Icebergs

[Shmogley]

Hey everyone, I was out on the bank this morning for a bit and it was very frustrating conditions..
little plates of slushy consistency ice floating down with very few gaps in between very hard to get a good cast where my roe or float didn't land on one of these and the few casts that seemed good would soon get caught up after a bit of drifting. now I can deal with ice getting on my line and all but with so much of this floating ice is it better to just call it a day and wait for better?

how are you guys managing?

 

[W_boughner]

Hey everyone, I was out on the bank this morning for a bit and it was very frustrating conditions..
little plates of slushy consistency ice floating down with very few gaps in between very hard to get a good cast where my roe or float didn't land on one of these and the few casts that seemed good would soon get caught up after a bit of drifting. now I can deal with ice getting on my line and all but with so much of this floating ice is it better to just call it a day and wait for better?

how are you guys managing?

You can use heavier line to handle the abrasion of the ice and you need to punch the slush !! Big floats lots of weight with short leads .. Cast high and let the momentum of the weights punch through the shush

 

[Rain-Bow]

I find that moderate slush is ok, but there comes a point where it's not really fishable. Most important thing is getting the lure/bait down. With a float I reel it in until it the rig finds an opening and goes down. With lures I stand upstream and try to dodge the ice by moving the rod around. It may sound like a pain, but it pays off.

 

[Rain-Bow]

slush steelhead

 

[Shmogley]

Good tips! and nice pic that's pretty much how it was but with bigger pieces of it and not as much gaps really
ill try a bigger float and more weight too boughner, seems so simple in retrospect but that's why we gotta ask sometimes lol

 

[FishChaser67]

tise the season ,,,

 

[goodentight]

thats a sweet photo

 

[FisherGirl]

Hey everyone, I was out on the bank this morning for a bit and it was very frustrating conditions..
little plates of slushy consistency ice floating down with very few gaps in between very hard to get a good cast where my roe or float didn't land on one of these and the few casts that seemed good would soon get caught up after a bit of drifting. now I can deal with ice getting on my line and all but with so much of this floating ice is it better to just call it a day and wait for better?

how are you guys managing?

I had the same problem this morning! i was able to manage getting my bait down ot the bottom, my biggest problem was my line freezing up!

Where you in the east or west?

 

[Dozer]

As mentioned earlier with heavier gear - I often bulk shot in case my hook gets stuck on top of the slush I have a chance of the weight pulling it down. Freezing and melting can ruin a day of fishing - happy happy happy

 

[Dozer]

Just wanted to add - careful wading during the winter - big chunks of ice floating down river have a lot of inertia and will not simply bounce off your leg when they hit - chances are it will hurt you and possibly knock you down. Stay alert - stay safe

 

[Dozer]

Here's an ice field from a few years back - some of these icebergs were easily 6 ft across - heart breakers they were.

 

[salmotrutta]

Here's an ice field from a few years back - some of these icebergs were easily 6 ft across - heart breakers they were.

Yikes, lose any fish to those bergs?

 

[rich_ace_G]

when your float gets stuck on icebergs...there's a big chance you're going to lose it or lose your leader...plus the bait don't drift naturally. it's not fun...but yeah...i'd still cast on that.

 

[goodentight]

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh looks like were freezing up good the rest of the month ladies.

 

[BASSMASTER19]

when theres this much ice, i throw cranks and that, especially at the pool ! on smaller tribs i put a spinner under weights under a float, I've gotten tons of hits but i can't manage to land them, I'm gonna try it again this year

 

[W_boughner]

Here's an ice field from a few years back - some of these icebergs were easily 6 ft across - heart breakers they were.




The mighty monster!!! I love that river!! as dangerous as it is it's one of my favorite cold weather spots

 

[iJay]

Both those pics casued me to turn the heat up in my office!

Amazing tho!

 

[Shmogley]

I had the same problem this morning! i was able to manage getting my bait down ot the bottom, my biggest problem was my line freezing up!

Where you in the east or west?

sorry a few days late but it was west. and yea its pretty frustrating.. you get a few good drifts but then it goes to shit once the ice gets on and the slush sticks to it and makes a real mess..

spending more time chipping ice off the mainline then drifting at certain points but id still take that over working anyday!

Conditions have improved a bit (more shore ice but less floaters) so its gotten better this week
But that tip about slinging more weight on there really helped out a lot and got a couple fish despite mother nature trying to shoo me away lol

Also those newly added pics there.. simply awesome!
thanks again guys(and girl )

 

[Sparta]

here's another icebergs