I think it was Jan of 2007, we had a big arctic storm come through and the temps really dropped. I think I had only caught a couple of fish in November and December so I didn't have high hopes for this trip. Getting to the lake my temp gauge in my truck said it was 18 degrees outside. We launch and head out to the first spot. When we get to the first spot I noticed on the first cast that the water was freezing to the line, as the line was going through the level wind it was making shaved ice. A couple of times the level wind had so much ice in it, it would be hard to reel so I would have to clean it out.....very cold. I don't remember what the water temp was that day but i'm sure it was in the 40's. I think I caught 6-7 swimbait fish that day and missed several others. I ended up winning our little club tournament with about 25lbs. Another thing that really surprised me that day was seeing several trout get chased in the ice cold water.

I guess if you are there when they want to bite it doesn't matter how cold it is.

Jake J

http://calfishing.com/gallery/v/members/jakej/