1/23/06 ice report at Goose Island

I got out to fish for about an hour and a half today and decided to avoid the crowd. I fished about 3 feet of water in a backwater bay with stained water and did ok. Sure its fun fishing in the crowd in crystal clear water and seeing those fish bite, but the big ones are skiddish in the area with the crowd. even though it was a shallow area, I still brought my marcum LX-3 just for fun. My best prestentation was a orange/glow jig tipped with a waxie. I would start just under the ice and very slowly work the bait down to the bottom. Many times, a fish would strike it before the jig even showed up on the flasher, other times, i would have to work hard to get a bite. The ones that i caught up higher in the water collum were either crappies or nicer gills. I caught 3 crappies and lost a couple along with 10 or so gills. The bite wasn’t on fire but i had a little fun. the conditions weren’t right on for fish catching either, so im just happy i didn’t get skunked. The above picture is a keeper bluegill that i am going to give to my teacher “str8shooter” to put in his fish tank at school

big fish honors for the day was a nice 10-1/4 inch crappie that wasn’t far below the ice, but it was a skinny guy compared to most of the crappies i have caught lately. The other fish is an 8″ bluegill which was also my biggest gill of the day. I had to babysit my little sister in the morning and i didnt get to fish as long as i wanted, but it beats school! (we had the day off)

i almost forgot to add this pic too…im sure you deer hunters will enjoy this one! it was a big buck that had lost one antler already, and if you look closely, you can see that it even had a drop tine!

Cade-I would call that a sticker instead of a droptine
You should PM me directions to where to fish Goose in case I get time this week sometime Nice fish today. I am not sure I could actually fish in water that shallow

PM sent-
The shallow water is really fun at times. I like to fight the fish in deeper water, but nothing beats watching a 12 inch crappie slam your jig just inches below the ice, or having a 9 inch gill smack it below the ice. The only thing i miss about the deeper water is that longer fight which is really exciting when you get a big gill on.

How shallow are you talking Cade?

He is fishing in 3-4 fow. Real shallow bay and slough area

i fished a few areas this weekend in less than 2 fow
Like i said, it can be a blast, but in crystal clear water, you have to be very still and dont dare look over the hole because they can be very finicky. I just completed putting that fish in my teachers aquarium, and it looks like he’s going to be fine

Oh yeah, there are some spots I fish in 4 feet too. Theres a bunch of old underwater wood pilings. Exciting to drop it down and bam, right away.