Anyway on Thursday I couldn’t sleep for excitement so I got up at 2:15 and hit the road as soon as I could get out the door… Arrived at Henry’s at 7:15ish and then tried to get my junk out on the ice… Pretty much a Clampet convention, but by 10:30 I finally got a line in the water and started fishing… Yes I took way too much junk… when it won’t fit in 3 big sleds and you have to take additional trips back to the truck to get gear, you have a problem…
LOL, Jeff, you crack me up. You are the only person I have heard of that is a hoarder ice angler.
Great write up of the trip Jeff, glad you got out and had a good time, let me know if you need a hand at the yard sale so you can thin out your stuff lol.
I’ve got to work on that… I took a 5 gallon tote of tackle and didn’t even open it up to try anything out of it… What a waste of space, most of it was lake fishing gear so I don’t know why I took it, just in case i guess… I also took a 5 gallon water jug, which I didn’t use a drop of the water… along with the box of hot chocolate mix that I never got around to fixing… Took a dozen ice rods and maybe used 7 of those… Fixed a yard light that I thought I’d need for night time to see outside… headlight worked fine and it was too much of a blizzard to set up and cook outside… Took a second set of ice clothes just in case… might be a good idea, but I think they would have been fine to stay in the truck and then go get them if needed… I haven’t got my power needs figured out yet, I took a jump box to use for power and for some reason it ran out of power just changing my phone and headlamp… so I think I’ll change over to a regular 12 V battery that I use for my pontoon… It should last the whole trip… That would eliminate the need for the generator… So if I keep it up maybe you’ll let me reduce my hoarder status… I think after the first trip of knowing I don’t need the kitchen sink, I should do better in the future… Too many what if this happens I might need this led to too much gear… but hey I had everything I needed… Later Jeff
Hey Alan you know how the addicts don’t think they have a problem… well maybe that fits me too well… was a great trip… did you get the second elk? Glad you made it out okay… We’ll have to find a spot and go try a fish soon… I promise I’ll cut down on gear so the ice don’t break… Later Jeff
I was there 2 weekends ago. fished 6-8 ft of water. you did better than I did. My group caught mostly brookies.
We were fishing in 17 FOW and the fish came through about 5’ off the bottom… The spot we were at was a mudflat in the middle of the weed forest so the fish just roamed through this area… The guys that were closer to the weedline had more fish going through, and I should have moved, but I didn’t learn this until I had the palace all set up and I was too lazy to move after… We had maybe 14 - 20 guys in the group and I only remember seeing like 3-5 brookies caught in the whole group, so you did well… They were really pretty, the ones caught in the group were all colored up this year… We had a couple guys fishing shallow and they did really well early in the mornings, in fact it was dead in the middle and those at Stahles and Wild Rose were having the best fishing of the day. So knowing what I know now, I’d fish shallow until about 10-11 and then move out to the middle if you wanted to be on fish all day… Fishing was a lot better Thursday before more folks showed up, pressure really reduced the fishing productivity…
Jeff
Well better to be ready for stuff then not have it especially on a “1st trip” doing something new. Haven’t got the 2nd elk yet but we’re getting closer each day, snow has them moving which is helping.
Wow Alan that’s a long time on the mountain. Good luck to you and the crew. We’ll see you when you get back. May need a rest before someone talks you into going ice fishing. I caught a monster tonight. Later J
Wow Alan that’s a long time on the mountain. Good luck to you and the crew. We’ll see you when you get back. May need a rest before someone talks you into going ice fishing. I caught a monster tonight. Later J
That is good striper size bait there One of my friends has a house over where we’re hunting so it’s pretty comfortable elk camp for sure. I’ll be ready to roll when I get back
Jeff, that sounds like a fun trip. I’ve only fished Henry’s once during the summer a few years ago and have been wanting to go back ever since. Great report.
What a great trip it was Jeff. Your story makes me think back to our 1st ice camping days. Man we hauled a lot. Still haul quite a bit now but it gets used. My 3 day total came out to 60 fish. 1 brookie, 2 chub and the rest cuts/hybrids. My biggest only pushed the 20" mark but definitely worth every minute. I did see the Pic of the 29" and it was a hog. It was released immediately. With the great phone service we had I was watching all kinds of stuff on the tablet and lazy fishing with my jigging jacker most the weekend. Only fishing one hole up there was new for me. With the weather the way it was it did keep us tent bound but I can say the drive for or crew was the best we’ve had in 6 years doing this trip and the ice conditions phenomenal. Here’s a couple pics of took. It needed 2 wheeler’s in tandem today to get Joe’s ice seeker off. He’s really looking at utvs now. Lol
Ok Kent now check out what Matt takes, note I didn’t have the TV in my tent. So I still have some room for hoarding. Matt and crew really have a great set up going for those multi day trips. I’m amazed each year by the new ideas they come up with and they are incredible fishermen. They usually double or triple my catch on any trip I join them, but they are always good to share what’s working if I’m not too bullheaded to try it. I think Matt was posting some videos on ice camping, I’m looking forward to checking them out. Later Jeff
PS. Alan we’ll see you when you return. After the fall thru at Mantua yesterday, maybe it’s not quite time to go yet.
Jeff, that sounds like a fun trip. I’ve only fished Henry’s once during the summer a few years ago and have been wanting to go back ever since. Great report.
Henry’s is sure a fun pond. I think it’s a little better than Strawberry and a beautiful area to be at. Lots of fun stuff to do around where we live, just not enough time to do everything. But that keeps life interesting. I love to do stuff outdoors. Later Jeff
The foam on floor would dry out by morning so you could stand up to get dressed without getting your feet or bibs wet. It was really nice.. I just needed to put an ice anchor in it so it wouldn’t move on me. Next time I’ll be a little smarter. J
WOW…thats more stuff that you have on your boat… :) .
Way back when I was still on active duty in USAF, I spent some time at Wurtsmith AFB up near Oscoda Michigan. I saw large wooden shacks, on skids that were towed out on the lake for the season. And saw one that had partially fallen thru some ice, then the water had frozen back around it.
Decided then that wasn’t the kind of fishing for me… :D .
Looks like quite the party. Hot breakfast on the ice sure looks good. I should make more trips focusing on the whole experience, rather than on just catching fish. Little disappointed that the recliner on skis didn’t make it out this trip. Congrats on a trip well done
WOW…thats more stuff that you have on your boat… :) .
Way back when I was still on active duty in USAF, I spent some time at Wurtsmith AFB up near Oscoda Michigan. I saw large wooden shacks, on skids that were towed out on the lake for the season. And saw one that had partially fallen thru some ice, then the water had frozen back around it.
Decided then that wasn’t the kind of fishing for me… :D .
Guess I do more ice fishing than boat fishing with that farming habit I have. I asked Joe what happens if the ice won’t hold the trailer, he said the wheels go through till it hits the frame and then it spreads the load out to where it will stay on top. I didn’t want to find out so I set up a ways away from his spot. J
Looks like quite the party. Hot breakfast on the ice sure looks good. I should make more trips focusing on the whole experience, rather than on just catching fish. Little disappointed that the recliner on skis didn’t make it out this trip. Congrats on a trip well done
Oh you’ve seen Joe on ice before. Guess when you have the ice castle you don’t need or have room for the recliner. The breakfast was fun, I think my father-in-law will get a kick out of that too so I’ll probably try it at Hyrum when it gets safe. Drop by I’m sure I’ll have extra. Later J
I can vouch he will and it is delicious, thanks again for the burrito last friday* morning Jeff***
You’re very welcome, I should have did more on Saturday morning, but I started cleaning up and didn’t want to cook after I’d packed up the giddle… I had sausage instead of bacon for the next day planned, but didn’t get around to that till I got home… But my Wife and all enjoyed that go round… Fun trip, wish we had more and better ice around here I’d like to do it again… Later Jeff
I can vouch he will and it is delicious, thanks again for the burrito last friday* morning Jeff***
wish we had more and better ice around here I’d like to do it again… Later Jeff
Our start for Gorge is not to far out, for sure after the new year. Been looking at a maybe Blackfoot reservoir also this year if you can still get to the dam without going all the way around, not much snow up there yet. Always wanted to ice fish/camp that area.
I can vouch he will and it is delicious, thanks again for the burrito last friday* morning Jeff***
wish we had more and better ice around here I’d like to do it again… Later Jeff
Our start for Gorge is not to far out, for sure after the new year. Been looking at a maybe Blackfoot reservoir also this year if you can still get to the dam without going all the way around, not much snow up there yet. Always wanted to ice fish/camp that area.
I used to love fishing Blackfoot, but it’s been a long time since I fished it last… May have to buy a season Idaho after the first of the year, those single trip permits are almost as expensive as a yearly permit now with all the hidden fees… and the new increase in price… You guys planning on a trip to Cascade this year? If so, I think a season Idaho will be a good investment… But the Gorge is always an exciting trip and sometimes can be really good… I had a couple less than successful trips last year to the gorge so it’s about time it even’s me out with a good one… On a year like this the Idaho ice is a lot more enticing than it is around here, but ya never know about next year… That’s why Idaho needs to go to the 365 license if so they would have sold me one already, after the first of the year when fishing get’s good in Utah, then I’ll decide not to spend my money unless I have a couple trips planned during the year… happens that way nearly every year lately… Anyway be watching for the next trip… Thanks J
One of my friends has a house over where we’re hunting so it’s pretty comfortable elk camp for sure. I’ll be ready to roll when I get back 
