Ice Tester Wanted

[waterpossum]

On Feb 3rd Hooked on crappie reported 3" ice at Ruark. Any best guess estimates on the current thickness? I feel a moral obligation to ask before I send my daughters NEW Boyfriend out there to test it for us.

[duckydoty]

I was gonna volunteer my step daughter's new boy friend, but it sounds like you already got a highly qualified candidate.

[Quillback]

On Feb 3rd Hooked on crappie reported 3" ice at Ruark. Any best guess estimates on the current thickness? I feel a moral obligation to ask before I send my daughters NEW Boyfriend out there to test it for us.

What happened to her OLD boyfriend - did you use him as an ice tester last year?

[Dutch]

Send them both and have them carry concrete blocks.

[fishinwrench]

It's tuff out there for a gangster.

[wtr dogs]

CABIN FEVER RAGES

[hknfsh]

Ha ha....that's funny stuff. Be a good way to test his loyalty !!

[KCRIVERRAT]

If it wasn't that my wife has learned to sprawl out and belly crawl to test it for me I'd loan her to ya...

[waterpossum]

Plan A sending the Boyfriend on to the ice fell through.(somehow that doesn't sound right) Instead I went to Grand to fish off some docks (outside no heat) My fishing buddy fell and busted his butt walking down the ramp but was ok to continue. We finally got on the dock with a sledge hammer and shovel to break ice. In the process of jabbing through 2" ice he lost the grip on the shovel and it's now 35' deep. That left me to pound with the sledge hammer. After about an hour we had enough water in two wells to fish. We caught 8 fish two of which were keepers all about 30' deep on Bobby Garland double rainbow rubber jigs. We put our two keepers in a 5 gallon bucket. From time to time we went to the truck and warmed up. On our last trip back down the walk we noticed a Blue Herron with his head in the bucket. Before we could get on the dock, he flew off with one of our crappie in his beak. This herron is a resident of that dock. The locals call him George. We decided at that point to leave and let our one crappie swim.

[waterpossum]

To continue with the Grand Lake trip today. We were fishing docks located at the mouth of Horse Creek. I realize for most it's hard to justify spending $15 on a one day permit to fish. Living here in Joplin I spend half the time on Stockton and half on Grand so I buy a one year NR permit for Grand. Grand has exploded with bait fish the last couple of years, however unlike Stockton it has threadfin shad. I saw a lot of those fluttering in the wells we fished and under the thin ice on the outer deep end of the dock. I mention this because this is the time of year, weather permitting the Blue Cats (known down here as Mississippi Whites)really like to gang up in deep water generally 65' deep and gourge on these shad. The dock owner had a 44 lber (released) about a month ago. Most of these locals release most all fish over 8 lbs. The 2-4 lb fish are just perfect. The meat is real white and very good eating.