I have been out on the ice four times and managed to scratch up "dinner for two" each time. I had a good bite on two occasions only and Saturday was one of them. I did not catch any over 12" until today with a 13" the biggest. This was a very satisfying day as there were straight on attacks and also had to work a few to get them to commit. There was a lot more traffic with more of the big girls and boys travelling thru. Last Friday was very slow and they only seemed to take the minnow head from a pinhead minnow. Today they even took a chrome/blue ripping rap.
The walk out was fun. There was a thin crust of ice with 2" of water underneath. I tripped up and managed to get my hands out in the push up position. My mitts got soaked and my pant thighs were soaked also. The pants dried up quickly while walking another 300 paces. The mitts were starting to freeze by the time I stopped. The heater was on mostly to dry my mitts.
There wasn't any snow to cover the base of my clam in the morning. When the wind changed direction the bite definitely slowed down after lunch. It did start up again as I was leaving around 3pm. By this time there was some snow covering the ice and the wind was at my back. There wasn't much effort needed to pull the Smitty/clam back. I did have to slow it down on a bare patch when it started passing me.
Going out Monday again so hopefully the bite gets better and even more biggies are out cruising for a meal.
Perchin Saturday March 18
