Today was a much needed break from everyday responsibilities.
Over the last couple months, we have been busy spending time as a family and have also been busy with house renovations. I have been counting down the days where I would be able to break away from the routine of life and relax for a couple hours on the ice. Last night, I laid down my last coat of paint and went to bed with the excitement of my first day of ice fishing ahead.
Waking up was easy, but braving my first cold weather outing of the year had me hitting the snooze button a few times before I rolled out of bed. As I loaded the truck with my gear, I remembered the bait at the last minute. Thankfully, I had some corn left from a batch I made for Corlane Sporting Goods in Prince George in the freezer (this was my first freezer test on corn). Unfortunately, the paint I laid down on my concrete floor needed more time to cure, so I had to leave my mealworms at home as I couldn’t get to them.
When I jumped in my truck to get going, the windshield was still frozen even after letting it warm up. I sat there while I waited for my windshield to thaw and thought, “are you crazy?” The outside temperature was cold enough to freeze your ungloved fingers in seconds. While house renovations were keeping me from fishing, they were also allowing me to sleep in and eat bacon and eggs. I’ll admit, there was a part of me that wanted to unpack the truck and head back to bed.
On my way to the lake, my truck reminded me of my everyday responsibilities. A check engine light came on and stayed on as a reminder to bring my truck to the shop. We already spent a fair chunk of change for maintenance on the truck in the last year, and now it seems like it needs more reserves from my fishing fund. Will this be the first and last trip of my ice fishing season? Time will tell.
I arrived at the lake, and to my surprise (not really, because it was frigid out), no one was parked at the main parking lot. There were four tents on the ice, but three of those tents normally stay out most of the winter months on the ice.
As I started making my way to the trail head, another truck pulled up as I started my descent to the lake. The lack of wind made the trek down a well plowed, frozen quad trail manageable in the cold weather. Thankfully, even after having rain not more than a week ago, the ice conditions were perfect for walking on.
I decided to walk further out than where the main trail had been plowed to. There was a chunk of log marking a previously fished spot in the approximate location of where I wanted to try fishing. I quickly set up my tent and then drilled my two holes with my auger. Before I could get my Buddy Heater started, I heard footsteps coming my way. The angler behind me was having issues with his auger blades being dull and was asking to use my auger. Part of me wanted to drill the holes for him after hearing horror stories of lending people an auger only to have it come back broken and not able to cut a hole through the ice. The other part of me wanted to get my buddy heater going and my heart was pounding from pulling my sled onto the ice (I’m out of shape more than I thought I was). I’ll never forget the look on his face when I handed him my 4-inch auger. Most people prefer a 6 or 8 inch auger, and a 4 inch auger seems to be “not as fun” because you can not look down the hole easily with the hole it makes.
As always, I started my buddy heater with a 1lb propane tank and let it run its life out before turning on my larger 5lb bottle. The ambient temperature stayed perfect for the day. A medium buddy heater temperature and a cracked window every so often (with a floor vent as well) kept me comfortable until it was time to head home in a balmy minus 11 degree temperature which felt a little like summer after such a cold morning.
From the moment I turned my Garmin Striker 4 on at 9 am until about 1030, I was marking fish constantly. I missed lots of bites and landed a few fish. Then, the lake started talking and was relieving pressure all over. Other than the cracking, popping, and groaning from the ice, I remained quiet inside my tent. I would like to think that the ice scared the kokanee away for at least an hour, because at 1130am, the fish came back but seemed unsure of my offerings. I changed scents and tried Krill Corn, then I tried anise gel scent. After no interest, I switched back to garlic scent, and it was as if I had reset the scent of the day back to garlic.
The bite was on again. What I found interesting was how deep the fish were. Normally, fish at 40ft at this time of the year would be trout, but not today. There were a few schools pass thru at 20ft, but they were not interested in biting. When I’d drop back down to 40ft, I would get bit almost right away. I also found it interesting on the bite pattern. If I missed a bite I reeled up to check and change my bait if needed. When I dropped back down my flasher went off to the side and as it swung to a vertical position it was getting hit lots. I also had success with a small, light 2 or 3 small jig then a 5 or 6 second pause.
On my way out, I said hello to a few anglers. I always enjoy talking with others, because there is always something to learn.
When I got home I filleted my kokanee with the help of my Fillet Away Fish Mats. I am impressed by this product every time i use it. We celebrated my successful trip by having kokanee bites and tacos. All I can say is, wow!
Until next time, I’ll be remembering this trip through photos and fishing gear that continue to be productive tools in my tackle box.