An Icy Day and Few Fish

[Mark]

Like many folks this December, my house has been visited by the COVID virus – despite a full regimen of vaccines, up to six since this miserable pandemic started.

After 8 days of quarantine and two negative tests I needed to get out.

So, yesterday I traveled across the bridge (the new traffic lane controls are nice by the way) to one of my favorite pickerel sites.

And here is what I saw – Ice covering about a quarter of the pond including some my most productive areas.

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It was thicker than skim ice but not so thick I could not plow through it.

Knowing that a chain pickerel likes a roof over its head, such as a dock or vegetation, I thought the ice might serve that purpose. So, I cast parallel to the ice hoping to entice a hungry fish to come out and chase my fly. It did not work.

Next, I started casting to the ice, and then sliding my fly slowly across the ice and over the edge hoping they would follow it underneath.

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That worked for this little guy:

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But in truth it was a tough bite yesterday. Perhaps the ice and approaching cold front put them down. They simply were not actively biting.

I caught only 4 picks with this lttle fella being the largest:

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And then just as I decided to leave, and perhaps as the ultimate sign of the futility of my efforts, I noticed that I had audience:

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I felt the eyes of this flock of black vultures watching me. Perhaps they saw an old guy fishing and were hoping I would keel over. I was glad to disappoint them. Obviously, they did not know I had tested negative.

All I can say is that a day of slow fishing is much better than another day in quarantine.

The weather forecast next week promises to produce even more ice. Yesterday may have been my last outing of the year.

[dsaavedra]

Nice report Mark, way to tough it out. I also fished yesterday (no Covid for me, though) and experienced similarly tough conditions on the Severn. Similar to your trip, my favorite spots were iced over and I had to fish elsewhere. I only managed 2 pickerel in 4 hours of fishing, and it took me 2.5 hours to catch my first fish. Like you, I was just happy to get out of the house and not get skunked.

[Mark]

Dave,

Thank you. Indeed it was good to get out.

Your post is not the first time I have noticed on this forum that anglers in the same general geographic area fishing at the same time experience similar fishing results.

Clearly some combination of environmental factors put the fish down yesterday.

But if we ever learn to predict with certainty how active the bite will be, just think of the fishing days we might miss if the we knew in advance what to expect.

I think it's much better to go and hope for the best, rather than to know for certain what the outcome will be.

[clm]

Like many folks this December, my house has been visited by the COVID virus – despite a full regimen of vaccines, up to six since this miserable pandemic started.

After 8 days of quarantine and two negative tests I needed to get out.

So, yesterday I traveled across the bridge (the new traffic lane controls are nice by the way) to one of my favorite pickerel sites.

And here is what I saw – Ice covering about a quarter of the pond including some my most productive areas.

P1060766.jpg

P1060768.jpg
It was thicker than skim ice but not so thick I could not plow through it.

Knowing that a chain pickerel likes a roof over its head, such as a dock or vegetation, I thought the ice might serve that purpose. So, I cast parallel to the ice hoping to entice a hungry fish to come out and chase my fly. It did not work.

Next, I started casting to the ice, and then sliding my fly slowly across the ice and over the edge hoping they would follow it underneath.

P1060773A.jpg

That worked for this little guy:

P1060769A.jpg

But in truth it was a tough bite yesterday. Perhaps the ice and approaching cold front put them down. They simply were not actively biting.

I caught only 4 picks with this lttle fella being the largest:

P1060777.jpg
And then just as I decided to leave, and perhaps as the ultimate sign of the futility of my efforts, I noticed that I had audience:

P1060778A.jpg

I felt the eyes of this flock of black vultures watching me. Perhaps they saw an old guy fishing and were hoping I would keel over. I was glad to disappoint them. Obviously, they did not know I had tested negative.

All I can say is that a day of slow fishing is much better than another day in quarantine.

The weather forecast next week promises to produce even more ice. Yesterday may have been my last outing of the year.

Thanks for the report....I picked up some generic rooster tails thinking I'd cast a bit since it was 45....nope, my whole hole was iced over. Glad someone got out....I did manage to fly my RC plane though, but fishing would have been better..

[Mark]

clm,

A Rooster Tail is a good pickerel lure, as are most small spinner baits.

Just remember that even though a chain pickerel remains active in cold water when other fish have gone dormant or departed to deeper water, a slower lure presentation is often the key.

I catch more on flies than lures in winter not only because I fly fish more than I cast lures but because they like a bait that suspends in the water column. They especially are attracted baits that suspend as you pause the retrieve. That's why I do not use weighted streamer flies. My unweighted flies sink slowly and suspend momentarily when I halt the retrieve. It is during those pauses that I get most of my pickerel hits.

A lure that I favor is a paddletail that I rig on a worm hook, not a jig or weighted hook. The paddletail sinks slowly on the unweighted hook and like my flies it suspends when I pause the retrieve. Also, I can make it weedless when I am fishing in heavy vegetation by embedding the hookpoint into the paddletail. Even now, the stems of lilies and spatterdock are still present just under the surface in ponds and they will snag your offerings.

I have occasionally used a suspending Rapala crankbait with success for picks. But they are not good choices in ponds with remnants of vegetation.

In any case, thank you for your comments and good luck to you on your future pickerel hunts and with your RC plane.

[clm]

Thank you. I have all the above in the vehicle all the time. Just not an ice breaker

[bignose]

Ice on the pond?

Brave soul.

The only fishing I plan on doing in this weather is some "cat" fishing.
That involves teasing the cats with a bunch of feathers hung from an old fishing rod.

Stay warm folks.

[J. Rentch]

Mark
Your trip reminded me of our January 2021 group trip to Skipton Creek. There was ice everywhere. For some reason John Veil decided to take the lead and became our “Ice Breaker” as well paddled down the creek
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Hopefully it will moderate a little in January so we can enjoy hunting our favorite winter fish!

[Mark]

John,

Ice this early is an anomaly based on the recent past.

The worst thing about breaking through it is the noise it makes. The picks certainly heard me coming and I may even have awakened the slumbering turtles in the mud!

But yes, lets hope for good thawing periods in January and February.

My first and last kayak fish of the year is usually a pickerel.

I hope hard water does not disrupt that trend in 2023.

[Mark]

Ice on the pond?

Brave soul.

The only fishing I plan on doing in this weather is some "cat" fishing.
That involves teasing the cats with a bunch of feathers hung from an old fishing rod.

Stay warm folks.

Stu,

I fish that way too.

In fact, I caught this one in my house a few weeks ago on a bucktail:

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