Belwood Lake Ice Fishing – February 12, 2012
Winter has finally made an appearance here in Southern Ontario and Sunday came complete with snow, howling winds, and chilly temperatures – exactly the type of weather that would have kept me off the ice and in the house last year. This year is a different story. With warmer clothes, an ever-growing desire to be out fishing, and a wonderful ice hut, I was doing my best to rush Darrell through breakfast so we could hit the ice at Belwood Lake.
It was a blustery day on the ice in Belwood.
Even though I have fished Belwood Lake several times, this was my first ice fishing trip to the lake. I am always surprised by how different a water body looks in the winter but Belwood, being a reservoir lake, does more of a transformation than I had expected. I found myself walking out on the very shores that are normally well under water and provide good smallmouth habitat. The low water levels made for an interesting backdrop.
The low water levels give a chance to learn the structure before returning here in the spring.
Driving right up to the ice sure is a convenient way to pack up at the end of the day.
With both of us bundled up as much as possible, we began punching holes and checking the fish finder. Eventually we settled on a location with a steep drop into the main basin that showed some irregularities on the bottom. Choosing a location was my main goal because that meant we could set up the hut and get out of the wind. What a relief!
My home away from home. With snow piled against the outside for insulation and the heater turned on inside, I spent the day fishing without a hat or gloves.
The outside rig. It was pretty neat to have one of the transducer's set up outside and running to a finder in the hut so we could watch the action in that hole without having to be out there.
The fishing itself, well, it was slow. The catching was non-existent. I did have enough action on the fish finder to keep me interested. I managed to interest a few fish with a Rapala Jigging Shad Rap but there were no bites. A minute or two after I saw those fish, the kid in the hut not far from us pulled up an 18-inch pike. He was pretty excited and it was great to hear.
It was a day for huts, as our neighbour here decided after setting up some lines outside. There were only a few brave souls out on the ice without the protection of a hut.
I had lots of new lures to play with, and even though they caught nothing today, I can’t wait to get them in the water again, they have some fantastic action. I spent a lot of time dropping these lures down the holes, watching the action and making modifications to how I used them. I honestly can’t remember the last time I was so happy just to watch lures in the water and not worry about whether or not I caught a fish.
My fascination with my lures was interrupted at one point when I chose to pull out my phone and check Twitter. As I was scrolling through tweets, the rod I had set in a holder began jumping. I threw my phone into the tote and grabbed the rod as fast as I could but it was too late, the fish was gone. I seem to be making a career of losing fish this ice season.
Our ice hut tote. Decked out with rod holders, it carries everything we need and has turned out to be a valuable item for the hut.
Never before have I had such a great day on the ice when I haven’t been catching fish. As the hours passed by I found myself thinking of fishing and little else. I practiced techniques, played with lures, and tied knots. I thought about other places I want to fish in the upcoming weeks and where we’ll take the boat for our first open water outing this year. It was honestly the most relaxing day I have had in ages and something I was in desperate need of. When we were packing up I told Darrell that I hadn’t realized how nasty it was outside, I had been in my own little world in that hut.
While I didn’t catch anything on this trip, Belwood Lake is certainly a good place to visit during the ice season. Admission to the conservation area is a reasonable price, there is ample parking and you don’t have to walk too far to find a fishing spot. The ice was 10 to 12 inches thick in places and it took me awhile to drill holes though it. You can target pike, perch, and even walleye on this lake in the winter. Get out there for a day and have as great a time as I did, but hopefully while catching some fish.
argosgirl
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I’ve never tied Bellwood in the winter before but there’s some world class brown trout fishing below the dam during the open water season if you’re into fluff-chucking.
There sure is – and since I’m a spaz with a fly rod I don’t normally catch them 🙂