Cold lake up dates 2016

[emf_1978]

Originally Posted by Rage.0

Like a blind man picking out his favorite porno

Great analogy lol.... i picked one up this year and yes it does help a lot but i would never say it is a necessity

[sparky660]

After having a flasher for a couple of years I'm a big fan. We've landed a few that have come in real shallow and wouldn't have hooked them without. Like some have said, it's not necessary but they do help.

[cory3006]

The flasher helps to tell you if there are fish around, or let you know where the fish are in the water column. Tells you whether to change lure/colour or move, for me it has increased my success nearly double.

[-JR-]

He that shows up with a good sonar/flasher will catch fish all day , those that don't might catch one fish and will hate the trip .

I have the LX7 ....You can switch from sonar or flasher mode.

Flasher mode I find my eyes get sore looking at many flashing lights.
Very hard to tell what is what. If I close my eyes i still see flashing lights not cool

Sonar mode is what I use. You get a blue screen . Solid line on the bottom for bottom. I can see my hook move up or down , even see the knot I tied on my line , 3 feet up from the hook. Wow !
I can even see fish cursing around my screen and I can see them chase my hook up or down,....thats cool !

For those that have an older sonar off your boat.
You need to get into setting and shut off the fish ID.
This way you don't see those stupid fish symbols on your screen.
NOW your sonar will start to work as a sonar as I stated above.

Enough sonar talk .....how thick is the ice this weekend !

[emf_1978]

Originally Posted by -JR-

Enough sonar talk .....how thick is the ice this weekend !

6" of ice at the marina today. biggest i caught was 71cm landed four others ranging from 62-68cm only in 32 ft of water but fish were all over the column

[jkbloom]

Was out yesterday, fished 1 mile from the big point in the lake, fishing was good, there is 9" of ice, on the sled ride across the lake hit many slush patches, be safe out there folks, good luck

[-JR-]

Any one out on the ice this weekend. How thick is it on the main lake ?

[PINEHURST-PIKE-FREAK]

where are the walleye ?
doesn't anyone fish for them in here?

[Pikey]

Originally Posted by -JR-

Any one out on the ice this weekend. How thick is it on the main lake ?

out there Friday - 8-9" of ice at 70'

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by PINEHURST-PIKE-FREAK

where are the walleye ?
doesn't anyone fish for them in here?

Back bays in spring...

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Pikey

out there Friday - 8-9" of ice at 70'

That probably doubled after the wk end...-30

[Pinhead]

On the lake today, no more than a foot of ice right now.

Caught 3 in 3 hours in front of the marina.

Dan

[Kulumu]

Since the ice does not appear to be thick enough to drive on are there any access points for walking on? Around the Provincial camp ground? Up north by the Provincial park?

[fishryan]

You can get easy access to the lake on any of the boat launches. French bay, provincial park or the marina in town. Went in front of the marina this morning. I measured 5" of ice. Caught 4 all under 75.

[-JR-]

Sounds like the ice is thinner in some places than others .
Some say a 1 foot others say 5 inches !

[PerchBuster]

Originally Posted by -JR-

Sounds like the ice is thinner in some places than others .
Some say a 1 foot others say 5 inches !

That's been the theme all year province wide pretty well. That mild spell in November plus the effects of the El Niño has made the ice inconsistent in thickness this year. Current areas, springs, gas pockets etc make some spots very dangerous if the ice was already kind of thin in spots to begin with. And yet, very good ice, drivable ice, close by. It's smart to check the thickness often when in search mode otherwise follow good visible tracks

[verado eyes]

Originally Posted by -JR-

Sounds like the ice is thinner in some places than others .
Some say a 1 foot others say 5 inches !

i was in long bay tonight, i saw over a foot, moved 10 feet and saw 6 inches and back to 8 its up and down, i was out with the quad

[Pinhead]

Saw somebody driving on at the marina, NOT VERY smart. Lots a water on the ice as well.

Be careful, I'm thinking of trying the point off the provincial campground tomorrow. Did not see anyone there so I will drill my way out.

Fishng was slow today.

Dan

[tight line]

Was out last weekend, just went to the Marina, after hearing ice reports from our buddy that was there already, 4" in places, with possible open water.. Ice was pretty sketchy.. 6-12 inches in short distances, lots of pressure cracking and surface water. DO Not Drive on...IMO. One truck went on drove half way out and stopped. Got 13 sat and 10 sun. A couple skueakers, but all released. Not a bad weekend. - was so cold quads would not fire... Walked out, maybe 2" of ice gained over the weekend

[icecap]

Was planning to take the quad this weekend from pp past garnett towards the border. Any info on the ice going this route would be great. Sounds pretty inconsistent so hoping to see sled/ATV tracks going that way. Otherwise I will fish out from the marina.

[RavYak]

Cold lake is supposed to get 6-8 inches of snow Friday/Saturday so things are probably going to get even uglier with flood water etc. Probably be Feb or Mar before I bother to head up there at this rate...

[-JR-]

If any one needs a Cold lake partner let me know ,my partner just bailed on me for this weekend.

[-JR-]

Hey Pinhead. Is it safe to park a truck on shore line on the ice at the marina or the prov. campground ?

[Pinhead]

Originally Posted by -JR-

Hey Pinhead. Is it safe to park a truck on shore line on the ice at the marina or the prov. campground ?

Yes it would be, but there is lots of parking right at the marina. I saw 12 inches out to 80 ft, there was lots of flood water in spots. I would try to find a spot that does not have any. Hopefully soon we will be able to drive farther down the lake. We were going to launch at the PP and try that point, but nobody had gone that far, and I need to drive my SUV to the spot.

If you have an ATV take it, its still a long walk from the marina. I felt sorry for the guys walking out, I gave one a ride back on Monday.

Hopefully the fishing will pick up. Man, do those lakers fight, I am addicted to them!! 5 pound fish taking drag out is awesome!

Good luck, let me know how you make out.

Dan

[-JR-]

Hey Dan,does not look like i'll be up there this weekend.
How much snow is on top . catch any keepers ?

[Pinhead]

Originally Posted by -JR-

Hey Dan,does not look like i'll be up there this weekend.
How much snow is on top . catch any keepers ?

JR, there is about 3 inches of snow, not too bad. I caught a couple that were 72-73, that was a close as we got. I definatly want to go back, LOVE those trout, man do they fight. Maybe it is the smaller rods, but I don't remember the fight in the summer being this good.

Dan

[icecap]

P.P. to sask border 10 to 12 inches across the mouth of French bay 9 inches at the border. Lots of new snow over a foot on the ice. Fishing was fairly good nobody up that way at all.

[-JR-]

Thanks for the up date ice cap.
Any one have any pictures from this last weekend .

[RavYak]

Nice thing about the ice situation this year is that it should be an early ice off! Heck some strong winds in the spring and it might be one of the first lakes ice free at this rate. From the sounds of things, this new snow and forecast probably won't be safe to drive on till end of Feb...

[-JR-]

Heading up to Cold lake Feb 5
Want to overnight it in a ATV holiday trailer pulled by a heavy diesel truck.
Does anyone know how thick the ice is just off the prov boat launch?