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Eloika Lake Report
Spokane County, WA

Details

12/27/2008
Ice Fishing
Perch
Worms
White
Jig
Afternoon
12/27/2008
3
865

Wow. Brutal. Two+ feet of snow over 6" of slush. We stomped thru knee-deep snow and a nice watery/slush mix to about mid-lake, out and a little north from Jerry's Landing. There was only a light breeze, but there was a very light rain -- more like mist -- that iced up everything in sight.

We fished jigs mostly, the Swedish Pimple didn't produce as well as it usually does but a white jig head with white rubber body, a 1/2" or so of worm and a dash of smelly jelly (shrimp + anise) produced some perch. We got on the lake late and hoped to stick around till dusk/dark since we'd heard that the fishing was better then, but we had to call it a early.

My buddy had a miserable day. His boots weren't as tall as my Sorels and within a couple dozen feet of the shoreline he proceeded to fill his boots with ice water. He gutted out about 2.5 hours of fishing but had to call it a day when the cold finally got the better of him. After getting all his gear loaded up and turning toward shore he promptly filled both boots with slush again and then got all the way to shore before he went knee-deep into somebody else's hole near shore. Now he's wet up to his elbows too. Many, he was soaked. Way to tough it out, Dave!

Dodgy drive to and from due to slush, ice and the deep (unplowed) snow up north, but a fun day out regardless of our challenges. It's so fun to get out there in all the white and quiet. Very pretty. We warmed up over hot wings at our favorite hot wing shop (shout-out to everyone at Flamin' Joes!)

P.S. I sure wouldn't recommend trying to get into Jerry's with anything less than 4x4 and even then I wouldn't try anything lower than say an Explorer because the snow is so deep you might high center in it.


Comments

kevinb
12/28/2008 9:41:00 AM
Other than your friend getting cold and soaked,sounds like a great outing. I wish some lakes around here would freeze up.
fishinoriginal
12/28/2008 4:48:00 PM
Wanna give a fishing report?
TroutCowboy
12/28/2008 6:48:00 PM
ice. jigs. worms & smelly jelly. a few perch. i thought that about covered it.
Paul & Sammi
12/28/2008 8:06:00 PM
How much ice was under all that snow and slush TroutCowboy?
We are planing a trip out on new years day. We will be going out from the public launch area. That road usually gets plowed. Hope so. If you see a red toyota pu stuck on the hill we would appreciate a tow. :)
TroutCowboy
12/28/2008 8:33:00 PM
hi paul, funny i would get a question from you, i kind of considered you & sammi the resident experts on eloika! i've read many of your reports for this lake. ;-)

i would say there was around 5-6" of ice. it was hard to keep the hole clean because the slush that would drift into it, so i didnt get a great look at the edge of the hole to gauge a thickness. my buddy did all the augering too, so i didn't get a good read on it that way either.

i probably can't stress enough to come prepared. be prepared for deep snow on the road, slick conditions to/from, and bring waterproof boots/gear. knee-high rubber boots wouldn't be a bad idea! there was a good 6" of slush under all of the snow, but i can't fathom how much the snow/slush ratio has changed with this warm weather and rain. it was really rough going. i was really wishing i had some snow shoes or maybe x-country skis to stay on top. i think the snowshoes would really help, there was a big difference in "floatation" just between the wider footprint of my sorels and my buddy's knock-offs.

once we got to our spot we were just sitting in a slush pit. we did manage to compact some snow to stand on to stay out of the water.

good luck out there, i look forward to your report! i hope to stay longer next time. ;-)
travislikesfishing
12/28/2008 8:48:00 PM
ill be heading out there soon as i can make it with out a 4x4 my car does really good with studded snow but not in snow over 12-14 in or so. good report by the way ive been hoping to hear about eloika more. and i agree that flammin goes will really warm u up eat the widow maker
Paul & Sammi
12/30/2008 9:20:00 PM
We haven't been out since the end of October. Went fishing for my birthday and got skunked. pppfftttt
Last year the snow was 16 inches deep with 4 inches of slush under it, and it sucked getting around out there. And getting there. I can imagine what its like right now. We have had 63 inches of snow here in the last 12 days. Today we made it 2 miles to the post office and back, and it was an adventure in itself. We might postpone our first trip of the new year until it stops snowing for more than 20 minutes and the plows catch up. Then we will have a go at the lakes snow and slush. We have good rubber boots and a strong desire to drown some worms. :)
retsgt
1/1/2009 11:00:00 AM
Thanks for the report, was wondering if anyone had been on the ice.
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Available Guide

Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Darrell & Dads Family Guide Service

Phone: (509) 687-0709