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Posts Tagged crappie

Nebraska and Wyoming ice

Dec 27

Posted by Erik & Michelle in ice fishing | No Comments

Monday morning we left Ogden, Utah after Christmas with our family in Idaho.  By 6pm we were in the middle of Nebraska ready to fish.  One of our favorite spots which had monster gills and crappie was the goal.  When we arrived at dark-thirty Tuesday morning we found our area with a gps and began jigging.  The sound of geese and ducks was the clue that there was still open water on the lake  and the lack of fish coming out of the hole confirmed our disappointment.  The fish just aren’t under the ice if there is good oxygen elsewhere.  So, we packed up and headed back to Casper so we could drive another 100 miles to the north to try our luck there.  This trout spot is as hot as ever.  Erik iced nearly 20 fish and the population is as healthy as ever.  We fished until 3pm before heading back to Casper.

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Nebraska ice

Dec 23

Posted by Erik & Michelle in ice fishing | No Comments

Considering we were fishing Pathfinder not too long ago, we figured the small reservoirs we fish in Nebraska would be more than frozen enough to fish this week.  Wednesday morning we worked our way out to the middle of one of our favorite stock ponds in western Nebraska.  We were there well before light, but the bite was quite slow.  We were very surprised.  After the sun started lighting the sky, the geese started moving off to feed in the fields.  Michelle commented that it seemed strange that the birds would want to sleep on the ice.  After watching them for a few moments, she realized they were on a huge expanse of open water!!  Her eyed followed the water line as it crept further and further toward where both entered the ice earlier.  Kind of a scary thought, we passed so close to wide open water in the blackness of the morning.  Erik figured the open allowed for enough oxygen in the water to let the fish wander where they pleased instead of being concentrated in our winter hot spot.  We decided we should check another of the stock ponds we like to frequent, so we packed up and headed out.  An hour and a half later, we were staring at another wide open reservoir…  We were able to skirt one edge of the pond and try it out for a while, but with no luck.  One more chance- a lake Erik had heard about recently but that we have never fished.  Another 2 hour drive and we were pleased to see a frozen lake.  This water holds perch of more significant size than the other fisheries and we had a nice evening and Thursday morning catching 7-9″ perch and palm sized gills.

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Tongue River Reservoir

Jul 28

Posted by Erik & Michelle in From the boat | No Comments

This is a trip we love to make every year.  Catching crappie through the ice is one of our favorite winter activities, but we don’t have a lot of opportunity for large numbers of crappie out of the boat in the summer.  One of the things that is fun about panfish is the size of the gear.  We use mirco and ultra light rods and 2 to 4 lb line when fishing for these small giants.  Mary and Gordon came with us and we put in at Toungue Tuesday evening around 5pm.  We started at our usual spot, an island near the dam. After striking out on the crappie there we moved over a few bays and fished some private docks. We found some schools of crappies relating to one dock and started catching a few 10″-12″ fish.  A rainstorm moved off the mountain and rained on us for about 45 minutes so we put the rain cover up on the boat and jigged vertically in 18′-23′ of water during the storm. We ended the evening keeping 14 crappies and two nice perch. We threw back some smallmouth bass and the smaller crappies.  At 6:30 a.m. we were back on the water. No luck everywhere we tried except for back around the docks, where we fished till 11:00 catching more crappies, smallmouths and a bonus walleye.  It was a fun trip!

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Richland Dam

Jun 14

Posted by Erik & Michelle in fly fishing | No Comments

This weather is crazy.  We thought that if we drove to the middle of South Dakota we might have some better luck.  No chance.  We arrived at Richland Dam and parked in standing water…  We brought Scout with us this trip so we could spend some time with him and get him in the water for his first swimming experience.  On Saturday night, Erik went out in the float tube while Michelle spent time walking with Scout looking for pheasants.  Erik found the gills in a hole under a large cottonwood tree and was able to pull in a good number of 8+” fish Saturday Evening.  We didn’t know Scout was so ready for his first swim.  But after walking within a close distance to where Erik was fishing Scout just had to go see him.  So off he went down a steep embankment, plunged into the water and swam straight for Erik.  The float tube was much too small for the both of them and after a lesson in staying afloat, Erik was able to get to shore and encourage the dog to get back on dry land.

In the morning, we both spent time with Scout.  It was his first water retrieve and he did great! Watch the video! After wearing Scout out, we put him in his kennel so we could both spend some time on the water.  The weather once again played tricks on us.  The fish were just not biting like they usually do and like they did for Erik last night.  It was still a great trip and we caught some nice gills, crappie and bass.

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Cats and fish, not catfish

Feb 27

Posted by Erik & Michelle in ice fishing, trapping | No Comments

The morning started when we met Jim and the boys to check and pull our trap lines from the last couple weeks.  It was really a remarkable morning!  As soon as we got near the river we watched a flock of ducks flying downstream with an eagle following closely behind.  We pulled our set at the dry creek and checked out some tracks that could have been made by a bobcat and others that were likely made by a coyote.  After coming into view of the island on the North Platte we saw a beautiful cock pheasant being watched by a doe muley.

Neither of them liked the fact that we had stopped for so long, and soon the pheasant was crowing and flying and the doe made her way into the brush.  Not 100 yards past there were 3 coyotes that were making their way toward the deer when they spotted us and took off for the hills.  All that made for a great morning in our brushy outdoors, and we were not expecting to have another bobcat this year.  As Erik made his way toward the set, he knew something was amiss.  He just couldn’t locate the closest trap- and then he saw it.  Eyes glaring at him through the brush.  We ended up catching a handsome young tom.  

Well now, that is not the end of the story.  by 2:30pm we were 4 hours SE of Casper in Nebraska catching crappie left and right!

WATCH IT HERE!!!

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Nebraska Ice Fishing

Jan 31

Posted by Erik & Michelle in ice fishing | No Comments

What an amazing morning!  We were on the ice  by 6:30 and the fish were hitting.  The moon was full and the morning was beautiful with coyotes howling, owls hooting and geese honking.  By 8:30 we had caught dozens of crappies and bluegills, 3 big bass and a bonus 23″ walleye.  As the day progressed the fishing slowed down to a stop.  The evening bite was non-existent and Sunday morning’s bite was also slow.  We left for home at 8:30am Sunday.  On the way home we saw a nice herd of whitetails with two good bucks, which is always nice to see.

Watch the video!!

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Nebraska ice

Jan 17

Posted by Erik & Michelle in ice fishing | 1 Comment

We had a wonderful weekend!  We met up with some old friends on the ice and made some new ones.  For a couple weeks now we have been in contact with several other ice fishermen about meeting up for this weekend excursion.  On Saturday we arrived at a stock pond just after sun-up.  We set up and started fishing near the dam, but quickly realized this was not the spot we wanted to be in for the day.  Before we could move to the spot we were hoping to fishing on, a couple that lived South of the lake got on the ice and moved straight to our spot.

Lesson learned, go right where you are planning, without dilly dallying.  We moved to a spot near the couple and started fishing.  Right off Michelle caught a nice bass.  Erik soon followed with a decent bass of his own.  The couple next to us was hammering the gills.  Needless to say we were jealous.  Soon our friend Seth and his girlfriend showed up, Not too long after, our friend Andrew arrived.

We then moved to a point just past the bluegill catchers and started drilling holes.  This proved to be a better spot than earlier, but still not where we wanted to be.  Andrew methodically moved and searched for better terrain to fish, but was unable to find a hot spot.  The day did turn out to be great! Our new friends Chad, Jacob and Tom showed up late in the afternoon and did well catching a good limit of  gills and some nice bass.

The next morning we were at another nearby stock pond by 6:30am.  The fishing was not terribly fast, but we had an amazing day, with some fast flurries of fish.  We iced dozens of big gills, crappie and bass.  Michelle and Jacob caught MA gills, Tom and Erik each caught monster bass and everyone  enjoyed the day immensely.

Let’s get together again soon, friends!!

Watch the video!!!

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On the ice in Nebraska

Jan 10

Posted by Erik & Michelle in ice fishing | No Comments

Are we so privileged that 30+ fish a day isn’t good enough?  Michelle and Erik each caught several 9+ inch bluegill and 11+ inch crappie is that not a great trip?  Until asking ourselves this question and really thinking about the answer, we were a bit disappointed with the results of our trip this weekend.  But really we caught decent numbers and took home 12 gills 9 inches or better and 3 crappie 11 inches or bigger.  We are so spoiled with great fishing in our lives that it takes a (good) weekend like this to really make us reflect this fact.

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Anniversary trip Day 2

Dec 29

Posted by Erik & Michelle in ice fishing | No Comments

Monday morning was not what we expected the fishing was slow and spotty.  The real reason is we are spoiled, if we aren’t catching one fish after another, we say it is a slow day.  Anyone would have loved to catch the fat healthy gills and crappie we were pulling though this ice this day.  In the end, it was really a good day with many large gills and several 12+ inch crappie.   Michelle even iced a 14 incher!

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Anniversary trip Day 1

Dec 27

Posted by Erik & Michelle in ice fishing | No Comments

Once again the weather has different plans for us.  So, with the big storm just hammering the Midwest, we packed our things and headed for Nebraska to fish for a couple of days to let South Dakota and Minnesota dig themselves out.  We didn’t expect this to be a wildlife viewing trip, but we did run into a magnificent herd of bighorn sheep near Fort Robinson, NE.

We made it to Rushville in time to get a motel and still be on the ice for a couple of hours of fishing.  It was an incredible 2 hours.  We landed several 9+ inch gills and a few crappies.  We decided we had better get another nights stay so we could fish all day on Monday.

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