I had the same issue with my Garmin mounted low on the deck.
I added a 2nd knuckle and made a 2 foot extension with two 2x3s butted together, painted it black and it works great 👍

Wow Billy.
I’m surprised that you still have that much ice left.
We ice-fished last sunday with 5 inches of ice and caught a few small ones.
And near me that ice is gone now & I took my Crawdad and 6 rods out. I didnt catch anything - water was only 44 degrees but it was sunny & warm. I’m looking forward to more 50 degree plus spring weatger and getting the bass boat in the water 👍

Yup, we do the same as OJ.
The tricky part on a runner is getting the trap out of the water and ready to set the hook without signaling the bass that you are there. Pull the trap and get ready when a quick run puts some slack in you line 🎣

Hey Billy
Good to hear from you!
Two days ago we had a lot of water on Boon and I’ve been reorganizing (and buying 🤭) summer tackle. I’ll let you know when we’re back on the water.
But later this morning, we’ll probably be back on the ice 😬.
Good luck out there & stay safe,

Hey Abel
The Hummingbird Fishing Buddy is a great self contained unit with transducer & runs on regular batteries.

My buddy has always used his on his jon boat that we truck around. And I just bought one for my small boat.

But, they have been discontinued so you have to buy used on eBay. They usually sell for about $200.
I used to try to use my Garmin on the small boat (when the bass boat is out of the water) but you have to bring a battery and hook up a transducer... ☹️

Check it out.

Hey Billy
Great pictures and it’s nice to go out on a warm day. I took my son out on Monday for a few hours but he only caught one bass - but it was this 2.1lb beauty 👍

But Yes, this snow is gonna wreak havoc on our ice fishing.
But you have quite a bit more ice that we have here on Boon.

We’ll be out checking our ice tomorrow when we aren’t out shoveling snow 😅

Hey Fireguy
Sounds like a great spot 👍
I’ll have to check it out.
Have you caught any big ones there?
Thx

Hey Fireguy
What are you/they catching on Warners? I don’t know that spot.
Thx,

Hey Billy
Parking can be tough on Boon.
There are 2 public spots on Sudbury Rd
1. pine bluffs/town beach - but I’ve only fished that area once & didn’t catch anything.
2. Public boat launch - from there, people walk to the 4th & 3rd basins or a longer hike to the 2nd basin.

All other parking is at private properties and there are always battles going on between the residents and those looking for lake access. Some areas can get very crowded on the weekends 🤭

If you want to talk, send me your #.

We’ve been ice fishing since Jan 12th but still waiting for the big bass to come out - the biggest has been 2.9 lbs. We’ve got 10 inches of ice even after a couple of 50 degree days last week.
But yesterday I did catch this big 25 inch 4.3 lb pickerel and here a few of the bass catches.

Attached file:
(Download)

Hi Ben
I’m a big fan of Matt & Tim of TacticalBassin and I’d love to fish the SE or CA waters with a better chance of a DD bass 🎉

Looking at the other forum responses, I have to check out more of these Pro angler sites 👍

Hi Ken
A lot of good information already provided by the forum.

We look/wait for 5 inches of mixed black & white ice. 4 is enough if it is all solid black ice. At the end of last ice season, I sunk one leg in up to my hip when we were down to 4 inches mixed 😬

I fished for years chopping ice with a Cabelas spud but that is also hard work at more than 7 inches of ice. I always found the manual augers hard to use for my height & strength. But I always searched out holes that previously been cut so there was only a couple of inches of new ice.

And you should be able to find others with augers that will take mercy on you and cut a few holes for you.

And then when you decide that you like ice fishing, you can invest in a power auger. One of my buddies bought an auger head and with a good drill he can cut a dozen holes on a charge. And last year, my buddy & I split the cost of an Ion 8 inch battery auger that could cut 100 holes on a charge and is a real game changer 🎣

Hey Captain
We’ve been out 4 of the last 5 days.
5+ inches of ice.
Some big pickerels and a lot of bass 2.5lbs and less 👍

Agreed 🎣🎉
So much less competition for the big bass when you can get out during the week.
When I go out on the weekend, it’s really to spend some social time with my broader group of fishing buddies 👍

Hi Bric
A battery powered auger is a real game changer. We used to chop our holes and that’s ok for 4 inches of ice but too hard when you get to 8 to 10 inches.

As far as when you need a hut, the secret is, if it’s cold enough to need a hut, don’t fish that day 🤭