The auger was bib enough, but I lost my pole down the hole!

We had a fun day at a pond we only fished one other time. As I ran toward the pole I watched it do the deep six throgh the hole. Gone. Like the Green Hornet in grumpy old men. It hurt. One breakoff, 3
big crappie just under the holes before they got off :( . One crappie through the hole. Some big bluegill and 2 decent bass through the ice. All fish were caught on wax worms and minnows/teardrop combo's. When the wind came up, very few bites...my boy caught 6 in about 10 min when we first got there. Fun fun fun for January! The hot color was pink again today. All fish caught in 3-4 fow at 7 fow max. We also had a wolf come up to visit our setup. :) CKH.

Nice catch CKH. Wish I could be out there again. EB

Nice catch. but things must be more costly there ,we usually throw quarters in when we cant buy a bite down this way.

nice catch sorry to hear about your rod maybe you will snag the line next time you go out and catch the fish that stole your pole to.

nice gills. what part of the great cornhusker state are you fishing? is that a drathaar?

Thanks EB and all. I found out last night that my buddies uncle lives at BL. Maybie we can get together there sometime. I used the dollar cause putting the fish too close to the tip-up is dangerous as the can flop down the hole. It only happened 1 other time with the pole. It was clear ice 5 inches and the buddies brand new one went in. It was a wooden one with a plastic reel as the one in the picture. We followed it around the ice on the shallow pond, waited awhile, drilled a hole and were able to get it and the fish (9 inch gill). True luck! dwaw, we fish the eastern third of Neb, with locations north and south and some along the Platte (sand pits). That is my 2nd German Wirehaired Pointer. She does well on ducks and upland. Not sure what fridays rain did to the ice, but with the recent thaw/freeze cycle....everyone please use caution on the ice. I feel the snows and turkeys calling already! CKH

looks like she's becoming a blue gill dog too. gotta love a dog w/fish breath. knew a guy in the lincoln/davie area that had quite a drathaar breeding program. jim brown was his name.

CKH, anytime you can make it down this way, give me a hollor, and we can get together and make a day of it on the lake. EB

judging from the pics you know what your doing if you could post some tips for catcing big fish like these i would appreciate it. as for you eager beaver i havnt seen any pics from you kinda looks like crappiekinghunter has his tactics nailed down compared to you

slab slicer if you want to see my pics go into the archives and you will see that I don't brag about what I catch. I got a new computer and haven't figured out how to post pictures on it yet. Most guys on this site will atest to my ability to catch fish.
We will wait to see your pictures of your catches in the future here also. Good luck and good fishing. EB

EB- I was up last weekend and fished Round Lake and Red Deer Lake SW of Valentine. We caught a few yellow perch, walleye and a couple of northerns. 14" of ice. Hard water sure is different from fishing soft water. Fished Merritt once before during the hard water time and I still get the willeys when the ice groans and pops.:)

cricket george: Know what you mean about getting the willey's from the popping and cracking of the ice. That was why my wife quit ice fishing. Actually that is when the Ice is the safest, is when it is popping, cracking, and jumping up and down. That means it is making new ice and is getting thicker. When it is dead quite is when it is deteriorating. I fished mostly at night thru the ice out of a portable house. I run tip-ups outside an two jigging poles inside the house. We can have 5 poles ice fishing so would have other people along just so I could have more tip-ups and rods out. I use to fish with about 5 other guys and we would spread out and fish different area's of the lake. When one found the fish he would alert the rest and we would set up on them. We would have our own little tent city going. Our meals consisted of wild game of some sort. Turkey, Deer steaks, sometimes we would cook the fish right there that we caught. We had a little grill and would grill deer steaks right there on the ice. The game warden always seem to know when we were cooking and would misteriously show up in time to get a deer steak sandwich, and hot cup of coffee or coco.
Valentine Refudge is the premire lakes of the State for Ice Fishing, especially Pelican Lake for BULL BLUEGILLS (10-12 inch), and very nice Walleye Pike.
I love the fact that in shallower water you can watch the fish bite the hook. In deeper water you can watch your jig on your flasher and see the fish come up and take your offering. You catch the fish without ever feeling them bite. I love to watch them as they get close to the hole and they start swimming in circles around the hole.
I can't Ice Fish anymore with my lung problems. The cold air really locks me up and I have a hard time breathing. If I had all my equipment yet I may still have tried it, but the wife figured this, and had me get rid of most of my equipment. Good Fishing EB

EB - U B 1 tough cookie if you are fishing the ice after dark. I knew about the fact that when the ice be a poppin we b makin ice BUT it still gives me the willeys. I have fished Pelican but it is my understanding that Pelican is really fished down for pig bluegill. It needs to be closed for 3 years to recover IMHO.

The buddy I fish with is a guide on Meritt parttime and he sure knows his stuff. I see him thru my eyes as myself 20 years ago. Good fisherman and good friend.

We got checked twice by the warden in 3 days, same guy.

EB, Cricket, and Slab S, EB sorry to hear of the health problem. Walking up to 1/3 mile to where we fish remind me of my limitations. I didn't know you stopped ice fishing, but would like to get together for some warm weather fishing sometime. We have not fished for a while due to work and family heath issues, but the last Sat we went the ice talked the whole day. It almost isn't fun when it happens and did not know it was actually getting better (ice). Cricket, I took the boys to the refuge lakes in '95 and our beloved president Clinton closed the government while we were there and we settled to fish the dead sea(Merrit Res) and only caught a few 6'' perch. It was a fun trip though. Slab Slicer, Trust me.... EB catches some better than decent crappies. He has access to an excellent fishery, speaking from personal exp. fishing there. My boys help me post pics for one of the reasons we joined this site... to see some pics of fish, esp. crappie. We learned some great tips here and are building some crappie condos for the spring. Feel free to pm me if you need help with crappies, they are different creatures esp the big ones! CKH

congrats you are a lot braver then me i could not handle that cold weather

CKH anytime you can make it down just let me know and we can get together for a day of relaxing fishing.
I know about health issues personally. They seem to become primary in our lives, and can change ones schedule.
Cricket george: I use to fish Harlan Res for Walleye and White Bass in the spring. It is one heck of a lake for Walleye. Loved chasing the birds for the Whites tho. Haven't fished it in a few years and miss the camping that we use to do on the fishing trips. EB

that movie grumpy old was hilarious i loved it

Ya that is a new experience driving out on the ice in the winter time. I have done it up in South Dakota on Big Stone Lake. Yes they have roads or streets plowed and street signs put up just like in the movie. The Ice doesn't get that thick around here anymore, so we don't drive anything heavier than a snowmobile or 4 wheeler out on the ice. If we could drive out on it I might still be Ice Fishing. EB