Ice Reports - Ottawa River - Shirley's Bay

[MLR]

I always thought of putting my trailer out there to take advantage of that, but never did. The access on and off the ice there is very sketchy......and it's isolated there.....nobody around at 2am. Prime time for vandals and thieves to strike.

I think you should Gord, you could head there after a night playing in the bars, fish until it's time to go home and open the shop...

[CCLad]

Regarding stuff getting stolen, I have fished the bay for more than 20 seasons. Our hut has been busted into at least 7 times. Just don't leave anything of value in the hut and if you are using a trailer, leave it immobile, leave it unlocked - the assholes will come and then leave. Don't let the crap of society change what u do!!
CCLad!

[scarkner]

Cclad - last year I posted a question on this forum, asking if anyone at Shirleys Bay had issues with break in's. Although there were a number of responses from people who do NOT fish Shirleys that stuff should be locked up, the people who DID fish on Shirleys reported zero problems with break ins, said that they lock their shacks but didn't worry about them (plus of course the same advice to remove anything of value).

I am NOT saying that you haven't been broken into and not looking to start an arguement, only posting this because it is curious that some are clearly targeted more than others. I wonder what the difference is? Could it be because you are not locking up? Could it be that other people's shacks look crappier? Just bad luck?

I don't know, and the original post was lost I think when the board crashed... this is just FYI that there are certainly mixed opinions on shirleys and security.

[Marko]

Glad to see some ice finally.
Last year the must success i had were in the evening hrs. Interesting enough once it did get completely dark the bite stopped.
But then again i am still an amateur

[smitty55]

Marko that's pretty normal. Usually once the ling start hitting after dark I will usually pack it in, although my best one at 6.5 lb came after 7:00 PM one night that I was out with the wife. I had already caught a 5 lb ling a few minutes before and I figured it was another one, so I just hauled away without a care. Boy was I ever surprised and happy. That was my best year out there with 3 Pickerel over 5lb. I've found that the run was much shorter out by the mouth of the bay as the schools moved in and seemed to be more spread out in the shallower waters of the bay itself.

Good luck out there guys. Cheers

[CCLad]

Cclad - last year I posted a question on this forum, asking if anyone at Shirleys Bay had issues with break in's. Although there were a number of responses from people who do NOT fish Shirleys that stuff should be locked up, the people who DID fish on Shirleys reported zero problems with break ins, said that they lock their shacks but didn't worry about them (plus of course the same advice to remove anything of value).

I am NOT saying that you haven't been broken into and not looking to start an arguement, only posting this because it is curious that some are clearly targeted more than others. I wonder what the difference is? Could it be because you are not locking up? Could it be that other people's shacks look crappier? Just bad luck?

I don't know, and the original post was lost I think when the board crashed... this is just FYI that there are certainly mixed opinions on shirleys and security.

Well I am speaking from being fishing on the bay for 20 + years and I'm not saying break ins are an issue. I should clarify I guess - when I say leave the hut open, we just use a screw to keep the door shut. If someone wants in, their getting in - the screw keeps the door closed solidly and wont cause any extra damage if some one does decide to break in.

as for why some huts get broken into and not others. I would guess that's just due to the number of huts that are there and simply a numbers thing. Just don't leave anything in there worth taking. really its pretty sad, but I guess that's just reality.

Cheers and good fishing CCLad!

[CCLad]

More importantly... How much ice out there now??? Any reports......(location and thickness???)

[scarkner]

As mentioned in the report above, consistent 6-8 inches of black hard ice everywhere...

[CCLad]

As mentioned in the report above, consistent 6-8 inches of black hard ice everywhere...

Perfect and thanks! Guess I missed it skimming through...

[CCLad]

Taking a shot in the dark here (as Im getting desperate) Don't suppose any of you fellow Halker's will be around Shirleys bay late morning sat (1030 ish) and have a snow mobile AND be nice enough to tow out our hut??? (Told you I was desperate) My friends sled has to go to a shop and wont be ready for a while

[smitty55]

CCLad how much ice and snow out there? Enough for trucks yet? Probably too much snow for quads right? Cheers

[CCLad]

Hey Smitty, I have yet to get there. I would figure a little early for a truck and probably too much snow for a quad....

[Yakster]

Saw a couple guys a couple days ago bombing out on a quad without too much trouble. Left of the ramp towards the range there is a lot more snow, might have "resistance" going through that but everywhere else looked good.

[smitty55]

Hey Smitty, I have yet to get there. I would figure a little early for a truck and probably too much snow for a quad....

Yea I kinda figured that. A quad might be alright on it's own but too much snow to try and pull a shack I guess. Too bad, I would have given you a hand towing the shack out If there was 10-12 " of good ice. This mild weather might knock the snow down some and then there's a cold snap coming after that. Let me know if things change.

Cheers

[MLR]

Taking a shot in the dark here (as Im getting desperate) Don't suppose any of you fellow Halker's will be around Shirleys bay late morning sat (1030 ish) and have a snow mobile AND be nice enough to tow out our hut??? (Told you I was desperate) My friends sled has to go to a shop and wont be ready for a while

I didn't rent a shop in ottawa this winter to keep my truck, trailer and atv with tracks or I would have been more than happy to pull the shack out for you.