2010 C.R.G.C. Derby

Fished the 2010 Chelsea Rod and Gun Club Derby hosted by Rick Monier on West Lake. Temperature this afternoon was in the middle 20s and the wind was gusting 15 to 20 knots, which made for tough fishing conditions. The skies were partly cloudy which made it feel a little bit warmer. The ice is 10 inches thick and very slippery. We had a crowd of over 20 people and they were scattered all over the lake. The fishing was very slow for the first couple of hours. As the sun started to set, some of guys started to catch a few fish. I do not have an exact fish count but I think it was close to 20 fish that were kept. When I get the correct number I will post it. Everyone had a great time and when we were done fishing Rick had a nice fire going by his house that kept everyone warm. I think there were more fishing stories told than fish caught today! I took a week off from fishing because I fell on the basement steps last Sunday and hurt my back. My back feels good tonight so I should be OK for the rest of ice fishing season.

Watching The Fish at Bolles Harbor

Fished with Doug S. out of Bolles Harbor. Temperature this morning was 32 degrees and when we quit fishing it was 35 degrees. The wind was out of the east at 10 knots and the skies were overcast. The ice is about 8 inches thick. Started fishing just past the Monroe Boat Club and we did not catch anything. Moved towards the beginning of the boat club and we caught a few fish. Doug brought his Aqua Vu camera today. The camera showed fish almost all the time but they just would not bite. We were jigging with spoons tipped with a shiner. The dead poles did not catch any fish. Kept 9 perch for the day, 3 of which were over 11.5 inches. Ran into Dwayne on the ice, nice talking to him. When we were leaving there was a large crowd fishing in front of Trout's gas dock. Did not see any action so I don't know how the fishing was there.

Dink City

Fished Metro Beach on Lake St. Clair with Doug S. Temperature this morning was 22 degrees and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 30s. The skies were overcast for the first couple of hours and then the sun came out. The wind was out of the northeast 10 to 15 knots. The ice is 12 inches thick. We took the 2 way radios along so we could split up and stay in touch. He fished in front of the flag pole in 2 feet of water and I headed out to the point and fished in 2 to 6 feet of water. I took along the shanty so I could do some sight fishing in the shallow water. I set up in 5 foot of water and put the first pole in the hole and was just starting to set up the second pole when I started to get some bites. Caught a 7 inch perch (released) and thought we were in for a great day. Set the pole back in the water and another fish hit, about 6 inches long. For the next 2 1/2 hours I moved in and out and could not get rid of the small perch. When you dropped the bait in the water 10 to 12 perch would attack it before it got close to the bottom. I know that I caught more than one hundred fish but none were keepers. Called Doug on the radio and he had 4 fish he kept. I headed back to where Doug was fishing and he caught one more fish and another fisherman gave him 5 fish so we came home with 10 perch.

Bolles Again

Fished with Doug S. and Daryl at Bolles Harbor. Temperature this morning was 27 degrees and when we quit fishing it was 32 degrees. The wind was light out of the west and the skies were overcast. The ice is still about 8 inches thick. With the warmer temperatures the past several days (mid to upper 30's), the snow and ice is starting to melt and causing the water to be a little dirty. Started fishing the same area as the last trip and we only caught a few fish so we headed up the channel about another 200 feet. Picked up a few fish in this area and then it was time to go home. We were using minnows and jigs. I tried using wigglers for an hour and had no luck whatsoever. We kept 12 perch.

Back at Bolles

Fished at Bolles Harbor with Doug S. Temperature this morning was in the lower 30s and when we quit fishing it was in the middle 30s. The wind was out of the west less than 10 knots and the skies were overcast. The ice is 8 inches thick and all the snow on the ice is starting to melt. Just a great day to be on the ice. We fished with minnows and spikes but after a while we took off the spikes because all that they caught were sunfish. I caught most of my fish jigging a Kastmaster tipped with a minnow and Doug caught most of his fish using a large silver spoon with a minnow. We fished the same area as the last trip. We caught 27 perch and kept 20 of them. The largest fish was 12 inches.

Perch'n at Bolles

Fished Bolles Harbor with John A. We picked up our bait at Lake Erie Party Store and Joe gave us a good count of shiners again. Temperature this morning was in the upper 20s and when we quit fishing it was in the lower 30s. The sun was shining all morning and the wind was out of the southwest about 10 knots. Because we were in the harbor the weather was pretty nice. The ice is around 7 inches thick and the water we were fishing is 6 to 7 feet deep. We started fishing in front of Monroe Boat Club and we stayed there the whole time. The bite was very slow for us and the fish that hit the minnows were just sucking on them. I tried fishing with mousies and Rat Finkies but never had a bite so I switched to all minnows. We caught 5 perch but only 3 of them were keepers.

Sunshine, Blue Skies and a Few Gills

Fished with Daryl, at a little lake in Unadilla. Dale was a no show today. Temperature this morning was in the middle 20s and when we quit fishing it was in the upper 20s. The wind started to blow out of the southwest at 15 knots but because we were fishing a canal we were out of harms way. The ice is 8 inches thick and the lake has a little snow cover. We used small jigs tipped with spikes and mousies. The water was only 3 feet deep and we were fishing about 1 foot off the bottom. One jerk and the fish are out of the hole, pretty nice way to fish. The fishing was pretty steady all morning until about 10:00 AM, and then we had fewer bites and the fish that we caught were smaller. I had a lot of bites but just could not catch them, though I caught at least 2 dozen cisco. We kept 18 gills between the two of us.

Great Day for the Gills

Fished in Bridgewater with Doug E. Temperature this afternoon was in the upper 20s with a northwest wind of 10 knots. We fished an area called Rattle Snake Bay, which protected us from any wind and made for a beautiful evening on the lake. The water was 12 feet deep and we were fishing 1 foot off the bottom. He was using Rat Finkes with mousies and I had glow jigs with spikes. Doug likes to fish this lake in the afternoon because it produces the best fishing then. Today was no let down. About 3:45 PM the fish started to bite and by the time it got dark we had a nice pile of fish on the ice. We kept 50 bluegill, 2 perch and 1 crappie. I would like to say that I caught my share of fish but Doug out fished me 3 to 1.

First Trip to Lake St. Clair

Got a report last night that they were catching some nice fish at South River Rd. in Campau Bay so I decided to make a trip out there. The temperature this morning was in the lower 20s with the wind blowing 10 knots out of the northwest. The ice is 5 to 6 inches thick. When I arrived at the boat launch a guy was walking off the ice so I asked how he did fishing and he said he only caught a few dink perch fishing in front of the bar. I was heading towards the center of the bay so I figured his report did not matter. Made my way across the bay where there were 4 guys fishing. Stopped and talked to all 4 guys and between them they had 1 perch. Not a good sign. I started fishing and they all left so I was by myself. Made a lot of moves in this area and only caught 1 fish and as I was getting ready to leave two other fisherman were coming out. Talked to them and they had been fishing the spillway and Gino's where they only caught a couple of small perch. I explained how the fishing was out here and we all left together. On the way back to the car I stopped and talked to 2 guys fishing in front of the bar and they had about 10 perch between 4 and 6 inches in their bucket.