Perch Perch Perch Auger.

I was really stoked today to meet a guy out on the ice who is on our facebook page. We arrived at Mancos State Park pretty early and the first thing I did was take a lap around the lake on my skis just to try to sweat the booze out of me from last night. That was great fun, cross country skiing and ice fishing are obvious matches. When I came back I started chipping away at a hole with our sturdy spade because our auger just hasn't been cutting it lately. This fella shows up with the same auger as us, but with brand new blades, shimmering in the early spring sun. After about .0005 seconds of persuasion he talks into trying his auger instead of hacking through the ice like a caveman. 40 seconds was all it took. What the fuck is wrong with our auger blades? I thought I sharpened them, but obviously I didn't. Now that I know how a hand held auger can perform, I think I don't even want a motorized version.

We caught lots of Perch. Based on suggestions received on our facebook page, I tried a bigger bait, hoping to keep the small perch away. I caught an 11.5" Perch on the first drop, and thought this advice was working. 4 hours later I had only 5 more that were certainly not 11" but were not too small. Yes, the bigger bait works, keep the little guys away. Yes, it also makes fishing a lot slower. I did manage to catch my first brown at Jackson, and it was gorgeous, one of the most beautiful fish I'd ever seen. Since the browns are also helping thin the Perch herd and make the Perch bigger and tastier, I released this fish. I tried to take a picture but he released himself before I could finish releasing him. Or something. We came home and based on our new friend's suggestion just fried the little guys after head/ tail /gutting them. They were tasty but tough eating with all the spines, bones, and fins. The bigger fish, breaded and fried, were about the best thing I've ever eaten.