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Walk a mile in my snow shoes
It's Friday afternoon, I'm tired of work, the sun is out, I have no gills in the freezer, and fishing has been rough. These high and then low pressure systems don't setup ice fishing very well. Not to mention the fact that everyone has been hitting all the local lakes and the fish are a little skittish.
I call my ice fishing buddy and ask if he wants to hit Sharps lake his reply: "You driving in on Norm's place or walking in from the State side"? I reply that Norm isn't plowing to his mom's old house so I have to come in off the state land. His reply was priceless "have fun, let me know how you do".
I knew he was speaking of the 14 plus inches of snow we recieved less than 6 days ago along with the nearly one mile walk that takes you down an old farming road that sperates 4 farm fields but I'm banking on others not wanting to work for it. Maybe I get this lake to myself. One that has not been touched becuase it is too hard to get to.
Pulling in I notice that parking might be a little iffy. Two years ago, the State aquired the land that surrounds the west side of this lake. This lake connects to two other smaller lakes by marsh and channels. All of them are pretty much land locked and have been for a number of years. The lake in question (Sharps) is about 20 Acres and has some pretty steep drop offs. I've caught my personal best blue gill on this lake through the ice as well as several Crappies that rank as some of my biggest. In fact, one of the CDC calander pages is adorned by a picture of my daughter holding a crappie caught on the ice at Sharps. Trusting my four wheel drive, I pull in, make a few paths to pack down the snow and postion my truck so it points towards the road. Last thing I want to do is come back from fishing and get stuck. I'd rather go into it knowing that I'm stuck! Thankfully, all goes well.
I unload the truck and put on my snow shoes. Most guys down in Southern Michigan don't even know what they are let alone own a set. They are a far cry from the hickory shoes with the sinew webbing I used to have. These are only 24 inches long and have articulating foot supports that allow you to walk normally. I'm banking on them helping me get back to where I need to go.
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As I hitch up my sled I notice that there are no tracks human tracks leading down the old path. I take note of the numberous deer trails and wonder why, in all the place they have to travel, they choose this one particular spot in the middle of the field. I stop, catch my breath and study the lay of the land to try and figure it out. I do this several times on my trip and make a mental note of a couple awesome ambush spots for bow hunting.
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It takes me about 20 minutes to reach the entrance to the lake.
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I drill 12 holes in a circle. This helps me find fish at different depths, zone in on their location, and find where they are hiding. Setting down my flasher in the first hole I notice a huge mark come off the bottom and hit my jig. This is fun with an ultra light pole and 4lb test.
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I managed 9 bass that were all in the 1 pound plus catagory. But I'm not after bass.
Eventually I find a hole over 12 ft of water that shows fish about 4 feet down. I put in my bait and am instantly rewarded with a nice blue gill. I catch two more fish out of this hole and they are gone. Taking note of the landscape compared to my other holes, I drill more holes closer to this one, and then some others further away. I test all of my holes and find one that hold a bunch of fish. Action was fast and I couldn't tell you how many I caught before I was on the search for another hole.
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This fishing didn't even start until 5pm and I was afraid the bite would only last a short time. I checked hole after hole and eventually came back to the same one. Not seeing anything, I decided to call it a day as I had a long trip. I was getting ready to count my fish when I noticed a mark on the screen. I hurryed and lowed my bait and was rewarded with this 12 inch crappie. This produced another flurry of activity. In the end I kept 2 crappie and 19 gills.
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Sometimes it pays to go the extra mile, get off the beaten path, and explore someplace you have not been to in awhile.
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