Sylvan 2021/2022 Hard Water Season is Here.

[Zip-in-Z]

Originally Posted by AlbertanGP

Bring some ice cleats. We don't need a repeat of last year's incident. Was that on opening weekend last year that the fellow slipped, hit his head and died?

I believe it was. A fella on the local Slvan F/B said he was there when it happened, he said it was very windy with little snow & the fisherman was chasing down his tent when he wiped out and died on ice .... sad.

D.

[Zip-in-Z]

If you missed my Dec 09th Ice Survey Pic's flip back to the bottom of page 1.

D.


The Town was Preparing the Ice Rinks Today.

[Zip-in-Z]

Got all my gear ready, vehicle semi packed, lunch made, alarm set ... plan to be on the ice in the dark hopefully out to my spot either on Norglenwold or Palm Bay will decide in morning.

The wind is expected to blow, southwest 30 km/h gusting to 50. High plus 4. Will need to tie down & secure my shed & equipment or it could end up on Gull Lake.

Good luck to all those going out tomorrow, stay safe.

Updates to follow ....

Cheers

D.

[trouty]

Lots of people out at half moon bay. 8” good ice.

[Zip-in-Z]

Dec 11th ... went out to Palm Bay was hoping it wouldn't be as windy out at this location. Was first to park on ice next to shore by the lake access road at 7:30 am, dragging my sled & gear out to a GPS spot that was very productive last year. Got set up in 6 FOW over some low growing weeds, sat there for 45 min's didn't see a fish. Got my camera and went exploring, found a nice patch of sand with sparse weeds not far from my location and seen a few Whites in the distance .... time to move.

It was slow they weren't all that aggressive today & would come in and look then turn last second or just bump my w/w's so I downsized to smaller pattern/hook size & put on a Pink Mag, that helped was seeing more fish which increased my success.

It was calm in the early morning about +5C, then the forecasted south wind started to blow around noon it must of been 60Km/h the ice was cracking & groaning and then it sounded like thunder when the ice crack my shed dropped a bit and the sound kept moving down lake towards Sunbreaker.

Looked out & a massive cold front with black rolling clouds was moving in from North ... time to go ... got off the lake & home by 2:00 the wind shifted blowing up to 60 K from North temp dropped to -2C and snowing ... the fish will be going into hibernation.

When I got back to my vehicle, these guys were parked all over the place almost blocking the lake access road. I checked the thickness on Thursday, it was was frozen to the ground, 20 paces out it was over 10".

Check out the W/W thread for what color/pattern worked today.

If you were out on Sylvan, hope you did well, I had to work for them today.

Cheers

D.



Nice Bottom if you can find it for Whites ...




Also seen a Burb today, like my new Marcum Pursuit HD-L Camera



Parking Lot on Lake access Road.



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[SNAPFisher]

Congrats on the success Zip. Looks to be plenty of ice overall...always comes through hey.

I had a skunk of a day but learned a lot about two different zones to the North. I'm looking forwards to the season. Lots to learn about as always

[BEL]

There is ALWAYS ice on Sylvan opening day. May not want to drive on it, but there has always been ice on Sylvan in the 40 plus years I have lived here. It is unrelenting. Gull has been ice covered about a month now. BEL

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by BEL

There is ALWAYS ice on Sylvan opening day. May not want to drive on it, but there has always been ice on Sylvan in the 40 plus years I have lived here. It is unrelenting. Gull has been ice covered about a month now. BEL

Yep, noted. Even with it being so warm this year it still made the grade in time. I'm sure the ice varies a lot so hopefully all took the smart road on opening day.

[Zip-in-Z]

From the local social media no one drove out on the ice yesterday or today, so no vehicles went down/in. Lots of guys got caught in the storm that rolled through Saturday about 2:00 pm, some were running down tents flying across the ice in blizzard conditions. Some did well, other didn't have much success. I was surprised to see pic's of a few guys who caught Walleye & Burbs with a few Whites.

I dragged my Pelican Trek 60 fully loaded about 1.5 km's to my spot on Saturday, decided to put it away & got my flat deck sled out today it's much lighter only weight 38 lbs and flies over snow & ice with the skies.

Going out tomorrow to a different spot working a 8-16 FOW drop along a weed bed, did very well here on March 31, season ender.

Hopefully the fish are semi-active after the storm and before it starts to snow again .... fish calender says it's going to pick up all week & Saturday will be a hot bite.

Cheers

D.


Zip-in-Z Sled

[AlbertanGP]

Originally Posted by Zip-in-Z

I believe it was. A fella on the local Slvan F/B said he was there when it happened, he said it was very windy with little snow & the fisherman was chasing down his tent when he wiped out and died on ice .... sad.

D.

Very sad indeed.

[Zip-in-Z]

Dec 13 … was lucky today, first on ice out on Norglenwold, started to document my story & after a couple of para’s then decided … why & get right to the point.

Had over 10 Whites on & 6 came up the hole, 1 squirted eggs on me & got sent back, caught 3 in a row while on the phone chatting with Scott, (He wished he was with me), had my limit around noon.

Had a nice Walter teasing me most of the morning, on the way home went to the store & got minnows.

I was just over 200 paces from shore, the ice was 6-7” it hasn’t changed since last Thursday, no one is driving vehicles out yet.

The Z-z Sled was fully loaded & I could push it with one hand & no effort. It’s snowing now & 10 cm is expected, that won’t help the ice grow.

Fun day … some pic’s enjoy.

D.


Today’s Fishin Tip:

If you have a Flutter spoon put some effort in fishin it, Whites will come in to check it out & smack it if they’re in the mood.

I was fishin 2 W/W on my rods, noticed later in the morning they would come in turn or hit the line not the hook and keep going. I decided to cut the lower (2nd) W/W off and only fish 1 W/W and that made all the difference, the big difference was when you raise it up the w/w would float down much slower and the Whites are now focused on 1 w/w, no issues with swimming into my line and were coming in & inhaling it with good hooksets in the upper snout. In other words sometimes 1 is better than 2.

Flutter Spoon - W/W Combo's:






Took these two on Sunday of the Lthse - Norglenwold area.






My Most Productive Z-z Creation (Patent Pending)




All Males Today






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[Zip-in-Z]

Dec 14 ... we got a few cm snow last night enough for the plows to be out on the streets. It was cold here this morning and stayed cold all day, the thermometer says -18C with a wind = close to -25C out now.

Yesterday I was anchored over 6-7" ice, the cold temps the next couple of days/nights should help it grow.

Cheers

D.

[Seli]

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who posts about their fish, techniques and favourite tackle.
Today was the first day I targeted Whites and without this forum I would never have thought to try for them, let alone know what tackle to use.

Only iced one ,(43cm) lost one on the way up but saw lots on the camera so I know I picked a good spot.

Only saw one pike , no walleye or burbot on the screen.

I am a rookie so take this with a grain a salt but I too was able to call them in with a flutter spoon and even large walleye rattlebaits would bring them in, then I would try and get them with my w/w …. Clearly I need to “seal the deal” better but 1 is better than zero!

Trying to load photo but keep getting an error

[Zip-in-Z]

Originally Posted by Seli

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who posts about their fish, techniques and favourite tackle.
Today was the first day I targeted Whites and without this forum I would never have thought to try for them, let alone know what tackle to use.

Only iced one ,(43cm) lost one on the way up but saw lots on the camera so I know I picked a good spot.

Only saw one pike , no walleye or burbot on the screen.

I am a rookie so take this with a grain a salt but I too was able to call them in with a flutter spoon and even large walleye rattlebaits would bring them in, then I would try and get them with my w/w …. Clearly I need to “seal the deal” better but 1 is better than zero!

Trying to load photo but keep getting an error

Welcome to the forum, I see by your posts/date you recently joined & I'm pleased to read you found some useful info here on techniques & appreciate your input to the thread. Sharpen those hooks & look forward to a few more updates when you master uploading pic's. There's a Sticky "How to Thread on Pic's" on first page of the Fishing forum about 8 down that should help.

Wish you all the success over the hardwater season & all the best over the holidays.

Cheers

David


This Lake map may help with depth contours.

[Zip-in-Z]

Dec 16th ... Norglenwold ice was 7" on Monday its 11" today, 250 paces out from lake access road.

Brutal day, had a few visitors come in very slowly, most would just bump my w/w's. Had jig & minnow on my second rod, the Walleye & Pike were more interested in the w/w that eating a fat lake shiner. Missed the Walter got old Slimey & small White, they all went back. 😎

Wind chill minus 30 this evening and minus 40 overnight. Frostbite in minutes ... we'll have good ice on Saturday.

D.






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[happyfisher]

Tnx for the updates Zip, I check in everyday hoping you headed out!!! I might be out Saturday!!

[Zip-in-Z]

Originally Posted by happyfisher

Tnx for the updates Zip, I check in everyday hoping you headed out!!! I might be out Saturday!!

From what I read on the local Sylvan F/B, lots of guys will be hauling out their shed's starting this weekend & next week. Maybe some will be brave enough to try tomorrow, but it's going to be cold ... -40C or lower in the am.

Don't be the first out, wouldn't want to send these guys to rescue your big rig.

D.

[happyfisher]

I'm gunna wait till there is around 16" of ice...LOL....im chicken when it comes to driving on....LOL....im thinking around the 27th I'll be driving on. Still love the ice thickness reports on sylvan...

Happy

[Zip-in-Z]

Originally Posted by happyfisher

I'm gunna wait till there is around 16" of ice...LOL....im chicken when it comes to driving on....LOL....im thinking around the 27th I'll be driving on. Still love the ice thickness reports on sylvan...

Happy

Shoot ... I'll be in Palm Springs, wish you a successful season.

D.

[Zip-in-Z]

Dec 18th ... Scott & I went out to Norglenwold, set up by 8:00 am, had lots of action in morning, lost more than we pulled through the hole. The afternoon died, seen very few fish, none showed any interest.

Ice grew just over 1" since last Thursday, we were anchored over 9-10 FOW with about 13" ice. By the late afternoon, we counted at least 10 vehicles, 1/2 ton's & SUV out on the ice over 10-15 FOW.

The area C/O visited our neighbors but didn't knock on our door, I no longer have to get a license, was hoping to have a chat with him, maybe next time.

See the W/W thread for what worked today.

A few pic's.

D.










Scott got the largest, just over 18" scaled at 3 lbs, nice White.



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[Zip-in-Z]

Dec 19th ... went for a drive out to Norglenwold at 3:00 pm, only a handful of vehicles parked along shore, looks like the ice is thick enough, it s/b close 13-14" today. I would imagine Palm Bay has similar conditions while Sunbreaker & RR23 Southside have less ice.

Going out in the morning, perhaps my last day before turning into a snowbird.

California dreaming ....

D.


















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[happyfisher]

Crazy.....im chicken compared to them....LOL....I drive a titan and like 17" of ice at a minimum is what I like......maybe a few more days!!!

Tnx zip

Happy

[SNAPFisher]

Good reports Zip.

Have a great trip South. Going to be a real cold blast coming so your timing is good. Lots of ice after that - strange year.

I'll be exploring a lot of new water this year and looking forwards to it. Of course hitting some of the old haunts too

Stay safe while we try to stay warm.

[AlbertanGP]

Originally Posted by Zip-in-Z

I thought I was being brave taking my rig out on 14". Drilled a hole nearby and found I was parked on 11". Gotta be extra careful at this time of year.

[Zip-in-Z]

Originally Posted by happyfisher

Crazy.....im chicken compared to them....LOL....I drive a titan and like 17" of ice at a minimum is what I like......maybe a few more days!!!

Tnx zip

Happy

Measured 15" today, by next week it s/b close to 20".

D.

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

Good reports Zip.

Have a great trip South. Going to be a real cold blast coming so your timing is good. Lots of ice after that - strange year.

I'll be exploring a lot of new water this year and looking forwards to it. Of course hitting some of the old haunts too

Stay safe while we try to stay warm.

Tks ... keep those hooks sharp & look forward to seeing some pic's.

D.

Originally Posted by AlbertanGP

I thought I was being brave taking my rig out on 14". Drilled a hole nearby and found I was parked on 11". Gotta be extra careful at this time of year.

Cool set-up, I trust it can go through anything even flood water.

D.



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[Zip-in-Z]

Dec 20th ... my last day, hardwater season ender, was fun now cleaning up my gear & departing after X-Mass, no Whites in my swimming pool in Palm Springs, back in 3 plus months.

Had a fun morning out on Norglenwold got 5 nice one's just before 11:00 am, they're getting bigger, largest was 19.5" scaled at 3 lbs 2 oz.

Was anchored in 9 FOW over weed/sand bottom. This time I didn't lose any under the ice or in the hole, they were all hooked in the upper snout.

Ice grew to almost 15", with this cold weather if you don't own one go buy an extension before they become scarce or sold out.

Wish everyone a successful hard water season & the beat goes on!

See W/W thread for what pattern worked today.

A few pic's ... enjoy.

Cheers

D.











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