04-22-2006, 02:34 AM
After completing a small task at work, I had the rest of the day off and I needed a brain "flush". I considered either floating Rock Cliffs or fishing Strawberry. I picked the latter. I didn't get up there until about 10:15. I went East of the marina. First off, the slush is indeed frozen with a 3 inch crust that I never broke through while walking on it. This crust lasted the whole day, and was still stable coming back in. Below it was some slush, but moving around on the deck was as easy as could be imagined! The edges were fine in the AM and a bit soft coming back in, but also not yet a problem. There were sleds on the ice today, and they appeared to have had no problems. The ice still almost went to the drill handle. Early on, the fishing was slow. I didn't land anything for about 90 minutes and only had 1-2 bites. I moved around some and started using a flourescent green Genz worm tipped with mealworm. That did the trick. The afternoon was excellent. The fish were mostly near the bottom. I ended up with a 20 something day. All slot cutts except for 1 14 inch rainbow (released). Most were 19-20 inches, but a few 21 inchers (1 with a generous "tail pinch" would have maybe made 22 in.) 25 ft. seemed to be the ideal depth. It was a great afternoon, and a good way to end the ice season.
The ice should still be solid like today thru tomorrow, and maybe for a few more days. Once the top crust melts though, the ice should go fairly quickly. My guess is the 2nd week on May will be ice off.
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The ice should still be solid like today thru tomorrow, and maybe for a few more days. Once the top crust melts though, the ice should go fairly quickly. My guess is the 2nd week on May will be ice off.
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