Lake Joe April 4

[Redbeard]

Made it out on the ice today with the Gf. Talked to the local bait shop and he suggested an access point to get on. It was a crisp morning and we moved around a bit and finally caught some fish. I ended up getting 4 fish and the gf got 1. We were having our last smoke before we decided to leave since we hadn't marked anything in a long while when all of a sudden she got her only fish of the day. Well i didn't bring up my line and it got tangled in my line. Ended up landing it and then i noticed another two fish following up my spoon. so i tried to quickly untangle the rats nest that had occured so i could maybe catch my last fish of the season. I tried to get the fish to bite and it would chase and not commit but i was limited to how much i could reel up since i had a giant tangle midline. So in one last ditch effort to get it to bite i dropped my bait back down to bottom and a rocket shoots off and right at my bait. So i reeled up twenty feet to the giant tangle and the fish still was chasing and not biting. So i threw the rod down and continued the chase while handling and sure enough bang. The fish hits and was able to land it. What a great gong show ending to our day and my season. It's funny because the last laker i caught last season i broke my rod setting the hook and i had to hand line that one up to. So for the last two years i have had to hand line my last fish of the season. But i will not forget the cat and mouse game i played to get my final fish this year. The hut was just a mess of tangled, knotted. braided line and we were laughing. Thanks to all for your suggestions and help this year. One thing I will say is that the ice is going fast out. But that is to be expected this time of year. It was in the negative temps today but got windy and very sunny today. The ice changed a lot from this morning to this afternoon. My spud was going threw 5 inches in some places with ease and one inch in others. I learned a lot about what to look for and where to walk but i did show my gf that bad things can go wrong if you step in the wrong place. I put my foot through a darker spot on the ice just by stepping on it. So I will recommend you use extra caution if you plan on hitting up joe for a fish tomorrow.
Play Safe
Redbeard

[Mackfisher]

thanks for the ice condition update and good report redbeard. i think done with joe until next winter not worth the 2-2 1/2 hr drive just to go swimming.

[deepjigger]

I was also on Lake Joe on Saturday. Went to Foots bay and saw a plank of wood was being used to cross a pressure crack that had opened up to about 2 feet. Decided to try another access point, walking conditions was good, some soft spots here and there. Drilled about 9 holes and found at least a foot of ice in every hole. Beauty of a day with the sun shinning and mild temps. Landed 3 small trout, and lost a few. After getting skunked a few times this year going for lakers, felt good to close out the season with landing something rather nothing.