It's been way too long since I last posted a fishing report. I met up with our very own AngolaJones (Brad) this morning. It was really cold with that wind whipping across the ice. I pretty much stayed inside my ice shanty most of the morning. We walked out on the ice it was 14 degrees, and the winds were whipping 20 plus. I have to hand it to Brad for sticking it outside his ice shanty most of the day. It was too tough for me to man up.
Once again it was a great time with one of my long time fishing buddies. He hooked us up on the destination and fishing area. Although the bite had changed drastically since yesterday, we still put a decent amount of fish in the bucket by noon. We fished deep in the 17 to 23 foot range. The majority of the fish were coming right off the bottom. Here's a quick photo I took of Brad from a long distance. I peaked the camera out of the ice shanty just long enough to get the shot.

The fish weren't grouped in size classes at all. I pulled one keeper through the hole, and the very next drop down I caught a dink. You can see by the photo below the difference in the two.

I wished I had the whole day to fish, but I had places to be. We stopped for lunch at the Mexican Restaurant off Lake James before I went to my folks house. I had plans to clean my fish and visit with them for a while.
Here's some interesting things I noticed while driving there. Docksiders on Lake James is now closed off. I hope someone here has the scoop on why. They chained the parking area off, and there wasn't a single person out there fishing. I guess there goes one community ice fishing hole.
I then drove by Fox lake. There were hardly any anglers there. The bite must be off, or not good at all. Pleasant Lake had probably a half dozen ice anglers on it. The bite there must have been poor for so few anglers. Hamilton Lake had the beach area ice cut out for those looking to take their New Years dip in the water tonight. They can have it!
The photo below show's the day's catch. We ended up with 27 by noon. It wasn't fast and furious, but it was good enough for my first outing. I had a great time.


Once again it was a great time with one of my long time fishing buddies. He hooked us up on the destination and fishing area. Although the bite had changed drastically since yesterday, we still put a decent amount of fish in the bucket by noon. We fished deep in the 17 to 23 foot range. The majority of the fish were coming right off the bottom. Here's a quick photo I took of Brad from a long distance. I peaked the camera out of the ice shanty just long enough to get the shot.

The fish weren't grouped in size classes at all. I pulled one keeper through the hole, and the very next drop down I caught a dink. You can see by the photo below the difference in the two.

I wished I had the whole day to fish, but I had places to be. We stopped for lunch at the Mexican Restaurant off Lake James before I went to my folks house. I had plans to clean my fish and visit with them for a while.
Here's some interesting things I noticed while driving there. Docksiders on Lake James is now closed off. I hope someone here has the scoop on why. They chained the parking area off, and there wasn't a single person out there fishing. I guess there goes one community ice fishing hole.
I then drove by Fox lake. There were hardly any anglers there. The bite must be off, or not good at all. Pleasant Lake had probably a half dozen ice anglers on it. The bite there must have been poor for so few anglers. Hamilton Lake had the beach area ice cut out for those looking to take their New Years dip in the water tonight. They can have it!The photo below show's the day's catch. We ended up with 27 by noon. It wasn't fast and furious, but it was good enough for my first outing. I had a great time.

