Open Water

[skeeterman190]

 Heard that Wawasee is open and some others..Winona,Tippy. Anybody from that way in NW Indiana that can confirm?? I got the itch and it needs scratched!-skeeterman, also anyone on Maxi?? that where i wanna go!

[rufus]

I can't confirm on those lakes. I fish them quite a bit for tourneys, but have never ice fished any of them as they are 45 miuntes to 1 hour from my house in Angola. I live about 5 minutes from Lake James and can tell you that I was ice fishing on it last night and it had about 8 inches of ice. My best guess is that Wawasee is not open yet. It won't take long the ice that is on these lakes is not very good ice. It is full of air bubble and has that honeycombed look to it. I think 3-4 days of warm weather will take care of it. A post from iceshanty.com  http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=112348.15
confirms that there is still ice on Maxi so I would definitely say that Wawasee still has ice on it. There are a couple river run lakes close to my house that I usually break ice to get on that are still mostly covered up as well. I am guess that after Thursday I will be able to get the boat on one of them. Hope this helps sorry I couldn't have better news. My Triton is begging to get out of the garage. I was even considering a trip to West Boggs this weekend.

[thedude]

buddy said cedar lake, willow slough, lake dale further west had all opened up but then iced back up over the weekend. Might have a chance this weekend if the weather is like they are predicting.

[TCook]

Anybody know of anywhere I can call on wawasee or maxi like a tackle or bait shop to find out if its open or not?

[skeeterman190]

Ye Olde Tackle Box in North Webster buddy. see if you can find a number went and got the boat this morning

[djkimmel]

Ye Olde Tackle Box
574-834-2011

708 Main St
North Webster, IN 46555

[TritonTR20]

Smokey's Landing Inc
802 South Lakeside Drive
Syracuse    IN    46567
(574) 457-5232

[TCook]

Thanks for the info guys, sounds like maxi and wawasee are 100% open. I think you know where we will be this weekend.

[TritonTR20]

My little 85 acre lake in marcellus is still froze over.

[TCook]

I called Ye old tackle shop they said 90% of the lakes around them have no ice left. The guy at Smokeys Landing said Wawasee is 100% open. Both did not know about maxi but said its probably open as well.

[jgip087]

A friend of mine I saw at the lunker's show today said he was ice fishing magician on the main lake yesterday. Said there was still about 8 inches of ice on it so maybe by Monday or Mid week sw Michigan lakes might be open

[skeeterman190]

 Fished Maxi today. Open cold water...we loaded the boat! i think we lost count @ 30. ill go into in deeper later im tired.-skeeterman-

[TCook]

Fished Maxi again today (March 8th) even though they called for over an inch of rain with thunderstorms and winds 15 to 25mph. Probably would of stayed home if the fishing wasnt so good the day before, probably cought 45 between the 3 of us and half were keepers but we missed all the bigguns so we wanted to give it another try (Main Lake temp was 36 degrees). By looking at the radar we tried to time what looked to be about a 3-4 hour window inbetween storms. We were wrong and got soaked for most of the day. It got to the point where a serious storm was headed our way that we had to run for cover. After that the skies cleared, sun came out, and the wind died down not to mention the bass started biting like we predicted. We had a nice half hour of comfertable weather and then it changed in an instant. Mother nature flipped a switch and the wind blew 50mph+ with gusts more than that. It was insane, there was even I think what you would call gustnadoes twisting around the lake in a small funnel all over. never have I witnessed wind like that and hope never too again. Luckily we were on the protected side when it hit if you want to call it that. I would estimate 4-5 footers on the wind blown side when we drove by in the truck. Not to mention there were large branches down blocking the road that circles the lake. Today the bite was slow as expected I think we cought 10 maybe 5 were keeps (all largies) and missed a 4 pounder at the boat. Was it worth it do you ask? Yes, cabin fever will make you do the craziest things.

T

[djkimmel]

I think you get the 'Craziest Anglers of the Week' award for sure!!

[skeeterman190]

 We'll i cant say i told ya so. I just had a feeling that it was gonna be a bad day. I wasnt sure bout the weather i knew the fish wouldnt bite as good. but hey i cleaned my boat and fixed some problems and bastages got to catch some fish I lose.. Glad you got over the whole cold water fishing thing yesterday and finally caught a keeper on a blade bait! congrats TCOOK. Ill never get you 2 to put that thing down, till there on beds! I have witnessed the whole deal you 2 went through today on that lake it aint pretty. I think i even put my lifejacket on when i did it by myself!-skeeterman-

[TCook]

Ya I was thinking to myself on the drive down this is a bad idea but its too late to turn back now. It felt good to get some confidence with another bait and figure out how to work it properly. I am actually just waiting for that jerkbait bite but until then ill be chuckin blades.

T

[jgip087]

Best day I had on my grandpas lake was kind of like the weather we are having. It had rained heavy and been warm the day before I went out (this weekend). The day was warm and a little sunny with ice still on the north end and I went out with a jerkbait and killed them, 5 over 4 pounds biggest over 6. Something to try some time. I think grandpa and I are giving it a go tomorrow

[TCook]

I just checked on Paw Paw and it is open

[Firefighter Jeff]

Hey Tim,   

   What kind of depths and areas were you keying on with the blade baits??

    When do you start fishing for those smallies on lake michigan??  Hope to get a trip in with you this spring. 

                             Jeff 

[chrisvmo]

what types of blade baits are you using and also where? I would like to get out in the next couple of weeks as well. When does Pike season open up again?