Ice House in the morning Saturday 4/21/12

Another last minute trip;
Heading to Ice House Reservoir in the morning, leave my house by 5:30am and I should be at the boat ramp by 7am, maybe even on the water by 7. 
I'll be on 69.  The name is Ski Pro or Ski Pro 3 if you show up and want to hail me.  I plan to troll the area between the ramp and the dam first, then head back to where South Fork Silver Creek enters the lake and troll back there. 

Maybe I'll see someone OTW tomorrow!

Oh, I went to Union Valley yesterday and today for work.  There was one shore fisherman at Union Valley at the boat ramp and he had not gotten any bites.  (I got there about noon and he'd been there since 7am.)  He told me he hasn't seen any fish rising either.  No other people/boats at UV yesterday.  I went to the Jones Fork arm of UV today and watched the water for at least an hour, didn't see any fish rising there either.  (Tossed in a line with power bait soaked for an hour unmolested.  My lunch hour.)   I headed to the Ice House boat ramp and there were 4 or 5 RV campers there and that many empty boat trailers as well.  Didn't wet a line, I had to continue working, but the water sure looked good, so it's Ice House for tomorrow morning. 

SkiPro, let us know how you did and the ramp conditions please. 

Sorry I didn't post sooner.

Didn't take any photos of fish but the area is free and clear of snow except on the north facing hill sides. The ramp and parking lot are wide open with no fees for now.  There were 3 other boats I saw and many small groups on the shore between the boat ramp and the dam along the camp ground shore.  Also, a couple guys back at the Silver Fork stream into the lake fishing from shore.  I trolled the dam area making 2 passes but I could tell a guy in a canoe wanted the area to himself and I wasn't marking anything there so I headed up the lake along the north shore.  The first large cove past the aux dam near the summer camp gave me my first hook-up.  A double hook up actually.  On the down rigger I had a wedding ring with a 2" pearl white grub on the hook.  I'd no sooner get it down to 20 feet and start to set up my top line pole when I'd get a strike and release off the downrigger cable.  I'd land 2 browns this way with probably 6 strikes. On the top line pole I ran an Apex lure behind a dodger with a mini crawler worm.  This pole was fun to watch.  I could easily see when I'd get a strike when my rod tip would dip, but the trick was to not grab the pole right away.  Seems it would take 3 strikes to get the fish to eat that part of the worm that had the hook in it.  Sometimes these strikes looked like solid hooks, but I'd reel in and see 3/4 of the worm still there.   
I spoke to one other boat; 2 guys fishing top line.  I had just gotten a strike without a hook-up as they troll past me going in the opposite direction.  They had one good sized Brown, maybe 20 inches long.  I told them I just missed a strike and sure enough, that fish took their line as it passed over where I had been. 
I keep binoculars with me and observed 2 other boats landing fish. 
I didn't see anyone from shore catch a fish, and from their lack of tending their rods, my bet is that they were not having much action. 
I moved up to Silver Creek as it enters the far end of the lake and drifted a single #16 hook with only a swivel and 2 salmon eggs through the swifter water.  It looked very promising and this is usually a sure-fire way to get into fish when nothing else works.  However, nothing.  I then trolled back and decided to try my luck at the fish I was marking on the bottom.  In 60 feet of water, I was seeing several largish looking blips just off the bottom.  I set the downrigger to 53 feet down with the wedding ring and a crawler on it following a mini flasher string of 4 blades.  I was probably knocking those fish down there in the head with my downrigger weight because I never got a strike at all this way.  Ha!
 I took a couple photos at the launch of me and my set-up, then forgot the camera until I got home. 






The fishing wasn't wide open by any means.  I fished solid from 7am until 5pm when my sun induced headache drove me to call it quits.  I landed maybe 5 fish and maybe that many hook-ups.  It was spread out all day, maybe every half hour or so I'd get a bite.  I traveled over 12 miles by GPS but admit I have an electric trolling motor to help me along for about half the trip, starting out with the mirage drive, then switching to the motor when I want to cruise-n-snooze or take my lunch. 

The weather was cool in the morning. As I drove past Pollock Pines the temperature was about 50 degrees and stayed that way until I was right up in the Crystal Basin.  About 3 miles from the lake, my windows fogged up fast and heavy.  The air temp had dropped to 34 degrees in a matter of minutes!!  By 11am I was down to a long sleeve T-shirt.  High air temp was 68 degrees for the day.  There was a breeze in the AM, but light.  By 9am the wind was dead calm.  By 1pm there was a pretty strong and steady west wind.  This was a headwind for me heading back in and I really appreciated the trolling motor at this point. 

****EDIT****
I just noticed that my photos are not full sized.  If you right click then select 'view image' you'll see the whole photo....

Great report!  Any idea of the water temp? 

Sorry, no idea on the water temp.  My bet it's still pretty cold since the morning air temp was so cold. 

Glad to see ya got into a few fish.
Any kokes yet?

I don't think kokonee are stocked at Ice House. 

BTW, glad I didn't go to Union Valley.  On Saturday, someone was found dead at an area that is boat only accessible.  Some fisherman found the guy and it was 'fresh'.   The LEO's won't say a word about it; what cause of death, who, etc.  Only thing I heard was he was killed. 

High Elevation lakes are the bomb...  sounded like every half hour something was happing great report...with pics