You Could Hear Ice Melt Yesterday

Looking ahead now to trolling hybrids, the most exciting fishing I do. Doubtful my son will join me. He graduates Boston University on May 16, but probably stays up there until he begins study in the fall for a Master degree.

He recently had me read over an application essay for a summer job with a company in California. (He would work from Boston.) He did cutting edge work at artificial intelligence in the quest to better understand the Higg's boson, or as the subatomic particle is nicknamed, "the God Particle." That's in his favor for getting any job in his field. The quantum AI work he would do this summer is the Silicon Valley variety.

Will be interesting to see if he and I ever go for hybrids again. I kind of think we will.  

It is cold tonight and I'm not motivated to check the weather. I did put my ice fishing gear away for the season. You could hear the ice melt yesterday.

Aeroflex Pounded

Why it's called Aeroflex

I got word of access from the road, but I figured I would take the lazy man's approach and go on at the boat launch. 

Like so many dozens of others.

I can't remember ever seeing so many holes cut. Most of them were iced over, but man, these fish have taken pressure.

I hauled my sled straight out so as not to set up too close to guys to my right and left. I had to go back for stuff, because my Flexible Flyer just does not do the job in total. Later, I would call my wife, and she told me the obvious. Get the dimensions of a Jet Sled. Just maybe it will fit in the attic. 

The power auger cuts holes a whole lot better than before I sharpened the blades, but it still isn't up to what it was. Either I need to sharpen those blades better, or the shaft doesn't turn as fast as it used to. It's probably the blades. 

Ice was a foot thick and melting fast, temps climbing nearly to 50. I set five tip-ups in water 25 to 30 feet deep, and then walked towards shore and began cutting more holes. I remember a weedbed there from four years ago, where we had some topawater action just after sunset, though the pickerel were small. We had caught all of our good fish in the back of the lake. Today, I would gaze down lake and sort of wish I made it harder on myself.

The water did not drop off fast along this shoreline, but it did drop very quickly from six feet down to about 14 and on down into deeper water. I set my tip-ups in a line at 12 to 14 feet. I had set one in about 20, but I pulled it, because I found no evidence of weeds there.

Even the trout and salmon will cruise above residual weeds, by what I've gathered. Why not? Weeds attract life, and that's what they eat.

The entire area near the boat launch had been absolutely pounded. From in close all the way across, and I had slugged my stuff at least 400 yards down lake, maybe more. I never gave up entirely on a flag rising. I jigged a little, too. And among nearly a dozen other ice fishermen, one of them did catch a trout. There's good habitat and there are fish. 

I dumped the remainder of my shiners into a hole, and since I could fill the bucket with stuff, I did manage to haul everything without going back for a second round. 

Summer