JWheeler

That's awesome action! Nice job and thanks for sharing!

So with the least amount of ice coverage on the great lakes.....how long until you splash the boat?

The question is, can you get a boat out from any ramp in the area?

I have a thompson 210 fisherman with a transom mount ducer and haven't experienced any issues. I remember when installing the transducer the installation manual was pretty specific on the angle of the ducer to properly work.

Spring is here in Michigan, however, someone needs to show old man winter the door!

Went to Onekama with my sister, her 3 kids, my wife and our 3 kids for a weekend of tomfoolery. Well, if we're going up there, you can bet I'm gonna find my way onto the ice. So the plan was set in motion. I woke early Saturday morning and left out of the launch to go to the spot to look for some perch. I sat in my 2 man clam nanook and landed on the fish. The day broke, and my vexilar lit up with fish near the bottom. I put some fish on the ice and enjoyed some peace and quiet. I told the wife to let me know when they were done with breakfast, so upon her text message I headed to the launch to pick the 8 of them up. Dug into the back of my truck and fancied up 2 jet sleds to tow the crew out to the spot. I was able to, effortlessly, take all of us in one shot out to the spot. 3 adults and 6 kids.... I'm sure onlookers were cracking a smile. So we fished for a while, and I was able to help each of the kids catch some fish!!!!!! The oldest in the group are 6, and the youngest are 3, you can imagine.....they all had a wonderful time catching fish. I was able to get about an hour out of all of them, 4 of the 6 after an hour decided they wanted to go out of the shanty and play on the ice, so they did. My son Adam who is 3, and his cousin Caleb who is 4 would not stop fishing. The three of us worked together in the shanty and caught a mess of perch. We were not able to get the bigger perch to keep, but none the less, we had a hoot catching all those fish! While our bounty was less than what I desired, the true catch was in the fun that we all had together. These are the days we won't get back, and I sure am glad that I was able to enjoy something I love to do with the people that matter the most to me and watch them enjoy it also. We're already planning another trip next winter!!!!!

I've been a fan of these rigs for the last 3 years. They do put fish in my cooler! What I like it the action of a plug, and the scent and the meat along with it. A good combo to me.

Way to take advantage of a little open water! Nice fish!

Thanks for the report! Runnin and gunnin! There sure is a ton of ice out there. Saw it a few years ago with ice mountains encroaching on residents homes on the lake shore..........

Pretty cool guys! I caught a walleye with the tag in it, paid me $100 which was cool. However, I never did receive the detail like you posted above. I was extremely interested in the data.

Thanks for the report! Sure is fun when they're biting

I did make it out Sunday 1/26 for the evening bite, which....was decent, however, my buddies who were out earlier experienced a great mid day bite. When I showed up the fish would come and go. I did get one keeper on the ice, along with a cat fish. I did have enough action that I could have kept my limit, if I could have got the walleye through the hole. Just wasn't my day. I lost my limit and then some, just couldn't keep them buttoned up. It was still good to get out.

I'm in the same boat, the added expense and room for storage on the boat is a draw back to having too many rigs. Something I have done, I have bought extra reels that I find for very good prices. Word of mouth, garage sales, classifieds on the forum. I buy them and then spool them with whatever LC or copper that I want. Then, I stow the reels on the boat, and if what I am using is not working I just swap out reels on the pole already being used.

That's very cool!!!! Thanks for sharing:thumb:

I'm not sure the name of the knot that I use for lead core, I take some lead out of the sheath, then make a simple over hand knot and leave it loose. I then feed the backer or leader into the sheath of the lead core and then cinch it tight. This knot has been very good for me.

I do not do it that way. I attach the planet board to backing. Clipping directly to the lead core will cause it to weaken and ultimately break your lead core.

Sunday's evening winds look promising......going to try and make it out...

As time and weather allow of course. LOL...was hoping for a day this weekend, looking at the forecasted winds...I may just sit tight and do things around the house.... Keeping my eye on the wind forecast over the next few days to determine if it's worth going or not....25MPH winds predicted, out on the open water of the bay, I'm guessing it will be greater than that.....

Hit the ice with FishinMachineII and his posse on Saturday. Worked our way out to 21fow and set up shop. Missed 5 eyes in a row.....thought I was doomed for the day. Marks on the vex became less, so we made a move into shallower water 15fow ish. Fish on the ice immediately. Kept my 5 and played C&R throwing back several other keepers! It was a fun filled day of walleye fishing on the bay. Ice was plenty thick, and the crack was working, but we found a good place to cross. Here are the two lures that I settled on after changing lures non stop. A moonshine shiver minnow and a JDeez spoon Be safe out there fellas, the ice is good, but those cracks seem to vary daily.

Hey Waz....Welcome to GLF....also, Nice to finally meet you yesterday on the river......

As Frank said, those are fantastic numbers! Nice job:thumb:

Finally made it out to chase after walleye. Time hasn't been something I have a lot of, so when asked to join a few friends on the river, it worked! Hit the ice about 3 pm near Indy Bridge area, drilled holes from 5fow to the edge of the channel in 17fow. Hole hopped for a bit with little interest from the fish, finally settled in 14fow with fish under me. I had limited action, throwing back 3 fish (1 of which may have been legal, but don't need to keep fish that small) and missing a handful of other bites. Ice was 3-5" thick where we fished. Started with moonshine spoon and a white do-jigger. They didn't seem to want to play so I started going thru the box. I had the most activity on a clearance lure I bought at Gander on clearance last year, it was blue and silver with sparkles. The fish would come flying up off the bottom, but I couldn't get them to commit to bite. Even though I didn't bring any meat home, it was still a fun time with a couple of buddies. We capped off the trip with a visit to Hooters in Bay City. A burger and a brew after our time on the ice hit the spot. I have been following posts about the river and the bay, and as always, if you venture out on either, take your time, use your head and be safe. Heard of 6" here, and 1" there. Predicted for some really cold weather in the forecast so things should shape up nicely after yesterday's mid 40* temps in Genesee County area. Tight lines