The Fox River Times
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Fox River Times July 2010
Just had to bring this up...165 days till ICE FISHING!!!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Ice Fishing 2009/2010
This photo was taken from the parking lot of Harrisville Pond. There were many other ice fisherman in the pursuit of a fish fry!
Here is the only fish that was caught on Harrisville Pond. It was caught on a jig with a red plastic.
Here I am with a 23" northern pike caught on a tip-up with a crappie minnow. It was the biggest fish that our family has caught on Beyer's Cove this season.
Here is the biggest carp that I caught last weekend! It was 26 inches in length.
Timer shot taken on the seat of an ice fishing bucket! My dad and I posing with another 26 inch carp caught on a waxworm.
Here is a close-up shot of the carp in the picture above. Notice how fat its belly is!
It was a tight squeeze to get this carp up the hole! Notice the homemade lure hooked in its mouth.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Ice Fishing Annual 2009
Sam Goulet
Ice Fishing Song: As you probably have noticed, there is a new widget on the right side of the page. Click on the triangle to play the song. It's called "Ice Fish Baby", sung by a local Wisconsin band named Shad-Rapp. It doesn't play the whole song, just about 30 seconds of it. It's a real great song with some pretty funny lyrics. My sister help me put it on the blog after finding out about it from a friend at school. Enjoy!
Early Ice Pike on Tip-Ups: This story that you are about to read actually happened at early ice of last year, but it demonstrates how to catch northern pike on tip-ups at early ice.
The setting was our cabin living room. It was 7:30 A.M., and my dad and I were the only ones up. We both looked at each other and decided what better time was there to go ice fishing than now!?!? Our explanation to my mom was, "Well we better be doing something while you're doing nothing!" So, she let us go and we were soon there and ready to ice fish.
We first drilled a hole in which the tip-up would be placed, and then rigged the quick strike rig with a lively shiner minnow. After my dad and I set up the tip-ups, we scouted out a spot in which we would jig and were soon into a school of panfish. For panfish, we jigged small jigging spoons tipped with a waxworm or two. Also, small ice fishing jigs made by Northland Tackle were producing. The bluegills weren't that big, so we decided against keeping any for a fish fry. Every now and then between 'gills we would get a nice perch.
It started to snow, and all of the sudden we hear a "jing-a-ling-a-ling!" "Flag up!" My dad shouts. The blaze orange color of the flag was very visible through the small blizzard. We rushed over to the tripped flag and my dad did a wonderful job setting the hook, as he has never done it before. It was taking out a lot of line, but eventually came to the surface. He had to guide it through the hole and onto the ice, which is easier said than done. After a short celebration and a few photos, the pike was released to swim another day, and to brighten someone else's fishing trip.
The snow stopped long enough for us to take this photo; our first fish caught on a tip-up!
Tip-Ups, Not Only for Pike: Most times, when fisherman think about tip-ups, they immediately associate it with the northern pike. This isn't the only species of fish that can be caught using the tip-up though. Last winter I caught a 10'' perch on a tip-up tipped with a small crappie minnow! (See photo below) Tip-ups can also be used to catch walleye, trout, bass, sauger, crappie, and any other species of fish that eat minnows. Give tip-ups a try this winter, they can be a lot of fun and are easy to set up.
Here is an example of a perch caught on a tip-up.
Here's the perch with a rather large belly! He measured in at about 10 inches.
Ice Fishing Shows: To me, there's nothing more that will get me pumped about the upcoming ice fishing season than watching guys do it on TV. There are a few shows on that highlight ice fishing tactics, tips, and techniques, here are my favorites.
Ice Fishing publications: There are a few different magazines devoted to the growing sport of ice fishing...here are my favorites.
In-Fisherman Ice Fishing Guide: FRT rating- 4.89 out of 5 (almost perfect)
Ice Fishing (by f+w publications) FRT rating- 3.5 out of 5
Ice Breakers (by Midwest Outdoors) FRT rating- 3 out of 5
Staying Warm on the Ice: One of the biggest problems about fishing on the ice is the cold. It's very hard to avoid unless you are well prepared. Here are some tips on how to stay warm this winter.
1. Keep your hands and feet dry: Spray your gloves and boots with waterproof spray to prevent snow and water from making contact with the skin. This will keep you much warmer.
2. Use hand and feet warmers: These cheap packets are air activated and will stay warm for around 12 hours. Insert one in each of your gloves or boots and you'll likely keep your hands/feet warm all day. EDITOR'S WARNING: Make sure you read the label before putting warmers in your gloves/boots. Only put the hand warmers in gloves and foot warmers in boots...trust me it makes a big difference.
3. Keep moving: Periodically check the bait on your tip-ups, or just "scout" out some new places to fish. Walking will keep your body temperature up. Also, catching fish may help!
The Ice Fisherman's Prayer: Here's a prayer I made up. Say it the night before each ice fishing trip and your sure to catch fish!
I pray the Lord for fish to eat
Ice Fishing Questions: Got a question about ice fishing? E-mail it to me at sgoulet@new.rr.com and it will be featured in the next issue. Also, if you have any jokes about ice fishing, e-mail them to me too.
Here are some of my favorite photos that highlight the 08/09 ice fishing season...enjoy!:
A plump early ice bluegill caught on a plastic.
Ice fishing is for the whole family to enjoy! Here my big sister is getting in on the action.
Capt'n Dave Resop and I scouting out some gills for the frying pan.
My little sister with a pretty bluegill caught on a 'Gill Pill made by Custom Jigs & Spins.
Just grillin'! (Oh and eating hotdogs!)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Mid Summer Issue
Oh Give me a Home, Where the Buffalo Roam: As I mentioned earlier in the Editor's Note, this past weekend was very successful, especially for the lesser known species. Read on to find out what I mean...
Since there really wasn't a good pic. of the catfish, here's me fighting it. You can tell that this is a pretty cool fishing spot by all the rocks, trees, and that other people don't fish it. (Except me)
Here's the sheepshead I caught with a jig/crawler.
Can it be...the Lochness monster?! No, it's a gar. You can see the skinny brown outline of one, with the white rope lure at the right.
Our Readers Say: Sadly, I haven't received any e-mails regarding the Our Readers Say column, so there won't be any this week. If you've got a fishing story you'd like to share, e-mail me at sgoulet@new.rr.com
Catch next issue for an exclusive Bait Shop Tour '09 stop, Winnebago fishing report, and hopefully an Our Readers Say So until then, tight lines and good fishing!!!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Tittabawassee River Special
Sam Goulet
Uncle Dave and I with a 24" and a 25" 1/2 both taken on J-Shad Raps.
Our Readers Say: After reading many back issues of Fishing Facts (a fishing magazine) from
the 1970's I picked up an idea that I would like to feature in the FRT. It's called Our Readers Say, where magazine subscribers send a photo of a fish along with a short story about it and it is featured in the magazine. It's always fun to read about another's catch! So, if you have a fish story you'd like to share with the readers of the FRT, e-mail a photo along with a short story about the catch to sgoulet@new.rr.com I hope to include some in the next issue!
Practice C-P-R: A lot of anglers will head out to their favorite lake or river and keep everything they catch, regardless of size and species. Now, I like a fish fry as much as the next guy, but keeping too many fish can really ruin the fishing for everybody else. It only takes a few dozen anglers where I ice fish to clean out entire bluegill population of over 5"!!!!! So next time your out on the water, remember to practice C-P-R. Catch. Photo. Release.
Big July fish on the Fox: This past weekend we were able to do a lot of fishing off of our dock on the Fox River. July is usually a prime time for catfish and sheepshead (freshwater drum), and our theory didn't disappoint. Our rig was just a 1/8 ounce jig with a live river shiner minnow hooked through the back. Below are pictures of a 17" sheepshead that I caught (About as big as we can catch them on our river) and a 24" catfish caught by Hannah, (Also about as big as we can catch them on our river).
A 17" sheepshead caught on a live shiner minnow.
Hannah's 24" channel catfish also caught on a live shiner. Since I like lippin' big fish, I did the honors of holding it for the picture.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Let The Summer Fishing Begin!!!
Carpin' in the Shallows: During the time period of early June, the water levels are much lower than normal, which moves many species of fish into the deeper waters. Thankfully we have a fish called CARP on the Fox River, and this does not apply what-so-ever to them. Carp can be found along grassy shorelines and near logs, brush, and other shallow structures. I have had the best success when using a plain lead-head jig tipped with a crawler. Carp will take just about any color, but I have most recently caught one on pink. Now that you have the tackle set, just cast about a foot or two away from shore and slowly work the jig back to the boat, slowly bumping it along the bottom. Good luck!
Here's a close up of the 26'' carp. (How come I always have a cheesy smile?)
This is a picture of a 16'' (legal) walleye caught on a crawler/floating jig combo.
My dad holding up a catfish around 20 inches (Don't remember the specific length) caught on a jig and crawler.
Bait Shop Tour '09- Well, our first stop for the Bait Shop Tour '09 was the Original Live Bait Shop in Princeton, Wisconsin. Easily put, this is a small tackle shop loaded with lots of tackle. They offer a wide variety of lures, and live baits at cheaper than normal prices. Everything from stink bait to flags, they have 'em here. (The owner of the Bait Store would appreciate it if I wouldn't specify the prices) Also, the owner was camera shy and didn't want to get her picture taken. I would give this shop 4.5 stars out of 5, which makes it an all around great "original" bait store. I would like to thank the owner for letting us take these pictures.
This is a side angle of a small portion of the shop.
Hannah and I browsing at The Tackle Wall.
Have a great rest of June and be sure to "catch" next issue! <><
Sunday, April 12, 2009
FRT Spring Fishing Edition
Me with one of the rock bass. Note: VERY cheesy smile! :-)
This one is with the crappie. The pole that I caught them near is behind me. Again, cheesy smile!
Me and Capt'n Dave posing with the 22" channel cat caught on stinky bait.
This is what an average night on Dave's dock looks like.
This shows one of the three lights that are currently on his dock.
How does Dave manage to get to his dock every day? In style of course...he takes his golf cart. I got lucky this time and hitched a ride!