[JohnK]

Fished from 5:00 till 9:00 am. Caught 26 and kept 6 perch over 8" (3 of those were 9"). Used minnows on crappie rigs. It was a very light bite. It took a little bit of work to punch through the ice - it was about 1" thick.

[ttmoran]

Nice job getting out there and getting it done! May I ask how you go about breaking the ice?

[tippacanoe]

Quote:

May I ask how you go about breaking the ice?

I usually like to start off with a joke--it puts people at ease. But seriously, folks put all manner of heavy things on the end of a long (at least 15') rope tied off on a post. Anchors, free weights, buckets of concrete. Don't throw it out too far--once it breaks through, you might not be able to pull it back.

[bill77]

if u put a 12in + peice of chain on what ever u use u can toss it out and the chain acts like a saw

[ttmoran]

thanks gents!

[JohnK]

I use a 12lb river anchor. After breaking through the ice and getting the hole the size that I want, I usually dunk the anchor down into the water so that the "blades" of the anchor are submerged, then yank the anchor out real fast. I do this around the larger chunks of ice that are floating around, hoping to pull them out of the hole and onto the ice. It is also a good way to get some exercise and warm up a little bit.