I’m not sure where to start with this overdue report. Saturday January 8th, 2022 will be a memorable one for a bunch of anglers on the Noc. Some for the fishing and most for how quickly conditions change out der. Leaving you practically helpless in what seems like a dire situation. Starting the morning was a 15 mph sustained wind with gusts up to 40 mph. The forecast was right on the money. My first gig of the morning was a 6:30am shuttle to the north end of the bay. Dark and white out conditions made it a struggle to get their hub set up…even with a 21’ trailer blocking the wind. During that set up, Lacy called from the bait shop saying an angler got blown away/ apart…somewhere north of third reef. Only about 3/4 mile away, that was my next stop. I drove up him gathering up what was left of his shack and gear, picking up Moonshine Shiver Minnows and Jiggin Raps spread across the snowy ice. Imagine getting woken up, by what I can only imagine felt like a little tornado, going through and scattered you and the all your gear for about 30 yards! He had a knock on the head and very little blood, he’s gonna be ok though. Now heading south directly into the wind, I noticed a few patches of slush especially when the wagon would catch. By noon we could tell the strong south wind started to push water up through every crack in the bay and by 2 o’clock, we got the first call of someone buried in slush. By 4 o’clock, there were seven. By 9:30, we had them all out. Mostly minor situations. One larger size UTV got stuck pretty good (we’re talking jacking that thing up, pushing pallets under it, and finally being able to winch it to navigable ice). Another angler learned the hard way, if you’re gonna leave the scene, make sure you mark on your GPS where you buried the wheeler. Even though it was less than an 1/3 of a mile away, conditions eliminated any evidence of tracks so it was hard to find. Little Bay Bay de Noc seems pretty big sometimes!! Slush and drifting snow are currently the conditions for traveling the bay. I’ll measure some ice today to see if this mess firms up with the dropping temps. Fish report? I’m sure somebody caught something.
Increasing your Odds,
-Blade