The keys to success for me this weekend, perseverance, endurance, the Marcum LX-5 and the color black. With all the snow we received walking was a chore. There is 2-4 inches of water between the knee high snow and ice, making good water proof boots a must. After 3 moves covering a lot of ground and 50 some holes later trying to find fish that wanted to bite, the workout paid off.
I didn’t find the 9 inch gills we all love to catch but there were plenty of 7 – 8 inch fish and a few 50 cent pieces keeping things interesting. After fishing everything from 5 foot of water to 15 I found 10fow to be the key with the gills suspended at 7feet. These fish did not want to chase anything. Keeping the jig at 7 feet and just a slight twitch is what it took to trigger a bite with black being there favorite color.
A black Moxy jig and black Rat Finke were by far the jigs to be using in this particular area. The bite was none to aggressive either making a spring bobber a must. I’m sure a camera would have been a benefit as I’m sure I missed a lot of hits that went undetected. This was the most finicky bite I have been on this year but it felt rewarding to ice and release some nice gills. Even with the tough bite I’m sure 30 some gills got to see daylight before being dropped back into the darkness from where them came 
And a few also made a truck ride back to Sparta
Like I mentioned, it is tough going on the ice right now. Make sure to carry something to drink so you don’t become dehydrated from the workout and wear good water proof boats. I like my Rocky’s because they are light and by keeping them treated they keep my feet dry. With some warmer weather coming the snow should lay down some but I don’t see the water going anywhere for awhile 
A better bite is on its way soon, gotta love the last part of ice season which will be here before we know it 
Sounds like you had a good workout, and enjoyed some fishing.
Won’t be long now for the late season bite to start, they are talking 40’s down here this week. 
Ed
nice gills
Cool
I am glad to see the work paid off for you 
I am still debating whether my ice season is done or not 
Looks like fun Bret
Nice gills Bret.
Looks like things are coming to an end here in Nebraska. I was out at the lake today and there was 15 foot of open water at the boat ramp. By the looks of our forecast we’ll have the boat out in about 10 days or so down here. 
Definitely looks like fun Bret! Nice report
Great report Buddy
Sounds like quite the workout even for you the fishin machine. I bet those gills make a nice fry. 
Nice report Bret,when you work hard they just plain taste better!
Nice report
Nows the time I wished I would have spent some $$ on snowshoes
Dang it Bret, I know right where you were fishing
I can tell by the color of the snow 
eyebuster-You ain’t kidding about the snowshoes, they would be great about now.
That’s funny Wats
Truth be told, the area I found the bite in I have walked past without fishing it before. I ended up there just to catch my breath trying to get to the spot I wanted to fish. I punched 5 holes just to see what the LX-5 had to say and bingo. Guess you could call it one of those (even a blind pig finds an acorn once in awhile) stories.
It is now another spot added to the GPS book
Nice report Bret
I know how hard walking in deep snow with a layer of slush is, my back and legs are killing me from this weekend 
Bret~
Nice job and great report…
Nice report, sometimes those black jigs are all they want. The “wet” ice/slush is what we have here in Central Iowa too. Better than NO ice!