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Bullshead Opens April 1st But


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I would be surprised if there is any open water. Maybe Golden Pond will open up first but I wouldn't count on it. I drove past there yesterday and there is still a lot of snow in them thar hills. I couldn't get right close to the lake but all the other small water bodies I saw in the area were still frozen solid. I couldn't get to the lake because the road going in was barricaded and locked. Not sure when or how long it has been barricaded because I know Beedhead has been there suspecting poaching from what he saw.

 

We need some warm temps and ( I hate the word) wind to get the ice off. Hopefully soon.

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Yes, things are way behind this year. It must be Climate Change, right Clive? Last year, my son and I were fishing on Lee Lake on March 30. Right now, there is solid ice on the lake and I would guess it will be at least 2 to 3 weeks before it's ice free. Terry

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Bullshead could be about 2 weeks before there is a good chunk of open water ..the dugouts are still frozen over as are the golf course ponds in "The Hat". Last year it was full blown open on April 1..that isn't going to happen this year unless we get lucky and get some double digit temps and a lot of wind.Strange but true :(

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Below is Lake Newell south of Brooks at 1 PM today ... wall to wall ice. (Taken from 1 km away at 100 kph.) The shore ice didn't even look rotten where we could see. Dugouts around Brooks are still frozen. Ponds down here are open. Here is the wx forecast for Onefour. Things can change fast, but it is late. (In keeping with a colder winter and perhaps an overall cooling earth ... since 1998.)

post-229-1206824001.jpg

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Just got back from Sask...Going to Calg. tom. Was going to go south from there to the Crow...but the weather's not looking to good til Wednesday. Ill try to get out to Bullshead tom. and check it out and give a report...If not tom.... the next day.

 

Cheers....Jeff. :D

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Also keep in mind that it's generally always a few degrees cooler at BH. I little higher elevation. There can still be snow in places out there and there won't be any around Med Hat.

 

And Clive does mean global cooling. That theory exits also. I have heard or read somewhere that ocean water temps are cooling.

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You might start seeing ice fishers on it when the lake opens April 1.

 

Regards,

 

Tim

 

I am wondering if ice fishing is allowed(ie. legal) on Bullshead despite the fact that it is "supposed" to be open April 1? Can anyone clarify that? I would think that allowing icefisherman on there would be detrimental to the fish population and is against the whole idea of the fishery.

Is it possible that the gate can be kept closed until there is open water? Just a thought.

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can ice fish all they want, just still have to follow all the regs that would apply if there was open water

 

Yes, that is the case. The lake opens on April 1 under its current regulations, ice or not. We ran into the same thing at Muir and decided on a May 1 opening; that way we figured there will only be an icy opening once in a while.

 

I do pretty good with flies when I ice fish - probably as good as or better than using bait. The winter closure at Muir is there to give the fish a bit of a break from anglers, keep people from going through the ice (our aeration system can make the ice pretty sketchy) and because it is hard to enforce the no-bait restrictions on ice fishers.

 

Regards,

 

Tim

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I would think that allowing icefisherman on there would be detrimental to the fish population and is against the whole idea of the fishery.

Is it possible that the gate can be kept closed until there is open water? Just a thought.

 

That is a damn good thought!!...I think it should be open to open water only. The less pressure on this fishery...The better. Let mother nature take its course...And if the lake is not open...We don't fish. Thats my 2 bits. ;)

 

Jeff....C&R..

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How would ice fishing be detrimental to the fish population?

 

Probably wouldn't be as long as the regs are followed.

 

Although what I can see happening is that they are pulled out of the hole and left flopping around on the ice until they get their tape measure out finally decide to release it after it's gills are frozen. Mind you, that's probably no worse than letting them flop around in the dirt on shore for 5 minutes like I have seen in some cases.

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Probably wouldn't be as long as the regs are followed.

 

Although what I can see happening is that they are pulled out of the hole and left flopping around on the ice until they get their tape measure out finally decide to release it after it's gills are frozen. Mind you, that's probably no worse than letting them flop around in the dirt on shore for 5 minutes like I have seen in some cases.

 

Yeah, my reply was more rhetorical than anything. Just trying to make sure no one gets too high on their pedestal. Proper fish handling skills are just that, not secluded to one form of angling.

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I coulsd see alot more poaching...Use of bait and barbed treble hooks...as people would be spread all over the lake...And not so confined to a few open spots of water where others can take notice of illegal activities. And as Randy said...''Frozen gills"... Thats just my thoughts.... :blink:

 

Jeff.

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