It’s close enough to “ice fishing time” to make your reservations. We’re already fully booked for the first weekend.
To make your reservation, send a text message to 614-312-76four-nine. I will call you back just as soon as I have time (most generally on the same day). Please be sure to leave me your name, and date you want to fish. We can fill in the data when we talk.
Categories: General Ice Fishing Tags: ice fishing
The weather is cold. The ice is forming. The ferry is about to quit running…
it’s time for Put-In-Bay Ice Fishing Baby!
Categories: General Ice Fishing Tags: guided ice fishing trip, ice fishing, professional ice guide
Shawn Dages, sole owner of Put-In-Bay Iceguide welcomes you.
We really expect to have ice this winter, unlike last year.
How to make reservations:
You may always text Shawn at 614- three-one-two-7649. That way if he’s on the road or on the ice, he will have your text.
Once we have ice, I am accepting 12 ice fishermen (that includes children or other non-fishermen) per day.
You are highly encouraged to bring a rod/reel suitable for catching walleye. Also, bring your own tackle. You’ll save money and fish more with your own tackle.
This year single day fee is $80. (Children who fish with a parent and who is NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE A VALID OHIO LICENSE are $40 each.)
If you are planning to have a large party, as in 4 or more fishermen, and if there is already ice, I may ask for a 50% non-refundable deposit. Deposits will only be required if the requested dates are guaranteed ice days.
Put-In-Bay Iceguide will provide your shanty, a heater, minnows, and gear if you need it.
Bear with me as I bring this site current. The webmaster is doing all she can as I get with her about this season.
Shawn Dages
Categories: General Ice Fishing Tags:
So, let’s have a COW (Caused Open Winter).
In a desperate attempt to lure the Snow God to come through, the island faithful (the year-round) residents held an Ullr Fest. This is an old Norse festival to bring winter. (It’s also a great excuse for a mid-winter party.
The faithful gathered to toast Ullr, and beg (pray) for ice, so they could salvage part of the winter ice season. Now, you gotta know, their idea of toasting was that toasting was far more important than the begging.
Every god requires some kind of a “sacrifice” so the COW was built and floated into the bay, only to be shot with a flaming arrow and ignited amid the cheers of the local revelers.
Thanks to Billy Market, aka Island Boy Photos for the great shots.
You know for sure there will be no further ice when Billy puts the Miller Ferry back to work. It’s been running fairly steady since early January, about 3 months earlier than normal.Miller Ferry
Categories: General Ice Fishing, Weather Tags: ice fishing, miller ferry, Put-In-Bay, ullr fest, weather, winter party
What’s with this weather? There’s no ice! That means the 2012 ice fishing season is on hold. Pretty hard to ice fish when there’s no ice. Since we could get ice late and have a quick, short season, you really need to get on our mailing list (look to the right). We can keep you quickly informed when you’re on our list.
Y’all have been asking for at least some new pictures, so you can dream of sitting in an ice shanty, with the heater on full blast, and watching for the big hens. These are from last year. While it wasn’t the best season on record, it was a fun one, and we hauled in some really nice sized walleye.
This was a good weekend for walleye ice fishing.
A nice limit of walleye!
More fishermen means more walleye.
What a huge "hen" walleye!
Categories: General Ice Fishing, Weather Tags: fish, fishermen, fishing, ice fishing, ice shanty, iceguides, Put-In-Bay, walleye, weather
With the close of the ice fishing season, we are now adding our newsletter subscribe box to this site. Be sure to sign up for Put-In-Bay Iceguides newsletter if you’ve not had any other contact with us.
If you sent any requests by way of our contact us form, you will receive a single email inviting you to sign up for our newsletter.
While the fishing wasn’t as great as we had hoped for, there were some awesome walleye caught, as well as many limits of yellow perch. Travis and I (as well as our wives and friends who helped us) sincerely thank you for your business. We hope you thoroughly enjoyed your ice fishing experience.
Categories: General Ice Fishing Tags: Newsletter
Put-In Bay lceguides has received word that there are updated Ohio fishing licenses regs. All fishermen 16 and older with the exception of certain land owners are required to possess a current Ohio fishing license.
As always, all fishing licenses expire on Feb 28, 2011. When renewing your license you will need to provide your Social Security Number as part of your identification on the application. This change was made to comply with both Federal and State regulations.
You may still get your Ohio fishing license at state-approved locations, but expect to spend a few extra minutes with the application. Also, the new license will be printed on regular paper, so it’s a good idea to develop some kind of waterproof storage for your license.
You are encouraged to use the online system for obtaining your Ohio fishing license as it is available 24/7/365.
Here are the revised regulations/fees as taken from the Ohio State Department of Natural Resources.
LICENSES ARE VALID FROM
MARCH 1, 2011 TO FEBRUARY 29, 2012
Resident Fishing License
$19.00
For persons age 16 through 65 who have resided in Ohio for the past 6 months.
Resident Senior Fishing License
$10.00
For persons age 66 and older born on or after January 1, 1938 who have resided in Ohio for the past 6 months.
One-Day Fishing License
$11.00
For residents and nonresidents, one (1) One-Day Fishing License may be exchanged for credit towards the purchase of an annual fishing license (minus writing fee).
Annual Nonresident License
$40.00
3-Day Nonresident Tourist’s License
$19.00
A reissued license may be obtained from any license vendor for a fishing license that has been lost, stolen, or destroyed.
$3.00
All above costs include a $1.00 writing fee.
Categories: General Ice Fishing Tags: fishermen, fishing, fishing license, LICENSES, ohio fishing licenses
Big snow storm coming. We spent the day moving the ice shanties closer to shore. The weather service has posted winter storm warnings, and we always take those seriously. A 55 mph wind gust can rip an ice shanty from it’s anchor and blow it to “never see it again” land.
This is an excellent time to check with us for open dates. I’ll be hunkering down on the island and hoping the weather clears in a couple of days.
First thing we’ll so is re-build and mark the ice roads before re-setting the shanties, so, no fishing until this weekend.
Call me at 614-312-7649 to book your trip. The eye’s have moved in and are hitting our bait.
Categories: Weather Tags: ice shanties, ice shanty, snow storm, weather
Here’s what we’re talking about. I had a couple of rookie fishermen up the last couple of days. While catching had been real slow, these guys smoked ’em. John caught a beautiful walleye… 31 inches long and 11.5 pounds (after having been bled out). She was 18 inches around the belly.
Here’s John’s story pretty much as posted on the Ohio Game Fishing Community Forum.
Me and a buddy spent the last two days up at Put in Bay learning how to ice fish. We went out with Travis and Shawn from Put in Bay Ice Guides, and I could not have been happier with the service or the results. The bite was slow both days, but we pulled up 4 eyes Thursday with 3 keepers from 20 – 26″. The 26″ fish was my personal best for about 18 hours, until this came through the hole… 31 inches, 11.5 lbs, caught on a ridiculously small puppet minnow with a minnow head on the treble. My sisters fiance appears to be a keeper, cuz he was money on the gaff bringing that fish through an 8 inch hole. We stayed at the black squirrel, and I can’t wait to go back. Great people at a great place.
I knew the fish was heavy once I tried to reel after the initial hook set. After a few minutes of bringing it up slow, I saw a white tip on the bottom of the tail and I knew it was an eye. We were all smiles and jokes until it swam right by the hole from 7 o’clock to 1 o’clock and we got the full view from about 4 foot below the hole, then things in the shanty got REAL quiet. I played her for a while longer, told him I was not going to try to turn the head up, but I thought I could stall the fish with the shoulders and gill slits below the hole, and it all worked out perfect with the fish facing away from us and a perfect gaff shot on the first try. He picked it up and started celebrating and I knocked the door open and yelled “throw it out the (bleeping) door!” Funny how those holes that looked small when the fish was below em start looking bigger when the fish is thrashing above em.
I bled the fish out in a bucket before I ever got her to a scale, so I’ll never know what she weighed straight out of the ice. When I get her home last night, she measured 31 inches long and 18 inches at the belly, that’s all I need to know. I’m planning to get a replica mounted with the little clown puppet minnow and a photo of me and the gaff master holding it on the ice, any recommendations on where I can order that would be greatly appreciated.
Categories: Uncategorized, Walleye Stories Tags: fishing, ice fishing, Ohio, Put-In-Bay, rookie ice fisherman, walleye
You’ve booked your trip to Put In Bay for icefishing. What should you wear?
The first thought may be to wear everything in your closet, but here’s a much better plan. Because you can only take a limited amount of stuff (fishing gear, clothes, boots, etc.), you’ll want to pack carefully.
Properly dressed for a very cold day ice fishing.
Your first layer (closest to the skin) should be a fast wicking material, so when you perspire, that moisture is moved from your body into a thicker material. Most long underwear meets this requirement while also helping you maintain body heat.
For the next layer on top, a button-up shirt (long-sleeve) can serve two purposes. You can wear it to fish, and you can wear it when out for dinner on the island. A good alternative would be polyester fleece pullover. Be aware you may get too warm at the restaurant.
On the bottom, over your long underwear, most folks wear denim. These will also be just fine at all the restaurants on the island.
When it comes to socks, I like to wear a light-weight pair of cotton socks and then add my heavy boot socks. It is very wise to wear double insulated snow or pack boots while on the ice. For after wear, you may want boots again, as you’ll be hiking around in snow.
For jackets, you should choose something that is waterproof, windproof, and warm. While you’re in the ice shanty, you’ll want to take this off, as your shanty is heated. Alternately, you may choose an insulated vest and lighter weight jacket. That way, if it’s relatively warm on shore, you won’t be bogged down with a heavy coat.
Hats, face protectors and gloves are a must. These protect your most vulnerable body parts (head, neck and hands). For a face protector, a good ski mask works nicely. Get one that isn’t too bulky so it will fold into a jacket pocket or fit around your neck when not needed. Your hat should ideally have ear protectors. Flaps that fold up/down and fasten work nicely. If you wear glasses, a hat with a bill works well, helping to keep snow and ice off your glasses.
Gloves/mittens are really necessary. You’ll probably want more than one pair. At least one pair should be waterproof, and constructed to resist “hooking”. That way your hands are well-protected from the very cold water when landing your fish, and when baiting your hook.
For transport and just “running around” a good pair of insulated ski gloves or mittens work very well.
Some folks like to add a wool scarf for wind protection around their neck during the transport on the airboat and ice trailer.
If you have them, snowmobile bibs and boots are ideal. They are very well insulated, windproof and waterproof.
Categories: What to bring Tags: ice fishing safety, what to wear
