Ok, I can officially say I caught a fish ice fishing. Sort of.
Ok it was off the dock and the ice was only an inch or two thick, but I did have to break a hole to get the hook into the water.
This is the 6.5" BG I caught. I only caught one. Did not catch any, then decided to leave red worm on hook on the bottom while I split wood. Came back half hour later and had this one on.
Looks a lot skinnier than the ones I caught at end of summer but about same length. I assume they loose some weight over a long winter? Would this be normal growth from 2-3" fish stocked not quite a year ago? I realize this is only one and the size could vary a lot, but they were not being cooperative with my attempt to catch and measure them. This was the only cooperator. Did not have scales with me (didn't figure I was going to catch anything).
I did not even think about a person being able to catch fish when it is this cold till I started reading the ice fishing thread. This just seems downright unnatural after viewing fish under water in 77 degree water temperature scuba diving for three months.
They have had some supplemental feed during warmer water temps but only modest amounts. Maybe a half gallon a day for 1500 BG and 30# FHM scattered over the pond. 32% catfish pellets, some sinking and some floating.
Nothing wrong with that I don't think for this time a year. Keep in mind BG dont really start to get real tall and thick until about the 7.5 to 8 inch mark then all of a sudden they become little footballs!! Instead of growing longer they grow up and out! There is a big difference between a 6 inch BG and a 8 inch!! So I don't thing you got anything to worry about that fish looks good to me for it's size and current time of year!
RC
The only difference between a rut and a Grave is the depth. So get up get out of that rut and get moving!! Time to work!!
Ok, thanks for the comments guys. That was what I was hoping to hear.
After seeing pictures of fish kills, I was really wanting to know if something was still alive down there.
Seen a few FHM's (could have been tiny BG also as they were very wary and moved to deeper water before I could get close) around and about late in the afternoon as the ice receeded away from the pond banks.
I appreciate when some of you mention off hand if a fish is a male or female when pictures are posted. Helps me (and I'm sure others) get a better feel for determining the sex.
