noisy ice

Hi Folks, Went up north last night with a long time guest to chase walleyes through the ice.  We had a solid 8" of black ice that was covered by an inch of snow.  Creepers would have been a good idea as it was slippery walking.  We set up late afternoon and fished into dark.  Our tip-ups were placed from 7' of water out to 25' of water.  Always a good idea to place tips ups in a line when fishing in the dark.  Much easier to find.  The ice was groaning, moaning , and cracking last night.  Pretty cool, but a little unnerving if you are not used to it.  Well, the fishing was slow.  We had one pike break us off on a tip up.  No steel leaders as we were targeting walleye and not northerns.  8lb fluorocarbon leaders do not stand much of a chance against a pike's set of teeth.  We did land one really big yellow perch and have a couple other flags.  Nothing jigging as we worked brightly colored 1/8oz. jig heads off the bottom that were tipped with shiners.  Never deterred and I will be back after it again shortly.  Remember to clean your gear and keep the non-native species at home.  Have Fun, Willy