Finally On The Ice For 2024

[Frank_NK28]

It's been a long wait between a long slow freeze and then recovering from hernia surgery for the third time in 2 years followed by my wife having foot surgery last week so I was playing nurse until she was ok to be left on her own for a day but finally hit the ice this morning.
I called up my little buddy, the kid we took fishing last summer and hunting last fall and his mother let him skip school for the day to join me on the ice.
I had gifted him a Shimano 7' FX spinning rod and reel combo when I got home from BC that was mine and had been at my fathers over 30 years. The other day I found an old Mitchell 36" ice rod and gifted him that as well. I showed him how to switch the reel over and he swapped the reel from the 7' rod to the 36" rod for ice fishing.
Then I called my buddy Harvey as well, he's 83 and asked if he'd like to join us on the ice for the day and he was quite happy to.
So the three of us set out at dawn and headed to a new lake I had always wanted to fish but was unable due to a combination of too deep of snow to access the lake in my truck and not being 100% certain of the route to get there. There is about 8 miles of off roading through a few community grazing pastures to access the lake which is maybe 10+ acres in size and stocked with rainbow trout.
Rumours have always circulated that the fish are small, averaging 10"-14" but there is the occasional 5 pounder caught at least once a year. Well I've seen the skills of the average SK & AB angler and looking at stocking lists going back 5 years this tiny pothole receives annual stockings of good numbers of rainbows so I figured there had to be something bigger than 10"-14" fish to be caught.
I had studied the contour map on i-boating and chose where I wanted to start my search and when we arrived after punching a bunch of holes determined we had plenty of ice to travel by truck to the spot. We had 20"-24" everywhere I tested of good solid clear ice. Perfect.
Ok moving forward after punching a bunch of holes and checking depths I set out 5 of our 6 lines then we threw up the Otter Pro Cabin and set our mats, chairs, table, heater and got settled in.
After some skein I had pulled from the freezer thawed I asked my little buddy Carter to get his rod and reel and I'd show him how to set it up. He returned and I tied on a #12 Northland Perch Minnow jig and buried it in a chunk of skein then set it in the jawjacker, laying it on bottom with about 6" slack for the fish to carry it off before the JJ snapped to life.
The first fish of the day came about an hour later on Carter's rod. I heard it fire behind me as I was clearing ice from another hole. I called to Carter in the tent "Fish On Carter! It's on your rod, come get him"! He bolted out the door and ran to the hole then just stood there staring not knowing what to do. I instructed him to remove the rod and again like in the summer with the level wind found out he had never worked a spinning reel either! I guess he was too shy to say so? He made it sound like he had ice fished lots but lots turned out to be 5 minutes before he got cold and quit! Lol...Well he did good and about 5 minutes later I slipped my hand under a nice 19.5"/3lb-4oz male Rainbow and flipped it onto the ice. Carter was pumped.
As I was walking back to the tent to collect another chunk of skein to reset the rod another rod with a bullfly jig and a pink ice fly a foot above it fired and I grabbed it quick and iced a 21.5"/3lb-12oz male Rainbow as well.
As the day wore on Carters rod and reel with the skein for bait fired 4 more times and he landed three more nice trout from 17"-18.5" and we missed a strike on another setup in only 3.5 feet of water from the top of the ice to the lake bottom.
We ended our day with 5 nice Bows. Once home we had supper then I showed Carter how to filet fish. Harvey opted out of kerping any so I'll smoke the two I kept this spring and give one to him. Carter's mother doesn't care for smoked fish but prefers them pan fried so I fileted the remaing three fish for him, skin removed for him and his mother and sister to enjoy a couple feeds of fresh caught fried trout.
Here are pics from our first day ice fishing for the 2024 season. Sorry for the long winded version...ok I'm really not.

[JohninAB]

Great read and story. Thanks for sharing. Carter is a lucky boy to have a mentor like yourself.

[Frank_NK28]

Originally Posted by JohninAB

Great read and story. Thanks for sharing. Carter is a lucky boy to have a mentor like yourself.

Thanks and I'm lucky to have a great kid like him in the neighborhood. We really enjoy his company.

[goldscud]

Sounds like a fun adventure.
Just wondering, do they ever stock triploid rainbows over there? I was thinking it would be nice to chase some chrome fish in the spring as they fight so much better.

[59whiskers]

Thank for sharing.

[58thecat]

Looks like a great on ice adventure !!!

Well done.


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[Frank_NK28]

To say he was pumped was an understatement. First my little buddy caught a 5lb-3oz pike on a jigging spoon and got to see the strike on the Marcum then after I caught one on the quickstrike rig that was identical size and showed him how the polar tip up works left them to him the rest of the day. He caught two more...another 5 pounder and just before calling it a day an 88cm pike that pulled the lip grip to 10lb-9oz. He was pumped!

[AlbertanGP]

Good story. It's nice to give something back to the hobby.

[Dom4]

Awesome write up! Thank you for sharing. IT is always nice to see when people enjoy getting out onto the ice.

[Frank_NK28]

Here is a short little video of Carter icing the 10 1/2 pounder he caught. Do you think he's excited? Listen to the breathing in the first part of the video. Lol

https://youtu.be/cbXUopQKhho?si=hj1abd_QbMy8vCKs

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Frank_NK28

Here is a short little video of Carter icing the 10 1/2 pounder he caught. Do you think he's excited? Listen to the breathing in the first part of the video. Lol

https://youtu.be/cbXUopQKhho?si=hj1abd_QbMy8vCKs

Priceless

[Frank_NK28]

https://youtu.be/MynRczBV7bE?si=7jTJwNTg6EOiQVnw

[lakerman]

fyi no gaffs allowed

[CBintheNorth]

Originally Posted by lakerman

fyi no gaffs allowed

I'm assuming they were in Saskatchewan.
Guessing Frank knows better.

[CBintheNorth]

Good on ya for taking a kid out and making memories.

[Frank_NK28]

Originally Posted by CBintheNorth

I'm assuming they were in Saskatchewan.
Guessing Frank knows better.

This^^^I have never fished an AB waterbody to date...I buy a SK license and fish SK waters.

[Frank_NK28]

I feel like I'm on an episode of Gilligan's Island every time I refer to this guy as "my little buddy" but here is "my little buddy" with a beautifully coloured male rainbow he caught this morning on his own rod & reel. The fish measured 60.5cm(23.8") and pulled the lip grip scale to 5lb-8oz!
As he posed for a picture with the fish after we measured it and took a photo of it on the bump board I said "well buddy, you have two choices with this beauty. You can keep it and eat it or release it and get yourself a SK Master Angler Certificate" (22" for Rainbow) so he opted for the certificate.
An hour later I caught an 18.1"/2lb-13oz male that we kept for the smoker!
We finished the day off after I woke my little buddy up as he slept in his chair in the tent when the sound of the jigging jawjacker on the north side of the tent sprung to life alerting us to a strike.
I had to call to my little buddy twice "FISH ON" to wake him up but he came to life quickly realizing what was happening and was on my on my heels as I exited the tent door heading for the rod bent over and bouncing with a fish on the line.
I said "grab the rod and I'll move the jawjacker out of our way". Once again he handled the fish perfectly and had it in the hole head first before I could drop to my knees and reach into the hole to flip the wildly flailing trout onto the ice. The male trout measured 17" and weighed in at 1lb-15oz.
We decided we had a good feed with our two keepers so we packed it in early rather than be greedy and set out for home. It had been a beautiful day on the ice with sunny skies, west winds and temps that rose to +1C. We listened to some country music on the ride home while scanning for wildlife. We had seen a young moose on the drive down in the morning and on the way through the grazing pasture we saw 4 big healthy mulies still wearing head gear and a coyote.
The rest of the drive was uneventful and as I took in the surroundings and reflected on my little buddy's fighting the big fish of the day I pondered the job interview I'd had earlier in the week for another 2 year pipeline project that I may be leaving for any day running from Grand Prairie, AB to Fort St. John, B.C. I hoped I could get another day on the ice before the 20/10 schedule kicked in. It wasn't long before we were back in town, the late afternoon drive had been absolutely beautiful and the sun started to sink behind the trees as we pulled into town.
What a wonderful day it had been just me and "my little buddy" on a lake full of fish without another soul around.

[thumper]

I think you both won the lottery! Well done!

[Frank_NK28]

Well that was quick I submitted the information yesterday after arriving home for my little buddy for his Rainbow Trout as it met the requirements for a SK Master Angler Certificate and he received the certificate by email today. He texted me as soon as he got home from school with a one word message to let me know he received his certificate...WOW!

[58thecat]

That’s awesome!


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[lakerman]

from sask regs
Only gaffs with a J-hook end may be
used to land fish while ice fishing,
and the gaffs cannot be more than
1.5 metres (1.6 yards) long. Use or
possession of a spear on ice-covered
waters is prohibited.


Cold Lake 6A Walleye limit 3, none may be less
than 50 cm; pike limit 1, which must
be over 63 cm; lake trout limit 1,
which must be over 75 cm; lake
trout limit 0 from September 15 to
November 15; whitefish limit 10;
perch limit 15; use or possession of
any gaff prohibited; Saskatchewan

no Possess or use any spring-loaded gaff
or spring-loaded hook.
Now I know what you know.

[Frank_NK28]

Originally Posted by lakerman

from sask regs
Only gaffs with a J-hook end may be
used to land fish while ice fishing,
and the gaffs cannot be more than
1.5 metres (1.6 yards) long. Use or
possession of a spear on ice-covered
waters is prohibited.


Cold Lake 6A Walleye limit 3, none may be less
than 50 cm; pike limit 1, which must
be over 63 cm; lake trout limit 1,
which must be over 75 cm; lake
trout limit 0 from September 15 to
November 15; whitefish limit 10;
perch limit 15; use or possession of
any gaff prohibited; Saskatchewan

no Possess or use any spring-loaded gaff
or spring-loaded hook.
Now I know what you know.

I'm well aware of the regulations and the gaff I use falls well within them...I have two J-Hook gaffs, neither are spring loaded. 1.5 meters is 59.05 inches. I have a 24" gaff and a 48' gaff for when the ice gets to be 30" plus to reach down with and yes I gaff a few if we are going to be keeping them, which is a thing you can legally do in SK and actually enjoy a feed of fish. And I usually try to keep on top of the regs for Cold Lake as we do fish it occasionally in summer and use a landing net not a gaff...and a SK license is valid on Cold Lake...

[58thecat]

The only thing I know is that a gaff in Alberta can get you a ticket, fella was ice fishing last year, had a gaff in his shack, all part of his gear that he moves around from province to province etc.

Well it was out in the open and he was fishing....got a ticket....ooops.

Even though he used it to free his line from the ice hole so now he uses a hockey stick.

[Frank_NK28]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

The only thing I know is that a gaff in Alberta can get you a ticket, fella was ice fishing last year, had a gaff in his shack, all part of his gear that he moves around from province to province etc.

Well it was out in the open and he was fishing....got a ticket....ooops.

Even though he used it to free his line from the ice hole so now he uses a hockey stick.

If it's not allowed to be used then probably you're best not to carry it. My 24" is always in the zippered gear portion of my rod case. If I decide to ice fish Cold Lake I guess I'd best remember to leave it at home.

[Frank_NK28]

Originally Posted by goldscud

Sounds like a fun adventure.
Just wondering, do they ever stock triploid rainbows over there? I was thinking it would be nice to chase some chrome fish in the spring as they fight so much better.

Don't know if they are triploids but they stalk both male and female Bows in the lakes I fish...first pic is a buddy of mine from Smoky Lake. He had never ice fished. I took him for Rainbows and Brookies and he caught a 24.75"/6lb-12oz beautiful hen Rainbow.

[58thecat]

Those look delicious...

[fish99]

nice looking fish great catch.

[Frank_NK28]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

Those look delicious...

They are awesome! Nice bright orange red meat. The two lakes are loaded with freshwater shrimp, leeches, etc. They are fantastic smoked!

[Frank_NK28]

Another great day on the ice today with my little buddy Carter.
Carter caught a pair of 77cm(30 3/8") pike that weighed 6lb-11oz & 6lb-13oz respectively and another 71cm(27.95") that weighed 4lbs-5oz. There was sure a pile of holy's and wows from both of us when I hooked into this 15lb-11oz pike and it took about a 100' run of line.
We watched it come in on the Marcum underwater camera looking like it would attack the camera. At once I twitched and jigged a 2 3/4" Live Target Perch rattle bait and it turned and shot towards the bait full speed engulfing the bait and I drove the hooks home hard with my 42" MH Quantum Pulse baitcast rod loaded with 30# suffix braid to a short 30" 20# Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 30#-9" nylon coated wire snap swivel.
Carter jumped up and hit the save button on the camera's record feature and we got the strike on video! When that big head finally came up the hole mouth open Carter had owl eyes and couldn't stop saying holy and wow. He was pumped. What a great moment to share with him. He is such an awesome kid and we saw a cow and calf moose on the way up to the lake. It was a fantastic day!