12-20-2018, 10:38 PM
[#0000ff]Since last week's ice opened up the channel at the north marina, how could I NOT try for some more of those porky perch? As advised, there was no ice between the ramp and the main lake. However, the marina is more than 50% capped...but with very thin ice. Water temp just under 35 at 8 am launch, warming up about a half degree by noonish. Air temp was 26...cold enough for gloves and hand warmers.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A boat with a couple of Willard regulars came out right behind my tube. K.D. is probably one of the best all around tanglers for this body of water. Since he politely requested I not post a picture of him and his boat I kept my camera stowed. He has been whacking the big perch pretty good since my trip a week ago. But not so much today.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Actually had a little surprise as I was electric motoring out to my chosen fishing spot. CRUNCH! I ran into a big sheet of skim ice outside the harbor. It covered a large area that I had planned to work for perch. But Mama Nature came through. She blew up a little breeze just long enough to push that ice sheet off to the north and I resumed fishing.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Might as well have been casting up onto the ice. I dragged a succession of fligs and baits over the area that had produced perch last week. The bottom looked like a flat wasteland on sonar...with none of the shad balls so prevalent previously. And with no groceries, the predators had gone elsewhere too. K.D.s boat covered a lot of area without any evidence of them scoring anything either.
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[#0000ff]I finally decided to search out a spot from which I had previously extracted a few perch...and a lot of kitties. Just as I found it...and some evidence of life on sonar...one of my flig rods danced and I lovingly brought in a nice footlong perch. My first and only of the day. Tossed out my marker buoy and worked the area more thoroughly. Just as I was about to pick up my marker buoy and keep searching the other flig rod got busy. This time it was a Willard cookie cutter kitty. And that was it for the whole morning. Had a couple of other brief inquiries but nothing else got serious.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]After finally giving up on my brief hotspot, I worked my way back closer to the channel...where K. D. was still working. As I got closer he divulged that they had only had a couple of bites and had not brought any fish to the boat. WOW. I hope he did better after I left shortly afterward.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It was a lovely day, with mild temperatures (for Christmas week in December). Clear skies and no wind. Only a couple of fish but it kept my string of no-skunk days on Willard alive for this year. Hurrah for fligs.
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[signature]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]A boat with a couple of Willard regulars came out right behind my tube. K.D. is probably one of the best all around tanglers for this body of water. Since he politely requested I not post a picture of him and his boat I kept my camera stowed. He has been whacking the big perch pretty good since my trip a week ago. But not so much today.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Actually had a little surprise as I was electric motoring out to my chosen fishing spot. CRUNCH! I ran into a big sheet of skim ice outside the harbor. It covered a large area that I had planned to work for perch. But Mama Nature came through. She blew up a little breeze just long enough to push that ice sheet off to the north and I resumed fishing.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Might as well have been casting up onto the ice. I dragged a succession of fligs and baits over the area that had produced perch last week. The bottom looked like a flat wasteland on sonar...with none of the shad balls so prevalent previously. And with no groceries, the predators had gone elsewhere too. K.D.s boat covered a lot of area without any evidence of them scoring anything either.
[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I finally decided to search out a spot from which I had previously extracted a few perch...and a lot of kitties. Just as I found it...and some evidence of life on sonar...one of my flig rods danced and I lovingly brought in a nice footlong perch. My first and only of the day. Tossed out my marker buoy and worked the area more thoroughly. Just as I was about to pick up my marker buoy and keep searching the other flig rod got busy. This time it was a Willard cookie cutter kitty. And that was it for the whole morning. Had a couple of other brief inquiries but nothing else got serious.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]After finally giving up on my brief hotspot, I worked my way back closer to the channel...where K. D. was still working. As I got closer he divulged that they had only had a couple of bites and had not brought any fish to the boat. WOW. I hope he did better after I left shortly afterward.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]It was a lovely day, with mild temperatures (for Christmas week in December). Clear skies and no wind. Only a couple of fish but it kept my string of no-skunk days on Willard alive for this year. Hurrah for fligs.
[/#0000ff]
[signature]