16th & 17th report

Went out of Catawba Mon. Had auger issues so only moved 3 times. Fished N 3.5 miles and 4 miles and then W about 2.5 miles. Only marked a few fish and caught nothing. Talked to a few others that had same results. Ice was well over 12" of clear and 6" white. No problems with travel at all. Two wheel drive quad would have done fine. No problems with shoves or cracks but the crack just out from the ramp was open about 8"s. Crossed without planks with no problem.

Tues went out of Crane. Went pretty much straight north about 4 miles. Buddy hooked 3 real quick but lost all 3. We had a 7" hand auger and ice was over 24"s so getting them in the hole was a little tricky. After about 30 mins they turned on for me and I got 5 in less than an hour. Took almost another hour to catch my 6th though. We lost a bunch and my buddy ended up with 4. Fished same spot rest of day but it was slow and too cold to want to move. Have been out twice now and best time both trips was 9-11 am. Fish weren't hitting hard. We tried pimples and buckshots with no luck. Caught all fish on jigging Rapalas ( blue or black and chrome ). Only caught them when we lifted it 4-6 inches and lowered it down so u could feel the strike. They were probably hitting it when we were dropping it faster, but spitting it before we felt them. All fish 2-4 pounds with one close to 10. Ice was probably 16" of clear and 8" of white. No problems with travel but there is some shove ice that you have to maneuver around. Two wheel drive quad would have done fine. Heard what sounded like a sonic boom while we were out there. When headed in saw where several cracks had shoved up a few feet while we were out there. Not a problem, but had to weave in and out of some of it.

Just an fyi. Our auger bit the dust while we were out there. Called everywhere trying to find one. They are in short supply. Called Cabelas in Dundee, Bass Pro and Gander Mtn in Toledo as well as several bait stores...... not even a hand auger. Lucky we found a 7" hand auger at Fishermans Wharf or we were headed home.

Hope to be back up Sun if anyone wants to share info 614-208-7113 Mike

Great post guys glad you got some fish. Im hopeing to go before the ice goes out. let us know how you do Sunday I love reading the posts of guys smashing eyeballs. :)

Eyehunter,

Thanks for posting a report!

I'm heading over for my first Erie ice fishing this weekend and appreciate the information.

Glad to see you got some fish and thanks again for the detail.

I like to make my own report, it's part of the challenge, but it sure helps to have someplace to start on new water!