Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Ice Fishing 2011 - 2012

Tj, accd to the meteorologists, well have a few inches @the the end of this weekend, 2 days of 37 and 41degrees respectively and then back down to below freezing again. Just need it to be around 25for for a few days and were good.

Well have ice, or im flipping over tom skillings' desk.

Don't know about nebraska, but the chi WILL produce hard water.

Stage 1: denial. Stage 2:avoidance. Stage 3: desk flipping.

Blair....that is awesome. I bow to the master.

I can't get enough of this guy. Keep typing skinny!


And I hope you're right. I've been playing with my Vex on my kitchen table far more than I will ever admit.

It took me 34 Takes to get this high quality production.

Yes TJ I lack talking skills. Thats why I should leave the video stuff to the experts Bob Lusk and Nate Herman.

Here they are talking about highs in the mid 20's and the low in the lower teens until the weekend, then highs in the lower 30's. It'll make ice, but with the snow, I don't know how good it'll be.

Chicago area 5"-8". Here about the same, but then lake effect kicks in and nobody's saying how much will come down.

The last storm we were supposed to get 3"-4" and I had 14" here. It all disappeared about 4 days after it fell.

Macguyver challenge 1):
Create a tip up including at least one common mousetrap (which must be a functioning piece, not just dangling off the side), other materials are common bits and pieces...dowel rods, 2x4, screws, spool of line etc

Macguyver challenge 2):
create a hook set tip up with common household items

Any takers?

I think you're doing great man. Keep it up - ingenius device.

I'll take you up on your challege, Skinny!!

Give us a two week deadline?

I dont think I have any 2x4 fours at my house though. hehe.

Someone needs to get out there and catch some fish and post some photos! That is the real challenge.

I dont think we need any harsh deadlines.

Also, whatever materials you have or anybody could easily get a hold of is fine, it's a macguyver challenge, so if you can stop a bank robbery with some fishing line, two gum wrappers and two thirds of an ounce of kitty litter, SWEET!

Whatever you have is great, just macguyver it up. I think that simplicity is the key, though. However much i wouldn't object to seeing things spot-welded together or with a complicated electrical system, cogs, gears, hamster-wheels, chemical and bio-neucleic reactions, I think it would be more fun to see things that anybody could make.

In other words, if you are a nuclear engineer, that is awesome, but not everybody can get depleted uranium to power the flux capacitor your tip-up requires.

To get us started, this is the one they taught us to make in the boy scouts. I didn't have a spring doorstop at home, which is why i made the one that i did.

http://boyslife.org/hobbies-projects/projects/18131/how-to-make-ice-fishing-tip-ups/

We were apparently typing at the same time, Dwight, but i wholeheartedly agree.

I'm just trying to stay entertained until i can get out there.

Mike

Wouldn't that require ice, first?

Or have we opened this thread up to include open water, winter fishing? If so, I have caught fish every weekend since Christmas. I caught a few yesterday morning before work. Thinking about heading out for a few right now. Very windy however, and starting to snow.

Dwight's pond has reformed good ice. Time to get back out!

We need PICTURES!!!

We have freezing temps here, all day yesterday, last night, today and tonight - of course it's still howling around 20-30 mph winds. Perfect timing. We needed just ONE calm night for an inch to be established...no such luck.

dad just called, they had a skim of ice survive the warm spell to last night, and ridonkulously cold so far today, his neighbor drilled off his pier and they have 1.5-2 inches, varying from 3 holes drilled, 2 holes @ chuck's house, one at dad's.

Ice is solid across the middle of the pond, just not at the shoreline. Snow is coming down, but ridonkulous wind isnt letting it stay on the ice, and is blowing and drifting into yards and up against houses.

3 more days of temps only getting to a high of 27, then one day above freezing projected on monday, then we are back into highs in the mid 20's - low 30's, with the possibility of an isolated thawing 2-day period (37 and 42 degree highs) in the next 2 weeks, and plenty of single-digit lows coming up.

I think not this weekend but next some BOW's in the chain will be safe. The following weekend is my trip.

It's on, tom skillings!

Dear Weather,
thanks.
-mike

Edit, here's the temp chart updated. I dropped the "freeze" line down to 28.4 degrees (-2c).

Here's the best i can do until the 26th.



-mike

now you guys are starting to look like the ol' boys I talk crappie fishing with in Mississippi.Eat first, then fish. Have faith Mike, it'll have ice for your trip!

Sweet mercy.....

Mike, you and I are going to have to fish/eat/fish together this summer.

I know those guys here in st. louis too.....sometimes i wonder, though, are they actually willing to eat what comes out of the mississippi? I've seen enough saugeye and channel cats with weird bumps and sores to know not to do that.

It's on. Actually, PeePaw can probably help out with this too. Up by him and my parents' house (in Johnsburg) is this ridiculously awesome place....the Epic Deli.

http://www.facebook.com/epicdeli

We hit a portillos, get an italian sausage (with sweet peppers and juice), get to fish, go to the epic deli, fish some more, sleep, have some breakfast covered in white gravy, and then fish some more.

But.....ice fishing comes first!

<-----seeing how many vacation days he has this year.

Let's go!! I know both spots and your right on the mark. I still think the ice will be fine. You guys can come fish Wonder Lake too. Only Have to blindfold you when going to the "secret" crib locations for a mixed bag of eyes,gills,perch and bass!

My ice comes and goes. We probably had four inches a week ago, and two inches yesterday. We got about 2 inches of rain overnight. The pond is 100% open today. It is 53 degrees outside right now, but they are calling for "thunder snows" later tonight, with a high of 18 two days from now.

I'm glad I've got some fillets in the freezer. That may be my extent of "ice" fishing.

That sounds about like yesterday here in Oklahoma. It was 60 F at 2 pm and it was snowing at 7.30 pm. Today was 39 F. Tomorrow it will be 50 F and Sunday it will be 60 F. But we don't do any ice fishing here.

I've actually never hit wonder lake before...fox, pistakee, bangs, grass, independence grove, butler, lakewood, deerpath, big bear, forest, channel, defiance and griswold with varying levels of success, but never touched wonder. Don't know why, I've always heard good things.

Do you have a personal pond in the area? Maybe sometme I can get you out on my dads pond for our everlasting pike hunt. Its right by griswold and defiance.

-mike