Weekend Report

Well it was a so-so weekend for me ice fishing. I finally got them going yesterday (gills) with a small shrimpy and no bait. The water on Okoboji is very cloudy where I was fishing and I had to use my Vexilar FL-18. The pattern was to pound the bait and watch the Vex closely, when the fish rose up to the bait, I would start watching the spring bobber for that almost imperceptible twitch and then set the hook. I was unable to get on the ice before noon Friday and Saturday and the bite for me was later in the afternoon.
I ordered a Walleye Flasher kit from Reelbait.com, and I was flabbergasted when I came home Saturday evening that they were here already. My fishing buddy Rick Dicus, kicked my butt one day last summer on Big Spirit with this bait so I had to get an assortment. As you can probably infer, my attention is starting to shift towards softwater fishing. I didn't go on the ice today but spent some time putting new fireline on my linecounters and spooling up some 8lb Vanish Transition on some spinning reels. I am looking forward to using this line this year, it is fluorocarbon that is high-vis above water and invisible underwater.
I think that this weekend might have been it for me for icefishing this winter. We will see?

I have power.

The new Optima's came yesterday and I got them installed yesterday afternoon. I was elated that I didn't have to get new battery trays. The Optima D31M's fit right in the group 27 trays. I hooked up the new Dual Pro Charger and all lights were green, I am ready to hit the river! I need to write a testimonial and take some pictures and send to the promotion people. I have to try to do this in the next 2 weeks to honor my promo contract.

Weekend Report

Well, it was a pretty good weekend in spite of the weather. On Saturday we combined for a total of 20 keeper bluegills and crappie and yesterday about the same. It was miserable out yesterday, thank god for Clam Corp, Fishtraps, I was warm, snug and most importantly dry inside of my Fishtrap Pro. The pattern was the same Saturday and Sunday. Bobber Fry, 1/80 oz green jig or green Fat Boy and a waxie. You had to fish it deep and use the Vexilar to see the fish come in because the water was so cloudy you couldn't see them. I could see the bait but not the fish. I would was the sonar screen and when a fish showed on the screen I would watch the bait and you could see the take, but I just couldn't pick out the fish until it turned and flashed it's side.
I hope my Optima batteries get here this week, the Missouri River is open from Ft. Thompson down to the White River south of Chamberlain, SD, and they are getting walleyes at the dam.

Gillin on Boji

I got out on West Okoboji yesterday with Rick and Tim. The gills were real finicky, did manage to scrape 3 keepers out and released 4 dinks. Rick also kept 8 all that Tim could scrape together was 1 real nice crappie. I did catch one northern and released it. I forgot we can keep them after the walleye season closes. The northern was just the right size for pickling. The best bait yesterday was a green bobber fry with wax worm.
We are going out this morning about 10 AM, it is raining lightly right now. I can't believe it, raining in Feb., and the politicians say that global warming hasn't been confirmed. I can confirm it with my memory of how the weather has changed since I was a kid. This time of the year it is supposed to -20 F. Oh well, I don't need to get involved in that argument, can't do much about it anyway. I don't think my grandsons think I was ever a kid, even though I act like one sometimes.
I will report on today's outing later.

Back from the grandkids

Well, I have no fishing reports. Dianne and I did go see the the kids this past weekend, we hadn't seen them since October and we needed to see them. I babysat Caite on Saturday which was no big deal because she was down for a nap. We watched Jessie play basketball Sat. morning. I was able to show Stefan the blog and explain it to him a little bit. Sean, seemed to spend his time talking to his girlfriend. Man are those kids growing!
I talked to Rick yesterday, he went out on Big Spirit Saturday and caught some small walleyes. Rick did report that a fellow he had talked to has been getting some nice perch. I talked to Carl last Thursday and he had gotten some nice perch on East Okoboji the week before. Other than that it rained Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday. The ice doesn't look safe right now.
If anyone that reads this blog is a member of Muskies Inc, what did you think of the article in the last magazine regarding tournament? Some real food for thought there. I can see where the big money tournaments might cause even more resentment towards muskies than there already is.
I still haven't called Bill to see what is going on at Red Wing. I did get an email from Scott in Illinois and I might be able to meet him at Red Wing if he goes up there with the other Bill. I hope to have a report on that water and Yankton, SD, this spring.

Not much going on

I don't have much to report or talk about this evening. I am in the process of fighting a cold, I am sure anyone out there reading this gives a hoot about that. I was going to go try to jerk some perch today but I just didn't feel up to it.
I did talk to a fellow Ranger owner today and he had the same thing happen to his onboard battery charger that I did. He also had the same wonderful customer service experience. Clay went with the dual pro batteries. I will be interested to see how they compare to the Optimas. I hope he catches some walleye tonight. He had called me for some information, I had none as I haven't been on the ice for a week.
I talked to Bruce from Boone yesterday and he is getting as anxious as I am to get to the river for some walleye fishing. I hope we get together this summer for a couple of trips. I told Bruce that as low as the Missouri River is we may have to go the Mississippi. I need to call Bill and see if he has been to Redwing, MN, lately.

Too Warm To Ice

Hi I am back. I haven't been on the ice since Tuesday. The temperatures here in the Okoboji region have been in the 50's and 60's. I know there is still plenty of ice, but it becomes a matter of fighting the slop and water on top of the ice. I guess I am turning into a wuss, I just don't want to fight it. I will be back out next week when the temps are supposed to drop back into normal February ranges.
I still don't have my Optima Batteries, I called the company this week and they are on backorder. I understand this, they need to take care of their retailers first and then the folks in the sponsorship program. I was told they will ship the end of this month. I fiddled around yesterday after work for an hour and a half trying to get the last screw started to screw the Dual Pro Charger to the floor of the port side battery compartment. I only had 3 screws in before, because of that very issue. (accessibility) Anyway after some language, the screw went right in.
One of my fishing buddies (Rick Dicus) is up at Lake Of The Woods right now on a ice fishing trip, he will be back Sunday, I will report on his success or lack thereof. Rick is staying at Ballard's resort. Rick puts together a bus trip every year, in conjunction with his radio show "Exploring the Outdoors with Rick Dicus" on KMNS 620 AM. He is doing his show this morning from there.
Oh, I almost forgot the Iowa Great Lakes Winter Games were a success again this year. I had lunch the Thursday before at Bud's Pub and was fortunate to have a bowl of their Creole Chile, the 2005 chili contest winner. The only dark note was that three vehicles went through the ice on West Okoboji, one on Manhattan Beach point and two on Pikes Point, no injuries or drownings. Later

Weekend Walleyes

Well we did it again. Rick, Harlan and I managed to round up about 9 walleyes on Saturday and Sunday, the most being caught on Sunday. These eater fish were all caught on Silver Lake in northwest Iowa by Lake Park. I must say that Rick did the best he had the hot hand and the only lure that seemed to work. The lure was a glow tiger Jiggn Rap by Normark lures. RAPALA. I of course went looking high and low for the lure and finally found one.
I went out yesterday with a friend from Laurens and we caught zip. I did talk to a fellow at the bait shop yesterday who has been picking up some nice perch in East Lake Okoboji, I will try that next.
I still haven't received my Optima batteries. I called the company today and they are on back order. I have a clause in the Sponsorship agreement that says I am to take pictures and write a little blurb about the batteries within 2 months of the receipt of the batteries. This will work out well because by the time I receive them supposedly at the end of this month, I will be a lot closer to putting the RANGER back in the water. I will probably take her to the Missouri River somewhere in South Dakota, (Chamberlain or Yankton) so I can write some kind of legitimate testimonial. I will try to take a few pictures as well.