Simcoe perch, glad I had one more trip

[Flukes]

A very warm day and the conditions in the morning were perfect. By the time I returned at about 1:30ish, the conditions were changing very quickly. Still easy off the ice and access was very good but with the heavy rains coming and warm daytime temps and above freezing temps overnight, etc., things are going to go down hill quickly. Ice was still impressively thick (Simcoe made some good ice this year). The fishing was very slow. Maybe about 15 people out there fishing within view. I don't think I saw anyone catch anything all day. My first hole and first drop got me a 11" perch and so I thought, it was going to be a great day. But it was pretty slow and I tried alot of spots (and walked a good amount...my watch tells me so too ). No more fish for a good hour or so trying different spots and barely marked any. Then at a spot about 50-60m from my first hole, I got a mark or two every 5-10min and then for about 15-20min, I had fish under me constantly. I was able to pick up another few (released 3-4 dinks). Then just before I decided to head inshore to check the shallower waters, I get another flurry of marks and landed one more...the largest of the day at just a tad over 13.5" (now thinking about it, I should have let that one go but on a day when the perch are few and far between, something like that comes up, you get pretty excited and forget....I am much more in tune if I'm catching a bunch of 10-11" perch, oh well, next time).
Happy with the results considering I didn't see anyone catch anything (and most people didn't stay too long in a single spot) and a good largish meal of perch for my second and last perching on the ice for this season.

[Brooktrout]

Not too shabby for a last trip. I hit the top end of Simcoe on Sunday and experienced the same thing. First two drops and banged off two nice eater-sized perch. Than nothing for two more hours (except the odd dink). LOL I ended up scratching out two more keepers, and called it a day shortly after noon.

The ice was looking good and quite buoyant still. Maybe the forecast will be wrong, and we won't get as much rain as predicted. Haha.

[Flukes]

Yeah, when you get the fish so quickly, you think you are going to have a great day....nope. But that's the way it goes. And I have had days where they just won't bite until in the late afternoon and then the bite is on for about 1-2 hrs just before sunset and then it dies when it gets too dark (can't see myself fishing that late into the day/early evening anymore). Up here, we didn't get the big early morning rain that was in the forecast last night so....maybe. But there is alot of rain the longt-term forecast