Fresh fish for dinner, 11-21

I glanced at the board this morning and saw Quinn's post and thought, "It's a pretty nice day out there, maybe I should try it". Checked the wind, checked the temperature, checked with my better half and loaded up to give it a whirl. I pushed off from shore just after 10, with the air temperature at 41 and slated to warm a few more degrees and found the water over the basin between 43 1/2 and 44 degrees. I tossed out my 3 trolling lines with 1/32 oz. heads and slowly started making my way out.

Long story short, took well over an hour to get my first one, a solid 12"er.

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They just weren't where they were on the last few trips. Found them in deeper water out from the break line on the total opposite shore from where I usually focus my efforts. Once I found them it was game on. Since I was looking for dinner and they were in deeper water, I changed to 1/16 oz. jigs with Stinger type tails and the action picked up. Next fish in the boat was the big one of the day:

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I worked the water from the bottom of the sharper drop off at around 18' out to the basin area in 28-30'. Not many loner fish, but lots of small schools of what looked like 6-8 fish. I'd usually get just one shot at drifting over them as the wind had picked up and boat control was becoming difficult. But those that I hooked were nice, all were 11" or better. Here's a couple more.....

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All came on plastics that had some white in it, except for one; that one took a clear with silver glitter. Chartreuse struck out today, as did the Roadrunners and the bright color sunrise something or other. All were crappie today, no bluegill like has been the case recently.

I left them biting just after noon with 7 nice ones in the cooler. Only threw back one smaller one of about 9"; he took my jig quickly on one of my cast-outs so I know he didn't come from deep water. He took off quickly once released so I feel sure that he just has a sore lip.

Beautiful blacks and a tasty future supper too I am sure, thanks for sharing.

Those are some nice ones

Great trip even though not very long the results were outstanding. Mostly 12" is fantastic for this neck of the woods. Keep it up. Tight lines.

That’s another solid outing. It’s a lot harder for me to get motivated to go out when the temp is in the low 40’s. A day ice fishing in the 40’s mid winter would seem like a heat wave but it’s different on open water.

Great job. Glad you took advantage of a good day. I would love to hit the open water again. Things are gonna change here soon though. Time to get my jig rods and flasher ready.

Great report and pics, thanks for sharing.

Good trip and you caught some nice ones.....good job !

That is so true. Had my warm gloves on while rowing around and had to pull them off for each fish. Body was warm enough but it's the cold hands that get me.

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Originally Posted by QuinnTheEskimo

That’s another solid outing. It’s a lot harder for me to get motivated to go out when the temp is in the low 40’s. A day ice fishing in the 40’s mid winter would seem like a heat wave but it’s different on open water.

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Originally Posted by franklin fisher

Great job. Glad you took advantage of a good day. I would love to hit the open water again. Things are gonna change here soon though. Time to get my jig rods and flasher ready.

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I'm doing the same, getting ready for the ice season. Still have a while before we get any ice but I need to make some changes to my sled to make room for some new stuff. Ordered a new President inline from Pfluegger along with another Ice Blues UL 30" jigging rod.
Fish USA got me yesterday with their 15% off sale. Retail therapy for relief from lots of life stress this fall.

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Originally Posted by 6poundtest

I'm doing the same, getting ready for the ice season. Still have a while before we get any ice but I need to make some changes to my sled to make room for some new stuff. Ordered a new President inline from Pfluegger along with another Ice Blues UL 30" jigging rod.
Fish USA got me yesterday with their 15% off sale. Retail therapy for relief from lots of life stress this fall.

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I was unaware that inline reel existed. Just checked it out. I think I may order one also. I am a sucker for new gear.

I have a few different in-line reels, a couple 13 Fishing Descents and a Free Fall and a couple of the Piscifun reels. The Descent has a button you push to get it into free spool, the others have a lever. It’s really easy to pick up the line with your finger when you reach for the lever and it’s annoying. The drags on in-line reels are okay, but not great. There are also in-lines that don’t have free spool at all and you have to pull the line out, that’s okay if you only fish really shallow. I’m thinking about buying one of the Clam Gravity Elite reels but I haven’t yet.

I have the Descents and a Free Fall, as well. Maybe called a ghost? It's white, I'll have to confirm the model to be sure, does have a lever. I like them, the inlines in general. One rod has the Genz inline, without gear reduction, simple 1:1. That's my shallow water rod as it's a lot of winding.
I'm a walking example of geared up to the max with very little ice fishing knowledge to go along with it. With the iffy ice we've had the last couple of years, being self employed and unable/unwilling to travel far to ice fish, I don't get out that much.

But by golly, I'm fully equipped to do it!

7 fish in 2 hours is NOT a bad trip! Thanks for sharing.