CHAMPLAIN ICE IS FADING FAST............. STAY OFF THE ICE!

The ice on Lake Champlain is fading fast.  With the current weather forecast, I wouldn't recommend anyone venture out onto the ice. Period.  The ice is beginning to pull away from the shoreline everywhere, especially in areas where there are concrete sea-walls or rip-rap that absorb heat from the sun and then conducts heat into the surrounding ice and water.

The ice itself is getting very weak.  The latest report of someone going through is an ATV at Tabor Point. Fortunately, nobody was hurt and everyone got off the ice safely.  The ice has become very soft and honeycombed.  I drilled a couple dozen holes through the ice yesterday and found the ice very wet and mealy all the way through.  The ice brought up by the auger was wet, the consistency of a "snow-cone".
All the red-flags and danger signs are there! 

STAY OFF THE ICE!

It's unfortunate the ice has begun to get unsafe so early.  The bigger fish (yellow perch) haven't yet moved into the shallows for their annual spawning ritual.  We tried to find them yesterday and couldn't get into any larger fish consistently.  We found a few mature adults which we returned to the water.  I'll miss pulling the big slab perch through the ice this spring but it's not worth risking my life over!

There's always next year...I think I'll hold off for safer ice!

Fish on, fish H8 me.

CHAMPLAIN ICE IS FADING FAST............. STAY OFF THE ICE!

PULLING PERCH AND PIKE

Saturday, Cathy and I got a chance to get out and pull some yellow perch thru the ice of Lake Champlain.
Cathy managed two Northerns on her jig rod. She did an excellent job fighting both fish on four pound test Berkley Fireline Micro Ice.
Pike aren't our targeted species, but they sure were a riot for her on light tackle!

Cathy had never caught  pike before, these were her first!
She happily released them both to catch another day.

Oh yea, we managed a nice bunch of yellow perch to take home.

Fish on, fish H8 me.

PULLING PERCH AND PIKE

SAFETY ON THE ICE----IT NEEDS TO COME FIRST!

ALWAYS, ALWAYS know the ice conditions. ALWAYS CHECK the ice conditions OFTEN. Drill test holes OFTEN and KNOW the ice conditions.
NEVER, NEVER drive over a pressure crack.
Need that be repeated or said any other way?
This picture was taken today, 2/8/2010 from the tip of Mills Point, Malletts Bay:

Be Safe!!!

Fish on, fish H8 me.

SAFETY ON THE ICE----IT NEEDS TO COME FIRST!

Super Bowl Weekend Perch on Lake Champlain

I thought I'd be far to busy to hit the ice this weekend but somehow I managed two short trips.
Friday evening I hit the ice for a quick 2 hour perch pulling session.  Came home with 21 keeper perch and threw back just as many small ones. (I hope to meet up with them in a few more years!)

Friday's Catch

This morning (Super Bowl Sunday) I figured I'd sneak out while everyone else was still asleep and see what I could do.   Cold and windy on the ice is what I faced.  No shack, no protection, no worries.  I only had about a two hour window.

Again, 21 nice keeper perch.  Just enough for Cathy and I to have for dinner some night.  This morning the perch were nicer.  I only threw back 4 small ones.  Maybe the larger ones had come in out of deeper water for the night?

Sunday's Catch

Yours Truly, a little cold, headed in.

Fish on, fish H8 me.

Super Bowl Weekend Perch on Lake Champlain

EXTREME LAKE CHAMPLAIN ICE FISHING

or should I say...
from one extreme to the other!

Saturday was good, not great.  We cleaned 53 keeper perch from the west side of St. Albans Bay.
Nothing over ten inches but a couple of good meals.

Sunday was almost a bust, almost a skunk,,,
at least as far as good perch thru the ice goes.

Sunday was in Mallets Bay, wanting to pull yellow perch through the Lake Champlain ice.
First fish on....
This laker, must of been an eight pounder, maybe more.  A great 15 minute battle on 4 pound test Berkley FireLine  Fused Micro Ice Crystal (the best stuff on an ice jigging rod!)

Caught within 2 minutes of fishing, and released for someone else to enjoy.

A couple more small perch, too small to keep including this trophy!

From one extreme to the other.

Just another fun, enjoyable weekend on the ice of Lake Champlain!

Sorry it had to end!

Fish on, fish H8 me.

EXTREME LAKE CHAMPLAIN ICE FISHING

TREBLE HOOKS SUCK

Just the other day while hanging out at Dockside, my favorite hang-out, bait and tackle supplier, I showed Mike a picture of a "Swedish Pimple" I'd been using while perch fishing through the ice.

"Why did you remove the treble and replace it with the single hook?" he asked

"I hate them" I replied, "they make it too difficult to remove the hook from the fish, and tear up the fish that we want to release..."

Then there's this:

Not Good!

Treble Hooks suck!

Fish on, fish H8 me.

TREBLE HOOKS SUCK

LAKE CHAMPLAIN YELLOW PERCH

Saturday at the Cow-banks was a slower day fishing than we would have liked.  The fish weren't very active and the quality definitely wasn't there either.

Sunday we moved north, to an area we've only fished in March, when the ice is readily deteriorating and the yellow perch are headed towards spawning grounds, waiting for the water to warm.

Still...
it wasn't real hot action, but we found some nicer fish.
We punched holes, waited, and nothing happened.  We moved out deeper, punched holes again and waited.  Then a fish hit...Okay, we'll set up "camp" here.

Schools of fish would come and go.  We'd get steady hits, put a few of them into the bucket, and then wait for the next school of perch to come by.  Sometimes the wait would be a few minutes, sometimes as long as 15 or so.

But...that's okay.  The fishing included catching.  And,,, it included quality time with my wife.  Quiet, except for the radio playing quietly in the background.  Quiet, without anyone else around.  There wasn't another fisherman within a mile of us. 
Nice and quiet.

Cathy did it again...set a new personal best Lake Champlain Yellow Perch record. 

In fact...since we've been together, and keeping  "record" of our catch, she's been on the leader-board, hands down when it comes to pulling big perch thru the ice.

This nice fatty went a solid 12-1/2 inches with a nice plump belly.  I can only imagine what this fish would look like in another couple of months, just prior to spawning.

We stopped fishing with our "limit" of what we're comfortable with to clean.  If we have too many to clean, it becomes a chore and can have a negative effect on the entire experience.  We packed our fish in vacuum bags to be enjoyed another day.  Yummy Lake Champlain Yellow Perch.

Fish on, fish H8 me.

LAKE CHAMPLAIN YELLOW PERCH

FIRST TIME PERCH PULLER!!!

Our ten year old Grandson, Justin is beginning to show some real interest in going fishing with us.  The other night he called and asked if he could spend the weekend.  When Cathy mentioned we "may" do some hardwater fishing on Lake Champlain, he was thrilled.

We stopped by Dockside, said hello to Mike and others, then Justin bought his first "scoop" of small fatheads to use as bait, and signed his first "Vermont Baitfish Transportation Receipt". 
Off we go...

I had an idea on where I wanted to fish as I had been on the phone, checking with friends on the ice.  So far, reports weren't good.  It appeared the fishing was slow everywhere.  Not good. I explained to Justin, "if we're out there doing our part, the rest is up to the fish!"

We checked several areas and talked to fisherman coming off the ice.  "No, no fish".  "Very few".  "One yellow perch in an hour".  "Three of us got 10 perch in 5 hours".  "Should have been here yesterday", were the responses I was getting.  Well, in one particular spot, with open water not too far off, the eye's of the "fisherman" that just came off the ice told a different story.  "We're going back to Hill Rd" I told Cathy and Justin, "I don't think that fella we talked to was being truthful".

We ventured out several hundred yards and Justin said his feet and legs were beginning to get cold.  The temperature was in the single digits and we were quartering into a 7 mph breeze from the North. We needed to get the portable shack set up and the heat going.  "Just a little further I explained".

We stopped and got set up.  Justin warmed up and was able to take his heavy coat off once the heater was on and the shack warmed up.  A few quick lessons and it was fish on. From that point on, it was all smiles!  "This is fun" Cathy and I heard over and over as Justin kept pulling yellow perch through the ice.  One after another.  Like a pro! 

We ended up with a nice catch of perch.  We kept the fish larger than 9 inches, had a few in the "pounder" class, a five gallon bucket 1/2 full when the sun fell below the horizon and we headed for the truck.

The jury is still out:  Who caught the most?  Who caught the biggest? I think Justin wins those categories. Who had the most fun, Cathy and I, or Justin?  hmmm...
I don't think any of us will ever forget Justin's first Perch Pulling on the ice of Lake Champlain.

He was again, cold when we got to the truck, but nevertheless, is looking forward to his next adventure, Pulling Perch through the ice on Lake Champlain!  Maybe, just maybe, we can get him out next weekend!  I don't think we'll have to twist his arm!

Fish on, fish H8 me.

FIRST TIME PERCH PULLER!!!

"Icing" Champlain's Yellow Perch

The last day of 2009 brought me the first day of  fishing the hard water this season.  St. Albans Bay was my choice, as there isn't really a lot of ice on the big lake to speak of but I found 5" on the Bay. I wasn't able to fish on the ice where I initially checked, nor could I fish my second preferred location.  I shuffled out from the boat launch on Hathaway Point, and headed away from everyone else and the noises that go along with a crowd.

The first spot I tried produced  a few yellow perch and fewer "keepers".  I moved a hundred yards or so, drilled and tried again.  Better.  More consistent action and that means more keepers.  I ended the day with 26 "keeper" yellow perch, the largest, a hen, just over 12 inches.  I kept her, but kind of wished I'd of let her go to spawn in the spring.

Friday, the first day of twenty-ten, Cathy joined me.  Cathy and I always try to fish the hard water the first day of each year, kind of a tradition we follow, if...there's enough ice!

We took all our gear; shanty, heater, radio, munchies, the whole enchilada. 
At first we tried a couple holes someone else had graciously drilled for us.  They looked to be spaced just about right should we decide to set the shanty over them.  They produced a few fish, some were keepers but it wasn't enough action to keep us entertained.  We decided to move out further from shore, again, keeping our distance from the crowds.  Here we found more active fish so here is where we stayed.  We'd have schools swim by, we'd pick a few off, and the school would leave.  We'd wait patiently, and another school would swim by, looking for our offerings.

All said and done, the two days resulted in well over a hundred yellow perch pulled through the ice.  We kept a total 75, of which two dozen have already been fried to a delicious golden brown and served with Cathy's "special" mashed potatoes!

Be safe if you venture onto the ice, tell someone where you'll be and how long you expect to stay out.  Take a buddy and don't take chances!

Fish on, fish H8 me.

"Icing" Champlain's Yellow Perch

Where's the ice?

If we don't get some sustained cold weather soon, to build ice, there won't be a lot of ice fishing happening on Lake Champlain.

The weather is supposed get cold later this week...
but it did last week too.  It got real nice and cold, then, warmed up and it's been raining cats and dogs today.  Looking out my window is almost depressing.

What we need is good cold weather, the kind that makes ice form and make noises as it grows and thickens:




And...ice fishing really doesn't suck like the next title implies!



There'll be ice soon...
I hope.

Fish on, fish H8 me.

Where's the ice?