Sk8man

My mistake really I forgot we were talking smaller lakes for one thing. My mind (what little there is left) has been on Lake O lately....think I may have something called "King on the brain"

The most important part of that experience though is the bonding between you and your son. He won't soon forget that day believe me. My son and I still fish together and we have for many years and I'm sure it is in large part because of those early experiences and his first (32lb) salmon at about 7-8yrs.

The mopst impoortant p[art of that experience though is the bonding between you and your son. He won't soon forget that day believe me. My son and I still fish together and we have for many years and I'm sure it is in large part because of those early experiences and his first (32lb) salmon at about 7-8yrs.

All three of mine look like that now

Can't help wondering if it is a late afternoon evening bite rather than during the day right now....

Yesterday it was the same for us out of Hughes 8 rods out from 9-4PM and only one hit/fish 9.7lb king on F/F right when we were pulling up in 100 ft of water and right near bottom. Pretty tough going out there right now... big case of lock jaw. May need a solid change in barometric pressure to activate them

Mike is right. This might also help http://www.fishcreeksalmon.org/atlantic-salmon-id.htm They are truly a pretty amazing fish and because of their acrobatics have always been one of my favorites.

Nice going John. It was pretty tough going on Lake O today we only managed one 9.7 (I was corrected ) lb king right when pulling up so I guess you picked a good spot

Just the body style alone is Atlantic not brown let alone the spotting, tail area etc.

When I was a kid (back in the stone age) the kids in the neighborhood would collect as many of the cast off shells as they could and have a contest to see who could find the most....haven't even thought about it since then

If you look carefully at the extreme lower left hand corned just off bottom you may have marked a small fish there. The fact that the bottom appears as a uniform relatively thin section without any change could mean that your sensitivity is not great enough and the signal is not penetrating fully to reveal the full thickness of what should be the return signal or identiufying softer targets (like fish). Another possibility is that your transducer is either faulty (i.e. defective) or is positioned incorrectly.

Geez....another cruel guy to the fore Kinger probably put him up to it too No sympathy from this bunch

Beautiful specimen Alex....nice going!

Rich the shaft is 30 inches long My previous comments yesterday are a good example of being in my own little world here in the Finger Lakes in terms of ice fishing because anyone reading them from the Michigan UP or MInnesota for example would be laughing their azzes off. The usual conditions here are about 3-10 or 12 inches. No matter which drill selected or batteries if you are confronting 2 or 3 ft of ice (or more) you'd be lucky to get a couple of holes and probably would be tossing your drill or hand auger as well As far as the simplified approach I have a 2 person Clam shelter all set up with adjustable rod holders, heater etc. and it may have been great when I was in my twenties (If I had had it then) but once there is deeper snow and jagged ice protruding from the surface. It is a "bear" to drag loaded down with all my crap in it which I am too compulsive to leave behind and usually stays at home or in the back of the Expedition. Yes some guys install a conduit frame and it is easier in the deep snow but again the weight is a factor and another biggy is that once I get real comfortable in it with the heater etc. I don't feel like moving around to find the fish and if using tip ups or tip downs they are harder to see from inside. Enter the "old school"approach related to portability and ease of movement with less personal comforts I have gone back to a deep plastic sled and my old Igloo shelter which goes up and down in about 30 seconds max. and a folding chair in the extreme weather OR more often just a bucket and jigging rods, auger, scoop, and jigs and plastics flasher and lately GPS. Much more conducive to moving around and finding the fish, able to see better what is going on around me, not as able to see down the hole but that is OK as I have the flasher with the zoom

Good points made Rich and it is a different ballgame up north as far as the ice thickness and I have never used mine around here in more than 12 to 15 inches tops. Around here it isn't as thick and much of my fishing is for perch, walleyes and panfish (and bass, trout and pickerel) in shallower water because the bigger lakes don't always freeze up so Honeoye and some of the shallower lakes and ponds are the only game in town. For this type of fishing what I usually do is drill ten to 15 holes when I arrive at a spot fish a couple for awhile and then slowly work my way around the others letting them calm down for a bit. Sometimes I will set tip ups or tip downs in some holes to find the fish and then switch it out when I get something and jig that hole. I usually get away from everyone I can too which is something I learned from the "old timers" along with sitting with my back to everyone and dropping fish into the hole cut in the top of my bucket so nobody sees what I'm doing . wishinfishin I haven't ever really compared the lazer auger on the drill but back when I used it with the top half as a hand auger it seemed to cut quite a bit better than many of the folks around me. I even had guys come up to me a few times and ask about the auger when I first got it way back when I think most were using Moras back then.

I hate to say it but I strongly disagree...(unless you are talking about the newer large battery type augers) The auger I am talking about is very light and much lighter and more portable and compact than a gas auger. Gas augers are a pain in the azz. They spook everything for miles and whenever I see one on the ice I locate as far as I can away from it. They sometimes leak fuel and fumes in your vehicle if not in the back of a pickup (I use an Expedition) as well as a gas smell your hands and clothing (which may not help your catch rate either). The only place I would have one is way up north where the ice gets over a foot and a half or two (or more). I mainly fish for species other than pike these days so I move around a lot and travel light instead of using my Clam shelter. The drill auger is perfect for this. With a heavy gas auger I'd probably travel less and drill fewer holes. I think that the guys you saw that needed to carry extras and had to use them had the wrong drills and batteries. I can get 50 holes easily out of my heavy duty Lithium battery (single). I have only once used my back up battery and that was when the ice was over a foot and I drilled a large bunch of holes. A 7 inch auger is just right for about everything and uses less juice than an 8 inch. Those guys must have been using crap drills with 8 inch augers as everyone I know that uses good ones loves them and I feel that my Bosch hammer drill is one of the best investments I have ever made and it owes me nothing at this point. No matter what ice auger you use it has the be kept sharp and one of the ways to do this is to keep the cover on the blades when not in use. It is also wise from a safety standpoint. Even a slight bend in the shaft of the auger can keep it from functioning properly and cutting well (wobbling keeps the blades from having necessary cutting contact.)