# LADDERS - STILL OPEN



## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

With the recent icings of most of my favorite waters, I found myself on a hunt for open water.

I woke up nice and early and made my way towards the berry. The roads were very slick, but I managed to ice skate my way there. I figured Strawberry would be frozen in the bays and shallows, but I was relying on the moving water to keep the ladders area ice free.

I was right...mostly. Here's what the channel looked like:










So the channel had a nice sheet over it, but it opened up just before the cement barriers where it meets the lake. There were stray sheets of ice floating around all over the place, but most of the water was still open.










In the earlier part of the morning, I heard something through the fog that I didn't expect: A boat chopping through the water and ice. When it came into view, I saw that it was a duck boat, all decked out and in action. I heard quite a lot of shots early on. Hope they had fun.

The fishing wasn't red hot by any means, but it wasn't too bad considering my usual experiences of waiting most of the day for 1 decent fish. Not long after I started fishing, I had action on the minnow rod.

I knew it wasn't too big, so I hoped it was a rainbow.

It was, but it left me wanting more, fight-wise. It hardly thrashed as I merely guided it into my net and onto the snow. Taking a pic was pretty easy since it was so nonchalant.










They must've planted that one when it was bigger than most of the ones they plant. The fins were hardly there. No wonder it didn't fight hard.

I tried several rigs on the fresh line of my other rod. Practically everything I threw snapped off and flew out into the water, far away. :evil: I was debating whether or not to buy a luckycraft for this trip, but I'm glad I decided not to. First cast with my rapala and it was gone. *BRAND NEW LINE!!!* :x

Tell you what, folks: Stay away from "Vanish" fluorocarbon. I had 10lb test and I was breaking off while casting a simple weightless worm rig. Apparently NOT a good cold weather line. I've never had a worse experience with line and I'll never buy that brand again.









Once I got a worm to stay on that line for a whole cast, I got a taker right away:










Now that's what a rainbow is supposed to look like! It was fat, healthy, good color, nice fins...just what I wanted.

Okay, now for that big cutt I've been after...

I ended up catching 3 cutthroats, all in the slot. 2 at 20, and the fattest one was 18 inches.

Here's one of the 20 inchers:










I had one fish messing with my minnow on the crappy line rod, but patience had escaped me and I pulled the hook out when trying to set. Who knows what that would've been?

It was a pretty good day and I had the whole place to myself until about 1:30 when a guy with a pontoon showed up. He made me wish I had a 4WD vehicle...I had to park on HWY 40 and walk in because the snow was too deep for my little car to handle. Nice little jaunt.

While waiting around for bites, I noticed how cool the ice looked that had formed on the rocks at the shoreline.





































All in all, a good day to get out! It wasn't too cold (I was very bundled), the fish were hungry, and I got there and back safely. Mission accomplished.

Happy Fishing, Humans.


----------



## fixed blade XC-3 (Sep 11, 2007)

Great pics loah thanks for the report.


----------



## FROGGER (Oct 1, 2007)

LOAH 

great post as usual, thanks for the pics and report on the ice situation... As you know i cant wait for the ice to hit. again, thanks for the report...


----------



## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

I was surprised to see so much open water. I guess it takes a little bit longer to cool down so much water to the point that the ice will survive the daylight.

It won't be too long for you ice heads.


----------



## FROGGER (Oct 1, 2007)

LOAH said:


> I was surprised to see so much open water. I guess it takes a little bit longer to cool down so much water to the point that the ice will survive the daylight.
> 
> It won't be too long for you ice heads.


When your ready to go ice fishing let me know and well make a day of it....


----------



## fixed blade XC-3 (Sep 11, 2007)

LOAH said:


> It won't be too long for you ice heads.


I'd prefer it if you called us *Ice holes*


----------



## FROGGER (Oct 1, 2007)

fixed blade said:


> LOAH said:
> 
> 
> > It won't be too long for you ice heads.
> ...


LOL,, I'm an ice hole, i admit it...


----------



## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

:shock: :shock: Open water ??? :shock: :shock: 

Good fishing trip LOAH !! You must have some big.....'feet'.. to make that trip !!! Good look'in fish too...except for that weird one....


----------



## BrookTroutKid (Oct 10, 2007)

Great report as usual LOAH you need to take up ice fishing so we can keep hearing(and seeing) your reports.    Those rainbows look colorful.


----------



## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

LOAH will come over to the dark side this year!
The force is too strong for him to deny his destiny.
Once bitten by the ice bug, he will never be able to go back 
to his old life. He will become an Ice Hole!


----------



## fixed blade XC-3 (Sep 11, 2007)

*Viva los Ice holes*!


----------



## BrookTroutKid (Oct 10, 2007)

Grandpa D said:


> LOAH will come over to the dark side this year!
> The force is too strong for him to deny his destiny.
> Once bitten by the ice bug, he will never be able to go back
> to his old life. He will become an Ice Hole!


 :twisted: :twisted: *\-\* *\-\* Wa ha ha ha :twisted:


----------



## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

Grandpa D said:


> LOAH will come over to the dark side this year!
> The force is too strong for him to deny his destiny.
> Once bitten by the ice bug, he will never be able to go back
> to his old life. He will become an Ice Hole!


Grandpa D...maybe you work over the other mods and that Petersen guy and make up an *Ice Hole* section for all the 'ice holes' on this forum...
Then the non-ice-holes don't hafta listen to all cold weather crap...brrrrrrrrrrr...


----------



## fixed blade XC-3 (Sep 11, 2007)

.45 just looked and at the current time its 9 degrees. This Ice hole will be heading up their in two week. I have an extra spot in my truck and ice tent just for you. :shock:


----------



## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

fixed blade said:


> .45 just looked and at the current time its 9 degrees. This Ice hole will be heading up their in two week. I have an extra spot in my truck and ice tent just for you. :shock:


Is that the extra tent you use for bathroom purposes?? Ha Ha...lol.....I don't think so...oh, I have something going on that week.... :mrgreen: :mrgreen:


----------



## fixed blade XC-3 (Sep 11, 2007)

Wusssss. :mrgreen:


----------



## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Grandpa D said:


> LOAH will come over to the dark side this year!
> The force is too strong for him to deny his destiny.
> Once bitten by the ice bug, he will never be able to go back
> to his old life. He will become an Ice Hole!


Oh it'll happen, I'm sure. Some of you guys are pretty bent on getting me to, so it's already written. It can't be too bad. Anytime I can catch fat trout from a lake, it's a good time.


----------



## Greenguy88 (Sep 7, 2007)

Good report LOAH. In all the times I have fished Strawberry I have yet to catch a rainbow. Always slot limit cutts :evil: but fun nontheless. I dont suppose you drove over to where mud creek is? Any ice in any bays you saw? You will become one of us (ice hole), its only a matter of time! Muahaha!


----------



## waltny (Sep 8, 2007)

Great report, Ive got to get out and do some fishing its been a while...

Anyhow as a avid photographer I have to comment on your last pic. Im sure you didnt agonize forever trying to compose and go through all the steps and have the rules in mind(maybe you did, who am I to say...) when you shot it but Id like to say its very good. The leading edge of the ice on the bank, shallow depth of field, the fact you caught that skeeter on the water and the 'berry smooth as freshly zambonied ice.... Job well done


----------



## JAT83 (Sep 9, 2007)

Nice work, Thanks for the report!


----------



## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

waltny said:


> Anyhow as a avid photographer I have to comment on your last pic. Im sure you didnt agonize forever trying to compose and go through all the steps and have the rules in mind(maybe you did, who am I to say...) when you shot it but Id like to say its very good. The leading edge of the ice on the bank, shallow depth of field, the fact you caught that skeeter on the water and the 'berry smooth as freshly zambonied ice.... Job well done


I knew you'd like that one. :wink:

While I was there, I took a lot of ice photos and kept coming back to that rock where the last pic was taken. I really liked the way the ice had formed and how it looked, as a whole. I took a few shots from many different angles and then I decided that a macro next to the water was needed.

I kind of crossed my fingers hoping the shots would turn out alright. I have a hard time really seeing the pics on the LCD screen (that's all scuffed up  ), so I didn't even look at them until I got home.

I probably took about 15 ice shots and only used 4. The other shots merely looked like pictures of ice...Not photography. I was really pleased to see that last one on my monitor. I wondered while taking that pic if the surface bugs would mess with the shot, but figured why not and snapped it.

So I guess I didn't really agonize over all the "rules" (that I don't know), but I did try several angles and that was the only one worth looking at.

Thanks for the compliment.


----------



## Riverrat77 (Sep 7, 2007)

hmmmm that is a lot of open water..... and I too wonder how the little bays looked with ice, but for a hunting interest. Its too cold for me to be busting out the fishing line to just sit there waiting for a fish..... I'd have to be river fishing with pockets stuffed with handwarmers. :lol: That being said... I guess sitting waiting on ducks isn't any smarter. I've had trouble with that Vanish crap too LOAH. I won't ever use it again, although I've heard some of the bass and walleye guys like it for finesse applications. Personally, its Stren Magnathin for me. 8)


----------



## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

The shallow bays were mostly iced in the early morning, but the breeze and sunlight moved those slabs or melted them by the afternoon.

Like I said, I heard shots all morning and saw duck boats. Someone's shaking tail feathers out there.


----------



## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

LOAH, you are the definition of DIE HARD fisherman. I was going to go fishing on Saturday woke up saw the snow and back to bed it was for me. Football by a warm fire was the call of the day for me. The ice monster has taken over now and the ICE people are comming out to play.


----------

