After two short afternoon trips to this lake, I gleaned enough info from the locals to pass on Hog Canyon and stay on a hometown lake. This morning's wet, sloppy weather had a hand in it, too! I arrived at 7:30 to a wet, slick surface. The snow cover is entirely gone. Moving about was treacherous to say the least. Highly recommend ice cleats if you have them! It's gonna be a hockey rink if this incoming cold front doesn't bring any snow.

Timing IS everything. Between 7:45 and 9:30 I couldn't keep them off the hook. A pale yellow teardrop with a single maggot was all I needed. As soon as it would settle 12-18" off the bottom fish were after it. During this period I don't think I went more than a minute without a take. After 9:30, things slowed a bit, with takes, these much more subtle, coming in spurts as fish moved through. I didn't get nearly as much action during my previous afternoon trips.

While the perch aren't large, they sure provide for a lot of fun and action. I ended up with 20 decent ones on the ice and another dozen or so little tikes released. Many more missed and/or lost.I also became acquainted with another ice fisherman who joined me and suffered through the rain and slop. He was a nice fella and I look forward to seeing him out there again!

Has anybody seen species other than perch caught through the ice on this lake? In three days all I saw were perch and one sunny. I gotta believe there's some bass and crappied prowling the depths, too.

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