Finally... First Ice!!

[LesCulpJr]

Man... Was beginning to think winter wasn't coming this year

Last year saw us on the ice by Dec.15th... This year - Jan.13th.

Ice is still pretty thin in most areas, but is shaping up nicely.

 

I spent last friday touring lakes looking for good ice in hopes of icing a couple trout to kick off the 2007 season.

Lakers were out of the question as any larger lakes with deep water had only just iced over a couple days before.

Brook trout lakes were iffy as most lakes I visited had really un-uniform ice. What is nice about this year is there is hardy any snow, some lakes didn't have any on them at all, so it made travelling easy as well as let me see any potentially unsafe areas before I came upon them.

 

I finally settled on a lake that had a good 4-6" of ice,and being stocked with splake every other year by our local MNR was sure to give us some first ice action.

 

Lake X would not disappoint, as when we arrived Sat. morning, the rain we experienced all day friday would clear with temps dropping to -15C over night. This would give my companion for the day, Good friend Dirk, the opportunity to try out an new power auger he had purchased all the way back in July!

 

To say this individual is absolutely crazy about fishing the hard water would be an understatment, as while the rest of us are getting ready for spring and summer fishing out on the open water, Dirk will spend alot of his "off season" getting ready for the moment the hard water returns.

 

Here are a few pics of the new Nilsmaster power auger in action:

 

 

 

 

You'll notice in the pics that Dirk here is still wearing a life jacket. We can't stress enough the importance of safety gear at this time of the hardwater season. A floatation device, being a jacket, coat or full suit. Along with a spud bar/ice chisel and a set of ice picks are vital, to ensure you return home at the end of your outing.

Also, take your time! When using all of this equipment properly it should take a good while, under most circumstances to reach the area you'll be fishing.

I'm guessing it took us a good 45min to 1 hour to travel about 200 yards, stopping to chisel holes, etc. along the way.

 

Should you find the direction you are heading to be unsafe, calmly turn around and retreat in the direction you came, being careful to stay in your foot prints as this is the only area you know that the ice is safe enough to support your weight.

 

The Action:

 

The action was pretty spectacular as far as trout fishing goes. While we decided to wait for the fish to come to us, as opposed to traveling to new locations on the thin ice, The splake finally showed up about 2 in the after noon and kept us occupied until our departure.

 

 

Nothing of any size for sure but perfect for what we had come for.

A good feed for the family

 

 

 

Delicious Splake panfried in butter and garlic amoung other things, and served up with a side of homefries and baked beans - my fav.

 

Head on out and get yourself a stocking sheet and a good map of the area you'll be fishing from your local mnr as these fish are stocked here for your enjoyment and your consumtion.They are often easy to catch as well.

These fish were all caught using light to medium action ice rods rigged with a single split shot, a size 4-6 octopus style hook and 4-6lb monofilament line. The bait of choice were pinhead shiners or a small fly rigged with the same.

Also, be sure to check the exceptions listed in the Ontario fishing regulations before heading out as many trout lakes are restricted in the use of live minnows for bait and may only allow the use of one line while ice fishing.

- enjoy

Les

[pigeonfisher]

you eat the skin? Or do you eat around it?

[LesCulpJr]

Yup, on the small ones anyway. The bigger fish can get a thin layer of fat under the skin which is pretty impossible to cook off enough to make it appetizing with out over cooking the fish.

 

I'll cook the fish long enough that the tail and fins become crispy like a potato chip then eat them too

The fins must be very well done to do this or you'll end up with a mouth full of bones.

[b2kptbo]

Great report, now I'm really itchin to get on the ice and hungry...

[duber]

Thanks for the report.

 

That is a nice catch!

 

Looks tasty to!

[wuchikubo]

Now you've done it, you gave me my fishing itch!

 

I'll have to call up a few buddies and see if anyone is in for some fishing!

[cityfisher]

very nice... cant wait to get out !

[steverowbotham]

how deep were u fishin ?

[misfish]

So Les tell me,Is that the new northern fashion survival suit

Cant wait to give the Nils a challange from the fin 3 manual.

Nice feed ya boys caught yerselves.I love crispy fried tails.

 

Thanks for sharing bud.

Edited January 18, 2007 by misfish

[mattyk]

Thats looks yummy. Nothin beats fresh fish.

[walleye_whitey]

Great first ice report! Glad to see all the safety equipment and precautions taken as well. Great job out there! Now if only we could get some ice soon down here in southern Ontario...

[fishindevil]

nice report guys ... and great catch,thats always an awsome trip being on the first ice,it gets you all reved up for the season they sure look tasty

[xrap]

Nice ice report and mmmmmmmm splake. I got some at the cotatge before boy were they tasty.

[fishdawg]

mmmm splake - have yet to catch one thanks for sharing

[Carp]

Sweet looking trout.

 

A good day for you and your friend Les.

 

Temps will be warm the next few days. At least daytime temps.

Be careful. The ice may not be in the same condition next time out.

 

Keep the posts and pics coming.

[LesCulpJr]

how deep were u fishin ?

 

Steve: we were fishing in 7fow but the fish were actually hitting only a couple feet under the ice.

Read a post on another board how some catch these fish deep while others catch em shallow. Went back out today for a couple hours to see if I could find any out deep.

Caught one out of 27 fow. Just learning about these fish myself as I only caught my first one last year but will post what I find.

 

So Les tell me,Is that the new northern fashion survival suit

Cant wait to give the Nils a challange from the fin 3 manual.

 

misfish: where you been brotha? Us northern boys are cold blooded an those floater suits are just too dang hot. we prefer something we can take off once we know we're ok out there.

That new nils is something else and has a cutting head similar to our finbores. I hope I get to see what it can do to a couple feet of ice this year.

Give us a call when you're up for a fish.

 

Thanks all for the great replies and stay safe this weekend, the lakes are starting to slush up a bit after the snow we had monday.

 

One more for the road: