Kevin Glenn & 19-inch Pickerel
I never voiced it to anyone, but I expected the lake to be watered over under the snow, and for much of the snow to be melting in the water on the ice, gray-patched. I figured we'd deal with it when we got there, rather than to forewarn the others to no purpose. Brian and several friends were out here on Thursday, finding as much as six inches of ice, so that ice is still there and melting virtually not at all, because that's ice water on top. It basically insulates it from thickening. With temps dropping to zero or nearly that the next two nights, that water on top will freeze and make walking much easier.
Even this evening as we made our way back to our vehicles, we were able to walk on top of ice nearly two inches thick creating a layer of water underneath it.
I figured that with holes cut Thursday, temps above freezing since then, those holes didn't freeze over thickly. Snow accumulated fast, weighed on the ice, and pushed water up through holes. What my theory might not explain, though, is how water is on the ice a good eighth or quarter mile down lake. Brian did mention someone ice fishing down there Thursday, though...
I've fished when water is on the ice a lot in years past. What I didn't expect was my boots leaking it in to make my socks soggy. Have slogged through water six inches deep on ice and not got wet, but I've had these pac boots for 25 years. It's time to find a way to waterproof them again. They're great, warm boots.
Once we did get to our cars, temps had dipped from 22 to 17, and you might rightly wonder how I survived some three-and-a-half hours in that environment with wet feet. I felt reluctant to tell anyone, but eventually I mentioned it to Oliver, before I did to Brian and Kevin. Oliver said, "They're wetsuit boots," after I had spoken of how well insulated they are, my feet not especially cold.
I can't remember if they're 1200 or 600 grain thinsulate, if I have the terms right, but I think 1200.
Oliver gave me a couple of vermiculite hand warmers when we fished on Thursday, and I accepted them, eventually asking where he got them. (I've had a bunch in my study among my equipment, but I believe they're all thrown out, long ago expired.) He told me Walgreens, so on Friday, coming upon the Walgreens in Bernardsville, I bought a couple. Never had need of them today. In fact, I was so warm after cutting holes with Kevin's electric auger, I felt like taking my coat off.
Much of the time I didn't bother wearing gloves.
But the hunting bib I've borrowed from Brian weighs on me. Makes walking difficult. Or it did especially because 10 pounds of ice had glommed onto it. Three years ago it was no such trouble. And I did a lot of bending over when setting tip-ups. Crouching and pressing on the knees to get back up is difficult. It all wore on my back and I had a moment when I feared the stress might have been too much. It wasn't.
We did catch fish and you see photos of some. Kevin might have caught a 13-inch perch, but don't quote me on that one. Oliver did catch one 12 3/4 inches. Both Oliver and Brian caught nice-sized crappies. Other perch got caught. The two pickerel.
I finally got to see some of the latest ice sonar projected onscreen. Pretty cool to sit comfortably--I didn't try today, I witnessed--and watch your jig onscreen...while a fish nearby takes sketchy interest in it at best.
Easy to imagine that watching the fish take interest and eventually strike onscreen must be pretty cool.
Most device screens, by what I've gathered, are liquid crystal and fail if they freeze. However Kevin's screen is made, he told me it's a touch screen, too!
Glenn & Cronk
Brian Cronk with a Nice Crappie
Oliver Round and Crappie
Oliver Round and Pickerel
Temps Ranged from 22 down to 17, and ice built up on the leg bottoms of my very warm hunting bib. On the soggy boots, too.
My Only Fish.
