Evil's 18/19 Hardwater Thread
 

The 2018/19 Hardwater season is here!

Filled my Mulie Tag last week so I spent the day checking ice conditions. Here are a few pics for those addicted to Hardwater. If your like me you've been twitching like a meth head on the Tuesday before welfare Wednesday to get on the ice. I will update as the season progresses.

Little Bow Park
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1543185645
5.5 inches once you get past the thaw/freeze zone. Very thin spots along the shore line and pilings with one hole Showing only 1 inch ice. Be careful!

Fishing was slow with very few whites caught, I lost one and missed 3. A few walleye were caught by the Asian fellow next to me but overall a really slow morning. Had the Camera down and water is a bit cloudy but viewable. Not many fish were detected overall.

Travers spill way
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1543186040
2.5 inch clear 1 inch white. Lots of thinner spots. Decided unsafe and moved on.

McGregor Boat Launch
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1543186188
3.5 inches clear. A bit too thin for my 300# butt, Unsafe. Checked the canal and south point. Ice is sketchy to say the least and there is open water still in the middle. Going to need a cold snap before I consider it safe.

Not great news but we are close, short term forecast is warm for a few days then a cooling trend.

It was a great day overall, met two nice fellow fishermen at McG, saw some great scenery and I got to get the lines in the water for a bit.....stay tuned.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1543187060

Thanks Evil...itching doesnt even describe it!!!

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

Lessard averaging 7 inches looks like full coverage. I didn't cross the shifting ice ridge and check center lake but overall 6.5-7. 95% clear ice.

East Pit Lake the same report minus about an inch.

No fish caught in either lake.

Did the guys at MacG report any success or slow like last few years again?

Was at lBP today.
Only safe ice (4"+) was near the pumphouse. Pilons are 1-3 inches. BE CAREFULL lots of melt occurred during the last few days and the shore line is thin. I'd give it another week before taking the family down there.

Fishing was real slow, a few walleye and one pike in the 8-10# range made a mess of the camera cable. Whitefish were occasionally seen cruising by the camera but showed no interest in anything I threw at them. Lots of gamorance in the area so I'm no surprised.

First Hardwater fish 2018/19
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1543638379



Lots of these guys crawling around the weed bed.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1543638399


Be safe out there this weekend. I wil report on McG Next week.

IBP? Short for.....?

I think that is a lower case L. Would make it Little Bow Park (Travers).

sorry, yes...Little Bow Park (Travers).

Fished McGregor near the boat launch today. 4 1/2-5 inches most parts, thinner along shoreline. Ice was heaving off the south tip so I didn't venture too far from shore. A few whites on camera but overall it was a slow day, only managed to land 2. Most hits were on red/black wire worms. in 6.5 FOW The water is murky but the camera was still effective in spotting fish.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1543877027

Thanks for all the reports.

Is it Wednesday yet?

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...04b1bed0e8.jpg

Hit McGregor today. 7-8 inches south of boat launch. 5-7 inches in the canal. The ice looks fairly good with a thick layer of clear. Lots of movement and cracking all morning. Some crazy ice formations @ the south end.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1544241325

Water clarity was fair.

Didn't see a single white all morning however I did land several pike and walleye in both spots. The afternoon was more pike and I tricked this 3 1/2 lb Rainbow into hitting a pink rattle spoon.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1544241327



Heading to Badger next week.........

Fished Badger today (South West)

5-7 inches ice. 4 FOW to 11.5 FOW. Water clarity was excellent. Weather was snowing and windy till 2pm.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1544675434

From what I saw on camera today the pike are bouncing back, Lots of big fat healthy fish passed by. As usual lots of big Whites that showed zero interest in anything I threw at them except my swivel. I'm starting to think it's personal. :thinking-006:

I'll be back @ Christmas...:sign0176:

Thanks for updates Evil!

Fished McGregor Yesterday......

Beautifull in the morning, blown off the lake by 2PM
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1545073852

9.5 inches ice, water clarity was poor. I expected this Chinook to melt like last year, to my surprise the ice sheet grew. We'll be chasing Ling by Christmas:sHa_shakeshout:
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1545073834
Only saw 3 whites all morning and the were only interested in my swivel again. So today a fresh start, I changed the line on my reel to 4# and tied a few "secret" weapons.....if they want my swivel so bad, here ya go.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1545073881

Back at it tomorrow....maybe a trip to Travers:thinking-006:

I have to tell you that swivel worm is brilliant. I tried it once at Lesser slave cause kept getting bit on the swivel. So I tied a hook to the swivel and never got another bite. But yours looks more convincing. I hope it works for you!

Well it got a bump, headbutt to be exact, does that count?:thinking-006:

Another great day on McG, Full moon made for a slow morning but a great afternoon. 9inches good ice with thinner 5 inch areas. The surprise of the day, a 36" pike on a wire worm, not what I wanted. I've become quite good at the sonar, camera, second line shuffle:) She/He/it was well fed and I'm pretty sure ate the small white I saw earlier:thinking-006:
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1545542118

sorry for the lousy pic but I wanted to get her back as quick as I could. :love0025:

Lots of pike, another rainbow and the usual walleye hoard shows twice a day
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1545542930

I love Alberta sunsets...aaahhhhh.
I call this one "When you wait for Lawyers......who never show"
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1545542305



Next up Chain...

Merry Christmas Everyone :)

You have a talent. Please keep writing and taking these pictures. Your doing a great job.

I'll second this! Thanks Evil!

Thanks for the Kind comments and PM"s.

So my fishing partner bailed...again:sign0176:
Not being a big fan of pan sized trout and suckers I decided to skip Chain and went for a drive to scout for an overnighter....
Spent the morning at Travers LBP. Ice is 9 inches
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1546027027
water clarity has gotten worse from a few weeks ago. 3 hours and not a single fish on the sonar or Camera. moving on........:sign0161:

I moved up to Badger to do some exploring. 7-8 inches of ice in south, 8-10 in the North. Water clarity excellent in the south. Average in the North. A few groups of people fishing the inlet and north end. I settled on the north end for the Afternoon.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1546027027
I went looking for perch in 15-20 FOW. No keepers(6-8 inch) but waves of 3 inchers in between waves of pike. Fishing was steady and it was a good afternoon overall.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1546027027
Even the jawjacker got in on the action:)
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1546027949
I gotta hand it to these little guys, they sure manage to thrive among monsters.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1546027570

Strong winds expected for the weekend so I'll be back at it Monday.:)

Well done, awesome reports as usual.

Finally made it to chain....I wanted to go to Beauvais or Beaver mines:argue2: Guess who lost the coin toss:sign0176:
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1546305967

10.5 inches ice, water clarity is fair and it was cold. The Jaw Jacker holes were freezing up quick and by noon we pulled them in and stayed in the tent.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1546306032

Lots of action all day. Suckers(Whites and a longnose) on the bottom, bows a few feet above. White was the colour of the day and some of the trout hits were very subtle, easy to miss. A little excitement later on , a large bull trout passed by the camera and took a swipe at my partners jig but he was fixated on his bag of potato chips and by the time he realized what was happening (because me screaming "SET THE HOOK!" 3 times wasn't a clue) it was gone :(
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1546306032

After loading up on a couple dozen suckers for bait I kept the last two bows for a little pan fry this evening with the Mrs.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1546306032

Overall a good day:) Now that I have bait, I'm off to find some 40's in Keho and some ling in Lake xyandz.

Have a Happy New Year everyone! :) :happy0180: :bad_boys_20:

Fished Mcgregor today.....

13.5 inches of ice, fog was thick, water clarity was poor.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1546746806

7:30am to 9 am was fantastic, several healthy walleye over 22 inches and lots of whites taking a look.:)
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1546746848

After 9 things died off completely so I went exploring around the east side of the lake by Milo. There is a fair sized pressure opening just off the south west tip by Milo. It freaked me out so I walked to shore to get around it, looks like it was open yesterday. I wouldn't be taking a vehicle over that thing for some time.:scared0018:
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1546746848

Not finding my targeted species in the usual spots I went deep on a hunch....
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1546746848

Glad I did:sHa_shakeshout:
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1546746848

A few whites took bronze/red wire worms, so I manged a meal for tonight. The most notable thing from today was that I didn't see a single pike all day. Very surprising to say the least because there were lots of everything else, trout, walleye, whites and I even saw a fat perch swim by the camera. He showed zero interest in my jig and seamed nervous as I watched him swim out of view :sad0125:

So off to Keho Monday then I guess Emerson will be getting a little attention Tuesday & Wednesday:thinking-006:

Are they driving on the north end of Mcgregor at the campground?.

NO!! Not yesterday at least...

Today was Keho.

8 inches of ice in most areas however we found some thinner 4-5 inch areas when we moved out deeper mid day.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1546925521

Ice is slick. Don't forget your cleats, like I did. Ouch.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1546925558

10 hours and one fish. A nice healthy 30 inch fish but that was it for the whole day. Even the cameras were devoid of life most of the day. we were just in the wrong spot:sign0176:
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1546925558

Stuck it out to see if any ling where around but it was more of the same blank sonar screens. Oh well ya can't win em all. It was a beautiful day on the ice and I got to try a new spot even if it didn't work out.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1546925558

up next.....fishing in the back yard ;)

Spent a little time in the backyard pond....:)

Got out for an afternoon of bows n browns on our local High River stocked lake, Emerson. Ice is around 8-9 inches but since I left my tape in my pike kit I couldn't get a pic. weather was great and water clarity is excellent. You will need cleats because it's slick.

Fish were suspended in 24 FOW and it took a bit to figure out what they wanted. Once we did though it was fish after fish till dark
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1547172019

Mostly Rainbows but a few Browns were caught. Big suckers on the Camera and no sign of any burbot. Small micro jigs tipped with meal worm was most productive but slender spoons also produced a few fish, mostly browns.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1547172107
We landed 12 fish and kept 4. Lost a nice brown at the hole that was a fair bit bigger than the rest lol. What a great way to spend the afternoon and there is a little 84 yr old lady who will be feasting on trout tonight:love0025:
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1547172107

Went to McGregor to take some pictures of the blood moon and maybe get in on some Burbot action......um nope. The lake had other plans. Clouded over making photography impossible, plan B. With all the noise from the races we tucked into a quiet little corner.

Ice depth? I forgot to check :sign0161: but approx 15-18 inches
water clarity was very poor, so poor I left the Underwater camera in the truck. We were fishing 4 FOW so sonar was useless as well. It didn't matter, we went old school...by feel ;)

Small micro jigs tipped with meal worms produced the best again. First up, a respectible 4 lb Rainbow.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1548108557

Then another
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1548108575

and another...
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1548109088
with the odd one of these...
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1548109148

In all we caught 7 all around the same size. 3 came home to get warm :)
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/attac...1&d=1548108584

I'll have to check my journal but I think the big one is my new PB for McGregor. What a night, time for a nap.:)

Nice Fish!! Is there a secret to McGregor? I have been there 5 times and only caught a small pike. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Depends on the species your chasing. I was looking for pre-spawn Ling but when I saw a Rainbow while cleaning out a hole, I changed tactics. Adapt to the situation, alot of times I've been surprised by things that go counter to normal though. Being mobile plays a big part as well. Usually, if I'm not marking fish within an hour, I move. Also, smaller is better when choosing tackle for whites and trout, all my lake Pb's are on micro jigs tipped with bait ie Maggot, Mealworm, shrimp etc. Last months 36 in pike on wireworm is also a fine example of smaller attracts bigger. These, of course, are my own musings and I am in no way a professional, I just do this a lot lol.

If it's any consolation my fishing partner didn't get a single bite all day, even through the walleye dusk frenzy. He sat less than 10 feet away from me and didn't mark a fish. It happens, sometimes the most subtle thing will turn fish off, a smell on your hands, noise, camera. I put my tech toys away this trip so maybe that was the difference?

First time I fished McGregor It took me 4 full days before I caught my first fish so don't get too discouraged. McGregor has some excellent fishing if your willing to put in the hours and unlock her secrets. and yes I still occasionally get skunked on this lake:)

Ckttpn
 

Thanks for the reply I will keep at it.