A-Jay's 4th Annual Ice Out / Open Water Countdown Thread ~

[A-Jay]

3 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

you REALLY like blade minnows for spinnerbaits trailers. I have a pack of green pumpkin and use them, but find they add quite a bit of weight compared to a boot tail or split tail.  I think I need to try them in white/light on my more preferred spinnerbait colors to give them a proper workout. 

Most of my spinnerbait presentations are done with quite a bit of 'speed' and high in the water column.

The style trailer tracks well while also adding a bit of a bigger profile to the bait.

A-Jay

[casts_by_fly]

5 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Most of my spinnerbait presentations are done with quite a bit of 'speed' and high in the water column.

The style trailer tracks well while also adding a bit of a bigger profile to the bait.

A-Jay

 

fair enough. I’m not far off that and tend to throw heavier and reel faster depending on the lake. 
 

 

 

Middle of March was ice out here last year, and end of March was fishing on the full lake. This year is colder and there is a lot of ice so short of a heatwave I think mid March might be ambitious 

[A-Jay]

A 7 lb brown bass convinced me . . . 

 

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/197581-new-personal-best-smallmouth-bass-~-videos-added/

 

A-Jay

[A-Jay]

A pleasant February day is in northern Michigan with partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the upper 20s this afternoon.  Looking ahead, multiple rounds of accumulating snow are on the horizon. The best chances for accumulating snow will come Wednesday evening into Thursday morning, and then again on Friday.

All of that is better than the 20 & 30 below zero we've been dining on recently. 

A-Jay

[MN Fisher]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

All of that is better than the 20 & 30 below zero we've been dining on recently.

Well you can't have our weather - except Saturday...we'll give you Saturday.

[A-Jay]

3 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Well you can't have our weather - except Saturday...we'll give you Saturday.

Looks like good 'working on the boat' weather to me.

A-Jay

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, A-Jay said:

Looks like good 'working on the boat' weather to me.

A-Jay

Got that straight - propane heater on low got the garage up to 76...I'm about 1/3 done with the pour foam...might have it done by the weekend. Then it's on to building the main frame.

 

Crap - gotta order 1x1 angle...I'm almost out.

[FishinBuck07]

17 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

Well you can't have our weather - except Saturday...we'll give you Saturday.

Here in Ohio that looks like short weather!  ?  At least for me!!

[casts_by_fly]

We're going to be above freezing for ~72 straight hours here with highs hitting high 40's with sunshine.  I'm hopeful it kills all of the ice before the next set of freezing weather comes next week.  Make that cold weather work for it to get that ice back on.

[slonezp]

Supposed to hit 50* next week on the west side of the pond. Spring is on its way!

[A-Jay]

Fish Catch Friday ~

 

Going back a few years,

this was the first 5 lb Brown Bass of 2018.

I was pretty excited apparently.

#longwinter

 

7 weeks - 5 days & a wake up.

A-Jay

[FishinBuck07]

Looking at the extended forecast for around my area, looks like maybe a couple more weeks until the ice is gone!!! Fingers crossed, but we all know how them weather folks are!! haha

[T-Billy]

8 hours ago, FishinBuck07 said:

Looking at the extended forecast for around my area, looks like maybe a couple more weeks until the ice is gone!!! Fingers crossed, but we all know how them weather folks are!! haha

10-4!!! Couple days next week are gonna be warm enough to stick the Seadek down. I got the templates marked out today, a couple deck panels riveted down, and the trolling motor mounted. Should have the decking finished up next week, then on to electrical. It's gonna be tight getting it finished up and ready to fish by March, but I think I'll make it.

[casts_by_fly]

Actually went out today but shouldn’t have bothered. The lake I wanted to fish was 99% ice clear. The 1% was the 20 yards from the boat ramp out that prevented launching and closed the ramp and kayak slot next to it. That’s the only allowed access on that lake so went to lake two which was iced up solid (as expected). Third lake was completely open but is a tough one to fish in the best of times. Motored out with the wind and didn’t notice quite how strong it was. Marked a few fish and intended to fish back into the wind but when I spun around it was 15mph with gusts to 25 or so. I tucked into some shelter and spot locked over some fish in 30’ but the water was 36 degrees and had 25’ of visibility. If it was a glass bottom kayak I could have seen the bottom. I’d love to say it was good to get out but it’s better to be back home right now. 

[A-Jay]

7 Weeks and a wake up. 

Although at this point, that might be a tad optimistic.

I'm sticking with it.

(btw that's the North Shore of Lake Superior ~ not Lake Menderchuck) 

A-Jay

[J Francho]

Yeah I was dead wrong on the no ice deal. Everything is solid, and the ice shelf on Lake Ontario is pretty substantial. 

[12poundbass]

18 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Yeah I was dead wrong on the no ice deal. Everything is solid, and the ice shelf on Lake Ontario is pretty substantial. 

This has been a pretty cold and consistently cold winter so far. The ice around here is pushing 12” which I believe is the thickest we’ve seen in quite some time.
 

I’m hoping for a very warm spring to make the ice disappear quickly or else my prediction is getting blown out of the water. 

[MN Fisher]

Currently, there's still 15" of ice on Minnetonka - ya, we're getting warmer but not all that quickly.

 

I'm sticking with my end-of-April prediction here.

[T-Billy]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

7 Weeks and a wake up. 

Although at this point, that might be a tad optimistic.

I'm sticking with it.

(btw that's the North Shore of Lake Superior ~ not Lake Menderchuck) 

A-Jay

Beautiful pic A-Jay. 

[FishinBuck07]

Supposed to be almost 60 the next two days here, hoping that all the snow melts at the house so I can get my landscaping fixed.  That way when this stupid ice melts I won't have to waste time on that instead of at the lake.

[gim]

20 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

Currently, there's still 15" of ice on Minnetonka

Is that all?  I thought there would be about 18-20 inches by now considering how cold its been.

 

A warm March and we can melt that by April.  There isn't much snow out there either.

[slonezp]

On 2/15/2022 at 3:49 PM, A-Jay said:

7 Weeks and a wake up. 

Although at this point, that might be a tad optimistic.

I'm sticking with it.

(btw that's the North Shore of Lake Superior ~ not Lake Menderchuck) 

A-Jay

 

On 2/15/2022 at 5:49 PM, T-Billy said:

Beautiful pic A-Jay. 

Yes it is. I was in Sturgeon Bay 2 weeks ago. Heading up, I took my normal route of highway north to Green Bay and turn right. On the way home I took the scenic route home along the western shore of Lake Michigan. Ice formations along the shoreline were similar only they were covered in tan snow from all the silt churned up off the bottom. Cool looking...but ugly. 

[A-Jay]

Steady snowfall will spread across northern Michigan later this afternoon and evening.

Strong wind gusts of 30-40+ mph will lead to areas of blowing and drifting snow, rapid drops in visibility, and even whiteout conditions within snow bands at times this evening and tonight.

 

6 Weeks 5 Days and a wake up seems fairly distant right about now. 

 

Either way, it's Fish Catch Friday ~ Going By-Catch on this one.

On 30 April 2019, while fishing for smallmouth bass in northern Michigan, I caught my personal best Musky.  The fight and especially the landing of this mutant, was quite an adventure.

 

A-Jay

[FishinBuck07]

It was 50 the last two days here, woke up this morning and ice and snow all over the truck.  I can't take it much longer playing with my emotions like this!??

[T-Billy]

10 hours ago, FishinBuck07 said:

It was 50 the last two days here, woke up this morning and ice and snow all over the truck.  I can't take it much longer playing with my emotions like this!??

LOL We're about to get on that late winter/early spring roller coaster ride. 

I made some more progress these last couple warm days. Got the decking riveted in and a good part of the Seadek down. Seadek would be completed but USPS is taking their time with the flat head stainless screws I need for the front seat base. Couldn't find any local. Those front few pieces will have to wait until it warms up again next week. I should have the floor between the rear and middle seats installed tomorrow, then on to electrical. Timeline is tight, but I think I'm still on track to have it ready to fish the first week of March. Ice may be gone by then if the forecast holds.