Illinois Wisconsin Fishing: February 2013

Sunday, February 24, 2013

fox chain of lakes area ice fishing report

Given the bluebird skies and late winter ice, I thought that conditions weren't the best and we were prepared for sluggish fish. Within the first set of holes we drilled we found that the bite was anything but lethargic. These guys were spunky enough that they were hammering spoons dangled 4 feet above their heads. Not a bad start and we had a few gills and a crappie on the ice before even setting the tip downs.

The tip downs produced some very nice perch and these guys were as big as we have ever seen them in here. A few of them hit on the drop before the minnow ever reached the bottom. A good reminder to actually work your minnow as it descends instead of just letting it free fall.

a nice in-land perch

We had one of the best days panfishing yet. Fish came in packs and for a steady 2 or so minutes, you couldn't get the baits down the hole quick enough. But, as fast as they came was as fast as they were gone. That went on and off every 15 minutes or so for a solid 2 hours and gave us enough opportunity to sort out a solid bag of keepers.

the truck bed of death

Oh, yeah and one consolation bass...

the lone bass of the day

Given the forecast for the next ten days and the solid cap of ice over 10 inches thick, I think we have a couple more weeks of ice trips to go. I'm not so sure how long before I get back out on the rivers but I'm getting that itch, so it may be sooner then later. We will see...

bass fishing with poppers

This year I have been truly blessed in the regards of getting some pretty wicked flies from other bloggers all across the country. Commenting on a few other blog posts has afforded me a few contest winnings and and few offers to send me a couple just to try out. Graciously, Kevin from "Fly Waters Edge" sent me a few foam creations to play around with come warmer days.

a stellar example of some foam poppers for bass

Here's the link to his original post-
Depression Popper

Thanks my friend, I will be doing a follow up on what I can muster up on these come spring/summer. I hope to show you a few toads caught on these in the days to come. Here's to some warmer weather, despite the freezing temps and snow that we have in the forecast...

channel lake ice fishing report - fox chain

My last ice trip has left me with a few questions. Sure, conditions weren't optimal. A bright blue sky at high noon on the second day of a serious cold front usually foreshadows a tough day. But, despite the cards dealt, I caught fish, and numbers of fish for that matter.

channel lake - shanty town

Where the quandary comes into play is in relation to the size of these fish and where they were caught. Setting up on the community hole this late in the season and catching smalls all day long makes me wonder how many of the bigger fish actually got sorted out? Is it possible the majority of the fish left in that particular bay were the medium to small sized? Or, was it that those were the only fish I could catch that particular day under those particular conditions?

I guess this is just one of those questions that I may never have the answer to, but I’ll be dammed if I go out there and do the same thing over again and expect different results. For me, I will be searching out some more remote spots for the rest of this ice season instead of trying to continue to beat up the same fish that have seen every jig in the box.

i know they get bigger then this...

the complete angler

Thanks CoolWaterFish for sharing one of the absolute best fishing documentaries I've ever seen on YouTube. I don't normally share too many videos from others but this is a cut above the rest.

It's forty-five minutes and I've already watched it twice this week and the second time through I found so much more I missed. I can hardly wait to watch this again.

Anyone else have a great fishing video on YouTube they like, please share it in the comments.

daddy daughter ice adventures

warm and ready to go

No fish I have ever caught can compare to the feeling of watching my children catch fish. At the ripe old age of four my daughter has taken quite well to the fascination of fish under the ice. This was the first year that we allowed her to come out and for being so young her attention span was remarkable. We spent two hours together fishing and every bluegill caught was as exciting as the first.