# Bad Day at Echo on 5 January



## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

I took my neighbor up to Echo for a repeat on perch. It was not meant to be. The day started out bad and went downhill from there. We parked at the resort around 8:30 instead of South Beach this trip. We started down the ramp on the snowmobile and came to the gate at the old rail bed. We followed the old sled tracks around the fence on the east side of the rail bed. I wasn't positioned on the up hill side of the sled and with two of us on and it rolled to the right throwing my neighbor into the cement pole at the end of the fence. Guess which didn't give way.

He hit it with the outside of his right arm which was jammed hard against his right side and broke a rib loose from the cartilage on his right side. He bravely claimed he was just fine, if not a little sore, and we should continue on with the fishing. I wasn't so sure, but he insisted.

Got out on the ice and immediate discovered the lake was covered with about 6" to 8" of _S L U S H_! What a mess. We set up in 25 feet of water and tried for an hour. Nothing would bite. They were there, but they just would not bite. So, we moved out to around 35 feet of water.

This time we were able to entice a few to bite, but almost all were less than 5 inches. The very first one caught was the only keeper at 7 ½". Like I said, the day was going down hill from the start. Did I mention we had a _S L U S H_ problem? We packed it in about 12:30 and headed home.

When we got back to the house and unloaded the gear, we noticed my neighbor's thermos was missing. We figured it got bounced out of the sled on the trip back to the trip. It was a blue plastic model with a molded in handle in case a UWN'er happens to find it and would care to get it back home.

An hour later, after putting everything away and sitting down to relax, I decided to have a cup of Joe and remembered there was still a cup or two in MY thermos. Then it hit me - I had NOT seen it since I had gotten back to the house. After much thought on the matter, I realized that the last time I actually saw it was when I laid it on top of the cover of one of my two sleds. It also probably got thrown off on the trip back to the truck. It is a 26 oz Green Head Gear camo stainless steel model.

Well that's my tale of woe for today. I'm at the bottom of that hill we started down earlier. The good news is that I've got nowhere left to go but up from here.


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## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

Sorry to hear about your bad trip.
All of this snow has made for some rough ice fishing this year.
I hope that Yuba will turn out a lot better!
I'm looking forward to that trip.
See you in a couple of weeks,
Grandpa D.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Man, that sucks! I hope your buddy makes a speedy recovery.

You're next time out is sure to be better than this trip. Good luck.


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

That sounds like a couple of ice fishing trips I have went on lately, minus the fish.


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## STEVO (Sep 13, 2007)

orvis1 said:


> That sounds like a couple of ice fishing trips I have went on lately, minus the fish.


Hey we lived to see another day :lol:


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

No at least on that trip you caught a couple of nice ones for the effort, it was the week before that where we got stuck, had to crawl to my truck, and only one fish caught in a group of 5 of us that makes his story sound framiliar.


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## Greenguy88 (Sep 7, 2007)

STEVO said:


> orvis1 said:
> 
> 
> > That sounds like a couple of ice fishing trips I have went on lately, minus the fish.
> ...


Ya but what a trip it was! :mrgreen:

Sorry about the bad trip to Echo dubob, that slush report might cause me to scratch Echo off the list for this Saturday... well have to wait and see. No trout eh?


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## holman927 (Sep 28, 2007)

orvis1 said:


> No at least on that trip you caught a couple of nice ones for the effort, it was the week before that where we got stuck, had to crawl to my truck, and only one fish caught in a group of 5 of us that makes his story sound framiliar.


 Doesnt sound to shabby for the one that caught the fish. :wink:

Sorry you had such a rough outing. You win some you lose some I guess.


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## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

Greenguy88 said:


> No trout eh?


I caught one slimer off the bottom at the first whole. Put it back immediately. Perch were the target.


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## cfarnwide (Sep 10, 2007)

Greenguy88 said:


> that slush report might cause me to scratch Echo off the list for this Saturday... well have to wait and see.


Just curious... other than being an annoyance, will slush on the ice cause safety issues? Im planning on going to Echo saturday and willing to wear waders and hike through slush. But if its a safety hazard I'll skip.


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## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

Just be careful getting on the ice.
Many of the reservoirs are starting to have soft edges now.
You may want to take a plank or ladder to get on the ice.
Once on the ice, it's fine.


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## Greenguy88 (Sep 7, 2007)

cfarnwide said:


> Greenguy88 said:
> 
> 
> > that slush report might cause me to scratch Echo off the list for this Saturday... well have to wait and see.
> ...


Ya slush is just an annoyance, one that I dislike! I will second grandpas caution tho, be careful around the edges, last I was up there two weeks ago they were kinda soft.


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## STEVO (Sep 13, 2007)

Its strange how quickly the ice conditions can change. Im planning on giving Echo a try in the morning. Ill Keep my eye our for a couple thermos's (Im sure 100 people would have passed them by now :shock: )


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## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

The only issues are it's very hard to walk long distances through and everything that comes in contact with it gets wet. It's not as slippery as bare ice. You will use more energy to travel the same distances. I don't feel it is any more or less safe than bare ice or ice with dry snow on it.


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