A good day of fishing on Chequamegon Bay.

Sunny day, deep snow and great moments of fish biting everywhere. If you had the touch or were lucky to have a fishing buddy who did you went home with fish.

One of the many plowed roads that lead somewhere on the bay. In this case due east toward the break wall.

Cohos for dinner?

2013 Early Ice. Chequamegon Bay.

New ice fishing shelter. 

Early ice fishing. Some are driving vehicles. I prefer a little more ice. For now this is my way on and off ice. If the cold weather holds out we should be driving by next week. It is shaping up to be a great season. For now the bay has 9 to 12" of ice with little or no snow cover.

Setup and fishing.

This was a great early ice fishing day.  It has been a couple of years since the "brothers-in-laws" have been ice fishing together. Hopefully we will get to do this more often. 

Ice fishing isn't only about catching fish. It's about enjoying the day and the company. Having fun is always in the cards.

A view to the Northwest. Looking toward Washburn Wisconsin.

Captured air bubbles in this early season black ice.

It doesn't get much better than this. A great way to end a day out on Chequamegon Bay. And yes we did catch some fish.

Searching for left overs on Chequamegon Bay.

This Coyote was searching the remaining ice at West End Beach on the west of Ashland Wisconsin. At the time of the photo the Coyote was about 150 yards offshore. It eventually turned and headed northwest toward Barksdale WI.

This Eagle was luckier than the Coyote it scored the remains of a fish just 50 feet from the edge of the Hot Pond. Less than a week ago this area was covered with snow and was occupied by several ice fishermen.

Second Ice Rescue this weekend. Submerged snowmobile, 2 rescued individuals.

Snowmobile with two self rescued passengers on the ice.

Ashland Fire Department personnel approaching snowmobile passengers.

Safely ashore with others.

Three days here at home and slightly about. Went ice fishing today.

Very busy weekend on the bay. This grouping was a fishing outing for kids.

Very busy weekend on the bay. This grouping was a fishing outing for kids.

Ed with his spare time project.

They have restarted the dismantling of the oredock.

Notice the two backhoes on top of the oredock. They were lifted up on top with the crane and I'm told they will be removing the shoots from the east and west side.

A busy weekend of activity on Chequamegon Bay. Fishing and the Book. Est. 3000 people on the bay.

16th Book Across the Bay starting line. This photo was taken about 15 mins before the start of the race.

View looking west just before the start of the race.

Leader at the first checkpoint (camp fire).

Fishing earlier in the day. These photos were taken by the Mrs. They were taken from shore at a distance  of 1.1 miles with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 telephoto. To those who know the bay note the Tetzner's Farm silos in the upper left of the picture. These silos have been used for years as navigational aides for determining one's location. Together with other key landmarks along the Ashland shoreline and the lighthouse "old timers" found their favor fishing spots. With the advent of hand held GPS units they are only used to cross check the GPS.

Myself and Skip checking a tip-up to the west of the truck.

This photo has been 'photoshopped' to zoom in on our fishing spot for the day.

Notice the red arrow on the left side of the photo pointing at the tip-up. If you look close you can make out me sitting next to the 4 wheeler watching the fish finder (black spot 'under' the truck between me and the front wheel in this 2D photo. Pretty cool photo definition taken from 1.1 miles away.

Back in northern Wisconsin after a fun 5 days in Milwaukee.

Traveling light  and enjoying the days on the bay.

Brought some fish home for a Friday night fish fry.

An overcast yet warm day on the bay. This view is looking nearly due West at 17:00 on Chequamegon Bay.

The "Chief" caught a nice meal of perch.

Jerry (the retired fire chief) is one of our regular fishing buddies. Jerry had a pretty good day. Any day you bring home a meal of fresh perch is a good day

Fresh perch.

Today was sunny and windy on Chequamegon Bay.

Lake Superior Brown Trout. NOT caught by me.

4th fishing trip on the bay this year. The ice is thick enough to drive cars and trucks. At this spot there is about 30 feet of water under the snowmobile.

Ashland WI Lighthouse. This photo was taken from todays fishing spot. The darker spots are clear ice with no snow cover. 

This photo was taken from todays fishing spot. Ashland's Oredock. 

A view inside an ice fishing shack. From left to right the propane heater, plywood to keep feet warm , water cooler with the bait,  9" hole with rod and reel and gear bucket with the fish finder on top. The heater does a good job keeping you warm so you can fish without a coat and gloves. The fish finder.... well maybe not exactly a finder. It does "tell you" when there are fish below. With the right winter gear it can be very comfortable out on the ice.

2012's first trip on Chequamegon Bay. 8-10" of ice. Fish biting

Maiden voyage for 2012. As usual more equipment than needed yet still missing some key things. Notice my new high tech Arctic Armor float suit. Not something you want to have to use but safety first. Visit this website to see how it "works".

The day started out perfect. Sunny, cold and clear. It soon turned to cloudy and overcast. 

Setup and fishing. This is one of our favorite spots. A GPS is a wonderful thing. We return to this site year after year and it most always produce fish. Today I out fished my nephew that rarely ever happens. GLOAT GLOAT.

A view looking SW toward Xcel Power Plant.

My nephew Skip. Who caught less fish than me. Gloat gloat. Boy I'm going to pay for gloating. But considering the score is probably Skip 1000, Unk 1. I'm enjoying the win.

Supper. Fresh perch and a Coho.

Ice fishing season. Only there is no ice.

Chequamegon Bay looking south from the "S-Curve" between Barksdale and Washburn WI. 

Notice the lighthouse and the Chequamegon Hotel.

Lighthouse and breakwall from the "S-Curve" between Barksdale and Washburn WI.

Chequamegon Hotel from the "S-Curve" between Barksdale and Washburn WI

The only sign of ice on the "S-Curve" between Barksdale and Washburn WI.

A weekend of family, friends and ice fishing on Chequamegon Bay