I got to the lake about 13:00 and fished until 16:30. The ice was about 8 inches thick. I now have one of those stories you have all heard I am sure. I had a total of four bites today using power bait on a special spreader rig I made. I missed the first one but got the second, a nice little stocker trout. I then decided to relocate to another hole. It was about an hour and a half before the next bite but wow what fun. It was a brooder about 3 or 4 pounds I got a couple of nice runs out of him on my new 28" ice rod but could not get the fish through the hole that was only about 6 inches in diameter. The fish would have physically gone through the hole if it was perfectly vertical. But I was excited and the fish was not cooperating he snapped the line against the ice. It was a lesson learned. Next time I will play the fish longer. I had one more bite after that but missed it. 30 minutes after my brooder another fisherman caught and landed one in a hole 30 feet from mine, although his hole was considerably bigger. WDFW was not going to put brooders in this year. But due to public out cry they finally did stock it. The stocking was right before ice up. And I have been waiting for the ice to get safe since. I will be back as much as I can while the ice lasts. I think there are a significant number of brooders left in the lake because they did not get much pressure before ice up. Everyone please do your research before venturing out on any ice. The US Coast Guard says you need a minimum of 4 Inches of clear ice for foot traffic. That is a little thin for me. And remember ice thickness can vary significantly. Just because its safe in one part of the lake does not mean is safe in another. Use extreme caution the ice is never really safe.

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