Ice OFF boat fishing
Got a bad itch this past weekend to scrape the 6" of snow off of my boat and spend the afternoon chasing crappies.
We talked about Raystown but another buddy ranked it as "nonfishable" due to high water and high degree of stain. My fishin' partner and I deccided to check out the special regulation lake only 15 minutes from the house. Canoe Lake used to be the "prized" fishery of the local conservation officer. In the past it got huge trout allocations, trophy fish and became a trophy bass lake in the 90's. After a check of the regs we were pleased to see that it is open and partially stocked with trout for the year. That special regulation goes out a week from today on the 31 st. I am not really that scared to break thin ice with the hull of a boat. We have done it several times to hunt waterfowl. This was not necessary at Canoe though.
Along with some other friends I have caught Ice off Crappies at Canoe, Glendale, and Raystown. The trout in Canoe would be an added bonus on this trip. The real target was the crappies, one of my favorite fish. We did have some limited success.
The water was green and lightly stained. When we first arrived it was nearly windless on the lake, another blessing because a 10-20 mph wind WILL make whitecaps on this shallow body of water.
The snow was a pretty backdrop and we talked to another boat fisherman on the lake who was basically shaking off the cabin fever the same way we were. A couple of wader equipted fisherman came in at dusk and knocked the slop ot of the stockies with some kind of spinner.
The crappies wander the lake at ice off you need to be ready to move around and try different bait presentations. We caught a couple of decent crappies and several stock trout. We took no pictures on this outing, 3 10" crappies and a couple of small stockies do not fill the frame and all were released anyway! All in all a real success on a like with a surface temp just around 42 degrees. I have a feeling that this week, before the "fun" ends, the lake will see some pressure. . .I saw more boats on Monday, the 24th so the lake does have fans of what it holds. I think I will recharge the trolling motor battery and watch the weather report. It is also not too early to fish Raystown but I need to check the water first.
Shake off the Cabin Fever and chase some of your favorite varieties,
Brent