Lake Joseph - March Ice Fishing

[farsider]

First off I wanted to say a big thanks to all who helped me with ice condition and fishing reports leading up to our trips. It was incredibly beneficial.

 

 

Also, to those who gave me tips and pointers on using my new X67, a big thanks! As you suggested, it is fairly straightforward but, your tips added to my confidence going out.

 

 

So we made it out for our two trips onto Lake Joseph. I believe it was the beginning of March. After all the slush/snow had melted/thawed and then refrozen. Since we were walking out of Foot's Bay, it made travelling easy.

 

 

We lucked out on the weather on both days as well. Sunny skies and burnt faces by the end of the day.

 

I don't know how we managed before without the fishfinder. It makes a huge difference. Especially triggering active fish or just to confirm depth or the presence of baitfish.

A big leap forward.

 

My friend managed the first fish around noon on a jig and minnow setup. It was off of his set line in about 45' of water.

 

 

His first Laker ever and a nice 2 1/2 pound eater. And first fish equals permission to finally dip into the brandy. Cheers!

 

All of our action that day came between 11:30 and 3:00 and all of the bites came between 35' - 60' of water. We ended up going 2 for 6 but marked alot more fish on the finder. We just couldn't turn them from chasers to biters.

Here is the fish I caught.

 

 

About the same size as my buddies. Equally as tasty!

 

We made it out again the following week. Conditions were the same as before. Sunburn? Check.

 

It was a alot slower on this day. Maybe four bites total and even though we were moving around quite a bit, we just didn't mark as many active fish. Here is the only fish of the day. Smaller than those from the week before. Back in the drink it went. It was my first tube jig laker.

 

 

I have no idea why I look so happy but, it is the only pic we took that day.

 

We fished the same depth range but could not find the active fish.

 

It is probably not the most productive waters we can fish but, we love the relative solitude that Joe provides. The two firsts of those trips made it extra memorable for us. An added plus this year was there were very few permanent hut setups.

Joe, until next year.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[Roy]

Thanks for the report Mark. Glad you had a good time....the weather certainly looked good.

[Homer Is King]

Great report! It's never too late for a report! I caught my fish lake trout on Joe this year. That lake holds a special place in my heart.

[Jds63]

always like an ice fishing report ...