Printable View
slows way down on here in winter. how many of you guys are fishing the hard water? or is it just the southern guys checking in here in winter?
i have only made it out a couple trips for gills but crappie are on my mind. made some modern "steelie slammers" and itching to get on a good minnow bite to run them threw their paces.
Been out a few times. Mostly slim pickins. Haven't found much in the way of decent crappie. Did manage to get 30 decent gills on a lake near Warsaw last week. After trying all over in deep water, tried a shallow channel just for fun and found them in 5 feet of water using bee moths on tear drops. Hopefully, this warm spell won't hurt the ice.
Southern guys are land locked. Everything has been iced over, but not SAFE ice. Been tying jigs and drinking bourbon.
Last thrusday I saw people walking way out on Monroe at leSt 100yds off Moore’s Creek Point. Entire Lake was froze over and no open water anywhere even down at the dam. Fished West Boggs, middle of the lake had 8” of ice and the closer I got to the west side ice thicker to 12-13 inches solid clear ice. Glendale had everybody fishing the ponds all around Dogwood. Dogwood had holes drilled over it here and there but nobody was catching anything on both Dogwood and Boggs. I didn’t catch one fish for 4 hrs of fishing. This ice ain’t going anywhere with no more warm weather we had and the cold coming back tonite. I am rigging up a depth finder to take with me this weekend—Hook 5 and I use a electric drill on my auger to drill threw the ice. Works like a charm, but you need one with 500 ft pounds of energy and biggest batteries you can use, 20 amp is awesome to use.
Caught 40 last Friday and 50 on Saturday between 2 of us on a large lake near Jasper, about half were Crappie on Friday. Some of the gills were a little small but cleanable.
Ive been out on Morse. Caught a few crappie and bluegill. Ice fishing is fun!
only if you're out of your FROZEN MIND !! :RoflQuote:
Originally Posted by rubes
well, being cooped up in the house is like my mind being frozen as cabin fever is setting in and ready to do anything to wet a line. Now they have flood warnings out on Miscattatuck and East Fork of the White Rivers from all this rain on frozen ground not to mention the ice, sleet and now 3 inches of snow I just measured. I had to drive 30 miles at noon to meet my UPS driver to get a ice transducer I ordered for a Hook 5 I have for ice fishing. That was a wild drive up and down these ridges. I tried to get home down hwy 50 west side of Shoals and semis were jackknifed across Hwy trying to get up Hickory Ridge part of the high way, so cut thru the country down graveled roads and hills threw back country and didn’t meet a sole in this wicked weather. Glad I have positive traction and 4 wheel drive in truck.Quote:
Originally Posted by wannabe fisherman
I'm a little familiar with that area and it's not a place l'd want to be driving in anything
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app
I have a fully restored 88 Ford Ranger with a 4 inch lift, nice sized tires, factory stock p track rear end and 4 wheel drive and its too mint and nice to get rid of, so I drive it locally. It will go anywhere off roading for hunting and fishing. Great traction also and I even have 2 sets of chains to fit the tires. Throw 4 bags of play sand in the bed and ready to baha anywhere. :cheers2 I can get around in it better than my 4 wheel drive Rav4 in this kind of weather. And I have a set of snow tires on the RAV4. I will plow my driveway out when this quits snowing with at but the road I live on might never see a plow as the county never seems to hit it, so living on a hill in woods, I have to fend for myself to be able to get out.
cevans, i used to use my open water finder on the ice with my law tractor batt. i made a t-bar and attached the transducer to it. worked just fine like that but i used 2 holes, so not to snag up on it. actually a shallow hole, full of water, next to the fishing hole, would work just as good. i did have an eagle unit csreen freeze up on me at -10 one day. it went black and when it warmed up, it had lines in the screen the rest of its life.
That’s about what I am doing. I have a spare lawn mower battery for weed killer sprayer tank. Just got a power chord and ducer, stuck everything in a square bucket, and will stick a long piece of coat hanger thru hole in ducer and play with hook 5. Works like a charm. :cheers2
My neighbor is out front of my place right now with his power auger drilling holes. So I think it's time to go out...
once he's done with all the work :biggrin.
I moved up here last year (a lake in Noble County) and I have gotten a lot of decent (11-12 inch) crappie in the spring and fall from the boat with jigs, but can't seem to find them thru the ice....yet. Just dinks....so far. Yesterday all the 4 inchers you wanted as fast as you wanted. But I know the bigger ones are in there some place. Have been trying jigs, bee moths, minnows, different depths, different locations, etc. None of the other guys are doing much either. But since it's just out my front door, I'll eventually find them! Time is on my side.
Ice yesterday was about 5 inches with soft spots near shore. Good luck to you all and stay safe.