02-21-2005, 05:44 PM
We got a chance to go ice fishing this weekend. Headed up to Commins with the girlfriend to do some ice fishing. 7:30a.m. It was windy and snowing a little. Ice 6". Just about went to cave (no wind there) but decided to hold out till 9:00. If we didnt catch anything by then we would bail. Tried woolybuggers, nightcrawlers, Ice fishing spoons....nothing was working. The wind died down. I decided to try my Montana ice fishing setup(PM me for details). It wasnt 30 seconds and had landed a nice 12" trout. Rebaited the hook and started jigging again, right away landed another just a little fatter this time. Got set up again and right away hooked into something big, real big. He stripped line, I fought it for an hour before wearing it out. When he stuck his head up above the ice I grabbed the line close to the hole and shoved my free hand into the water between the ice and fish and got beneath him and swept him out.This guy was a pig. 17" two pounds. I caught another small fish and released it after catching the big guy.
I started to realize that if my fishing buddy didnt catch something quick, she might never go ice fishing with me again. So I straightened the jig sharpened the hook and rebaited it. She wasn't jigging for more than a minute and had hooked up with a nice 12" fish. Things were looking up. I put new bait on the hook and she started jiggin again. Two minutes went by, it was 10:30 and she said to me "it went down(bobber), should I set the hook" I was like hell yeah. She did and immediately the rod bent in a U shape, the rod tip went into the hole and line was stripping off fast. I pulled up the other line that was 8' away to avoid getting it wrapped up, Big fish like to make circles. She fought it for 35 minutes, after realizing how big it was I was shaking. The fish came up sideways and tailfirst, a couple of times before sticking his head up. His body was against the bottom of the ice, only his head was sticking through the hole. He looked at me, I looked at him, we looked at each other. I knew I had to act fast or he was going to spook. He was too big to get my hand between him and the edge of the hole, as I had done with my big fish. So I slowly reached into the water and slid my left index finger behind his gills and shoved my thumb into his mouth and lifted the monster out. After yelling a little and a few hugs. We took alot of pictures. For taxidermy purposes. Sat down had a MGD. Jigged a little more and called it a day. Her fish was in spawning colors, hook jawed, dark body, and deep red lines and cheek plates. 21 1/2" and weighed four pounds with a 12" girth. We plan to have it mounted by my moms favorite taxidermist in Missoula, MT. I'll post pics soon.
There were about 30 other people there and we didnt see any other fish landed. Im sure someone must have caught something but we didnt see it. I gave up my hole to a latecomer and gave him the rest of my bait. It was 12:25, when we left laughing and smiling (why cant fishing be like this everyday). Also did some shed hunting on the way up and found a two point with a dropper that had been shed last year. All in all a great trip. Thanks to the lady at the Ramada Inn for the AAA discounted rate. Dont eat at McDonalds. And if your going this year, do it quick. The Ice was melted for 3 feet around the lake.
All fish, 6 total came from one hole on the same pole/jig, the other hole 8' away with the same setup only had one bite alledgedly(I can not confirm or deny).
Good luck fishing,
Heath & Maggie
[signature]
I started to realize that if my fishing buddy didnt catch something quick, she might never go ice fishing with me again. So I straightened the jig sharpened the hook and rebaited it. She wasn't jigging for more than a minute and had hooked up with a nice 12" fish. Things were looking up. I put new bait on the hook and she started jiggin again. Two minutes went by, it was 10:30 and she said to me "it went down(bobber), should I set the hook" I was like hell yeah. She did and immediately the rod bent in a U shape, the rod tip went into the hole and line was stripping off fast. I pulled up the other line that was 8' away to avoid getting it wrapped up, Big fish like to make circles. She fought it for 35 minutes, after realizing how big it was I was shaking. The fish came up sideways and tailfirst, a couple of times before sticking his head up. His body was against the bottom of the ice, only his head was sticking through the hole. He looked at me, I looked at him, we looked at each other. I knew I had to act fast or he was going to spook. He was too big to get my hand between him and the edge of the hole, as I had done with my big fish. So I slowly reached into the water and slid my left index finger behind his gills and shoved my thumb into his mouth and lifted the monster out. After yelling a little and a few hugs. We took alot of pictures. For taxidermy purposes. Sat down had a MGD. Jigged a little more and called it a day. Her fish was in spawning colors, hook jawed, dark body, and deep red lines and cheek plates. 21 1/2" and weighed four pounds with a 12" girth. We plan to have it mounted by my moms favorite taxidermist in Missoula, MT. I'll post pics soon.
There were about 30 other people there and we didnt see any other fish landed. Im sure someone must have caught something but we didnt see it. I gave up my hole to a latecomer and gave him the rest of my bait. It was 12:25, when we left laughing and smiling (why cant fishing be like this everyday). Also did some shed hunting on the way up and found a two point with a dropper that had been shed last year. All in all a great trip. Thanks to the lady at the Ramada Inn for the AAA discounted rate. Dont eat at McDonalds. And if your going this year, do it quick. The Ice was melted for 3 feet around the lake.
All fish, 6 total came from one hole on the same pole/jig, the other hole 8' away with the same setup only had one bite alledgedly(I can not confirm or deny).
Good luck fishing,
Heath & Maggie
[signature]