Floating the Jordanelle in January

Well FB2 and I went to Jordanelle this morning and did a little float tubing around the boat ramp. There was some thin ice on that part of the lake but still plenty of open water. There were a few boats out fishing and one carzy out wakeboarding!!

The plan was to get there at sun up but FB2 couldn’t drag his young behind out of bed until 8:30. The old guy was up drinking coffee at 6. We hit the water around 9:30 and fished in about 25 feet of water. I marked one fish on the sonar by the boat ramp. The sun was shinning there was no wind and it was a perfect January day for fishing. Well after one pass down the shore line FB2 said he feet were getting cold and starting to hurt so I sent him to shore to warm up. I continued to fish only I moved to deeper water. The water temp was 37 degrees and I was now in 45 to 50 foot of water and the ice was getting thicker. I was using a white foxee with garlic sent and tipped with a nightcrawler as the wax aorm did nothing. Now I get stopped by the ice. It’s about a quater of an inch think and I cannot move the sheet. So I decide to rock the tube up and down and break through the ice. This works great and has one other advantage! I start catching fish! The jigging action of the tube attracts my first bow in a long time. Nothing big mind you about 14 inches but it still was fun. Now I have been concentrating on breaking through the ice and wondering what I will do if I poke a hole in the tube. I hadn’t even looked at the sonar until after I had caught that lil bow. I look down and there at 43, 42, 44, and 41 feet are a group of fish mixed in with the structure. Thanks BLM, Tube Dude, and all the rest of you guys for the jigging tips. For the next 15 mintues or so I caught fish after fish for a total of 6. All between 12 and 14 inches and all on the white foxee. It was a blast!!! Well I wanted to float back to the hole again but now my feet were starting to hurt from being so cold so I paddled in to shore for a break. On the way in I handed FB2 a white foxee and the garlic sent and told him where and how I was picking them up. He headed for the ice pack like a seal. It wasn’t long before I saw him hook-up. His first catch from a tube, and his only fish for the day I’m sorry to say. But we had a great time, the weather couldn’t have been better, and we had no problems at all.

Wow, first Bob thinks his boat is an ice breaker, and now you are doing it in a float tube. What’s next, someone swimming though the ice? Congratulations Marty for you and your son getting into some fish.

On my way home from Strawberry on Saturday, I saw all the open water on Jordanelle and gave thought to Tubing it. I am glad to hear you did well.

:sunglasses:, I been thinking of taking my boat up there. I still haven’t found a way to insulate my cast. Lindon boat harbor is boring.


tomegun [;)]

Hey there Greenhorn welcome aboard! Now for that arm of yours. I didn’t have a cast on my leg just an 11 pound plate to hold it together. So when i went fishing and had to stand in the cold water for hours (in rubber waders back then) I wrapped it with a peice of foam padding for insulation and that did the trick. Kept it in place with an ace bandage and could fish all day. Hope that helps.

:sunglasses:*, what is a greenhorn anyway? *

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*I’m in an ankle cast. and fallen and can’t git up,lol. 26 more days til the cast comes off. I might have to find some xmas stockings to keep warm. Nylons are a warm weather thing [;)]. I want to ice fish or spring to get going in full force. PRAY FOR RAIN…[unsure] *

greenhorn is just a fun way of showing yor new to the forum. as you post your icon will change