2-13-13 Tue

2-13-2013 Tue 6:00 PM – 8:15 PM
Weather:
(1853) S 5, overcast, 35 ˚, 29.68 falling
Water:
5.08 steady, 23.9 kcfs, clear
Location:
Dresbach tail waters walleye fishing (ice)
Caught:
Me: 1 – 11” sauger, 1 – 10” walleye, Scott: 1 – 15”walleye, 1 – 12” sauger
Partners:
Scott

Comments:

It was an after work walleye fishing trip with Scott tonight. I ended up getting stuck late at work again, so I had a later start than I desired.
We have had a few days of warm weather lately, and I was a little concerned on the condition of the ice. About one quarter of the way up towards the short wall I had my first indication that the condition of the ice was not that good; there was an inch wide crack in the ice and it went as far as a person could see. When we got within close proximity of the short wall there was another large crack, which I stayed downstream of.
I set up just downstream of the upper crack with my chair on the downstream side of it and my ice hole on the upstream side. As I fished I stretched my feet across the crack to the upstream side. Since the upstream ice piece was not that large it was bobbing rhythmically from the current. This actually gave me the slight sensation that I was in a rocking chair.
The fishing was not very good tonight. Scott and I each caught two fish, and I really did not have much more action than those two fish.

Observations:

The increased temperatures and current has greatly weakened the ice up by the short wall, tonight may have been my last night ice fishing for walleyes up this close to the dam.