Some work and lots of fun. Three days and three lakes.

Don't worry the work was minimal. I spent a few hours helping my nephew with a remolding project he is working on.

Here is what work looks like when you are retired. I arrived a day late. I worked for 2 hours maybe. At that point I think I was getting in the way. The boss (Skip) told me to go fishing.

I did, go fishing that is. Caught a few small perch and a nice walleye. Great sunny day on the ice.

Skip worked until five. I quit fishing at five. We cleaned up and went out to supper. Two burgers, 3 beers and two cocktails later we headed back to the house. Watched a movie. Slept 8 hours.

I got up and had breakfast then packed the car and headed out for Marengo Lake WI.  I'm sure I spent more time this weekend packing and unpacking the car than I did "working".

Skip stayed and worked until 3:00.  Cleaned up then headed home for Super Bowl Sunday.

I arrived at Marengo Lake at 11:30 for a day of outdoor winter activity. Snowshoeing,  cross county skiing, campfire, great food and friends.  Oh and of course ice fishing. Thanks Carol and Brian for a great winter party.

Some of the snowshoeing participants.  

 

The guy on the left needs more equipment before hitting the trails.

 

My favorite snowshoeing bunny.

Fishing was slow but Ed, EJ and I gave it our best. Lots of holes were drilled.. thanks EJ. Lots of tip ups were set, picked up moved and reset.  And yes some fish were caught. Crappie (2) and perch (5-6) good job Ed.  Rick didn't miss much.

Ice fishing Marengo Lake.

Before all you ice fishermen start planning a trip to Marengo Lake the catch for the day was 2 crappie and 5 or 6 four inch perch in six hours (18 man hours) of fishing.  Stay home!

No kidding four inch perch. Nice catch EJ.

Everyone was on the road for home by 5:00. We stopped for a little Super Bowl watching with family. My sister made the traditional Super Bowl food in our family. English muffins topped with a finely ground spread of spam, cheese and onions. Put on cookie sheet then broiled in the oven. An invention of my dad who loved to cook. I like the ones that are "burned" around the edges.

I left for home early. Unpacked the car put all of the fishing gear in the house and all of the tools in the shop.

Today is cleanup day. I'm going to straighten out the mess that gets made when I spend three days fishing , traveling and yes working.

 Oh and Donna and my sister went quilting while I was working.

Hey Skip the fish again measured > 17 inches........gloating while I can.

No I don't fish everyday...but I did fish today.

Fished with family and friend. Slow going at second/first landing East of the breakwall. Moved to West side of the breakwall. Fishing still slow but productive. Caught perch, smelt, nice coho and...... some "pay back is hell".  More on that when the pay back arrives.....AND it will.

For now here is some of the catch.  Coho and perch.

Quick trip to the Twins Cities to pickup Kellie and Scott. I didn't fish on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Down on Tuesday. Had a nice supper with Nick, Aliina and the twins.  Burgers at  a neighborhood bar. That has great burgers.

Back to the hotel early.  Cocktails in the hotel lounge.

Picked up the travelers at 9:30 A.M. at the airport. Straight back to Northern Wisconsin.

Back to the T-P for fishing.

Fished again today. Cold, sunny and windy on the bay 19 degrees with 7-10 mph wind from the NNE . I decided to drag out my ice fishing T-P. It's been in storage for 5-6 years. It needs a little repair work but it has aged well. If memory serves me well it must be 25 years or older. It worked well to day. Quicker and easier to setup and tear down. Plenty of room.

My 25 year old T-P seems like it has plenty of good use still left in it. Tomorrow I'm going to make a few repairs and modifications. Look close you can see the lighthouse on the right off in the distance (click on each photo for larger version). Also  Notice the 30 lb propane tank on the left. That is the heat supply. This is one of the reasons driving out to fish is so great. You can take what you want.

Nice comfortable seat and a Vexilar (fish finder).

Tackle, bait (yellow box on the ice) and heater. A heater that will cook you out.

 And of course fish on the ice.

Fishing in a new spot today. Started off slow but soon picked up. Fish on the Vexilar most of the day but the bite was on and off. The perch were bigger today.

Quick fishing report. Smelt and perch.

Quick fishing report. Sunny but darn cold. Used the shelter and turned on the heat for the first time this season.

Ice conditions and travel conditions on the bay are great. Everything has firmed up from the rainy slushy weather of last weekend.

Reports at the landing seem to be the same for others. Smelt, perch and occasional coho.

Passing the time on the cold days. Like today!

The last few days I have been passing some "fishing" time tying flies and staying warm.  Winter jigging flies I hope. At least that's what I think they are going to be. I have no idea if they will catch a fish but I plan to use them for panfishing. Perch, crappies and bluegills. I plan to tip the jigs with waxies and / or spikes. As soon as we get a little warmer weather I'll test the jig and report back.

Small Ice Fishing Jigs.
For what it's worth here is the materials list.
1. #14 Nymph hooks
2. Wing. Flashabou. Glow in the dark. Assorted colors.
3. .020 lead free round wire. To weight the jig. 10 wraps.
4. 3/0 thread for the body. Assorted colors.

Inland lake ice fishing trip.

We spent a couple of days in the Minocqua WI area. Ice fishing, reading, eating out and of course a little quilting for the ladies.

The fishing was fun..... with some new experiences. My wife caught her first fish through the ice a Northern Pike.

The perch were  biting... but slow and light. The three day trip ended with a nice walleye catch at 10:00 P.M. on Saturday night.  Hey Skip the fish measured > than 17 inches.

The weather wasn't the best on Thursday and Friday but by Saturday night it was miserable.... windy and snow mixed with rain. The wind was from the East all day long.

Wind from the West, fish bite the best.
Wind from the East, fish bite the least.
Wind from the North, do not go forth. 
Wind from the South blows bait in their mouth.

Other Wisconsin Weather Stories.

Trip home was not fun. The snow and rain mix made the roads sloppy.

This guy on the left snowbank is not having a good day either.

A dining out tip. If you are in the Minocqua / Woodruff / St. Germain WI area try eating at McGregor's Blink Bonnie for a great steak. Arrive early limited seating.

Mc Gregor's Blink Bonnie Club
Listed Since: 1984
1506 County Road C
St Germain, Vilas County, WI 54558-8944
Phone: (715) 542-3678

Fished with family and friends today.

A short video of a sunset on Chequamegon Bay. I ice fished with my brother-in-law, nephew and an old fishing buddy. We call him "the chief" as in fire chief (retired).



Another warm sunny day. Perch were biting today. My brother-in-law caught a coho on a tip-up. It was the first flag I've seen in several trips out. Fish on the ice.

Yet another great sunny day on the ice.

 What can I say the sun was out.  The bay is 1/2 mile away and the access is easy. I can't remember a string of weather that has been this perfect for my kind of ice fishing.

Knock on wood, fingers crossed and praying to the fishing gods that it continues until say fly fishing weather.

At one point today the temperature reached 48 degrees. The digital thermometer hangs on my jacket zipper. Granted it was against my black jacket in direct sunlight. But 48 on January 18th.

The fish were biting a lot better today although still only perch. In four trips out I have not seen a single flag (strike) on a tip-up.

I stopped and talk to several other fisherman at the landing everyone seem to have the same results. Mostly perch and smelt between the shore and the lighthouse. Better results toward Washburn and Houghton Point.

Jump in for a trip out onto the ice.

Below is a circle tour around the bay.
This is a 360 degree rotating view of Chequamegon Bay. You will be looking north east toward the lighthouse. As we move toward the left the specks in the distant are cars and ice shacks. The distant shore (at 11 seconds) is Houghton point then (at 18 seconds) Washburn (NW). My truck. Continuing to the (WSW) (at 39 seconds) the sun and the head of the bay. Ashland then (at 47 seconds) the Chequamegon Hotel (at 48 seconds) the end of the oredock to the (S). Continuing to the (SE). The break wall in the distant. Back to the lighthouse.

A little closer to supper. But not much. Day 4 on Chequamegon Bay.

Another beautiful sunny day. High temp on the ice 34 degrees. Wind from SW 10-13 mph. Travel conditions on the ice are great. There is very little snow and what is there has melted near flat. It's like driving in a very large parking lot. The landings are getting a little rough but still easy on and off.

Lots of people fishing on the Ashland side of the pressure ridge. The talk was people were having spotty results. Some coho, walleye, a brown trout occasionally, smelt and of course perch.

Today was a landmark in a manner of speaking. Todays trip (#4) means that I have ice fished more in the last 2 weeks than I did in the last two seasons.

A special thanks to all who helped make it possible Scott, Chris, John and the school staff and of course Donna.

Oh ya...... four more perch only two came home. The two that came home are from the same cookie cutter. See yesterday's post and photo.