O/T Back Lake Ice Fishing - nice mixed bag

[Species8472]

Headed up to the cabin on Friday afternoon with my wife and son for the weekend. Saturday morning we headed out at about 7 am, stopped and picked up minnows and than drove about 30 km and parked the truck and trailer at the end of the road. From there we went about 25 km on the sled to a back lake that I have only ever fished in the summer. Additionally this was my wife's first time fishing hard or soft water in 30+ years - so the pressure was on to ensure a good time.

Gotta love it when the only tracks are your own from turning around at your destination:



Snow conditions were pretty good with 8 to 10 inches of snow on top of 1 or 2 inches of slush in the morning but increased to 3 to 6 inches of slush when we left at dark - but still fine for the sled and toboggan (which my son rode on top of as the sled only seats 2).

Got the shelter up and the heat on pretty fast so that my son and wife could start fishing right away. Sled stayed parked right there for the rest of the day as there was no need to move:



While they fished I took my el-cheapo power auger and drilled 12 more 8 inch holes at varying depths all within about 150 yards of the shelter. Ice thickness averaged 25 inches and was about 15 inches of clear ice and 10 inches of white ice. El-Cheapo worked great - 14 holes at 25 inches each is 350 inches of ice. That amount took one battery down to about 60% - so in theory 800 inches of 8 inch hole on one battery. I always have two batteries so i can't imagine a day (1600 inches) where i would run out if they start charged. Total cost for el-cheapo (not including the drill) was $71 for the auger, $14 for the adaptor, and 2$ for threaded rod and hardware to modify the shaft so the auger won't fall down a hole if it comes loose at the wrong moment:





My son caught the first fish of the day - a 12 inch brookie that we had along with another for breakfast today. Remaining trout went back.



My wife was focused on perch and we put lots in the 10 to 12 inch size range into the freezer:



I caught the fewest and was focused on walleye. Ended up with 3. The smallest was 17 inches and largest was 19.5 inches. Guy in the photo measures 18.5 inches. They all came home with me.





Weather was great and most importantly everyone had a lot of fun. As you can see though the old man was relegated to the outside holes.

[janesy]

Saturday would have been the perfect day for the trip.
Great job!

[Normous]

Nice family day fishing in the dead of winter.
Enjoy your meals.

[papa bear1]

Enjoyed the pics and story,
great family time together
Thanks for sharing ,

Dave

[Timbrhuntr]

Man that looks like fun except for the choice of beer lol
Did you just stay the day ?
I went a couple times out east with my brother in law and we camped out a couple nights I thought at first he was nuts but it wasn't bad once set up and the rye was flowing lol

[Species8472]

Man that looks like fun except for the choice of beer lol
Did you just stay the day ?
I went a couple times out east with my brother in law and we camped out a couple nights I thought at first he was nuts but it wasn't bad once set up and the rye was flowing lol

Good eye on the beer. I forgot my whiskey and beer and at 10 am hopped on the sled and did the 1 hour 15 min round trip (doing about 80 or 90 kph on the lake portions and 50 or 60 on the trail portions) to the corner store. That was all they had.

We just stayed the day. On the ice about 830 am and off at 630 pm.

[Hi5]

Nice way to spend family time. I'm recovering from eye surgery so I can"t do anything involving strenuous activity. Not supposed to lift anything heavier than 10 pounds.

That pretty much eliminates ice fishing. I can't risk having to make a choice between popping an eyeball or letting a big one go.

I like your power auger. Do you have any problem hanging on to the drill? I'd imagine that there would be a lot of torque just before you go through the ice into water?

That was smart to plan for some way to prevent the auger bit coming loose and dropping into the lake. However, I'd be very concerned that the shaft sticking out like that would do a fair bit of harm if it caught on some loose clothing, etc. If your power unit is big enough not to go through the hole, maybe you could figure out a way to lock the auger into the drill chuck securely enough that it wouldn't loosen on its own?

[elkaholic]

See I might be the nutty guy. Buts thats on my bucket list.

I can only remember a one time for a couple hours ---like 50yrs ago.

Nothing beats a stringer of chubby perch, to have a great fishfry!

but who wants to make that trip in the dead of winter from Arizona

[Species8472]

Nice way to spend family time. I'm recovering from eye surgery so I can"t do anything involving strenuous activity. Not supposed to lift anything heavier than 10 pounds.

That pretty much eliminates ice fishing. I can't risk having to make a choice between popping an eyeball or letting a big one go.

I like your power auger. Do you have any problem hanging on to the drill? I'd imagine that there would be a lot of torque just before you go through the ice into water?

That was smart to plan for some way to prevent the auger bit coming loose and dropping into the lake. However, I'd be very concerned that the shaft sticking out like that would do a fair bit of harm if it caught on some loose clothing, etc. If your power unit is big enough not to go through the hole, maybe you could figure out a way to lock the auger into the drill chuck securely enough that it wouldn't loosen on its own?

I seem to be able to handle the drill with no issues but if someone else is using it I add the additional grab handle. You are correct that the torque is highest when breaking through the bottom of the hole. The drill has 3 speeds and 21 clutch settings so I use it on the lowest speed with torque set just high enough to prevent slippage during normal drilling. Once the clutch allows slippage i know am close to breaking through. At that point I turn up torque setting and proceed carefully.

Drop rod is 8.5 inches long and hole diameter is 8 inches - so it sticks out 1/4 inch on either side and as you can see in the pics the ends are wrapped in electrical tape so no sharp edges. Not fool proof and caution is still required but so far so good.

[gerald strine]

Nice post thanks for sharing hard to beat perch and walleye for table fair.

[SEW]

Very nice narrative and pictures. Great looking family. Can’t tell much difference than fishing in Arkansas.

[Boo]

There sure isn't any grass growing under you! Good to see you're having fun between projects!
BTW, I can't help but think of the "Revenant" when I see picture of you! I know it's folklore but I wouldn't argue with you on the lake!

[wabi]

Looks like a great day with the family!!!!!!!
Some nice fish, too!

[TYE]

Got to love it when you have the whole lake to yourself!

P.S. the drill powered augers are the way to go! I run one with a Milwaukee M18 Fuel and 5ah batteries and I have yet to drain my 1st battery in a day. And I make 100+ holes a day sometimes.

[vixenmaster]

That must have been a great outing. Y'all had a good time caught some good eatin fish n time n memories together