day 345 3-29-2010 mon 20 to go

Day 345-20 to go
3-29-2010 Mon
6:25PM-7:30PM

Weather: S10, clear, 55°, 29.90, falling

H2O: 4.52' falling, 1.66 kcfs, ?°, clear

Location: Black R. - lower stretch

Caught

1. Perch (4) 8-12", night crawler

partners

none

Comments

I wanted to check out an early season perch spot this evening. I did catch a few, but it was pretty slow.
It was a very nice evening for fishing and the numerous species of waterfowl made for some great scenery.

day 344 3-28-2010 Sun 21 to go

Day 344-21 to go
3-28-2010 Sun
4:00PM-7:30PM

Weather: NNW13, partly cloudy, 54°, 29.90, steady

H2O: 4.66' falling, 1.8 kcfs, 44°, clear

Location: Black R. upstream from Hwy. 93 landing

Caught

1. Perch (4) 10-12", night crawler

partners

Jake, Mark and Cole

Comments

I was on a sucker mission with Jake and his sons Mark and Cole. Yes we were after suckers, Jake was looking to make canned sucker.
We all caught some perch, but Jake and Mark each caught five or so pound suckers. The river was full of bird life, we saw many: eagles, mergansers, wood ducks and a couple of groups of roosted turkeys.

day 343 3-27-2010 Sat 22 to go

Day 343-22 to go
3-27-2010 Sat
3:30PM-7:00PM

Weather: ESE5, mostly cloudy, 46°, 29.92, steady

H2O: 11.13' rising, 113 kcfs, 39°, muddy/debris

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 8 – Dresbach Dam slack water areas

Caught

1. Walleyes (3) 8-13", jig and berkley ripple shad

partners

Jake and Mark

Comments

I partnered with Jake and his son Mark this evening. We were hoping the walleyes had finally turned active, but they had not. We got a few smaller walleyes, with Jake catching one legal fish. About the only thing that was consistent was feeling consistently cold!

day 342 3-26-2010 Fri 23 to go

Day 342-23 to go
3-26-2010 Fri
5:00PM-5:30PM

Weather: S12, sunny, 47°, 30.01, falling

H2O: 646.05' rising, 111 kcfs, ?°, clear

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7 – Upper Brice Prairie landing bay

Caught

Nothing

partners

None

Comments

I did not catch any fish tonight, but I did see lots of crappies caught. Two guys were fishing from shore and doing very well on crappies. They pretty much had the spot sewed up and they were not going to let a stray stitch get into their little fish seam!

day 341 3-25-2010 Thr 24 to go

Day 341-24 to go
3-25-2010 Thr
6:30PM-7:30PM

Weather: N8, sunny, 39°, 30.07, rising

H2O: 10.67' rising, 104 kcfs, ?°, muddy

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 8 – Dresbach Dam - fishing wall

Caught

Nothing

partners

None

Comments

Fish were non-existent off the wall tonight, I saw to small walleyes caught in one hour. Besides catching no fish, it was very, very cold.
I had one young fella fishing next to me that was several cards short of a full deck, but he was pretty entertaining. That is one thing I like about fishing off the wall; there is a sense of competitiveness and secrecy, but everyone is still friendly.

day 340 3-24-2010 Wed 25 to go

Day 340-25 to go
3-24-2010 Wed
6:30PM-7:30PM

Weather: W5, partly cloudy, 47°, 30.00, rising

H2O: 645.32' rising, 98.8 kcfs, 49°, clear, some slop

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7 – Black Deers

Caught

1. Bluegills (4) 5-6", worm
2. Pumpkin Seed 6", worm
3. Shiner 8", worm

partners

None

Comments

Tonight I wanted to catch some of the bluegills I had seen last night. Unfortunately, the water temperature had dropped five degrees and they were not very active. I did not even see close to the numbers I had seen last night. I did try the fly rod and a popper, but they showed no interest in that combo. However I was able to catch a few fish on the old fashioned hook, worm and bobber. I did have an odd catch tonight; one of the biggest shiners I had ever seen.

day 339 3-23-2010 Mon 26 to go

Day 339-26 to go
3-23-2010 Tue
5:30PM-7:30PM

Weather: NNE 5, sunny, 55°, 29.91, rising

H2O: 645.02' rising, 94.5 kcfs, 54°, clear, some slop

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7 – Black Deers

Caught

1. LMB 13.5", grub-texas rigged/smoke glitter

partners

None

Comments

First off, I know I saw my last ice-fisherman of the year this afternoon. I could no believe it, I thought that was over with a week ago. They were fishing off Fisherman's road in the dredge area.
Fishing tonight was very poor. I was targeting bass and only managed one. I also talked to some other bass fisherman and they were doing worse. The water temperature back there was a surprising 54 degrees. The area was full of bluegills. They were all over the area on the surface sunning themselves.

day 338 3-22-2010 27 to go

Day 338-27 to go
3-22-2010 Mon
5:10PM-6:10PM

Weather: SW9, sunny, 56°, 29.85, rising

H2O: 644.63' rising, 89 kcfs, dirty/debris, ?°, all gates open

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7 – Trempealeau dam (east fishing wall)

Caught

1. nothing

partners

None

Comments

This evening I tried the fishing wall at the Trempealeau Dam. I wanted to fish for walleyes and I wanted to be out of the current and this spot fit the bill.
I did not catch any fish and I only saw one little walleye caught. The other fisherman I talked to said fishing was terrible!

day 337 3-21-2010 28 to go

Day 337-28 to go
3-21-2010 Sun
4:30PM-7:30PM

Weather: WNW6, sunny, 45°, 30.05, falling

H2O: 9.8' rising, 89.8 kcfs, dirty/debris, 38°, small gates open

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 8 – Dresbach Dam, (slack water areas)

Caught

1. Sauger (5) 10-11”, jig and minnow

partners

None

Comments

This evening I fished by boat below the dam. I was able to use the lower landing where the rising water had just removed the grip of the winter ice.
The water is very high and dirty, and this influenced the areas that I fished. I targeted areas that were out of the reach of the angry torrents of the main channel. The fish seemed very inactive and lethargic. I only felt one bite, otherwise I just felt the sensation of the fish’s weight alerting me to its presence.

day 336 3-20-2010 Sat, 29 to go

Day 336-29 to go
3-20-2010 Sat
4:40PM-5:40PM

Weather: NW13, sunny, 44°, 30.20, falling

H2O: 9.8' rising, 89.8 kcfs, dirty/debris, ?°

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 8 – Dresbach Dam, west wall

Caught

1. Perch 11”, jig

partners

None

Comments

I was somewhat hopeful I could pull a repeat of yesterday, but of course it did not happen. I believe I was lucky to have caught the fish I did, for I saw no other fish caught.

day 335 3-19-2010 30 to go

Day 335-30 to go
3-19-2010 Fri
8:00AM-8:45AM

Weather: NW13, cloudy, 43°, 29.88, rising

H2O: 9.66' rising, 87.8 kcfs, dirty/debris, ?°

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 8 – Dresbach Dam, west wall

Caught

1. Walleyes (14, 22 & 23”) jig, ringworm

partners

None

Comments

This morning I got out fishing before I started my late shift at work. The fishing wall was quite popular early this morning. From what I saw and from the info I gathered from other fishermen walleyes were biting but they were running under fifteen inches.
It took a few bait changes before I connected on my first fish. It was a rather fat undersized male. After several more casts and no action I changed things up again. This time I went with a quarter ounce jig and a six-inch chartreuse ringworm. I missed several fish before connecting on a beautiful egg laden twenty three inch female walleye. A close by fisherman was kind enough to net and measure the fish for me. It was not a cast or two later and I was bothering him again for his netting services. This fish was an exact duplicate of the one I had just released only about one inch shorter. The three fish I caught today were released to fight another day.
After I caught the second large fish it was time to pick up my gear and head for work. It was quite funny watching the reactions of my fishing neighbors after I caught the second large walleye: some looked on in awe, some congratulated me and others just ignored the whole thing. It really did not matter for I felt like the fishing king as I walked off that wall this morning!

day 334 3-18-2010 Thr 31 to go

Day 334-31 to go
3-18-2010 Thr
9:00AM-1:00PM

Weather: WNW6, sunny, 58°, 29.88, falling

H2O: 628.3' rising, 82.2 kcfs, dirty/debris 38°

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 9 - mouth of DeSoto Bay and Minnesota Slough

Caught

1. Carp 22", ring worm

partners

Norm

Comments

Today we fished south of the Genoa Dam. We were hoping to get out of the current and onto some fish. We were able to get out of the current but we did not connect with any walleyes.
It was not a good day for catching fish, but is was a beautiful day for fishing. Geese and ducks filled the skies . We were also treated to a large concentration of eagles (approximately 100) loafing on the ice in a bay off Minnesota Slough.
DeSoto Bay was still heavily iced over. Speaking of ice, I do believe I saw my last ice fisherman of the season tonight on Lake Onalaska along fisherman's road. Ice is still prevalent in sheltered areas, but where there is current or large open areas it has retreated for another season.

day 333 3-17-2010 Wed 32 to go

Day 333-32 to go
3-17-2010 Wed
5:30PM-7:30PM

Weather: WNW6, partly cloudy, 54°, 30.06, falling

H2O: 627.83' rising, 77.7 kcfs, dirty/debris 38°

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 9 - Genoa Dam

Caught

1. Sucker 20", ring worm

partners

Norm

Comments

I was glad to be out fishing after work tonight with Norm, but my expectations were not high. The river is rapidly rising, is very dirty and has a ton of debris floating downstream.
The bite was definitely not there tonight. The current was not bad as I had thought it would be, but the water was very muddy. I did see a few small walleyes caught by fishermen that were fishing off the wall on the Wisconsin side. I do not think this was a coincidence, maybe with the fast high water areas with no current correlates to fish!

day 332 3-16-2010 Tue 33 to go

Day 332-33 to go
3-16-2010 Tue
5:15PM-6:30M

Weather: NNW8, partly cloudy, 58°, 30.15, steady

H2O: 642.5' rising, 60 kcfs, 10", cloudy h20

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7 - Fisherman's Road

Caught

1. Bluegills (18) 4-7" orange rocker with red worm

partners

None

Comments

I do believe I am done ice fishing for the season. In order to reach the ice today I had to employ the aid of waders and walk about twenty feet through knee deep water. Then once I did get to the ice a delicate step was necessary to avoid going through soft spots.
The water was cloudy here but the current was absent. The bite was not too bad, except for the small size of the fish it was a good evening. Most remnants of snow are all but gone except for a disintegrating pile here or there. Ducks and geese are once again populating open water areas on the river. When I stand outside after dark I can hear the migrating waterfowls wingbeats in the still, crisp night.

day 331 3-15-2010 Mon 34 to go

Day 331-34 to go
3-15-2010 Mon
7:15AM-8:15AM

Weather: N3, partly cloudy, 35°, 30.18, rising

H2O: 641.58' rising, 49.7 kcfs, 15", cloudy h20, current

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7 - In front of Schaffer's

Caught

Nothing

partners

None

Comments

This morning was an early adventure before work. I was not sure if the ice would be strong enough to support me, but a walk to the end of the dock and a step onto the ice confirmed safe ice.
My hopes of catching any fish faded very quickly after drilling a series of holes. What I discovered was cloudy water and a substantial amount of current. Today was not a day for catching fish, but a day for an ice fishing education. I guess I confirmed that panfish do not like current when the ice is covering the water.

day 330 3-14-2010 Sun 35 to go

Day 330-35 to go
3-114-10 Sun
1:30PM-5:30PM

Weather: N3, partly cloudy, 63°, 29.96, rising

H2O: 5.94' rising, 41.3 kcfs, 15", clear

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 4 and 5 - Pontoon Slough and Monson's

Caught

1. Perch 7", orange rocker
2. Bluegills (15) 6-9", orange rocker (kept 7)
3. LMB 12 & 13", orange rocker

partners

Jake T.

Comments

We left the north country at mid morning and headed for my home waters: the mississippi River. We were taking a chance on there being enough ice to support our slight weight. It did not take too long to determine Pontoon slough had no fish, so we packed our gear and headed south.
The next spot was Monson's. I had heard good things about this location all year, so now I was about to prove or disprove everything I had heard. It started out very slow, but steadily improved as the sun faded towards those western hills. The numbers were not fantastic, but the size was. I was disappointed I had not ventured this way north earlier in the season. I know for certain this and Robinson's Lake in Wabasha will be on my list next year.

day 329 3-13-2010 Sat 36 to go

Day 329-36 to go
3-13-10 Sat
10:00AM-6:30PM

Weather: NNE14, cloudy, 41°, 29.88, steady

H2O: N/A

Location: Gordon Flow-age and Cranberry Lake - Douglas County, WI

Caught

1. Bluegills (25) 5-7.5", rat finke (kept 3)
2. Crappie 8", rat finke
partners

Jake T., Denny, Larry, Jeremy, Brian and Ron

Comments

We had quite the gang fishing today. This was only the second time I had ice fished out of the cabin. Our first stop was Charlie Brown's Resort on the Gordon Flow-age. The camera and poles revealed lots of small fish.
An hour later we moved to Cranberry Lake. We were looking for those elusive bull bluegills we could not find. Larry and Jake were the top fisherman today. I got frustrated and lost interest rather quickly, after all I cannot catch fish on those dam lakes. The fish were very tight lipped and when one was caught it was usually very small.

day 328 3-12-2010 Fri 37 to go

Day 328-37 to go
3-12-10 Fri
4:30PM-6:00PM

Weather: NE5, drizzle, 42°, 29.79, rising

H2O: N/A

Location: Warner Lake - Douglas County, WI

Caught

1. Nothing

partners

Jake T.

Comments

This evening I got back to a remote northern Wisconsin lake I have not fished in at least ten years. The last time I was here I got to fish it about ten minutes before it got dark. I caught a nine inch bluegill and the seed was planted in my mind.
Here I am with Jake ten years later looking for what I thought would be jumbo bluegills looking for a fast ride to the surface. It took about one hour and ten holes to determine the lake was not teeming with gills of any size. Although we did not catch any fish it was refreshing to be fishing in such a beautiful remote lake.

day 327 3-11-2010 Thr 38 to go

Day 327-38 to go
3-11-10 Thr
5:00PM-6:00PM

Weather: ESE6, cloudy, 50°, 29.49, rising

H2O: 5.3' rising, 35.3 kcfs, 12", clear

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 8 - South of Clinton Landing

Caught

1. Perch (2) 8&10", minnow, jigging rap

partners

None

Comments

The spot I fished at tonight was the first time ever fishing here for me. I was fishing in ten to fifteen feet of water and marking lots of fish. They showed some interest in my offerings, but would not commit to dining. Of course that is pretty much on par with how this ice season has gone. I did see a couple of fish caught by other fisherman, but it was in no way a major feeding frenzy.
There is still plenty of ice, but the water is on the rise and it is necessary to wade through water to get to good ice.

day 326 3-10-2010 Wed 39 to go

Day 326-39 to go
3-10-10 Wed
5:15PM-6:15PM

Weather: SW6, fog, 47°, 29.61, rising

H2O: 5.15' rising, 28.8 kcfs, 20", clear

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 8 - French Slough

Caught

1. Bluegill 5", Ratso
2. Crappie 10", Ratso

partners

None

Comments

I was torn between fishing here or Half-Way creek, of course I picked the loser. Last year this spot was very good for crappies, but this year it has been dead. Some fisherman were catching dog fish and largemouth bass, but other than that there was not much action.
The ice is still holding up, but we have had some rain and more is forecasted. With the rain and the extended warmer temperatures I suspect most of the ice will be gone by next week.

day 325 3-9-2010 Tue 40 to go

Day 325-40 to go
3-9-10 Tue
5:30PM-6:15PM

Weather: Calm, partly cloudy, 44°, 29.66, rising

H2O: 4.95' rising, 18.3 kcfs, 20", cloudy

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 8 - South Dresbach Bay

Caught

1. Perch (2) 4-6", minnows

partners

None

Comments

I was hoping to tie into so good crappies tonight, but that did not happen. Last year this spot was relatively good for crappies during the last of the ice season.
There definitely is perch here, but I think they are mostly small.
I heard my first sound of spring this evening: I heard a Harley Davidson motorcycle rumbling down the interstate. Dam things!

day 324 3-8-2010 Mon 41 to go

Day 324-41 to go
3-8-10 Mon
5:15PM-6:15PM

Weather: Calm, fog/mist, 40°, 29.98, steady

H2O: 4.84' falling, 14.6 kcfs, 18", cloudy

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 8 - Camp 22

Caught

1. Crappies 4", Ratso
2. Perch (4) 6-8", Ratso

partners

None

Comments

I am not sure if this is the second or third time I have fished this spot. Either way it has not produced anything for me. One hole had lots of perch that were small, and that was about it. I have talked to other fisherman that come here quite often and it sounds as if this spot has been the dead sea all winter long. I also talked to some fisherman that had been tip-up fishing here all day and they did not catch any northerns.
I may or may not give it a try here again the next ice season.

Day 323-42 to go
3-7-10 Sun
2:00PM-6:00PM

Weather: NNE4, mostly cloudy, 47°, 30.07 steady

H2O: 639.56' falling, 16.7 kcfs, 22", clear

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7 - Half-Way Creek and
the areas south of

Caught

1. Crappies (15) 7-13", Lil Cecil, minnows (kept 7)
2. Bluegill (7) 5-7", Rat Finkee
3. Perch (5) 8-11", Minnows (kept 2)

partners

Ty and Chris

Comments

I met Ty and his friend Chris out on the lake this afternoon. for some late season hard-water fishing. The fishing was not fantastic, but we did catch some fish. I did have much better action before Ty and Chris showed up and started drilling holes all around me. I am convinced that this definitely scares the fish off.
The most and best action came off my tip-downs baited with a minnow. I really enjoy this type of fishing. The fish I caught and kept were sent home with Ty so he and his family could have a good meal of panfish.

day 322 3-6-2010 Sat 43 to go

Day 322-43 to go
3-6-10 Sat
8:00AM-11:00AM

Weather: Calm, sunny, 31°, 30.08 steady

H2O: 639.66' falling, 19 kcfs, 18", cloudy

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7 - Fox Beach

Caught

1. Crappies (2) 8-10", Rat Finkee, Rembrandt
2. Bluegill 6", Rembrandt

partners

None

Comments

I got out early this morning to hit a spot only accessible this time of the season with an airboat. The fishing was terrible. I marked plenty of fish on the locator, but I could not coax a bite out of them. The use of the camera was not a very good option, because the water was pretty cloudy. Even with the cloudy water I did manage to see a few crappies and bluegills. The last time I fished here I caught perch, bluegills and crappies. Now, I think the only fish that are present are bluegills and crappies. The perch seemed to have vanished.

day 321 3-5-2010 Fri 44 to go

Day 321-44 to go
3-5-10 Fri
5:00PM-6:45PM

Weather: W3, clear, 40°, 30.32 steady

H2O: 4.92' falling, 17.3 kcfs, 10", clear

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 8 - Dresbach Dam 30' +

Caught

1. Walleye 10" Jigging Rap
2. Sauger (6) 10-12" Jigging Rap (kept 2)

partners

None

Comments

Tonight I went directly to the deep water spots. The ice is still holding up rather well; I was able to park on the ice and I still felt safe while fishing. The fish were definitely in the deep water and when they showed up on the locator they would usually bite.
It was a bit of a trick using the locator in the deep water in addition to having my lure swept downstream with the current. I had to drill a series of two holes with one three feet downstream from the other. I would then place the locator in the downstream hole where it was able to pick up my bait directly below it.

day 320 3-4-2010 Thr 45 to go

Day 320-45 to go
3-4-10 Thr
5:30PM-6:45PM

Weather: Calm, clear, 37°, 30.17 rising

H2O: 4.95' falling, 18.3 kcfs, 12", clear

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 8 - French Island Power
Plant (middle area)

Caught

1. Walleye 10" Jigging Rap

partners

None

Comments

Well I finally caught a walleye at this spot. I had heard good things about this spot, but I had not connected with a fish here in approximately six outings. I drilled approximately eight holes and did quite a bit of hole hopping in order to find just one small fish tonight. I did mark quite a few, but I could not coax them into biting. I think most of the fish I was marking were not Mr. Marble Eyes.

day 319 3-3-2010 Wed 46 to go

Day 319-46 to go
3-3-10 Wed
5:00PM-6:30PM

Weather: NW7, clear, 33°, 30.11 rising

H2O: 4.98' falling, 18", clear

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 8 - Dresbach short wall

Caught

1. Saugers (2) 10" Jigging Rap
2. Walleye 12" Jigging Rap

partners

None

Comments

I was pleasantly surprised at how well the ice is holding up below the dam, I was even able to park on it. It took me a little while to figure out where the fish were holding, but I did end up finding them in the deep water (30' +). Fishing the combination of deep water with current makes it very hard to use the locator as a help tool.
I could definitely sense the river changes since the last time I was here. The first thing I noticed was the smell of the river. It is not a bad smell, but it is definitely distinct and noticeable. It must be the combination of dead fish, ducks and rotting vegetation and a little farm run-off mixed in.
I also noticed the ice is getting some rather large cracks in it and in some spots it is starting to buckle. As the pieces bounce and shift the sound that is made reminds me of a mouse scurrying through the leaf litter on a forest floor. In fact several times I turned around to see what was making the noise behind or off to the side of me. Each time I thought it was a fellow fisherman but when I looked all I saw was empty ice!

Day 318 3-2-2010 Tue 47 to go

Day 318-47 to go
3-2-10 Tue
5:45PM-6:20PM

Weather: NW7, clear, 32°, 30.08 steady

H2O: 24", clear

Location: Lake Neshonic - East of the fishing dock

Caught

1. nothing

partners

None

Comments

I did not think I would have been back here ice fishing again this year, but I ended up working an hour late and I needed someplace handy and close to fish. I again went fish less, but my resolve is now greater to catch something here. I may or may not be back again this year.

Day 317-48 to go
3-1-10 Mon
5:10PM-6:00PM

Weather: N7, clear, 31°, 30.24 falling

H2O: 4.89' falling, 16.3 kcfs, clear, 18"

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 8 - French Slough

Caught

1. Bluegills 7" Rat Finkee

partners

None

Comments

The crappie bite was definitely not happening here tonight. I honestly do not think I even marked a crappie. There appeared to be lots of bluegills suspended in the water column, but they were not aggressive.

Day 316-49 to go
2-28-10 Sun
1:30PM-4:30PM

Weather: N7, overcast, 36°, 30.11 Steady

H2O: 7.24' steady, 21 kcfs, clear, 25"

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 4 - Wabasha MN, Robinson
Lake

Caught

1. Bluegills (20) 6-8.5" Rat Finkee, red worn (kept 7)

partners

None

Comments

I fished a new location today on the same body of water I had fished in January. I dropped Autumn and a friend off at the ski hill and I went ice fishing. I was operating on a tip I had received earlier in the year. When I got to the landing I found no ice fisherman, but I did find an empty ice road leading someplace out into the bay. I was a little hesitant to follow the road since I did not know where it led and if it was safe to drive on. After a quarter mile I spotted two distinct groups of fisherman and their vehicles, the ice immediately felt much safer to me.
I blindly set up on the fringe of one group and got my gear ready. I was quite surprised by the twenty-five inches of ice and only fifteen inches of water between the bottom of the ice and the bottom of the lake. Could a fish possibly survive in this? It did not take me too long peering into the camera that I knew I had made the right choice. I was very surprised by the number of fish on the camera and the size of the fish!
However the fish were very slow and inactive. The only way I could catch decent fish was to use a wiggly red worm hooked once in the middle on a very small trout hook.

Day 315 2-27-2010 Sat 50 to go

Day 315-50 to go
2-27-10 Sat
6:20AM-3:00PM

Weather: NW8, cloudy, 31°, 30.00 falling (12:00PM)

H2O: 639.57' falling, 16.9 kcfs, clear, 22"

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7 - Lake Onalaska (Half-
Way Creek, Southeast end of dredge hole and
Landing Lights
Caught

1. Crappies (12) 8-11.5" Rat Finkee, minnows (kept 3)
2. Bluegills (12) 4-8" Rat Finkee

partners

John R., Josh and Jenny

Comments

We hit the ice early this morning in anticipation of a good bite and the prospect of winning some good prizes. Unfortunately the bite never materialized and neither did the prizes! Our lack of fish was not the result of us not fishing hard.
We marked lots of fish in the dredge holes, but the majority to them were small. I was able to only catch three qualifying fish for the tourney. John also qualified three, Josh had one and Jenny had none. No prizes were won by our group, but that is the way it goes, we are hoping for better results next year.

Day 314 2-26-2010 Fri 51 to go

Day 314-51 to go
2-26-10 Fri
6:10AM-7:20AM

Weather: Calm, cloudy, 4°, 30.21 rising

H2O: 639.66' falling, 19 kcfs, clear, 22"

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7 - Lake Onalaska (Half-
Way Creek, Southeast end of dredge hole)

Caught

1. Crappies 12" Rat Finkee
2. Bluegills (3) 6-7.5" Rat Finkee

partners

None

Comments

I fished early this morning so I could take the afternoon off.
After a half hour of hard fishing the Half-Way Creek area and nothing to show for it I decided it was time to do some quick exploring. Fishing ended up being very slow. I believe the fish are in the late-winter dormant stage.

Day 313 2-25-2010 Thr 52 to go

Day 313-52 to go
2-25-10 Thr
5:00PM-6:00PM

Weather: NW10, clear, 23°, 30.17 falling

H2O: 639.68' falling, 19.5 kcfs, clear, 22"

Location: Mississippi R. Pool 7 - Lake Onalaska (Half-
Way Creek)

Caught

1. Crappies 12.5", Rat Finkee

partners

None

Comments

Today was another pre-fishing day, and it did not go well! I did see some other fisherman with some nice crappies, but it did not happen with me. I marked fish on the locator but I again suspected them to be bluegills. A quick peek with the camera confirmed the fish were indeed bluegills and they were not in a feeding mood.