Icy Hiking At Island Lake

Today was beautiful. Just absolutely get out of the house and enjoy yourself beautiful. After spending weekends on the ice for the past couple of months, today was the day to get outside with the dogs and go for a hike to enjoy the sunshine and warm temperatures.

Since I declared our ice fishing season over last weekend, and we weren’t quite ready to hit open water, today seemed a good time to visit Island Lake Conservation Area and hit the trails for the first time.

Molly taking the time to enjoy the fresh air.

We began our hike in the sugar bush. You know it's getting close to spring when buckets are on the trees. The sap running into the buckets sounded like a river.

The lines are already hooked up between the trees.

The sugar shack. As I was trying to find a good spot to stand and take this picture, my feet slid out from under me and I went crashing to the ground. Not the best way to start the walk. I had been a little too eager for spring weather and was wearing running shoes that had no grip. I should have kept the boots on a little longer! My wet jeans and sore hip were a reminder to be careful for the rest of the walk.

My first good view of the ice from the trail. There were anglers out on the ice, but they were not allowed this far back on the lake. There was a lot of water on the ice and the warm weather is going to finish it off pretty quickly.

Some stretches of the trail were ice free...

...others were not. On the stretches covered in ice, I used Darrell as an anchor - he's much more steady on his feet than I am.

The end of the line. Eventually the trail will include a boardwalk that will cross the lake and form a continuous loop.

The sign explaining the trails and the plan for continuing this one. Funding help is needed to complete the trail, check out www.creditvalleyca.ca for more information on how you can help.

Anglers out enjoying what will probably be the last of the safe ice.

This hut was set up right by the sign warning anglers from traveling beyond that point.

Several Christmas trees are waiting to drop into the lake and provide more habitat.

It was an amazing day to be out for a walk and I had a wonderful time exploring what Island Lake Conservation Area has to offer, aside from the fishing. The trails are beautiful and will take you through some wonderful areas. The walk certainly did a good job in relaxing me, despite my slip on the ice, and Molly loosing her breakfast in my lap on the way home!

Take advantage of the beautiful weather and get outside. Visit your local conservation area and take advantage of what they have to offer.

Island Lake Ice Fishing – January 8, 2012

The view from the parking lot. Look at all that ice and all those huts!

It’s hard to believe that my hard-water season did not start until January 8th this year! Last season I was hitting the ice a day or two after Christmas, but the mild weather this year has not been kind to ice anglers.

It was with great relief and excitement that a phone call to Island Lake Conservation Area in Orangeville yesterday morning confirmed the ice was in good shape and open for fishing.

A good deal of time was spent packing up the truck – we had a lot of new gear to play with and we wanted to bring all of it!

Arriving at the conservation area it became obvious we were not the only ones eager to hit the ice. Indeed, throughout the day there was a steady stream of anglers drilling holes and wetting lines. It was great to see a lot of young kids out on the ice, and even better to hear and see the excitement when they landed a fish.

Our new hut - I don't ever want to go back to fishing without it!

Darrell and I joined the sea of huts and begin to set up. As this was our first outing  of the season, there were a few kinks to work out and the process took longer than normal.

After the hut was up, rods were rigged and holes were drilled it finally happened – I got a line wet for the first time in weeks! There really is nothing better than being out fishing, and the length of time between outings made this trip even more wonderful. Once again I was searching for fish and loving every minute of it.

While it was a beautiful day with excellent ice conditions – the main part of the lake saw 7-8 inches of ice – the fishing proved to be slow for us. Darrell caught some perch on a tiny white jig, each fish coming in was smaller than the last, and I lost a pike at the hole on a silver and blue spoon. My preference for not using live bait may have contributed to the slower bite, as other anglers using minnows seemed to have some better luck. One angler we spoke to at the end of the day said his group had managed 13 pike, the largest being 3-4lbs.

With any luck the ice will stick around for a bit. I an hoping to get out again next weekend. If you are planning on hitting the ice, pay attention to any signs posted on the lake. Yesterday, everything past the beach was closed due to thin ice conditions. If you are planning a trip to Island Lake you can always call ahead, 1-800-367-890, to make sure the conditions are safe.

Island Lake Is Open For Ice Fishing

Can’t wait to get on the ice? Then head to Island Lake in Orangeville. Ice fishing opened yesterday, January 7th, and today the ice is a good 7-8 inches where we’re fishing. No fish yet but it’s a beautiful day to be on the ice.

Island Lake Close Encounter

This past Sunday Darrell and I once again headed to Island Lake in search of bass and crappie. However, after a couple of hours on the water and no bites, we were starting to get frustrated. The fish finder was marking lots of suspending fish in the deepest part of the lake, but try as we might, nothing was interested.

As we moved off in search of ledges with greener weeds, Darrell started throwing a chartreuse chatterbait. I was focusing on my line when I heard, “I’ve got one!”. I didn’t need the yell to know that he had one, as Darrell’s hook-set is quite obvious – the whole boat moves. The rod got a good bend and soon enough I netted a little pike.

The wonderful fish that got the skunk out of the boat!

That pike seemed to set us on course for close encounters of the toothy kind!

Trolling back towards the parking lot I began to feel a little down. I really wanted to catch a fish. I needed to catch a fish. If I go too long without catching a fish I start to take it personally. Do I really not have the slightest clue what I’m doing? Did I scare all the fish away? Silly, yes, but sometimes it can’t be helped. So it was with great happiness that I finally felt a hit on my white chatterbait. I missed that fish but I felt like I was back in the game and I was ready for more!

And then it happened… All of a sudden it felt like my lure hit a brick wall. The rod almost jumped out of my hands and I knew this was the big girl of Island Lake. Yet, no sooner had I hit that brick wall than the line went slack. I reeled in my line only to find that the fluorocarbon leader had been sliced right through and my chatterbait was gone. I had a few choice words for that fish after she stole my lure, but the adrenaline was rushing and I was exhilarated with my close encounter!

Since trolling seemed to be working well I asked Darrell to take another circle and see what we could find. I tied on a white spinnerbait, adding a trailer to make it look like my chatterbait had, and tossed my line out. It didn’t take long before I had another solid hit. Only this time, I set the hook, started reeling, and my reel fell off the rod! I was juggling the reel, the rod and the line as Darrell was telling me to get my reel fastened back on the rod. By the time I did that the fish was gone.

After making sure the reel was secure, I took a couple of casts and finally reeled in a small pike. My catch for the day stood at one fish but the adrenaline rush of those misses just made my day.

I can’t wait until the next visit to Island Lake. Next time I’ll bring the wire leaders!

Island Lake Hawgs

Last weekend, to reward ourselves after a day of building new fencing for the horses, we decided to head to Island Lake Conservation Area in Orangeville to hunt for some bass.

This was my first trip to Island Lake in the summer and I was pleased to find a nice boat launch and reasonable admittance fees. While we took our own boat, many people chose to rent one of the conservation area’s many aluminum boats and canoes. Since there are no gas motors allowed we made sure to throw an electric motor on the back to help the trolling motor pull us around.

The sun was already inching high in the sky as we launched and there were many other people on the lake taking advantage of the beautiful weather.

Cody got the first bite of the day when he pulled in a hungry little sunfish that wanted his white mini-king, and as we moved along it was more of the same. No big bites, just a few sunfish and rock bass. I had been promised big fish and I was getting impatient.

A couple of hours passed and we threw a variety of different baits with little luck. I finally decided to tie on the go-to bait – a Rapala Husky Jerk in Tennessee Shad. Jerk, jerk, jerk…wham! Before I knew it I was reeling in a decent largemouth. It wasn’t a hawg but it made the day much happier all of a sudden. After releasing my first bass of the day I took a couple more casts and then again…wham!…another nice bass.

I was thrilled to finally have caught some bass and was in a much better state of mind when I once again tossed out my lure and hooked a tiny pike.

My little pike that Darrell had to unhook.

We eventually drifted out of this productive area into one that looked like it had to be a hawg factory. There were underwater stumps everywhere and promising looking weed patches. Talk about structure!

We all took turns tossing small jigs in amongst the stumps and ended up with a rock bass bonanza.

A nice rock bass double-header for Cody and Darrell.

It was great fun yet, still not what I was looking for. But then we moved on to the weed patches and lily pads over by the shore and I decided to tie on my absolute favorite lure – a Scum Frog.

There are a lot of frogs available on the market, but in my opinion you just can’t beat a Scum Frog. The bass love them and my wallet appreciates them. My biggest bass have all come on a Scum Frog.

I decided to take a long cast and worked the frog back to the boat slowly. I was just looking at the frog when there was a splash of water and my frog disappeared. Woohoo!!! Anyone who spends time tossing a frog understands the adrenaline rushing through my system at that moment. I set the hook as hard as I could and started reeling. He put up a great fight before ending up in the net.

My hawg for the day, and he sure wasn't the biggest one in there!

I let this guy go and two casts later another bass decided my frog looked tasty. He was smaller than the first but another great fight. After releasing him I really had to concentrate on slowing down my retrieve…the adrenaline was running!

We moved along the shoreline, I took the boat into spots so that I could cast exactly where I wanted, I’ll admit I wasn’t really thinking about whether or not it meant Darrell or Cody got a good cast

Both Darrell and I managed to lose even bigger fish. I had one just sip up the frog and the moment he felt the hooks, dived for the weeds. I couldn’t make any ground and eventually this monster got off. I was definitely cursing for a few minutes!

In the end we had a fantastic day. The only blip was the 3 canoes that managed to run into the boat because the people in them had no idea what they were doing. I’m all for people getting out and trying new things, but how hard is it to figure out that sitting still and shrieking will not steer your canoe?

I got over that momentary frustration by remembering the incredible fish we caught that day. I can’t wait to go back and get some more!