With stop one of the Vermont Sportsman Hardwater Tournament Series out of the way, we decided to try something new. Our main goal was to try to find some walleye using tip ups but mainly to chase flags and kick back a bit. We caught fish but it wasn’t fast and furious with the abundance of fish we knew were present. We caught rockbass, northern pike, crappie, and perch. We had ten tip-ups out spread from 15-30 feet. Our bait of choice was medium shiners set just off the bottom.
Our first flag popped about the time we got our fifth flag set. After a short run the fish was still on but bit the line as soon as tension was applied; Presumably a northern pike. From there on out, we had regular flags but none of our desired species. Perch seemed to be the main culprit of dropped and stolen baits as they were the majority of what we were able to jig up and catch on the tip ups.
After a few hours of slow fishing we packed up and headed out. Being outside of Vermont, bait laws were not an issue so we checked one more spot before dumping our bait. The second spot was a dud. The ice wasn’t great and the amount of fish in the area was nothing to hang around for. One more spot that was on the way home had been in the back of out head for a while now.
The first hole we punched revealed about 6″ of good hard ice. Hoping that we could fish fish we punched holes over a large area and looked around with an underwater camera. Very few fish were found in the area but once we located a good patch of weeds, we found the fish. Bluegill, pumpkinseed, and largemouth bass were cruising around in decent numbers.
After catching a few fish, we called it a day. Long hours on the ice in recent days have tuckered us out. A low key night is just what the doctor called for!
D & B Ice Adventures 
I saw you guys at the Yankee Sportsmans Classic on Friday. Recognized you right away from your pics here! Good luck this winter. I’m still waiting for “safe” ice. Should be good after this cold spell. I wish we were closer to the Connecticut where you do a lot of fishing for crappies. Would love to try it in the spring with our boat, but we’re up near the Canadian border and I think that would be at least a 4 hour drive! I enjoy your posts!
Jim
You should have said hi!
We have a festival at a northern town every winter called “Tip-Up Town”. It goes for 2 weekends on Houghton Lake with all kinds of festivities. Good times and lot’s of Tip-Up’s.
Sounds fun!