The UP is always an option.fell in love with it up there, but saginaw bays been my number 1 spot to hit
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Aww south of the border, but probably north of me… Central Ontario ice situation is sketchy this year, I won’t even get our big hut out . Hopefully it has firmed up over the past few days, and give the pop-up some work… we haven’t been out at all yet 
Its over down here. Getting the yak ready
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No kidding? I’m gonna hit it hard again next weekend, plenty of ice for the sxs and to set up a massive spread.
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This was the first year going back 67 years when I started ice fishing with my father and grand dad that we have not had safe ice in mid Michigan. It got close for a week or so and then the warm weather ruined it.
Lots of guys falling through.
The magnetic north pole has been moving at ever increasing speeds toward Siberia.
Going back over a hundred years, the magnetic poles have shown movements year to year, but in varying directions, but for the last 100 or so years, it has been moving toward Siberia. The speed is also increasing in the direction it is heading. Straight toward Siberia. 45 to 50 miles per year and increasing.
Understand that the global warming, whoops, wrong phrase, climate change.
They changed the words “global warming” for “climate change” as the former phrase was not working. They even showed pics of one side of Antarctica where ice was truly melting, but what they did not show was that ice was increasing on the other side of the continent. Lets all spend 4 times as much for our energy because we’ve been conditioned to believe their lies. We can all then feel good about ourselves for saving the planet and adding a bunch more 0s to their financial empires.
Then there is the sun which one could fit 1.3 million Earths into, which has many magnetic shifts and moods which can change our weather patterns here on our puny little planet. Going back to the little ice age over 600 years ago before the industrial
revolution and one can see that climate change occurred long before man supposedly mucked things up. It makes me want to drive the biggest SUV made up the ass of these money grubbing parasites. Excuse the rant, but the photos of the magnetic pole shift which seems to be happening, are not that easy to find online. It conflicts with the narrative.
Even airport runways are having to be renamed as many are named by their magnetic headings.
The magnetic lines of flux that emanate from the magnetic poles are tighter spaced at the magnetic poles and these lines of magnetic flux affect the upper atmosphere’s jet streams, which in turn affects our weather. So as magnetic lines of flux change based on the magnetic poles, so do the jet streams which directly affects our weather.
The amount of hot air coming out of the mouths of these globalists who want to control the narrative and the agenda of selling “carbon credits” is the main ingredient
in “global warming”. These are the same people who want to reduce the Earths population by 85 % are the same smelly bastards that control the legacy media and
all of the lies that we are fed. I loath them.
Enough of my rant on weather, but it would help explain this exceptionally warm winter here in Michigan.
Here is a pic I found of the magnetic poles shifting. It took a while to find online.
Interesting is that both poles are moving, but the northern magnetic pole is shifting quicker that the southern magnetic pole, but both are shifting.
I love fishing. Open water, hard water, streams, surf fishing Lake Michigan, trolling for Salmon, trout, and walleyes. Its all good. I’m the only angler in my state that has two state records. No one else in Michigan can say that… A Lake Michigan Whitefish, and
a Black Bullhead. Both were accidental catches caught while fishing for other species.
We have a very nice pond next to our home with 2 aerators/bubblers that run 24/7.
No ice forms where these are at in the pond but everywhere else in the pond gets enough safe ice for me to fish it, except this last season. All pond fish are catch and release. I usually ice fish it 2 or 3 times per season to assess the health and size of
the fish.
We have some very nice sized fish in our pond. The largest bass was caught by a
Boy Scout as they used to have jamborees on our property before we bought it 7 years ago. It was just shy of 23 inches and weighed 7 lbs on an old de-liar. That’s a huge bass for Michigan.
The largest perch I’ve caught was 16 1/2 inches ice fishing. It pulled like a like huge bass. It was bloated with eggs and released to do her thing come ice out. I was trying to establish a viable population of different year classes in the pond and when I stocked 100 5 to 7 inch perch in the pond a few years ago, they did not make it past that first year as the bass ate them. The next time, I planted 200 of the 5 to 7 inch fish and at the same time added a bunch of structure in the pond to give them sanctuary so they could avoid being snacks for the bass. It worked, as I now have many different year classes of fish from first year to mature adults. Some truly huge
perch in the pond now.
I also have hybrid bluegills in the pond which are preferred in farm ponds because their offspring are 90 to 95 percent males. This helps keep them from overpopulating the pond.
I feed the hybrid bluegills from April through the end of October with Zeigler’s floating
pellets. Almost a full Folgers coffee can (plastic) worth of pellets as I slowly walk the perimeter of the pond. It’s fun watching them feed.
Last spring I planted 100 red eared sunfish, but the only size they had at the hatchery were 2-4 inch fish. Time will tell whether they survived being fodder for the bass. I also skim the pond for filamentous algae during the open water times of the year. I spend considerable time managing the pond to make it awesome for fishing.
When friends come to visit, they are amazed at the size of the fish.
Happy pond/ happy fish.
Pics
Perch and Hybrid Bluegills
11 Inch Perch
13 Inch Perch
11 Inch Hybrid Bluegill
The pond fish are all catch and release, however there are some local lakes close to home where I can usually catch limits for the table or freezer.
Here are a couple of local lakes that are very secluded and have a great size average for the bluegills. The first one has a nice 8 to 10 inch average on the gills with the
occasional 12" that gets my attention.
This one has a limited access and it is not shown on any lake map books.
Only a small handful of locals know about it. My kind of lake.
Two Sided Jig Box. Waterproof and Floats
I never leave home without some “mean green” on an ice fishing trip.
It works wonders in the shanty. Oh yeah, it’s also pretty good fishing
line. 
This very small ice fishing rod was made from a broken one. It’s short length
allows me to slowly swim my jig upward in the portable shanty and still have room
for a hook set when I finally coax one into biting.
This spring bobber helps. They can be bought commercially for about $4, but I prefer
to make mine from broken guitar strings. I use a high E (.009 or .010 dia.) and then some craft store beads and tubing. I can make these for a few cents each instead of spending 4 dollars for one. It saves me money for buying jigs. With a Bic lighter and some shrink wrap, I can fix a broken or bent one while out ice fishing. Better yet is using rod tying thread for the spring bobber with a “Hard as Nails” fingernail polish for securing them to my rod tip. Fixing them with thread and “Hard as Nails” fingernail polish is much easier done from the comfort of home.
I start the jigging cadence with the rod tip down low and slowly pulse it upward
imparting a swimming action to the jig. Sometimes a fish will follow the jig upward
for a few feet before biting. Because my rod may be close to to top of the inside of
my shanty, this small rod still leaves room for a hook set. The normal 2 to 3 foot
length of a regular ice fishing rod does not leave room for a hook set when the rod
is up near ceiling of my portable pull over shanty. This small one always has room
for a hook set.
Another reason I like the short length is that I can control the small jigging cadence
used to entice a bite. The “spring bobber” on the end of the rod allows one to detect
the slightest bite. During the winter months the pan fish have a slowed metabolism that
makes detecting the bites hard.
Anyone can cash in on an active bite, which occurs a couple times a day, but when the fish go neutral from an active bite, a precise swimming action can pay big dividends. Small 1/4 to 1/2 inch, small and slow jigging action can still entice a neutral fish. A normal length ice fishing rod of 2’ to 3 ’ makes controlling this small and slow jigging action much harder to do.
I’ve watched neutral fish on my sonar slowly following a jig for a few feet upward, but a
sudden mistake on my part of too much jigging action, can send them back down again. Slow and subtle for neutral fish.
I love watching guys going to holes I was fishing as I leave a lake with my limit, hoping they can repeat my success out of holes I’ve drilled. My subtle jigging action was the key, much more so than the particular holes I was fishing out of.
16 " Crappie
Secret Sauce for Crappie. A little on the hook and then fish with minnows or grubs.
Anise oil is the active ingredient in commercially sold crappie attractants. I get mine
from Meijers grocery store as it is sold as flavoring for making rock candy.
A nice sized average gill in this combined limit. 8 to 10 inch average 'gills.
Vexilar, with small box wrapped in a plastic grocery bag. I can throw a few into this box
which is kept pinned there by the battery in the battery compartment of the FL 8 flasher. While hole hopping in an area where I have a few holes, I can walk back to my portable shanty or bucket and empty my hole hopping efforts in the bucket or bag.
Also a ION Ice Auger. No more sore arms from drilling dozens of holes with a Mora hand auger. 36v battery is good for 1000 feet of ice on one charge.
Do I need this many rigged rods when I go ice fishing when I’m usually just fishing
with one. Nope, but it sure looks like I know what I’m doing.
Always have some of these on hand when ice fishing. They are used to pull ones self
out if one falls through. Better to have them and not need them, that to need them and not have them.
One of the best anglers I know. The pair visit the pond in the spring to show off their skills. Here he is about to get a hybrid bluegill. Timing and stealth is everything.
Success
Tell them how big that hybrid bluegill I released was.
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everyone should google the Hunga Tonga volcanic blast and share it with everyone.
On top of the pole shift and the sun entering a solar minimum , the earth is going through some crazy changes and effects from all of these phenomenon combined.
There is no historical data that any scientist can use to predict what will happen over the next few years. The effects of Hunga Tonga will last 4 or 5 years from the blast date
The largest explosion in recorded history…38 megatons … and nobody knows about it.
I find that amazing
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Thanks for the tip on the anise oil. Im a huuuuuuuge crappie guy and will give this a shot. This is my pb crappie i got through the ice a few years ago. Pretty funny story to go a long with it.
My wife bought me some really tiny tungsten jigs for Christmas, but was almost too embarrassed to give them to me. She said they are so tiny, all id catch was dinks. First time out, i tied one on with a waxie and caught my pb crappie. Just a smidge under 17". When i pulled it up through the hole, it ended up popping off the jig and landed right back in the hole, but it was so wide it couldnt get itself turned around to make an escape. I jumped up real quick and grabbed it. Forgot my phone was on my lap so it went into the bout 1/2" of water in my shack. Luckly my otter box saved it from getting too wet. Called my wife freaking out. She thought i went through lol. I fuckin love ice fishing!!!
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nice fish!
We have kokanee, lake trout/char, rainbows, eastern brook trout and Burbot around these parts. I target kokanee during the hardwater months and occasionally try for burbot.
Scents are a major player and I keep Anise Oil, Kokanee Special and Krill Oil on hand for the kokanee and halibut lunker lotion for the burbot.
Baits are died cured krill I do up myself with salt, pautzke orange and pink bait cure and we use a plethora of baits like Fire Corn , gulp maggots and the little crappy bites in white or chartreusse to tip the hook. many guys also use mealworm and maggots for the kokanee.
For Jigs I mainly use #6 and #8 pink/silver, orange/silver Striper jigs and Veriglo Demons in various sizes. I get all my Jigs from Custom Jigs and Spins. My go to right now is the #6 or 8 fire tiger. The Kokanee slam it!
I’m stuck at home this week with projects but next week I’m gonna try and get out some. It’s been colder weather the past week so I expect to see a bit thicker ice. We have fished well into April the past 3 years so will be interesting to see how long the ice stays this year.
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I usually target perch or bluegill in the winter, but have been known to bring a few crappie home as well. The anise oil trick will easily quadruple one’s catches for crappie if that is what you are targeting. The odor lingers. I save the hooks or jigs in a ziplock bag when storing them, and even the bottle itself, otherwise it will permeate whatever box you store your tackle. It is strong. You can see how much is in that bottle and I’ve used it for over 20 years. A little goes a long long way.
I like the wolfram jigs from www.yourbobbersdown.com
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this moon phase is sure bringing the bite on around my lake and with the cold weather we have been getting, the lake is building ice the past few days. -15C right now so that will add another inch overnight.
Been hammering Kokanee (freshwater acclimated sockeye salmon) the past few days and preppin for the derby on the 9th. Hopefully my hotspot holds hehe
Today was hot fishing even though the fishing charts said it was a slow day … not for me …and I had the spot all to myself even 
wife and I will hit it again tomorrow and see how we do.
It’s time to fill the freezer with these fish as they are a big part of our diet and I also pressure can them and smoke them too. Basically treat them just like a sockeye salmon, just smaller.
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Dang nice haul! What would be the maximum limit?
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most lakes here are 5 kokanee a day
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The only one through the ice this year, season is done done done. Good to see lots of juvenile fish last few years, lake is still healthy AF.
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I’ve never seen one of them, I think it looks beautiful. 
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ya they are cool looking fish with the natural camoflauge colors.
Hopefully catch a few more while the ice is still good. Been real warm here the last 2 days so it’s gonna get unsafe pretty fast I’m thinkin. Still , it is going to be cold enough this coming few days to slow the melt and get a few more days of fishin in.
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