Awesome Trout Action Thru The Ice

This week has been some of the best ice fishing for Trout at Busch Wildlife in years!

I've been spending my time fishing lake 22 and have caught limits of fish every day! Even hooked one around 4 lb's.....had him up to the hole three times, but eventually got off.

Action for some anglers has been slow, but I stumbled across a method that is working well. I'm using a #8 Yellow Chartreuse Wade Blade tipped with a single piece of yellow canned corn. Using my rod holder and Frabill light action rod with 4 lb. test. I'm dropping the jig all the way down till it hits the bottom and reeling up about four inches, and letting it sit. Occasionally I will jig the blade to get the fish's attention.

Also had some luck using a pink #8 blade tipped with a small shiner or chub minnow.

Bites have been light at times, but the spring tip on the rod has helped me detect the slightest nibble. Once they tap it, Set the hook hard on a semi loose drag, and the battles on.

With warming temperatures, I'm not sure how long the ice will be around? So be careful if you go out and good luck.

Till next time....tight lines.

Greg

Crappie on Ice!

Fished a relatives lake over in Fosterburg, IL this morning. Ice was nice and clear and approximately 6 - 8 inches thick!

Started out fishing with Wade's Blades and waxworms, but couldn't get bit. Switched to a #6 Black Wade's Blades with minnows and caught a few Crappie. All in all a slow day, but that's how it goes sometimes!

They are predicting 5 -6 inches of snow for tonight and tomorrow. Checked the area Trout Stocking hotline and Busch Wildlife lakes 22 & 23 were stocked with approx. 300 Rainbow Trout yesterday. Vlasis Park was stocked with approx. 95 trout. Should be some great trout fishing through the ice!

Get out and get ya some!

Till next time....tight lines.

Greg

First Fish of the Year 2010!

Went fishing yesterday with my good friend Steve Miller, and checked out the ice conditions at a lake in central Illinois. To my surprise the ice was 2 1/2 - 3 inches thick! I did not walk out too far from shore, but did drill a couple holes close to the boat docks and fished from there.

Had 3 three subtle bites and one fish that inhaled a pink #8 Wade Blade and waxworm. Caught my first fish of the year on Jan. 2nd. A Rainbow Trout.

The outside temp. on the dash of my truck said one degree, when I left the house in the morning. The sun was out, but it was some of the coldest weather I've fished in, with temps for the day staying in the single digits. I was wearing plenty of layers, so I was comfortable the entire time.

Went fishing today (Sunday Jan. 3rd) out at Busch Wildlfe in Weldon Springs MO. Checked out lakes 22 - 24, and decided to fish lake 23. Ice was about the same thickness as in IL, around 2- 1/2 inches+. But the quality of ice is better this year, than last. The temperature dropped so fast and has stayed cold, so the ice is very strong. But that doesn't mean you should not take precautions. I always take a long rope and a boat cushion to kneel on, just in case!

Fished with a Pink #8 Wade's Blade and waxworms for a while today without any bites, so switched from waxworms to a white Berkley Gulp Maggots, and caught a rainbow trout. The water at lake 23 was kind of dingy and fishing was slow. There were two other guys ice fishing when I left, but they did not have any fish.

I decided to try fishing lake #22. The water looked better at lake 22, but we did not get bit in the short time we fished.

The weather is forecast to be cold all next week, with high temps not to exceed the 20's. By next weekend we should have at least 4" of good solid ice, and will have more bodies of water to fish.

Good luck everyone! Hope you have a chance to get out and try some ice fishing. Not sure how long the cold temps will last, so get out and enjoy it while you can. But most of all....be safe!

Tight Lines,
Greg

First Ice... December 11 - 12th 2009

Well we finally have some ice, but it's only 1 1/2" thick! Not safe enough to walk on, but there are a number of lakes with docks extending out into deep water. Or parks with decks that you can stand or sit on the edge of. Just break a hole in the ice, and you're ready to fish!

Yesterday my neighbor and I went to a local city park in Ballwin, MO, which gets stocked with trout in the fall.  We were using Wade's Blades and waxworms on short ice rods.We ended up catching two trout and lost a nice size fish at the hole.

Took my son this morning and caught two trout. One was caught on a pink #8 Wade Blade and the other on a Pumpkin #8.

Talked to some older guys that showed up to fish.  They told me a six and eight pound Rainbow Trout were caught from the lake before it froze up!

Be sure to check these lakes out, especially if you have fall trout stockings in your area. A lot of times you can have access to good fishing, even if it's not safe to get on the ice yet. And once you have safe ice, the trout are pretty easy to catch, and put up a great fight!

Till next time, Good Luck and be safe!

Greg

Fall Fishing Nov. 8, 2009

Took my son out fishing. Went back to my favorite lake in Illinois. The weather was fantastic for November, with high temps around seventy degrees!


We started out fishing for Crappie and caught a nice trout. After fishing the same tree for a while and missing two good bites, we decided to move to another spot. Fished a few more trees and caught a couple Crappie.


The lake was pretty crowded, because of the nice weather. And it seemed everyone wanted to fish for Crappie. We moved to the far side of the lake to get out of the wind. My polarized glasses allowed me to see spots where several logs were laying in the water. These spots were overlooked by the other anglers. I would sit my Wade's Blade and minnow next to the logs and fishing various depths. Caught some nice fish and found some decent numbers.


Trout was caught on a White #6 Wade's Blade with minnow, Crappie was caught on a Yellow Chart. #6 Wade's Blade and minnow. *All fish were photographed and released!


As we were leaving for the day, I noticed some fish chasing shad. I tied a small Mepp's spinner on Ty's rod and told him to cast near the school of shad. He immediately hooked up with a little largemouth bass. He caught three more Bass in four casts. Not much size to them, but a lot of fun for him. Made his day!


Till next time.....tight lines!


Greg

October 21, 2009 First Trout of The Season

Yesterday I went back to my favorite little lake in Illinois. They had
just stocked the lake with 3,000 lb.'s. of Rainbow Trout the week
before.

Tried fishing for Crappie using a Yellow Chartreuse Wade Blade with a
minnow. Anchored off next to the same tree I fished the last time I
was there. Sat my Wade Blade in the middle of the tree and ten
seconds later....my slip float was gone! I set the hook and felt some
weight on the end of the rod. I pulled up a nice 2.5 lb. trout. I
managed to get him up and over the main trunk of the tree before it
had a chance to get me wrapped up.

Once in the boat, I noticed the fish had another line in it's mouth.
*See pic. Someone had hooked the fish and it broke their line. The
snap swivel, hook, and Berkley Power Eggs were still intact! I put
another minnow on and put it in the same place, and hooked another
nice trout. Hooked two more, for a total of four, before I called it
quits. One of the trout was a nice female which leaked eggs all over
the floor of the boat and live-well. There was even a bunch left when
I cleaned the fish. *See pic.

I also caught two keeper Crappie from a couple trees. The wind started
to P.U. which made it difficult to fish one of the trees. Tried
casting with Rooster Tails, but did not have any strikes. There were
lots of small (minnow size) shad in the lake, and I think all the fish
were getting their fill.

Crappie Fishing 10/7/09

Finally got out today. Went Crappie fishing at one of my favorite
little lakes, at a state park in Illinois.

Got to the lake around 11:00 and there was only one boat in the
parking lot. I noticed there was a guy at the fish cleaning station,
so I walked over to talk to him. He just came off the water and was
cleaning his limit of Crappie. That was a good sign.

I fished a couple trees, with no luck, but came across a third one,
and got a bite. I turned the boat around and anchored off. I was using
a Yellow Chartreuse Wade's Blade with a #6 hook, tipped with a minnow.
I sat in the same tree and caught around twenty Crappie. I kept my
limit of ten fish. Actually put some in the livewell to cull later,
when I caught a bigger one.

It was a beautiful day with sunny skies and temps in the upper 60's,
with a slight breeze. I started out fishing the deeper parts of the
brush, but was surprised to hook some of the bigger fish in water as
shallow as two feet! Just shows you that you never can tell where
they'll be. Using a slip float really helps you to quickly adjust the
depth you are fishing at. Keep moving from spot to spot in and around
the tree and keep adjusting the depth, until you find the fish.

Here are some pics. Till next time.....tight lines!

Greg