Still plenty of ice fishing to be done;

[Spiel]

Still plenty of ice fishing to be done; Walleye season ends Tuesday; bring on the pike and trout

 

March 29, 2008

Bruce Heidman / thesudburystar.com

 

 

If you're still looking for your hard-water walleye fix, better get out there this weekend.

 

The walleye season now closes April 1 in newly created zone 10, where Greater Sudbury and surrounding area falls in. The walleye season used to be open until April 14 north of Highway 17, but that is no longer the case.

 

Ice fishing huts must also be removed by Tuesday.

 

However, other angling opportunities abound, and at least one new one is available for local anglers.

 

The season for northern pike in zone 10 is now open year round. As a bonus, the biggest pike of the year are often caught during late winter. Big pike are filling up for extra energy for the spawn and are loaded full of eggs or milt, making them even heavier.

 

The best place to start your search for these big toothy critters is at the first or second dropoff on the edge of weedy spawning bays. Find a spot on the north or northwest section of a lake out from an a incoming flow of water, no matter how small, and you just may have a pike magnet.

 

Big bait, especially lively suckers and dead smelt, hooked up on a quick-strike rig under tip-ups are tops for pike this time of year. Pike, even big ones, are scavengers and eat up winter kill. Some anglers even swear by killing big suckers right before putting them on their hooks.

 

Check regulations for the lake you intend to fish to find out if smelt are legal to use as bait.

 

There is a slot limit for pike in zone 10. Those with sportfishing licences can still keep six fish, but only two greater than 24 inches of which one may be greater than 33.9 inches. Those with conservation licences may keep two pike, only one greater than 24 inches and none greater than 33.9 inches in length.

 

The trout season is still in full swing, be it lakers, specks or splake.

 

With the water temperature the same throughout the water column this time of year, lake trout can be anywhere. During family trip to Lake Joseph in the Muskokas last week, we found them in 140 feet of water, while a friend fishing Manitoulin Island's Lake Manitou was catching them 30 feet down the same weekend.

 

Run and gun is the order of the day until you contact fish.

 

A set line with a live minnow and a jigging rod with varying assortment of jigging spoons are often the way to go for these denizens of the deep.

 

Speckled, or brook trout, cruise the shallows this time of year. Search out mud-bottom bays in as little as two or three feet of water. An incoming stream bringing in oxygenated water can improve your odds.

 

The biggest specks I've caught were in three feet of water only three feet off shore. Keep off the ice if possible after setting tip-ups with small minnows or worms to avoid spooking shallow fish, or stay as still as possible while jigging tiny spoons.

 

Panfish, including perch, are open year round and can offer fast and furious action this time of year. Female perch are loaded with eggs this time of year, and for a special treat remove the egg sacs, batter them up and toss them in the frying pan with the fillets.

 

Get your fishing fix now if possible. We're only a couple of weeks away from that terrible time of year where there isn't enough ice to support anglers and not enough open water to grab a rod and reel or launch a boat.

 

I shudder at the thought.

 

 

Bruce Heidman is The Star's sports editor and a fishing fanatic.