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Decided to brave the winter weather advisory and head over Sherman Pass to see if we could break in our ice fishing gear. My friend had purchased a sweet sled to tow our stuff in along with an ice auger that cost him $95 so we were bound and determined to make our way over.

We arrived around 8AM and were relieved to see that another fisherman was already there. It's always nice to KNOW that the ice is thick enough to walk on. Ice is a solid 5" thick over there. We were also exited to see that the other fisherman had already caught 4 Perch in his first 15 minutes there. Our ice auger had started up on the 4th pull and we were fishing within the next 5 minutes. (I will definitely be looking for a used auger because they are such a nice tool to have. Especially when the ice gets to 18" thick like it did last year.)

Once we started fishing the action never stopped. Over the next 4 hours we caught around 50 Perch and a bunch of trout. Only had 3 keeper trout though. The other fisherman there had given us a couple Perch as he was leaving so we ended up taking home 63 Perch. I haven't been ice fishing all that much so this was the best day I have had out on the ice. Average size was around 9.75" and the biggest was 11.

All fish were caught in 32 FOW at the bottom with either a small spoon or jig tipped with a worm. Bite indicators are a must because they barely hit when they bite. All my gear came from my Mystery Tackle Box subscription. I sure do love that service.

It took about 2 hours to get all of them cleaned and packed away in the freezer. When you get to cleaning that many fish you wonder if it was all worth it...? But I'm sure when I'm frying them up I'll have zero complaints.

uplandsandpiper

12/30/2017 10:06:32 AM

Thanks for sharing!

Fillet'emyoung

12/30/2017 1:19:26 PM

where did you access the lake at if you don't mind ?

Lambojac

12/30/2017 1:25:33 PM

Right at the State Park. A vehicle access pass is required or a Discover Pass. The gate was closed there but the person in charge told us that we could open that gate and fish down there as long as we closed it when we were done.

IMBWANA

12/30/2017 2:21:36 PM

Curlew needs a lot more perch fisherman! good job

hewesfisher

12/31/2017 6:18:06 AM

Nice catch and those look to be nice perch!

bob johansen

12/31/2017 7:44:20 AM

I have had a few great days at Curlew but never fished it for perch. Perch just may be my favorite eating fish. I remember one time at Potholes that I filleted 144 perch solo. The seagulls kept me company during the entire process. A small piece of perch meat may be even better bait than a piece of worm.

Fillet'emyoung

12/31/2017 1:11:56 PM

Does the person in charge at the State Park stay there or work there ? How did you find that person ?

Lambojac

1/1/2018 11:49:23 AM

I'm actually not 100% sure on that Fillet'emyoung...but it was the house that is located right at the gate there. I suppose it's a gamble if you want to take the risk yourself with going past that gate. Last year the gate was never closed so I was surprised to see it blocked off this year. I just took a look at the State Parks website and technically it is closed for the season but I'll continue to go there until a Ranger kicks me out. LOL.

And I agree with you on that bob johansen. Perch eyes are also a pretty good bait to use from what I've been told.

uplandsandpiper

1/2/2018 7:42:59 AM

Fished there yesterday. Everybody was opening the gate and driving down.

buc

1/3/2018 5:40:51 PM

I have a 15 passenger van how many more do you need...

bugle1

1/3/2018 5:54:39 PM

thanks for the report how far from the park launch would a guy have to go

Lambojac

1/3/2018 6:56:24 PM

I normally just go in front of the boat launch and look where the most recent holes have been drilled.

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