Got on the board today.

AlbertanGP · #1 11-11-2021, 07:08 PM

Got out to the lake last night around 8pm to check the ice on the lake I hoped to fish this morning, and was disappointed to only find 3/4" of ice...not happening. So I wound up sorting some gear in the shop this morning before heading back to town. I decided to take a chance and head the opposite direction to check another lake I frequent early in the season. After spudding out a few big chunks and measuring the ice thickness on the new Otter rod case, I found I had 3-1/4" to work with. So I backed down to the edge of the lake (no snow to pull the sled yet), dumped the gear on the ice, strung the ice picks through my jacket and put on the Striker flotation suit. I never heard a single crack as I spudded my way out. Set up in 10' and started fishing around 3pm. Only took a few minutes to ice my first fish of the year. More followed over the next 90 minutes before I decided to use the last light to try to check access to another area I wanted to fish tomorrow. No dice getting to that spot yet, so it's back out to the same spot tomorrow morning for the morning bite, which is usually better on this lake. Cheers and stay safe on early ice.

pikeman06 · #2 11-11-2021, 07:30 PM

Good job! Nice to get that first one of the year out of the way.

JohninAB · #3 11-11-2021, 07:47 PM

Congrats! I hope to ice my first brookie of winter 21/22 tomorrow.

Tommy · #4 11-11-2021, 07:54 PM

That's great, nice set up.

Tommy

Outbound · #5 11-11-2021, 08:09 PM

Hey, I know that lake! I had no idea it froze up so early. It’s on my list to ice fish this year as I’ve only ever fished it during open water.

AlbertanGP · #6 11-11-2021, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Outbound

Hey, I know that lake! I had no idea it froze up so early. It’s on my list to ice fish this year as I’ve only ever fished it during open water.

It's usually a week or two ahead of other local lakes because of its size and because its access is on the south side of the lake. This lake is still unfishable on the north side. I can think of two or three lakes around GP that likely have more ice. I may check one out Sunday.

SamSteele · #7 11-11-2021, 10:18 PM

My first fish of the 21/22 ice season. Great day, ending up icing 9 fish.

58thecat · #8 11-12-2021, 02:22 AM

Wow eh...well done all around.

AlbertanGP · #9 11-12-2021, 03:15 PM

Back out again this morning. Brought the solo flip today since there was a freezing rain warning. Sure enough I got dumped on pretty good for a solid 15-20 minutes, so I was glad to have a place to hide. Fishing was hot and cold. It would be nuts for 15 minutes then absolutely dead for 30 or so. Still managed to catch 8 before leaving, including a really nice (for this lake) 19" rainbow. Unfortunately, I had to play it out pretty good to land it. I didn't want to keep it out of water while I fuddled for a picture. If you have any slick methods for taking pictures of fish while on the ice, please let me know in this thread. Thanks.

AlbertanGP · #10 11-13-2021, 11:39 AM

Just in case you thought you were having a bad day. I just came across this poor fellow while heading out fishing.

AlbertanGP · #11 11-13-2021, 09:41 PM

The last day out for the weekend turned out to be the best despite the wind. The first fish I caught was also my first brown trout of the year, and the largest I've caught in this lake so far. That was followed by more rainbows than I could count over the next two and a half hours. I'm pretty sure I hit 50 fish over the weekend. I've done that in a full day on this lake, but still a great start to the season. The forecast is calling for -15 to -20 next Friday and Saturday nights. Hopefully I can get back to chasing my 10 pounder next weekend.

pikeman06 · #12 11-14-2021, 09:52 AM

Gorgeous trout. Nothin prettier than the female brown. Nice work.

Smoky buck · #13 11-14-2021, 09:57 AM

Yup I don’t like ice fishing enough to go this early

Congrats but not for me

AlbertanGP · #14 11-14-2021, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

Yup I don’t like ice fishing enough to go this early

Congrats but not for me

It's nice not to have an aneurysm-inducing hike in the foothills to find virgin ice. That comes when the son-in-law gets home from the diamond mines in a few weeks.

AlbertanGP · #15 11-14-2021, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pikeman06

Gorgeous trout. Nothin prettier than the female brown. Nice work.

Agree 100%. While the lake trout is my favorite fish to target, the brown trout is my favorite fish to lay eyes on. I hope to get down to ice fish with Eric Haataja when Covid is finally behind us.

Zip-in-Z · #16 11-14-2021, 04:03 PM

Congrat's ... nice colors.

D.

Brovacs · #17 11-15-2021, 11:35 AM

Got out twice so far and tried two new lakes. Got into some nice cutties and tigers.

HuyFishin · #18 11-15-2021, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlbertanGP

Agree 100%. While the lake trout is my favorite fish to target, the brown trout is my favorite fish to lay eyes on. I hope to get down to ice fish with Eric Haataja when Covid is finally behind us.

This would be an amazing experience.

AlbertanGP · #19 11-20-2021, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brovacs

Got out twice so far and tried two new lakes. Got into some nice cutties and tigers.

Nice! I'm still waiting for my first tiger this season. I was goofy enough to go out in a snowstorm at 4:30am this morning to fish. The roads were...well, let's just say driving was as smart as walking out on 2" of ice. I should have stayed in bed. Anyways, still not enough safe ice to start chasing the 10 pounders near home. So back the other way to old faithful to fish for a couple of hours. Lots of rainbows and two browns. I think that may be the first time I've caught two browns in one outing. Hopefully I can catch a tiger before too long as I won't fish this lake as much once the other one is fishable.