1/18/15 Couple of random updates

I got out fishing on 1/17/15. It was a bright, sunny, 45 degree day. I was invited to go ice fishing but I wanted to try something different. I hit one of Northern Indiana's trout streams. There was a lot of snow and ice on the banks and you could tell by the lack of footprints that no one had fished this section of river in quite a while. I was fishing with a small Panther Martin spinner. I had the barbs pinched down on the treble to avoid hurting the fish too badly. They would unhook so easily in fact that several fish popped off before I was able to land them. The technique here is pretty simple and can be used for other fish besides trout. You start downstream of the areas you intend to fish. You walk slowly and quietly upstream while staying out of the water as much as possible. This is almost more like hunting than fishing. Stay quiet and use cover whenever possible to get into casting position. You want to make most of your casts directly across the river or slightly downstream. This way your spinner will swing accross the current and move more slowly while still spinning the blade. Pay particular attention to deeper cuts and runs and fish any laydowns in the water thoroughly. Don't pound one spot for too long as usually an aggressive fish will hit on the first or second cast into a run. Make a few casts in each run, cover water, and keep moving. The more distance you cover, the better your chances of finding some active fish will be. If you see a fish chase your lure but doesn't hit it or it hits your lure and doesn't get hooked, it's my experience that you should just move on because they will usually not come back on subsequent casts. All in all I went 4/7 and had several more fish follow my lure without striking. My big fish of the day was a 17 1/2'' beauty. He came out from underneath a lay down and absolutely demolished my spinner. I was lucky enough to land, photograph, and release this amazing fish! It had a nice kype and some wonderful spawning colors. Doesn't get much better than that in January!

I've gotten out ice fishing several times. We did pretty well jigging for Bluegills and Crappies. My friend Troy and I set tipups on Sunday and managed this nice Pike right before dark. It's been the highlight of my ice season so far.

I spent some of my time off the water building a cart for my Predator. I got most of my plans from the link below but I changed my cart up slightly. It turned out really well and I'm excited to try it once the weather gives me the chance. Check out the building instructions here:

http://palmettokayakfishing.blogspot.com/2011/04/diy-bulletproof-kayak-cart-build.html?m=1