Crazy pond trip

[Team9nine]

Crazy fun trip this afternoon. Started out just hoping to get a bite, and it turned into one of the more interesting trips I've had. For one, there was a 20' by 35' sheet of ice on one of the ponds that had been blown into one corner...apparently over one of the better spots on the lake. Throw to the left of the ice mat as close as I could, or to the right of the ice mat into the narrow 5 foot gap between the shore and the ice, and then when I set the hook on a fish, fight him as he runs under the ice mat while I tried to stop him from rubbing my line against the edge and breaking it.

 

Even had one cast that caught a corner of the ice mat and a bass ate Ned while it was hanging in the water. I set the hook, then had to pop him over the ice edge and ski him across the rest of the mat.

 

And as if that wasn't cool enough, I was releasing about a two and a half pound bass back into the water with my knit gloves on. Well, I must have angled it just right, because the glove never got freed from his lips, and the entire glove slid right off my hand as I watched the fish land in the water, glove still stuck to his mouth/teeth as he swam off into the depths. Could just sit there laughing in disbelief Never had that happen before. You'll notice the single glove in most all the pics - lol.

 

Anyway, 14 fish in two hours and I had to leave them biting when I lost the only Ned body I brought with. Fun way to end the year. Under a winter storm watch beginning later tomorrow and extending into Tuesday. Here's a few pics.

 

 

 

 

 

[Paul Roberts]

That is cool. How deep was the water beneath that ice sheet? Why is it one of the better spots on the pond?

 

Also, I see those fish are heavily marked, but pale. I see that too. Sometimes they are yellow, sometimes pale like that, even in the same water body. Clarity? Depth? Curious.

[Team9nine]

29 minutes ago, Paul Roberts said:

That is cool. How deep was the water beneath that ice sheet? Why is it one of the better spots on the pond?

 

Also, I see those fish are heavily marked, but pale. I see that too. Sometimes they are yellow, sometimes pale like that, even in the same water body. Clarity? Depth? Curious.

Top 3 fish came from the pond with the ice sheet, and the bottom 2 pics are from an adjacent pond that feeds into the larger one. I'd say depth under the ice sheet was about 6 feet or so. There is no deep water in either pond. The ice sheet was sitting in the far end of the pond next to a culvert with a nice washout/drop in front of it that routinely holds fish, as well as the incoming feeder creek to the other side of the ice sheet - also a regular holding spot. Caught 8 from the small pond, nothing big (all <=14"), and 6 from under the ice sheet that were all better fish (>14"). 

[The Bassman]

I've got it in my head that these ice sheets create edges that bass orient to. What do you think?

[Paul Roberts]

Sounds like the ice sheet was incidental.