1-21-2012 Sat

1-21-2012 Sat
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Weather: S 6, overcast, 15˚, 30.16 falling, 8-12” ice
Water: 4.83’ falling, 14.3 kcfs, clear
Location: Mississippi River Pool 8, Stoddard Islands
Caught: One six inch bluegill
Partners: I and Scot and Tom W.

Comments

The fishing has been horrible on the lake, so Scot and I decided we would try something different for a couple hours. Tom had also expressed an interest in going so we picked him up on the way. Our destination was my old hometown of Stoddard. The Fish and Wildlife Service had done a tremendous amount of habitat improvement here ten to fifteen years ago and now it has become a first class pan fish fishery.
I had not been fishing here in several years and I was blown away by the size of the bay that holds pan fish. There were easily one hundred fishermen out on the ice, but with a group here and there and a lone fisherman here and one there, it was rather apparent that this area could support the intense fishing pressure that it has been receiving.
We started out just to the west of the public landing, where my good friend Jay had been fishing for half the day. Jay and his friend had gotten a few pike but no pan fish. We knew we had to go look for our quarry, so we headed north and drilled exploratory holes along the way. After a slight problem with a propane tank we got Tom’s propane powered auger purring like a kitten, and made short work of the frozen water. We would drop the underwater camera down into the fish’s world and if none revealed themselves we would continue on our march to the north.
After about twelve holes and no sightings of fish and fading daylight, we decided to head to the vicinity of other fishermen and set up shop for the last hour. We at least spotted some fish on the camera, but they were quite shy and preferred to swim in their world and not greet us on the topside.

Observations:

It was a brief and unsuccessful trip, but I really did not expect any other outcome. I was just going to chalk this day up to an exploratory outing. I definitely want to come back, but I would like to come back with a group of guys all armed with four wheelers and all willing to do some exploring. And of course, they must be willing to share their location if they are successful in their quest for the finned critters roaming below the ice.