Saturday 'accidentally' caught a pike jigging a tiny tungsten jig and spike with 4lb test in my shanty. Pike ran so much it tangled my tip up over 15 feet away. Miracle landing, no doubt. I did survive the nose bite in the photo as well. That was on Lake Michigan at Winthrop Harbor. Btw, perch bite sucks up here.
![IMG_20180114_50234.jpg]( "IMG_20180114_50234.jpg")
Sunday
Man if I thought that varying harbor ice was scary it was nothing compared to the frozen Des Plaines watershed. That ice was uneven, loud in a bad way. Ice was slick and crystal clear in most spots. Even more spooky was a big ole muskrat came up into my shanty through the hole seen me and went right back under. Hilarious! Not 20mins later a bowfin comes up for a breathe of fresh air while briefly tangling my line. That alone was worth drilling a dozen holes. Besides the surprise stop ins, the only shanty action on the river was blue gill that looked like something took a bite out of its belly at one time and I couldn't tell if it was a 7inch bass or creek chub that wiggled off near the hole. Both hit a gold tungsten with piece of red worm. Out of spikes, out of roaches #fml.
Set up tip up shallow after seeing spooked fish shallow. For bait it was my only roach left in the bucket, and it had been dead 3 days and pecked at by the alive and well fatheads left in the bucket. Caught a nice slush puppie and safely released the stray quickly as possible before I had an urge to find out if bowfin tastes better through the ice than the usual stagnant 95 degree swamp bowfins I am so accustomed to. :sarcasm: Being serious, they're probably not bad. Its a top predator, probably like pike or walleye.
![IMG_20180114_3971.jpg]( "IMG_20180114_3971.jpg")
![IMG_20180114_24418.jpg]( "IMG_20180114_24418.jpg")
![IMG_20180114_56561.jpg]( "IMG_20180114_56561.jpg")
Sunday
Man if I thought that varying harbor ice was scary it was nothing compared to the frozen Des Plaines watershed. That ice was uneven, loud in a bad way. Ice was slick and crystal clear in most spots. Even more spooky was a big ole muskrat came up into my shanty through the hole seen me and went right back under. Hilarious! Not 20mins later a bowfin comes up for a breathe of fresh air while briefly tangling my line. That alone was worth drilling a dozen holes. Besides the surprise stop ins, the only shanty action on the river was blue gill that looked like something took a bite out of its belly at one time and I couldn't tell if it was a 7inch bass or creek chub that wiggled off near the hole. Both hit a gold tungsten with piece of red worm. Out of spikes, out of roaches #fml.
Set up tip up shallow after seeing spooked fish shallow. For bait it was my only roach left in the bucket, and it had been dead 3 days and pecked at by the alive and well fatheads left in the bucket. Caught a nice slush puppie and safely released the stray quickly as possible before I had an urge to find out if bowfin tastes better through the ice than the usual stagnant 95 degree swamp bowfins I am so accustomed to. :sarcasm: Being serious, they're probably not bad. Its a top predator, probably like pike or walleye.
