I made it out ice fishing for the first time this season! There’s just something great about being able to get out fishing without having to haul a boat around. Just get the sled out of the back of the truck and go for a walk – look around the lake, see where everyone else is fishing – hope they know what they’re doing – pick a spot and drill a couple of holes.
I went out on the “Cemetery Slough” on Lake Menomin in Menomonie for a couple of hours. It’s a nice spot, even though lots of people fish there. It has only about 5 – 6 feet of water and the bluegill bite can be pretty good at times. And there was about 8 inches of good solid ice – no worries.
After fishing for a couple of hours on Lake Menomin, I drove over to Northwest Landing on Tainter Lake to see if anyone was out. There were 5 ice shacks with people fishing and they had tip-ups out for walleye or northerns. I figured I’d give it a shot. After about 1/2 hour it started to snow and the wind picked up off the lake – that was it for me. No bites in 30 minutes and snow blowing down my neck means it time to go.
I’m kind of an “old-fashioned” ice fisherman. I don’t have a big fancy ice shack with a propane heater, no Vexliar fish locator, no gas powered ice auger. I just drag my ice fishing sled box and carry my hand auger – simple and quick. I can be fishing in about 5 minutes.
I didn’t do too bad today. Got 6 nice Bluegills and put them all back. We have plenty of fish in the freezer yet, so I wasn’t worried about not having anything to eat for supper.
As my good friend and once a year fishing buddy Bruce says “Tight Lines”.