SamSteele
11-26-2018, 09:38 AM
I couldn’t stand the ice fishing itch anymore and had to get out over the weekend to scratch it. With the warmer weather in Edmonton and south I turned my attention north. A few phone calls and texts made and I decided to take a drive to see how the ice was at Lower Chain north of Athabasca. I was hoping to catch my first tiger trout and two of my kids wanted to come along for the same reason.
An early morning departure had us at the lake around sunup. There was one other vehicle already at the lake and it looked like they were fishing already. Not wanting to blindly follow others without checking myself I checked the ice near shore with my spud bar. Good and solid and at least 5”. We got our gear ready, ice picks around our necks, throwing rope neatly coiled, and made our way along the shore the opposite direction from the other group, testing the ice as we went.
We got close to the region we wanted to try and I fired up the auger. A quick test hole showed 6 inches of ice and 3 feet of depth. We worked our way out further, finding consistent ice thickness all the way out. Once we got out into the area we thought we would try the jaw jackers went out. Simple setup of a jig head and shrimp. It didn’t take long for them to start popping, but the fish weren’t staying on. I lightened up the trigger, reduced the rod bend, and made my drags much lighter. Next jacker that popped had the fish on and landed. My first tiger and it was a beautiful male. Bigger than I expected to boot.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181126/a6d333c26cad35d6ee10ab8a802d988e.jpg
A quick picture and then released. Another jacker popped. This time my son grabs the rod. A smaller stocked rainbow, but fun nonetheless.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181126/e27fdee2e5132a71b5ff03d675bd7e86.jpg
Jacker pops again. This time my daughter fights it. Her first trout and a nice rainbow.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181126/81bb168a93074ef7974c386b61489804.jpg
Then another. My son’s first tiger. A smaller female.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181126/24218ff87abf620bccacb7bdc7e05010.jpg
And the last fish of the day was mine. A nice dark rainbow.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181126/af2b345213410adcfd7c352706df1778.jpg
The bite really died off around noon and the wind picked up. We had evening plans and decided to pack up and head home around 12:30. Shortly after leaving the lake we saw a lynx on a cutline. A first for the kids who got to watch it for quite some time.
Overall a great day. Much better than sitting on the couch and thinking about fishing.
An early morning departure had us at the lake around sunup. There was one other vehicle already at the lake and it looked like they were fishing already. Not wanting to blindly follow others without checking myself I checked the ice near shore with my spud bar. Good and solid and at least 5”. We got our gear ready, ice picks around our necks, throwing rope neatly coiled, and made our way along the shore the opposite direction from the other group, testing the ice as we went.
We got close to the region we wanted to try and I fired up the auger. A quick test hole showed 6 inches of ice and 3 feet of depth. We worked our way out further, finding consistent ice thickness all the way out. Once we got out into the area we thought we would try the jaw jackers went out. Simple setup of a jig head and shrimp. It didn’t take long for them to start popping, but the fish weren’t staying on. I lightened up the trigger, reduced the rod bend, and made my drags much lighter. Next jacker that popped had the fish on and landed. My first tiger and it was a beautiful male. Bigger than I expected to boot.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181126/a6d333c26cad35d6ee10ab8a802d988e.jpg
A quick picture and then released. Another jacker popped. This time my son grabs the rod. A smaller stocked rainbow, but fun nonetheless.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181126/e27fdee2e5132a71b5ff03d675bd7e86.jpg
Jacker pops again. This time my daughter fights it. Her first trout and a nice rainbow.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181126/81bb168a93074ef7974c386b61489804.jpg
Then another. My son’s first tiger. A smaller female.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181126/24218ff87abf620bccacb7bdc7e05010.jpg
And the last fish of the day was mine. A nice dark rainbow.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181126/af2b345213410adcfd7c352706df1778.jpg
The bite really died off around noon and the wind picked up. We had evening plans and decided to pack up and head home around 12:30. Shortly after leaving the lake we saw a lynx on a cutline. A first for the kids who got to watch it for quite some time.
Overall a great day. Much better than sitting on the couch and thinking about fishing.