Friday December 12th the alarm clock was sounding off at 4:30am at which time I could also hear the coffee starting to brew. A look out the window at the thermometer showing 0 degrees had me thinking how nice the bed was feeling…..NOT! It’s more of a get your butt out of bed and head for ice while trying to put a game plan together for the day in my head thing for me 
The next best feeling in the more after that first sip of java….stepping outside into a cold that makes snow squeaky 
With the windows cracked open and tunes cranked 
the truck was rolling to the very North end of pool 8 from Sparta to meet up with Mike C, Wats and JP Mason hoping to find either perch or if enough ice, maybe some sauger/eye action.
Arriving at the dam, we found good ice. A good 5 inches in the bay and 3-4 inches on the current seam off the long wall, with that said you still need to be careful along the wall and watch out for the eddy off the nose of the wall. Remember, concrete will collect heat and current likes to try and keep things open too.
After setting a tip up (which produced 0) an arsenal of baits was presented looking for some orange finned perch….which produced 0 
A move was made towards the current and the baits were up sized looking for shinny eyed toothy critters 
Some marks were pulled but….it was a strike out 
It was time to make a big move. Trucks were loaded and in no time we had 15 holes drilled and now the target was to be crappies. Fish were marked on set up but to make a long story short…..2 small crappies 
It was time for us to head for a community hole and try to save the day.
Community hole……bingo Not hot and heavy but what a day saver for Mike C and I…..right after JP Mason hung it up for the day 
I had flags flying while drumming up a few gills and crappies and Mike, he was the hot stick putting together a fish fry 
Purple Lil Cecil tipped with a waxie was my go to jig. Mike C did a lot of changing and I’m sure he will pipe in with what worked for him. All of are fishing was in 6-7fow.
The high light for me was a 19inch football which filled an 8inch hole while being coaxed up to the top using Trilene 2lb 
The UL St. Croix and the smooth drag from the Pflueger President worked flawlessly keeping this toad from breaking off during some good hard runs. I look forward too meeting up again with this bass next year 
The tare down was around 4PM and on the walk off Mike and I were already making plans for Saturday morning
Saturday December 13th, what a different day all together, 20 degrees outside at 6AM and warming all day. I fished in long johns and jeans without getting a chill. The crappies liked the change in weather also, we were on fish immediately but an hour later than we should have been. I wanted a fish fry for Sundays Packer Game and with knowing it needed to be done quick……drill some holes. After punching 20 some holes in short order with the Lazer Mag, baits were dropping and marks were flying in. The go to bait for every one of us was the Silver/Green Slender Spoon tipped with either a minnow head or two waxies. Early morning the specks were hovering at 5 feet in 10-12fow. As the morning grew on you had to use more of the water column to pull marks by dropping the bait too 9feet with a bonus perch now and then coming off the bottom. Good friends Dave, Mike C, JP Mason and myself were all able to put a fry together of 10 fish each weeding out some shorter fish and keeping a few fish at 10inches. In my book, there is no better eating size crappie
Off the ice by noon and still a Sunday to go ….well, I better spend it at home…..right honey
Good luck fishing people 
While at the dam it looked like a good opportunity for pictures.
The other pics are the Saturday gang
A fun couple of days guys.
Even when the fish aren’t cooperating we still have a blast with good natured “humor” flung at each other. 
Friday at the community hole the fish were finicky to say the least. I found an orange Moxie jig was a good way to get their attention but getting a bite was a whole different story. 
I then went back to an orange/yellow LiL Cecil (for the 3rd time that day)tipped with a minnow head and bingo, the bite was on. 
Today that same jig worked good early in the morning then the slender spoon tipped with a minnow head was the hot ticket. Sure hated to leave 
the ice on such a nice day but as my buddy Bret stated – – – better spend some time at home – – it’s a long winter yet 
so better not get in the 
“doghouse” 
this early in the season.
There’s good ice right now but lots of slop on it so hopefully with the forecast early next week that will firm up and turn hard.
Good job guys! Looks like fun! Great to see a new report up and some pictures of fish!!!
Been a pretty quiet week, it seems!
Great job Bret and crew
That bass on the ul had to have been over the top fun
Great pictures as usual, those dam shots are sweet!
This was my first trip to the hard water
and boy, was it nice to get back to it. Thanks again Mike C and Mr. Clark for the trip. I’ve been fighting a cold for the past two weeks, 
so it was nice to have Bret running around punching holes for us to use.
Thanks Guys, nice to meet you Dave.
I have added a couple of pictures from the Friday fishing trip. As you can see, not much for fish for me, but I am finally ice fishing.
Nice looking bass Bret.
Those crappies laying on the ice sure do look tasty!
Friday off from work…..Must be nice
I thought I was supposed to be the retired guy
Great report Bret,Looks like a good time was had by all.
I talked to JP after he left Friday and got my new harness so I might be out and about more if the weather cooperates I’ll paying attention.
Nice report Bret, can’t wait for those eye’s to start biting!
Way cool pictures and report Bret!!
That’s sure an ugly horse you got there JP.
Yaaahhh Mule!
nice report Bret. We found similar results yesterday AM, arriving on the ice at 5:30 AM. Things were fairly slow until about 7:00, and then the fish just disappeared. A short repositioning in a ditch had us back on the fish. The fish were coming in from 7 to 9 feet down over 11′. The key was to draw in a mark, and while it was still a weak signal but approaching the bait, sharply raise the bait, and they would come racing in to nail the offering. If you tried to work the fish slow they still would eventually commit but it was a longer and more difficult process. The best bait for me was a glow frostee jigging spoon tipped with a waxie. The glow really paid off between 5:30 and 7:30 when it was still dim to dark on the ice. Around noon we left fish to find bigger fish and drove to another couple of local hot spots. Unfortunately those did not produce and I was left with a bag of 20 crappies all in the 10″ range and a nice gill that Justin caught. We each caught an estimated 90-100 crappies but finding anything bigger than 9-1/2″ was a challenge. I can’t complain, it was a fun day. We took a picture of the pile with Justin’s phone, and it did not come through to me, but if I get it to work I’ll add it later.
I don’t get it….my sled is always the heaviest to pull
Good report Bret.
Those presidents are nice reels, I have a couple 6720s and a couple 6725s that I use for ice. The 6725s double for crappie or walleye jigging in open water.
Good report Bret.
Those presidents are nice reels, I have a couple 6720s and a couple 6725s that I use for ice. The 6725s double for crappie or walleye jigging in open water.
Man are the ice conditions ever looking there best right now around the La Crosse area. Snows gone and the top is good and hard
Creepers are a must. 
There is snow predicted for tomorrow into the night. With the temps it should be light and fluffy and lets hope it holds off to 3 inches
I envy you guys that can get out during the week
For me it’s…Come On Weekend 
That’s one nice thing about ice fishing with Bret
(besides him being the “fish sniffer” and a funny guy 
) If there’s something you forgot or don’t have 
he’s got it for sure in that sled. 
Don’t know how he gets it all in there but he does. 
nice report Brett