Pool 4 (Red Wing) Water Temp: 32 Level: 6.5 Flow:@32, 700cfs

The level is pretty high in the river right now which is keeping water temps down.  We have found over the years that this generally leads to a tougher bite and lately this has been the case.  Rather than grind it out in the boat while it is cold we have turned our attention to some ice fishing.   

Chasing backwater panfish is a nice change especially during the early ice that we have right now.  Not a lot of snow to deal with and ice that is plenty thick where we have been fishing.  There are many spots up and down the river that have great Bluegills, Crappies and Perch.   

Ray Lincoln and Dagmar Johnson joined Denver, Bridger a I for a half day on the ice on Friday.  They are shown in the pics below with the fish we put together as a group.  Not a fast bite but steady and good quality.  

We will jump back and forth between the ice and open water as the weather and water conditions(bite) dictate.  Hopefully our water levels will recede a bit which should make the open water river bite a little more consistent.  I will be doing a year in review report in the upcoming days.