a couple of Simcoe bugs. I had heard about them but had never seen one. Now I own a couple!

The ice was wet and had a lot of water on it. 3-4 inches in spots. The ice underneath was still good and there was a at least 10" anywhere we drilled. The fishing was not crazy but it was steady. We didn't get any real monsters but my buddy caught his PB at just over 12".

My best for the day. An average fish by Simcoe standards I know!:

My buddies PB

With all the water on the ice something weird happened when we cut the holes. A whirl pool formed in every hole!! I figure the ice was trying to float up.

I ended up taking about 8 home for a little fish fry with the kids!

Great stuff! Congrats on the success! Some beauty fish! I gotta try a laker trip!

Do I see a couple punkinseeds in the perch pile? I've yet to catch one through the ice, what did they hit? I'd love to hook into a couple so I can scratch them off my "Species to Catch through the ice" list.