Shirley's bay 2016

[RyanW]

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[scarkner]

I was on the ice from 2pm Saturday until 10am Sunday.

Was pretty much dead until 5pm, then had a strong Sauger bite until around 8pm when it turned to Ling. Had ling hitting all night plus a few weird ones...

Caught a mud-puppy for instance.



Also had some annoying little stuff that kept setting off my tip-ups through the night, I would often feel it nibbling lightly (perch?).

Total for the night:
One Walleye
Two Sauger
Five Ling
One Mud-Puppy

Ice is now 14 inches at my shack (was 12 last week) so I was very surprised to see it getting thicker. Ice is also great for skating and may be even better after the bit of rain today.
no perch???

[zippyfx]

I was on the ice from 2pm Saturday until 10am Sunday.

Total for the night:
One Walleye
Two Sauger
Five Ling
One Mud-Puppy

Wow, looks like you had a good night! Congrats.

[CyrusG]

Was out yesterday in the great weather, i lost a huge eye right around 4:30 right at the hole, easily 20+ inches it gave me lots of runs on my light rod before i could see huge gold come up and wrap around my transducer. All the other ones landed were 13 inches and under until the bite turned off at 6:00. I'll be back looking for that beast again

[scarkner]

I was out on Shirley's bay today. Ice is holding up well, about 14 inches thick.

BUT

There is significant water on the surface and it is channeling into the open fishing holes. The fishing holes are NOT closing up, they are getting larger. The holes I made on Saturday, which were 6 inches, are all larger. One hole was over 10 inches wide at the top and opened up in a cone shape to perhaps 18 inches wide under the ice surface. There was also a significant channel under the ice, almost as if the warm water from the surface water was being swept under the ice by the current causing a localized slot to be cut under the ice. If you ran over that hole (on foot or car tire) you would certainly punch through enough to get stuck.

There are also signs of wet-cracking (cracks in the ice that can't re-freeze due to the warm weather).

With another 7 degree day on the horizon, just be real careful and plan your route when driving.

Ice is also crazy slippery and because of clear-ice with water on top, it is pretty disconcerting to drive on, feels like you are heading into open-water!

The ramp is holding up OK, but please try not to spin or get stuck in that area or it's going to become quickly impassable.

[avidangler]

Also had some annoying little stuff that kept setting off my tip-ups through the night, I would often feel it nibbling lightly (perch?).

In my experience that type of bite is mud puppies. they seem to love chewing on minnows close to the bottom.

[MLR]

How is ice holding up to this mild weather?

[CyrusG]

Few vehicles on the ice today near the launch

Be safe out there, it's been an odd year and the ice has been very sketchy in a few spots.

[Peron]

Ice was pretty solid. I had a good twelve inches of black ice. Lots of vehicles and nicely spaced out. There are a few weird looking areas of ice close in to shore but didn't seem to deter anyone. The ice was definitely noisy in the morning.

I was east of the "rink". Had a short burst of Perch. 6 fish including two hefty ones all on 1 hole. Had a very serious fish on the other hole that I had rigged with a large minnow. Peeled a ton of line and then nothing. Hate when that happens. Didn't see much activity elsewhere and a couple of groups relocated. After that a bite or two but I packed it in after a long stretch of nothing.

Rod

[The Captain]

How is the footing at Shirley's?

is the surface rough enough or pretty slippery?

trying to decide if I should wear boots or skates tomorrow!\

thanks!

[Peron]

Wear spikes. There was a couple skating that could have made it to Quebec.

It is super slippery.

[MLR]

Pretty slow morning out here so far

[Wallybanger10]

Very slippery out here. Definitely need to purchase some spikes! I've been pretty active on perch since about 11am. Still hoping for something bigger.. but they help pass the time!

[Peron]

The morning was really quiet but the perch bite started to heat up later. There was a lot of bite going on when I left at about 1:45 (unfortunately... Didn't pack lunch and the boy was getting hungry).

Glad I had my spikes... Watched a lot of wipeouts....

Rod

[smitty55]

Very slippery out here.

A bag of wood ashes works great out on the ice. You don't need lots, just sprinkle some between holes and where you're standing.

Cheers