A Crappie Weekend Up North

The family and I took a trip to the Northwoods this past weekend for some ice fishing and fresh air....and snow! The ride up was white knuckle driving all the way to Vilas County but we took our time and thankfully made it safe and sound to my Uncle's place despite the dozens of other drivers we saw spun off the road in the ditches. 

We arrived later than planned and even with the driving snow, were determined to get out for the evening bite. We unpacked the gear, re-set the truck for ice fishing mode and set out to our first destination. 

Before we left, I snapped this photo of a black squirrel, once I saw him, I knew it was going to be a good weekend.

 Allthough the evening bite was a small window, we managed some nice crappie. The bite really started picking up around 4PM and tapered off around 6PM. The biggest crappie of the evening was 11 inches. Way to go Mom!

Crappie were suspended off the bottom, feeding upward. I set up the shack and stayed quiet. Call me crazy but it actually seemed to help encourage the fish to bite more frequently. 

Sometimes you have to take a break from the fishing. When you do, order a cold one, or an Old Fashioned. (Brandy, sweet of course, with fruit).

Another day, another batch of keepers. Biggest one this day was every bit of 12 inches.

With one more weekend of game fishing season left, it's time to get out there. Ice on the lakes we fished was 24 to 30 inches. It snowed everyday we were there and even with 4WD, getting around on the lake was not easy. Bring a shovel, sand, a come along or some straps. 

Cheers!

Another weekend on ice

I enjoyed a relaxing day alone on the ice today. The weather was perfect for sitting out in the sun and doing some hole hopping.  Ice conditions on this Waukesha County lake were 14+ inches everywhere. The cordless power drill adapter for my hand auger was a great tool to have along.  It made finding fish much less taxing.

Right off the bat, my first hole produced a few small perch. As I worked out to deeper water I found more suspended schools of perch and crappie. The bite was slow today. A few negative biters swam right up with the bait, then kept swimming up making for difficult hook-sets and bite detection, even with electronics.

All in all it was a beautiful and peaceful day. For that, I am very thankful. You know even a bad day fishing is better than any good day at work. Everything caught is still swimming. I didn't find any fish that qualified for my own preference of "keeper" size. I guess you could make a perch sammich out of 6"ers. On the other hand, they might be keepers next year.

With that said, I'll leave you with a photo I took to sum up my day. PBR, homemade beef jerky and a lake all to myself. Seriously, does life get any better? 

Happy Valentines Day to me!

So my most awesome girlfriend left this on the table for my viewing pleasure last night (she had to work). It was a super V-day surprise, and kept me occupied for the evening. 

If you haven't checked it out yet, what are you waiting for?! Grab a copy. I was really excited when I first found out about the project a while back. You can view the trailer here. 

I am by no means a movie critic. I do however, admittedly own a fair share of fish porn. From my humble perspective and viewing experience, this is a top notch production with a great story. Although my travels to the Yucatan were less adventurous, roughneck and hard fought, I couldn't help but be brought back to my fond memories of the area, it's humble and friendly people and of course it's diverse wildlife.

I am excited for the next DVD in the series to be released.

Ahhh...memories

Super Bowl Sunday Ice Report

My buddy Eric and I met up and got on the ice around 7:30-8am this morning. We fished a lake in Waukesha County that was new for the both of us.

The weather out there was a little different than predicted. Temps were low and winds were gusting. All in all we had a decent morning. 6 or so flags total, with 3 northerns to hand. Eric was on fire today, I missed my chance at a real nice pike we saw on the camera. Biggest pike of the day was 25". Just shy of the 26" slot. I guess the pickle jar will just have to wait.

 Happy feeding pike today

Smaller one

Eric was on fire today, I missed my chance at a real nice pike we saw on the camera. Biggest pike of the day was 25". Just shy of the 26" slot. I guess the pickle jar will just have to wait.

The bluegills were in 15-20 fow and did not want to commit. They would come off the bottom, follow the jig up 3 ft and drop back out. I did manage to hook into one, but it never saw the hole. I think the northern pike in the area might have had something to do with these wary bluegills.