Had the day off yesterday, big winds but the temps were incredibly warm for February. Hooked up with fellow member Drew H for a day of hole hopping. The amount of shoreline ice we have lost already is fairly alarming for this time of year. Sun baked banks are already opening up, some up to ten feet from shore.
The no-flow backwaters are still good once you get on but the biggest concern are the secondary chutes that lead to a lot of these areas. BIG TIME BLACK ICE!! It didn’t take long with the rain and hi temps to turn these walkways into dangerous areas.
I normally do not post exact locations when talking iced fish but to me this is too important not to mention. The chute running in front of Jays landing south of River of Lakes took a bad hit yesterday, good enough ice while walking out early but coming back across after 3 hrs. was dicey. Amazed with the speed of ice loss in such a short time. Did not hit the Wyalusing area but I could imagine the chute in front could be getting bad also.
It’s that time of year ,(too early in my book) stick to no flow access and backwaters. Pack a plank or set of waders. The ice is still plenty thick once you get on but watch out for the black areas. One lone , sun drenched log or hidden spring is all it will take to give you that late winter bath.
As far as the bite went, very slow yesterday.The first hr. of daylight and the last 15 min. of light were the best times. A few crappies and bass were picked off but nothing like we were expecting. The bite should be on fire from here on out but please use caution!…..GL.
