Back on the Ice

David with a nice Yellow Bass

The weather here in Iowa the past couple weeks have been disappointing.  As I type this however, the outside temp is -1, so at least Mother Nature is trying to catch up and build some ice for us ice fishermen.

Yesterday David Bowles and I ventured over to Otter Creek Lake near Tama.  After getting several ice reports from friends telling me the ice was a good 5 inches I was excited to check this lake out.  We entered the ice with caution drilling several test holes, just to be on the safe side.  Sure enough 6 inches of ice and it was nice and clear.

Yellow Bass were the target for the day.  We started searching for the yellows in water ranging from 14 feet up to 6 feet.  After popping several holes with the K-Drill David started marking fish in the 7-10 foot range with the Vexilar.  We started catching fish right away but soon found out that these fish were going to be picky.  We were constantly changing baits from waxworms, to spikes, to cutbait.  Today it seemed that the spikes were the best option for the yellows.  Another key to both of our successes were the use of the spring bobbers.  A lot of the fish bit very lightly, and without a spring bobber, you would not have caught near the amount of fish we did.  In the 4+ hours we fished in the morning we kept about 25 keepers, which ranged from 8 to just over 10 inches.  They will make a great meal for David and myself.  

Moving often, zoning in on the depth of water with active fish, drilling a lot of holes, utilizing our Vexilars and spring bobbers brought us a great morning of fishing.  It's great when a plan and your equipment work great to help you meet your fishing goals.