Sneaky Duck

Hey guys, we were out on Braddock today (only caught a pair of bluegills) and it was real windy.  As I was setting up the tip-up we almost had an issue.  Sammie was in the fishtrap and the wind blew her over (she almost fell in the hole  I'm wondering if there's an effective way to anchor a flip-over fish house.  There's only 1 anchor point on the tent for a guy out line which is on the front, i'm assuming so you can anchor it down and keep it from flipping open in a gust.  I'm wondering if anyone's had luck putting an ice screw anchor up wind and looping the tow rope around it.  Then anchor down the front guy out to keep me somewhat in place.  The thing doesn't move at all when i'm sitting it in, but with just her or without either of us... it's VERY likely to wander around the bay.

Thanks!

thanks for the info spinfly!  I'll give the guy a call.

Hey, does anyone have any info about the kids ice fishing clinic on 2/1?  I think it's on Honeoye.    I'd love to bring my daughter but don't know anything about how to sign up, where it is, or anything.

Thanks

nice.  That's around where I caught my Trout the other day.  Thanks man.

How far out were you?  (not that they'd be remotely in the same spot.)

I was worried about that.  My buddy has an old weed whip that he wants to try and rig up to spin the auger but i was reading about people who've tried that and it doesn't have the torque.

Side question and a bit of a hijack sorry about that... what's the benefit of a smaller auger?  If you're going to get a gas auger why don't they all have 10 inch blades?  I can see with hand augers why you would want to drill as small as you can get away with cause it takes more effort but if a motor's doing the drilling... may as well go big right?

Is this the type of thing you are talking about?

http://www.basspro.com/Ice-Master-Ice-Auger-Conversion-Kit/product/102242/  I've been looking for a cheap way to get more holes in thicker ice then drilling by hand.  I have an 8 inch Mora so I'm not sure how well a drill will drive the thing.  A flasher is on the wish list above a power auger right now so I've got to make due.

Awesome fish!  Good looking Rainbow!  What lure/bait were you jigging with?

I'm not sure if I'd like an electric knife or not.  I sure need to sharpen this one though.  The factory edge isn't really doing it for me.  I'm eating my second fish tonight!  Today was AWESOME!  I caught a perch, lost the minnow off my tip-up to a pike or something, and caught a steelhead on a TINY pink and yellow perch jig with a mousse on it!  HOLY CRAP that caught me by surprise!  The perch was barely noticeable and I practically knocked the little guy out on the ice when i set the hook.  The trout was a tick then YANK as he took off!  SOOO much fun catching big fish on tiny rods!  I'm hooked for SURE!

Oh it did!  I probably left a bit more meat on the carcass then I should have, so Sammie and I each only got 1 bite... but it was for sure the best fish I've ever eaten!    Hopefully the first of MANY this year!

I believe I actually learned about that in school.  Isn't that where they found out about how freezing food preserves it.  Some ice fisherman tossed a frozen fish in a tub to thaw and it started swimming.  This freaked me out cause he never froze.  he was just in a bucket then a ziplock.  Oh well.  It's done!  my first ever fillets!

FREAKS ME OUT!!!!!

So, by this point I'm sure everyone knows that I'm new to this.  My buddy and I caught a perch today and I brought it home to fillet (this is the first time i've ever intended to eat my catch.)  I had a business meeting so after we caught the fish at around 4:00 I put it in a ziplock bag and put it in the fridge.  It's 9:15 and the stupid thing's flopping around on the cutting board!  Is this common?  It's 5+ hours later of him being out of the water and it's still alive!

Thanks Sk8.  I was pretty sure that would be the answer.  I bought a aerator last weekend and put the minnows in a big bucket in the basement but didn't get to use them all and they started to die off so i chucked them.  To keep them for 10 days do you feed them anything?  Fish flakes or something?

Sorry for the stupid question, but what do you do with minnows that you buy but don't use?  I ended up with a dozen or so extra last weekend.  They wouldn't have lasted and I offered them to a few other guys on the ice but no one wanted them so I threw them out.  I didn't let them go because I didn't know if that's legal since they weren't wild.

I drove over the Bay Bridge today and noticed a group of tents about half way down towards the south.  Anyone know how thick the ice is out there?  My sailing club's down that way and I going out with a buddy tomorrow curious if the Bay's an option.

Brings new meaning to the song, "Everybody's Working for the Weekend."  I think for now unless I do some guided stuff, I'm going to stick to the Genny.  We'll see how it goes.

Thanks guys!  Are fished with small jigs and spoons like perch are?  What type of bait do you tip the hooks with?

I've never caught a fish in the dark.  Since it's dark so early, and I have a way to stay warm now... I've started thinking about it.  What species (other then just walleye) are active after dark in the winter and what lures/bait should I use to catch them?  It'd be great to be able to hit the ice after work for a few hours.  Also, should I keep my Fish Trap dark inside or is it ok to have lights on while fishing?

Thanks!

So, is a flip-over a "shanty" as defined by the DEC?  Do I need to have my name and address on it?  The DEC site says all shanties must have the name and address on them but then goes on to say they have to be removed by March 15th.  Does this only apply to fixed location shanties vs a flip-over which is portable and removed every time I leave the water?  My wife is going to be PISSED when she sees that this thing is still set up in the living room

yeah... youtube, clam's website, google searches... nothing.  oh well.  took it back and exchanged it. I think the other may have been missing pieces.  Hopefully we're good now!

Well, this sucks.  I went and picked up that fish trap and brought it home planning to take the afternoon to put it together.  Parts spread around the living room and there are no instructions in the box!    I tried to contact Clam to have them email me a copy of the owners manual and can't find a phone number, so Im stuck waiting on them to respond to my email.  Oh well.

So... I'm looking at the Humminbirds and the Marcum's.  Seems like the Marcum's are more accurate by the numbers.  That 3/4 inch separation vs. 2.5 inch... is that kind of like how my rifle is capable of a follow-up shot 15% faster then the competition (which lets be honest... has VERY little real world benefit.)?  I was looking at the difference between the Ice 55 vs the LX-5 which look to be the very top end of the older tech.

I'm also interested in buying a unit that'll help me out a bit walleye jigging in open water so if 1 is better for that over another that would play into my decision.

sk8man, that's great!  and thanks for reminding me of my biggest fear... boys.    I told my wife I was going to get a antler mount and have "Sammie's first boyfriend" engraved on it just waiting the day.  For now however... I'll keep fishing with her  We went out again today for about 2 hours.  I got a bite which took the head off my rattle spoon but that's about it.  I guess they were getting fish off shore.  We just hung out around the end of the docks again fished and threw snow balls.  I think I'll get some shiners and tie on some small jigs for next weekend.

Side note... whoever the guy was that stopped and told me about conesus bluegill and sunfish fishing... I REALLY appreciate that!  I'm going to take her down there as soon as we have a confirmed 6 inches or so. 

Thanks for the invite Ice Pirate!  We're going to be back down tomorrow but won't make it till 1:00ish.  Any tips on lures in that area?  I had a 3-4 inch Niagara minnow on the tip-up and a small jigging rap with a fathead minnow head on my rod.