Weekend Report - January 8th and 9th - No Pics :(
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 12:24 pm
Hey Guys,
Just wanted to touch base with you guys and let you know how my weekend went.
January 8th
I made it out on the Ottawa Saturday at 3pm and fished until 5:30pm. We went a bit deeper than we normally go to see if we could hook into some bigger eyes but no luck. We managed to catch 24 eyes but only kept 10 for a snack. They were all between 8 and 14 inches. I did catch an 11 inch perch which was my biggest (I believe) to date. Still no luck spotting fish with the Marcum. What am I doing wrong? I see my jig but no fish but the fish are bitting all over.
January 9th
I made it out on the river at 7am. The wind was in high force and we setup in our usual spot in about 15 FOW. As we're setting our tipups 2 of them go down and we get some fish on. 2 identical 14 inchers. I didn't want mine so my buddy said he would just keep 3 eaters for a snack. 3 hours later and after clearing my holes about 20 times because the wind kept pushing snow in our holes and freezing over we decided to pack it in. We only managed 6 eyes and a perch so maybe the morning bite isn't as good at this spot. We might have to move in closer next time. The highlight however was spotting a fish with my Marcum and catching it. As my buddy was picking up the rest of his lines, I turned towards the Marcum that was still in a hole and there was a fish so I pulled my jigging line up, drop my buckshot and as the spoon was going down the line, I saw the fish come up. I stopped at 10 feet, jigged the spoon and BAM! LOL a tiny 8" sauger. Nonetheless I did what I wanted this weekend and that was spot a fish on the Marcum and catch him. Mission accomplished.
One thing scared me though on the way back yesterday. I decided to dig a hole in about 10 FOW about 50 yards from shore. I don't really like black ice cuz you can see through it and all but apparently it's the hardest ice. I started digging through and about 3-4 inches into it, I got water. I was like, WTF... I'm outta here and as I'm walking away the ice is thumping (probably because it was like minus 20 degrees out) but I couldn't wrap my head around it. We were 200 yards further with our holes and there was current and the ice was 8-9 inches whereas here there was little to no current and only like 3-4 inches I assume. A 400 pound man on 3-4 inches is definitely not safe. I had my spikes in hand but still. I didn't expect it. Anyone wish to share their expertise on this phenomenon?
Thanks for reading!
Derek
Just wanted to touch base with you guys and let you know how my weekend went.
January 8th
I made it out on the Ottawa Saturday at 3pm and fished until 5:30pm. We went a bit deeper than we normally go to see if we could hook into some bigger eyes but no luck. We managed to catch 24 eyes but only kept 10 for a snack. They were all between 8 and 14 inches. I did catch an 11 inch perch which was my biggest (I believe) to date. Still no luck spotting fish with the Marcum. What am I doing wrong? I see my jig but no fish but the fish are bitting all over.
January 9th
I made it out on the river at 7am. The wind was in high force and we setup in our usual spot in about 15 FOW. As we're setting our tipups 2 of them go down and we get some fish on. 2 identical 14 inchers. I didn't want mine so my buddy said he would just keep 3 eaters for a snack. 3 hours later and after clearing my holes about 20 times because the wind kept pushing snow in our holes and freezing over we decided to pack it in. We only managed 6 eyes and a perch so maybe the morning bite isn't as good at this spot. We might have to move in closer next time. The highlight however was spotting a fish with my Marcum and catching it. As my buddy was picking up the rest of his lines, I turned towards the Marcum that was still in a hole and there was a fish so I pulled my jigging line up, drop my buckshot and as the spoon was going down the line, I saw the fish come up. I stopped at 10 feet, jigged the spoon and BAM! LOL a tiny 8" sauger. Nonetheless I did what I wanted this weekend and that was spot a fish on the Marcum and catch him. Mission accomplished.
One thing scared me though on the way back yesterday. I decided to dig a hole in about 10 FOW about 50 yards from shore. I don't really like black ice cuz you can see through it and all but apparently it's the hardest ice. I started digging through and about 3-4 inches into it, I got water. I was like, WTF... I'm outta here and as I'm walking away the ice is thumping (probably because it was like minus 20 degrees out) but I couldn't wrap my head around it. We were 200 yards further with our holes and there was current and the ice was 8-9 inches whereas here there was little to no current and only like 3-4 inches I assume. A 400 pound man on 3-4 inches is definitely not safe. I had my spikes in hand but still. I didn't expect it. Anyone wish to share their expertise on this phenomenon?
Thanks for reading!
Derek
I'll be out again tomorrow night if ya want to sneak out for an evening fish. Only one eye tonight, and a small one at that lol.