Posted by Dave from gateway2.platinum.com on February 08, 1999 at 12:52:42:
Well, it was most likely my last trip out on the ice this year (unless we get an
artic blast real quick) and I must say that it was a pleasurable one. I arrived
on the ice at 3:15PM and the minute I stuck my transducer in the hole, it was stacked
with fish. No kidding I was in 22' of water and the fish were stacked from the bottom
up to 10' below the surface. The neat thing was that they didn't move. That's right
they did not move, not for the whole time I was there which was 6:30PM. I could
not believe it. I just sat there and plucked one right after another. I was using
my favorite jig (nail-tails)and all I was doing was dropping the jig right above the
school at the 10' mark and jigging the fish up from the top of the school.
Each time I dropped the jig down I came up with a fish. It was by far one of the
best crappie bites I have ever experienced. Once it got dark the school which was
still there by the way, seemed to get even thicker. However, the bite slowed down
to almost nothing. (at least for me it did.) There were some guys a couple feet
away from me that had minnows and wigglers and they were still getting fish in the
dark. They even had a nice mess of yellow bass on the ice. Big fat ones in the 12"
range.
Well if anyone finds a way onto the ice early in the week, be carefull! I did notice
that the main slab of ice was getting thin in many areas (around 3")
Nice to see that the Fox Chain fishery has come back to support such a fine panfish
population. Let's hope it keeps up for many years to come!
Dave