Let's Get It Started

[Dan]

Well not much opportunity yet for hard water fishing so I thought I would throw out some pics of a few trips from years past. I gave up on panfish for a while and ice fishing in general until a buddy took me out for some big walleye jigging. Once I caught my first fish over 7 lbs. I was hooked. Nice thing about our spot is that you go out for about an hour and a half before dark to just after dark. Only spend about 3 hours. They are either there or not. Feast of famine. No little fish. A small one is 6 lbs. Never seen a smaller one than that on the ice. Don't really know why except I suspect these are fish that come in off the big lake to feed up before the spawn. The closer it gets to the end of the season the better the fishing. Use jigging rapalas with the nose and rear hooks clipped off. Remove the treble and upsize it a couple of sizes and tip it with half a minnow. About 24 ft. of water. Got a stinger mount back last winter of 4 that all are around 9 lbs. with a 10 thrown in the mix.

[stackenem]

I usually stick with pike spearing and running a few tipups on a local lake by my house. No pics but a couple of 18lb pike on the wall. Don't look to promising this year last year Xmas eve afternoon iced 18 pike in little over 3 hours one is on the wall in my office 18lbs 38 inches

[djkimmel]

Well not much opportunity yet for hard water fishing so I thought I would throw out some pics of a few trips from years past.

I was wondering who was gonna 'break' the ice...

[stackenem]

I usually break the ice as I have a bad habit of trying to get out to early and end up falling thru at least once a year. Still haven't learned that trick of walking on water yet but practice makes perfect so i'm told.

[fiker]

Trick is don't walk on the water.

Ya gotta run. You'll hydroplane.  I've seen snowmobiles do it.

Of course if I'm wrong, you'll be in deeper water, and farther from shore.

On second thought.......

[stackenem]

I'm always in deep water or is that hot water?

[Jmcfarland]

My uncle, cousin and one of there buddies all went through last year on Burt lake about this time. They were on fourwheelers. Went through and had to float with their machines. There buddy had some nerve damage in his hands due to frostbite. Can't remember for sure how long they were in the water but it was a LLLLOOONNNGGG time.It was all over the news for about a week.  My uncle is over 65 and has had open heart surgery so he is lucky to be alive. He also had to go get his fourwheeler out about 2 weeks later after it sank.
  I also fell through ice duck hunting once. No fun. I thought i was going to freeze to death,luckily I wasnt to far from my dads house when it happened.NEEDLESS TO SAY, BE CAREFUL AND USE YOUR HEAD.   

[stackenem]

No doubt falling thru the ice is not something I would recomend to the faint of heart. I is a scary thing I always have a buddy with me when we go on first ice. At least then you have a chance. The best advice I can give if you are in an area where the ice starts cracking around you is to lay down and spread your weight over as big an area as possible and just try to pull yourself along slowly until you get to safe ice then run like hell for shore.

[Dan]

The lake the walleye came out of above has an area of springs that causes unsafe ice even when the rest of the lake has plenty. Over the last couple of years two groups went through. One was an older guy and his grandson. He was pulling his grandson on a red plastic tobaggon. He went through with the four wheeler and then the sled slid across and also entered the water. The four wheeler flipped and floated on its tires and the young boy remained dry on his plastic sled. My fishing buddy was out early fishing tip ups with his brother (both are cops) and went to their aid. They were able to get both out. The boy was the toughest because he wouldn't let go of the wobbly sled to tie the rope around him and the guys wouldn't pull him unless he put the rope over his head and around his waist. He finally got it and they pulled him and grampa out.
Another time I was just getting to the lake and notice a guy puttiing what looked like a brand new all terrain amphibious six wheeler on the trailer. I commented on the nice rig and he went on to tell me that he and two buddies took it out for its maiden trip. They went through over by the springs and even though it floated and they were all dry they couldn't get back up on the ice. Anglers on the ice got as near as they dared and suggested that they unwind their winch on toss the cable up on the ice. They did that and one brave angler belly crawled and retrived the cable. Not having anything to hook it on they drilled two holes and ran the cable down and up the other hole. It held and they were able to winch themselves out. He said his buddies were so shook up by the whole affair that they didn't want to stay and fish and so he was heading home.

[cwinsiii]

Nice fish Dan, I'm going to get back into the ice thing this year and look for some Walleye's.

[bassackward]

really miss the ice, there is a place I fish the ice 'bout 2.5 hrs. north of where I live and it is great but doesn't look like it will happen this year.

[bosshawg]

 i do beleive time is coming soon. another week of this and should be safe.......

[csfishslayer]

Well not much opportunity yet for hard water fishing so I thought I would throw out some pics of a few trips from years past.

I was wondering who was gonna 'break' the ice...

I had a few guys in my shop today bought a ton of minnows said they were going out to barns lake in lapeer county wonder if they broke the ice they said the lake had 5 inches but I had a hard time with that. so on the way home I stoped and looked at another lake by my house and it did not look like it was solid so can't wait to find out how they did .

Them are some nice walleyes if you don't mind what lake are you fishing

[DDBethke]

Does anyone know when there is a Ice Fishing tournament on Whitmore Lk?

[MBell]

I checked the lakes by my house in lapeer county.  The gate at long lake was closed but some guys leaving said there was 5".  I checked a few other little lakes and they all had 3-5" on them.  We had some cold nights last week, on night went down to 4 degrees. 
-Matt

[spinninbug]

They are getting on Hamlin now,  south bayou and just starting to venture out on the upper lake.  The gills are biting to.  Some nice limits were caught this past weekend.  We have some friends coming up from down state this weekend and we will be out there so I'll let ya'll know how it goes Monday.

[bosshawg]

 finally getting out on sunday. club function on middle straits lake.
and boy does that weather sound just great......NOT!!!

[bosshawg]

seems to be not much ice fishin' reports to be had, but since this was my first of the year trip and probably last for the season, i'll  throw out a report. this was suppose to be a club function, but due to weather last sunday all backed out. actually it wasn't all that bad if you were in a shanty.
as i and friend only ones on the water (ice), our first spot had us in a school of gills per his aqua-view for most of day. just couldn't those rascals to take the hook. they'd come up to mouth the bait, shake their heads and then turn away. how frustrating...we moved once for about an hour before giving up. total run (2) nice gills, a munch of runts and (1) small bass.