wuchikubo Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 Hello All, I was out with a couple of friends Sunday. First spot was VB, lots of people were out there, ice was about 7-8 inches near the area that will probably be the ice road. Cars and trucks were making their ways across it causing ice flexing and cracking sounds as they went. :woot: We only caught a few dinky perch 6-9 inches, nothing to take pics of. We had a pleasant visit from one of the local OPP officers stop by and chat for a few minutes about the ice conditions after the normal pleasantries. He mentioned most areas ice was about the same but out towards duclos point the ice was almost 11 inches in some areas (I'll take his word for it). Off the VB ice at about 11:30am. Headed off to Innisfil beach to check things out. Got there and bumped into BigChev4s4, a quick little greeting was required as I don't run into too many OFNers due to infrequent and short fishing trips. Got there and saw 2 guys out from the parking lot area (I'd say about 200 m) and another 8 or so to the south. Decided to give it a try for a little while. Ice was about 4-5 inches thick. We stopped about where the two other guys were as we saw some pressure cracks not too much further. Punched five holes and put the Vex down, about 55 ft marked one fish at about 51 ft but it didn't move or follow. Not sure if it was a school of bait or just an uninterested fish. My friend pull out one small perch on a williams spoon that was 3/4 the length of the perch but that was all. We decided to call it the day at about 3:45 pm when the freezing rain started to come down a bit harder and we weren't marking any fish for a while. Hopefully with all the colder weather we're expecting the ice will be a bit thicker to venture a bit further. Also found that I will need to sharpen my auger blades as it didn't want to cut. Blades looked new and don't have rust on them at all but I'll have to check them again and look at the point as well. Anyone have any advice on point sharpening? Thanks, Stan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 Thanks for the report Stan. As for your blades. If they have not been mistreated, I'd probably check the cut angle as opposed to the sharpness of the blades. Maybe a little proper shimming would help. If it really IS a question of blade sharpness, I'd be more inclined to buy a new set of blades. Have a look at blade shims though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJQ Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 Thanks for the report Stan. As for your blades. If they have not been mistreated, I'd probably check the cut angle as opposed to the sharpness of the blades. Maybe a little proper shimming would help. If it really IS a question of blade sharpness, I'd be more inclined to buy a new set of blades. Have a look at blade shims though. Yup... Roys got the right idea... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 My auger wouldn't cut on Friday. I apparently made the mistake of snugging the blade retainer bolts before we left. Should have left them alone... I backed them off and didnt' tighten as much and it cut fine again. Would suggest as roy pointed out that blade angle is critical. Gonna look at it today to see how you can shim them curved blades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leecher Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 Great report Stan 7-8 inches is a little thin for vehicles to drive on it.... must of been a scary feeling when they drove by. There was a truck that went throught the ice at McLaurin Bay yesterday and only the front end was sticking out Guess he ventured to the wrong end of the bay.... there was 3-4inches of ice where he sunk throught but the rest of the bay was 12" Leechman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 Shims are available at most outdoor shops or online. In a pinch, folks here cut out pieces of pop cans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuchikubo Posted January 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 Great report Stan 7-8 inches is a little thin for vehicles to drive on it.... must of been a scary feeling when they drove by. There was a truck that went throught the ice at McLaurin Bay yesterday and only the front end was sticking out Guess he ventured to the wrong end of the bay.... there was 3-4inches of ice where he sunk throught but the rest of the bay was 12" Leechman I tell ya, when looking down the hole close up (sight fishing) and hearing the ice crack and water come up the hole works a bit on the nerves. Shims are available at most outdoor shops or online. In a pinch, folks here cut out pieces of pop cans. Thanks Roy, now if I can get info on the proper cut angle ..... Thanks, Stan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakewalk Posted January 6, 2009 Report Share Posted January 6, 2009 I wouldn't go out off Innisfil beach on anything less than 12"; but maybe I'm just being overcautious... Even still, there is a nice hole about 250 metres out- not too far to walk by any means! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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