I hate ice fishing

[tbayboy]

First off let me add I hate daylight savings time - Agreed to hook up with Lexxington at 6:45am. Of course my body still thinks its 4:45 when the alarm goes off

 

Ah well, got my extra large timmies (woohoo - free coffee now wheres my free car mr horton?), got some minnows and wse headed to Innisfil for a last perching trip.

 

It started off pretty well with a couple double headers on my minnow line and Lexx pulled in the first keeper and it was pretty big. For the next while it was pretty good action, not totally non stop but steady action with small jigs being the winner (over plain hooks, spoons, etc). Here's the only pic I took, at this point it was starting to slow down:

 

<a href=" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/132/418025396_76499fc85a.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Lexx On the ice" /></a>

 

About 11 or so it really started to slow down but Lexx's sonar was still showing the odd school which he would call out and we'd stare at our lines or start jigging away trying to temp another keeper up to the surface. One such time Lexx calls over 'something big, maybe a small school.'. Okie dokie I pick up my $30 crap tire rod/reel with my 1/32 oz glow jig tipped with the smallest shiner in our bag and give it a little pop...

 

 

 

 

wiiiiiiiiiiiizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

 

 

"Woah, this ain't no perch!"

 

 

wiiiiiiiiiiiizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

 

Hmm its taking a whole lot of line and running like mad

 

wiiiiiiiiiiiizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

 

Now Lexx is over peering down the whole

 

wiiiiiiiiiiiizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

 

I'm reeling but I'm loosing ground fast

 

wiiiiiiiiiiiizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

"Damn this thing is gonna spool me"

 

wiiiiiiiiiiiizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

"What line you got?" "I think its 6lb mono"

 

wiiiiiiiiiiiizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

"Okie gonna tighten up the drag just a bit, maybe tire him out"

 

Reach for the super hi tech drag control and turn it one click ..... (you can guess where this is going) ....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

wiiiiiiiiiiii POP

 

:wallbash: :wallbash:

 

 

Brought in the line and its a clean break just above the jig head so I'm gonna go with 36" pike - at least!

 

And of course - that was the last action we got all day, Apparently that fight scared away all the other fish.

 

 

So now I'm sitting here picking at my perch poppers running through all the things I should have done differently and kicking myself that the last fishing action I have until May will be the one that got away, ARGH. Ah well, at least I got a story out of it.

 

Sean

[fishindevil]

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY.. ..dam dont ya hate when that happens.. ...well you guys still bagged some nice perch for dinner its to bad he broke you off,well at least you hooked him and fought him for a while,better luck in may....cheers

[Northhunter]

Dude.. I lost two monster walleyes in the same hole my first and probably last weekend ice fishing this season

 

I went home for winter break and gave my buddy a call when I got up there. We hit a local river system the first Saturday with a couple other guys - the plan was just to have a few and watch the lines and more or less shoot the $#!! for an afternoon. The spot we were at gets hit pretty hard and we didn't expect much, although they pulled up two keepers the week before.

First day - just checking the lines. Picked up the tip-up to make sure my bait was where I wanted it and felt a fish hit. Let it take it a couple seconds, tighten up the line to make sue it's still there.. gave it another moment or two and set the hook. I was using 15lb dacron with a 12lb mono lead in 42ft of water. The entire rig stretched tight and when I went to start pulling up the fish immediately after the hookset it didn't move. Just gave a couple headshakes and it was all over - I was kicking myself because the mono had been on since last season and that's what failed. I lost 2 more smaller fish after that (set the hook too quick) while one of our party pulled up 2 more.

 

We figure "well that went better than expected" and went out the next day. Same hole, same tip-up, different rig. I used fresh 12lb mono on the lead and had a dropper off that made with 35lb flourocarbon. Same deal - checking the lines and feel a fish on the line. Let it take it, set the hook, entire 42+ feet of line pulls tight and I can't move the fish without stressing the line. No headshakes this time - just dead weight. It was on a second or two and the hook broke!!! It was a solid hook. Only thing I can figure is there was a weak spot near the barb, but it was still a damn good fish. The bite stopped the day after that and all I landed were two dinks all week.

 

The fishing gods can be cruel sometimes. Be thankful you didn't get it so bad

Edited March 11, 2007 by Northhunter

[camillj]

C.A.P.R.

 

Almost as good as C & R

 

 

 

Catch and premature release

[Mike the Pike]

sorry to hear about the break offs .I have been there done that.Now I use stren super braid 10lb test with 3lb diameter.My fishing clippers can not cut it.I have to use a utility knife to cut the line.It has survived many Pike hook ups with no leader. MTP

[tbayboy]

Nah, wasn't a matter of backreeling in this case - he was flying away and any pressure would have (and did) broke it off so if set the anti reverse on I wouldn't have been able to do anything to bring that in (was on a very low drag setting for the perch and I just moved it a single bit tighter when she broke off). Only thing I could have done (well that I can think of) was let him take as much line with the drag setting I was on - wasn't much but at least he was fighting and not breaking the line then hope he got bored before I ran out of line (and didnt find anything to wrap me up on). There's just no way I could have backreeled fast enough to stop him from breaking off. Thats the fun of it though - the woulda shoulda coulda that makes you want to get back out there and try again.

[Daplumma]

Sometimes with a spinning reel you can apply a little "exta" drag with a thumb to the spool sorta like a baitcaster.Not sure this would have helped you in this case though.Its better to have hooked up and lost than to never have hooked up at all.

Joe

[glirw]

When you don't trust your drag , trust your thumb ! Work'er like a center-pin ! Better luck next time ! Now you have extra motivation to head back out there and kick their butt !

[LeXXington]

LOL,

 

Yeap, thats pretty much it.. the fish that got away and as it ran through the schools of perch it yelled RUN, RUN for your Lives there fishermen are over there..

 

Now what you could have done different.

 

Your rod was held at approx 44.5 degrees if you have played a little say 45 degree you might have had a chance..

 

Now your drag issue, if you had only done half a click instead of a full click of the drag you would have got it for sure..

 

Got too look at the bright side, we used "YOUR" auger and the fish was at least 10lb's or more so it the hole was clearly too small to bring up that big of a fish we would have had to cut the line..

 

Great fishing with you again, Come April we will be back with the boat for revenge!!! ~ JAWS is in there with your hook I am sure we can find him

[tbayboy]

Yep Lexx your right, that 1/2 degree was would've done it. Heck to be honest I'm such a fishing newbie I just wanted an excuse to play with the drag but thanks for the tips on the thumb use guys - that might have worked if I'd have thought of it but thinking isn't a strong suit of mine .

 

And yeah Lexx your right - come softwater season my goal is to find the monster with a 1/32 oz white glo jig hanging out of the corner of his mouth - that cost me umm 50 cents? and I want it back!