yesterday was my last day on the ice for this year, hope it ain't the last year...fishing was slow for me ,brought 11 in returned 4x that number lots of little one,,,,gills anyway ice ain't safe in my piont of view anymore set down on one hole on 8 to 10 inches of ice and it sagged down enough I had 3 inchs of water around me,backed off and she sucked it all back like a bathtub drain,,,,pretty sure I was on the small spring was off maybe and hour later, as for the small fish ,that was my fault as I was just fishing old holes I was able to kick in no sweat no gain fishing or living is same story.............ice ain't got any strength anymore time to pack the gear away.........

Thanks for info BG.  Are the yellow bass making a comeback on the northern chain (Channel, Catherine)?  Loved catching them back in the 80's!

Chudman

wrong ya mean 173 I confuse them all the time myself anyway no bob,s on 173 some winters allow access some not not sure this year he is the south end of catherine, the place your reffering to is the north shore on north avenue, that burned down long ago ,new joint there called the new north shore, 2 miles west of 83 on north give or take a tenth or 2,,,, they too vary year to year and owner to owner about the ice fishing access and you need to walk the channel to the lake ok right now but not somthing I would do early or late ice or in a thaw, yesterday fishing was a little better but bite was as lite as I can remember in a few years..........

Is the only way to access Catherine by parking on the south side of Channel Lake and walking?  Years ago (a lot of years), there was a restaurant/bar type joint on the north end of Catherine to park at (think on Rte 176).  Doubt it is still there though....

Chudman

tough day got my hat handed to me, all small except for 1 gill and a perch, same place I was at sat afternoon and the crappie were going nuts, that is why we call it fishing and not catching, lucked out sat caught the window between the rain and the wind and more rain was short but sweet.........

fishing was good sunday thru wed was slower thursday and today but good most of the day, for me that is after lunch till dark, dawn ain't my kind of fishing these days and when it good early the bite is no more than 2 to 3 hours......ice is as good as it has been in years for thickness it ain't good hard ice but it is as good as it gets these days around here.I have not found the deep crappies or the strippers looked a little but not much knowing that perch gills and crappie can been had shallow near weeds most days so far this winter,,,,,, here on it is all up in the air the thaw fishing is late so my fishing by the calander is out the window for the next few weeks, as for color it is whatever ya have tied on bubble gum to black and in between.......has worked this week.........

was out this pm on far north catherine ice was 2 to 8 the eight was where I drilled the other day and the snow got flooded, today was sitting in a puddle of melted snow moved around a little but got spooked when it went from 8 to 2 in about 10 feet, can see people fishing the slot on north channel and the cat hole on catherine the slot should have crappie this time of the year and maybe a wally or two with the melt going on,the cat hole on catherine can be a real grab bag can't think of anything I ain't caught there over the last 35 years or so..........anyway well be walking and drilling a few more days before I put the quad more than a few hundred feet out......alot of the snow blew off reason ice varies so much......... 

went out to drill few holes see if we have made any ice last week or so we may have added a 1/2 inch if that under this snow and thats it we are not MAKING ICE AGAIN WE ARE NOT MAKING ICE UNDER THIS SNOW and thirty below for real ain't going to change that you do not make ice under a foot or better of snow was out less than 300 feet and was down to 2 3/4 inches of ice and 2 inches of frozen snow under about 9 inches of setteled snow ........ if your thinking these temps well built ice your mistaken.........have seen people on sleds but they are moving and have no ideal what they are riding on

Hopefully we can make it to this weekend without any warming/snow/rain. If we can make it we will have safe ice over/after the cold weekend 

well catherine capped again during the snow fall except for the goose holes and the springs lake on the northern end into channel is white,, pray we don't get a big snow on it 5 or better it will sink the ice and we will have a slushy mess and the ice will hide the real bad spots ...CAPPED means it frooze over but it ain't ready to walk on..............