limeyangler

I was going to look at this…then I see its the Sun reporting…pffft!

Hi all, Got out for the first ice session of the season. Went down to Eagle lake and edged nervously out onto our walleye grounds, squeaky bum time is what I call it. There was more than enough ice, and with the lack of snow it was hard, black ice. Thickest ice we found was 8", thinnest was 4", note to self….tread with caution, its not uniform thickness, ice picks on. Within minutes of setting up on the edge of the drop from a 14' deep bay, Amanda got two and missed them both. Tyler then went over and set the hook on the same rod on the third bite and pulled up a nice 21"er. Sucked for him because there is an 18"-23" slot on Eagle Lake. It was pretty slow and we ended up with only 4 fish on the ice, 2 nice 17"ers, and a couple of slot fish at 20" and 21". Was warm out though and at -2C with no wind and no snow on the ice it felt like we were fishing in March! Another highlight for me was having Roloff out on the ice, he behaves exactly the same way as when we are shore fishing, waiting attentively at the hole for the fish to come up, and standing guard of each one as it lay on the ice. Hopefully getting out on Wednesday or Thursday. No snow and sub -20C temps next week should see much better ice this year and early access to the ice road. Here's some pics and video of our little outing.

At least nobody got hurt! https://www.facebook.com/CKDR.Dryden/photos/a.168091039905930.33570.168082259906808/763191003729261/?type=1&theater

Hi all, walk out 20 yards onto our bay with a spud bar. 4" black ice, only 2 cms of snow with not much in the forecast. Got to help a buddy get a 14 point buck saturday morning but will try and get on the ice somewhere this weekend for an evening bite.

Its the same here. I drove to Thunder Bay yesterday. Not much snow here in dryden or in TBay, but halfway at Uppsala….lots!

I heard your pool was fished out anyway.

Hi all, Our lake completely froze over in one night! Most of the small ponds have been iced over for a week now. GAME ON! Pictures from in front of the house this morning.

HELL YES SON!!!!

Thanks Wall i, Interesting info. Spectra hey….hmmmmm.

This is the guy I'm booked with in action.

Wire you say..hmmmmm….hadn't thought of that….lol. Absolutely. I will be taking a 6'6" Shimano Clarus medium heavy, fast action and two ugly stick light spin, one 6' and one 9'. I might go as heavy as 80lb I think, but i'm taking an assortment of breaking strengths on spare spools. Tarpon guy is recommending my Clarus with 20lb - 30lb braid with a nice 30-50lb flour leader. I certainly hope so! I am also a fan of fireline, both regular smoke and the new Crystal. Will definitely be taking the advice about the leader material.

Just got my reply from the tarpon guide….Jan 15th ,2015……GAME ON!

Well like I have said before in this thread, I never have believed braid and mono are the same in terms of abrasion, and I never once suggested that I was comparing the two, this thread has always been about comparing apples to apples, or at least the qualities they share or do not share, just a simple question of what…if any…braid is more resistant to abrasion than others. As for your suggestion or comment about "just not thinking" I think all the time….and yes I make some mistakes, but thats how we evolve as fishermen and women and a species as a whole. I am not a newbie to fishing and I don't expect the same performance from braid as mono but have stated my purposes for going this route AD INFINITUM!!! As for complaining about my tools….I aint complaining, I'm trying new things with help from others. Whats to complain about?…..I got snapped off a couple of times by a huge Trevalli Jack and some monster Barracuda while fishing a pelican infested cove, full of baitfish swirling in panic on a tropical island paradise? Sucks not to have landed them, but the anticipation of and privilege of getting another crack at it is awesome! I appreciate your input. Thanks. Simon.

LOL…bet my travel insurance would cover that (not)

JUST BOOKED A HALF DAY FLOAT TUBING FOR TARPON!!!!!!

Thanks Bare foot, Its neither surf nor pier. Its a cove with a small entrance facing directly into the oncoming easterly that is a constant in Antigua. The cove is surrounded by 100 foot high cliffs all around. You have to trek through a thorn jungle, then lower yourself into a thorny ravine and that brings you to a small 'beach' of giant bolders. You are basically standing on a coral/rock platform at the base of a cliff. You are not surrounded by anyone. The guy that caught the shark was only the second person I have ever seen there. He was a local guy who camped out over night. He only knew about the spot because he used to work at the now ruined hotel on the nearby beach which was destroyed by a Hurricane Luis in 1995). The first guy I met there was a guy called Nick who was guiding a client and fly fishing for Tarpon, that was back in 2003. The guy Nick has a youtube channel...... https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC16nOK_Jnq-R-yIoI3WnLhw , I have sent an email and am trying to book a half day of mangrove Tarpon fishing with him. The guy that camped out had hooked into the baby Thresher Shark at night. I kid you not, he was using an old rusty reel with what looked like about 400lb test...yup...400lb....lol. He had an assortment of nuts and bolts as a sinker and was using sprats from the market as bait. That was the only thing he caught. Will try the flouro leader then the wire. Man...January cant come quick enough!

Apparently you need marshmallows???

OUCH!

All braid is the same, make sure you use wire though.

Awesome Drew….cant wait!

Stickle back

Thanks for the input guys. Think i'm gonna have a look at each of the brands mentioned and their availability to me here in the dead zone and spool up four different and increasing strengths from 40lb-80lb strength of braid. I have not ruled out upgrading my gear and going heavier. Anyway, if its like the last years trip I will only get out a couple of times. I wanna stand half a chance of reeling something in this time. I have the headstrap for my Gopro so should get more fishing footage this time round. Thanks for the input again…... Did I mention I will be using wire?