Mantua 12/16/09

[chickendude1234]

Hey all! here's my first contribution to the site.[cool]

Fished Mantua this morning from 8 to noon by myself. It was pretty decent action and the bites ranged from "could barely see the wire bobber move" to "rip the rod out of your hands" I caught 12 rainbows ranging from 11" up to 15" with most of them being about 13" and also a couple dinky perch. Everyone else around seemed to be doing about the same. They were still biting at noon but I had to get home.

The bite frequency slowed dramatically at about 11:00 so i pulled my jig up about 2 reel turns and that seemed to work to get them interested again ( i was fishing about 2 feet off the bottom in about 13' of water before i moved it up a bit)

The ice was about 5-6" of rock hard clear stuff with about 4-5" of nasty slush on top

All in all it was a good day. and the good news is i left them all there so they'll still be out there to be caught again []
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[lavaman]

Hey, welcome to the site!! Mantua is one of my favorite spots to ice fish. Nice looking 'bows!

Maybe that slush will harden up a bit...I had some success there last Friday, and I'd like to get back up there this weekend. From all the reports, it looks like it may be a good winter of fishing unlike last year.

Thanks for the report!
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[chickendude1234]

Yeah hopefully the slush hardens up and the fishing stays good. I've got a friend that's never been out on the ice and if it stays like today was it'd be a good place to take him for his first time.

What I miss about Mantua is the fish I was pulling out of there 4 or 5 winters ago. What happened to all the 20 inchers that used to be in there?[frown]
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[flygoddess]

I hear ya! A 24" was normal. I quit going when the Perch took over.
Loved those old days with the big fat bows and pan size Bluegill.





You trout are a good sign though...nice and thick!
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[lavaman]

There's still some 18"-19" bows in there, but they're few and far between. There may even be few bigger ones in there.

What's fun about Mantua is that you never know what you'll be pulling up through the ice!
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[chickendude1234]

Yeah i guess I shouldn't judge the whole lake on one outing.

I did manage to pull this 20"er out last winter.
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[lavaman]

Hi Joni! Yeah, I think those were the Kamloops you were referring to. Didn't they all die off a few years back? They had shoulders, I know that much. Years ago I hooked into one, I believe, but never did get it up out of the ice.
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[TROUTSLAYER47]

Nice Report. Sound like you had a good time.[cool]
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[flygoddess]

This was before the Kamloop, it was a bow. The Kamloop really didn't make it did they? It's like they were put in in the Spring, then a dry hot summer and they were gone. Too bad really, cause they would be in the 30" range by now.
I haven't tried the ice fishing thing but can imagine it tuff getting a bug fish up through several inches of ice and an eight inch hole or whatever they are.
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[wishn2bfishn]

Hey chickendude.... I have never been to mantua before and am really giving it some serious thought for da weekend. Where I fish to avoid the springs that I hear about? Buddy of mine drove past there the other. Day and said there were a few shanties out by the city side I guess you'd call it. Is that a good place to walk on water? Any advice you could give me would greatly be appreciated. Thanks fellow icefly. [cool]. [fishon]
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[chickendude1234]

There was two places where the people we're bunched up when I was out there today. Right by the boat ramp and where I was.

I went out on the road that goes along the south side of the res. There's really only one spot that anyone has accessed the lake on that side of the lake that I saw. If you show up after 8 or so I'd assume there will already be some people on the ice. So park where the other cars are and follow the little "trail" onto the ice. I just followed that trail out about 150-200 yards and veered to the right about 20 feet and augerd me some holes.

I try to stay where there have already been some tracks on Mantua that way I know I'm not gonna accidentally wander onto one of the springs. Especially on days like today when I was fishing alone.

The only good safety advice i can give to avoid the springs is to just be wary of spots that look soft. But i think if you stay on the "trail" and don't venture to far to the east side of the lake you'll be ok.
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[wishn2bfishn]

Hey chickendude,thanks for the great info. I really appreciate it. Think that's the plan for sat anyway.either there or Causey. Sounds like its better fishin at Mantua, I'm game for tryin new spots. Thanks again CD. Maybe I'll see ya up there. [fishon]
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[Widastick]

Manuta does have some decent trout if you could keep the perch out of the way. (sorry not a perch guy). I wish the fish and game or someone would put up some kind of markers by the springs. I went thru 4 years ago. Luckly had no problem getting back out but not a fun trip. Good luck everyone.
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[wishn2bfishn]

Hey widastick...im with ya on the no perch.. not lookin fwd to dealin with them or the blugill.. I guarentee ya theys be goin back down the elevator if I catch any of them things. I agree on the marking of the springs. When fish and game can locate them I think there should be some heads up about it. I know we can't be that lucky on all the waters but with all the problems I seem to hear about Mantua it might be a good idea. Do you have any pointers to target the trout? Does using a bigger lure help at all? [fishon]
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[chickendude1234]

One thing i did to target the trout was to not even try to set the hook on the really small bites, the ones that barely even moved my spring bobber.

It seemed like every time I'd drop my line down the hole the bobber would be constantly twitching.

I just waited for the more distinctive bites which were the trout or a perch who managed to hook himself.
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[Allday]

how well do you think the ice will manage till saturday?
would waders be a good idea due to all the slush?

[chickendude1234]

If I were you I'd want at least a good waterproofed boot, the slush was pretty slushy. Waders wouldn't be a bad idea especially with highs in the upper 30's predicted the rest of the week. I would bet on the fact that the slush hasn't gotten any better.
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[wishn2bfishn]

Hey 10-4 good buddy chickendude on da 411. I was just thinking about doin the wader thing.. it was slushier than crap om Causey mon. So I can only imagine the soup it'll be like for the weekend. Guess its better than staying home wishn2bfishn LOL. [fishon]
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[Fish_more]

I fished Mantua Thursday the 17th from 5:00 pm till about 7:00 pm. As reported above there was deep soupy slush on top with 5-6 inches of clear ice underneath.

I set up in 8 feet of water and fished about a foot to two feet off the bottom. The bite was good right from the get go with plenty of bites and it only got better as time went on. The fish seemed to prefer more action earlier but by the time I left they prefered a dead stick. I was tipping with wax worms or a piece of crawler. I did not notice a difference in the bite between the two other than I could get a wax worm on the hook faster and back down the hole.

Didn't see anyone else out on the lake, but then again I couldn't see much in the dark anyway.

All fish caught were smaller rainbows 12-13"
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