2 day walleye and trout report

limeyangler · February 5, 2009

Hi all,

Got out fishing Tuesday and Wednesday....went to Dore lake for the 1st time with Lew, then back to Thunder Lake on Wednesday.

DAY 1........DORE LAKE

Had planned with Lew to go to Dore Lake after a somewhat dismal afternoon on Thunder Lake the Friday before.

I had tried to get in there with my boat in the summer, but the trail was washed out and I almost did not get out!

We eventually got going at around 11:30am after having to take a hairdryer to my carbs on my snowmobile to defrost the throttle cable, Lew made I detour to my house to show me this neat trick...lol...I thought the cable was broken.

We both knew where the trail in was, and had to snowmachine 5 kms up the logging road to get to it as they are not hauling. After a few getting stuck incidents, and a few trees blocking our path we came out onto the Lake in glorious sunshine with no wind.

We headed to a spot about half way up the lake, looked good, small island just off the middle of the lake that formed a channel between a point into a small bay. Drilled some holes and found 30' FOW.

WAS A GORGEOUS DAY.....NO NEED FOR THE SHACK...STAYED FOLDED ALL DAY

We started to see fish almost immediately on our fishfinders, looked mainly small, but then normal service resumed....hooked into at least 3 fish that got off!!!!! Lew also lost a couple.

FLAG UP!....GOT OFF!!!!

It went quiet for a good 45 mins so we decided to drill holes back up to the midwater island......well Lew did all the drilling...lol. Looks like we were right at the bottom of a steep drop off from the island.....because in the space of 10 yards it went from 12.5' to 31.8' where my hole was.....another 10 yards in to the island it was down to 5' deep. Lew decided to set a line at the 12.5' deep hole, just as he was setting up, a big school of baitfish showed on my screen, and right behind that was a nice deep orange fish arch...I dropped my minnow down, the orange arch literally did a double take...and nailed the bait....a little jackfish...at least it did not get off!!!

THIS GUY DID A CARTOON DOUBLE TAKE WHEN IT SAW MY MINNOW....LOL

It seemed like I had the honey hole today...as most of the bites were for me.....BUT I COULD NOT KEEP THEM HOOKED!!!!! I know I should use a stinger...and many have suggested it...but I tend to find that when I use them the fish don’t even bother biting...lol. Anyway, after a good couple of hours, and only a host of missed bites and a baby pike to show for it...our patience was rewarded and I managed to finally get a respectable eater through the ice.

ITS A START.....JUST NICE NOT TO HAVE TO SEE IT WAVE GOODBYE WITH ITS TAIL!!!

After about another half hour, with the time creeping close to 3pm, we decided to move and took off half a mile up the lake to a point where the main body narrowed, we followed some snowmachine tracks and found some sticks marking old holes. We quickly drilled next to one stick and found 10'FOW. Because we had been seeing fish in the deeper water, we drilled a series of holes out from shore until we found 25' FOW. Lew set the Tip-Up in the deepest hole and we both fished around 17'FOW with one of my rods in the 10' hole. Anticipation was high as the sun started its descent and wally witching hour approached.

SUN STARTED TO SIGNAL SUPPER TIME

LEW SET HIS TRAP DEEPER THIS TIME

It was very quite, for an hour at least, nothing showing in the deeper water, and only uninterested picky perch in the 10' deep hole cluttering up my sonar screen. Then at around 4pm the first fish started to appear....and once again normal service resumed...we were hooking them but they kept getting off!!! Finally I landed what was a decent fish...around 19", but it was smaller than the first 2 that got off, and the ones that got off did not feel like jackfish either! I rushed to get my OFC tourny badge......only to find I’d left them at home....Lew lent me his iceshanty.com badge (that’s the forum where I know Lew from) , not quite the same as I’ve been dying to get Team#3 a fish!

THATS MORE LIKE IT!!

We packed up just as it was getting dark, and luckily had no troubles getting back the 30 minute snowmachine ride, we avoided the numerous slush holes, and I got my sled up to 85mph with my 200lb shack in tow...did a good job of scaring the crap outta myself in the process.....lol. We planned to meet up again the next day and try another venue, and Lew was gonna phone later on when we'd had a chance to think of a good place to go......on the way back I saw a really big eagle feasting on something left out on the ice road, always fun to see these guys. GOOD DAY....could've had our limit...but at least the fish were biting.

THIS GUY WAS BIG!

DAY 2........THUNDER LAKE

Lew did call back on Tuesday night, but couldn't make it....I kinda decided I was not going to go either, but when I got up Wednesday morning, my addiction got the better off, and I got the all clear from the missus so decided to head back to Thunder Lake and try for trout. Not only is this normally a good local place to catch, I am getting free bait from the my tackle shop guy if I bring him some trout from time to time...and with sucker minnows at $8.99 a dozen its a good deal!!!

It got really cold the night before....and when I stepped out to warm up the snowmachine it was minus -40C. Good job Lew taught me the hairdryer trick the day before, cuz I had to put it on the pull cord for 1/2 an hour to loosen it up.....no chance the electric start would do it today, even my auger needed some TLC to get going. After spending the best part of 2 hours warming up engines and packing I headed out at 10am....it was still minus -30C!!!

WAS STILL MINUS 30 DEGREES CELCIUS WHEN I LEFT AT 10am

It was cold out there today, but no wind. I did not set up the shack as I wanted to get going quickly if the fish did not bite or show up in the first hour on my normal spot. I set one line with a big sucker minnow, and was jigging with a smaller minnow as I could see small stuff on the bottom, and having got a walleye on Friday at this spot I thought it might be walleye again...lol....I was wrong...it was a little trout....and I mean little!

TINY TROUT!

Not more than ten minutes after that, fish started to show midwater......and although taking the bait aggressively...again it was a small one.......

GETTING BIGGER THOUGH

On this basis I decided to stay put, not only that, there was a portable shelter on the spot I intended to hit if the fish were not biting where I was. So I decided to fish in the luxurious warmth of my heated shack...lol. It was a good decision in the end...as where the bite was slow for us on Friday...it was non stop action for the 3 hours I was there. Started off with 3 or four small ones....then managed to get a decent 23"...not huge...but a good size for thunder lake....AND ONE FOR TEAM #3!!!!

COUPLE SMALLER ONES TO START

THEN A KEEPER....GO TEAM 3#

After that things just got out of hand....lol. I'm reeling a fish up at one hole, and decided I better bring up the transducer from the hole next to it. As I lift the transducer out of the hole....I see a nice trout flash past the bottom of the hole. It was not the trout I had on the line as that one was only half way up at 25', damn trout thought my transducer was bait and went for it!!!!

With all the messing around I lost the fish I had on, and in the process got wrapped up in my other line and pulled my other rod into it's hole. I had already reeled up the line from the now sinking rod and managed to pull it up the hole I had been paying the fish through....lol....Lucky.

It did however mean I had to change my gear because I had to cut the line...so I opted for a white with 'black pepper' speckles tube jig, topped with a Power Bait 'fishfry' and minnow guts....filling the tube with Powerbait Trout Attractant.

Remembering seeing the trout near the top I just jigged it around 5' under the ice...and WHAM!...so cool to see the trout taking it right before your eyes! I actually got 3 more like that right under the ice before it slowed off.

THEY WERE LOVIN THE TUBES 5' UNDER THE ICE

As the action slowed up high in the water column I started to notice a bit of activity right at the bottom again. And decided to see if Mr. Walter was coming out to play. Well whatever it was ran me a merry dance for the next 1/2 hour.........

WHATEVER IT WAS .......WAS TEASING ME....lol

I got frustrated with that and in my desperation threw a tube jig down, just trying to change things up a bit.....the jig reached about half way down when a fish mark on the graph shot vertically up from the bottom and nailed it!

NOT A WALLEYE THEN...BUT A KEEPER

With my trout limit in the bag, and it only being 2pm, I decided to go small and see if I could get a walleye, after a few more smaller trout, and one decent one, and another really decent fish that got off, I managed to get a Walleye in the next half hour!

GOT A FEW SMALLER ONES AND A NICE BIG ONE (forgot to take a snap of the big one...lol...too much excitement)

GOT A WALLEYE TOO!

After that walleye I got 2 more small trout, and decided to call it a day, did not really want to stress out the young trout unnecessarily as that’s the next few years’ fun, but all fish not kept were successfully released, and swam away with vigor!

TIME TO CALL IT A DAY

NOT A BAD WALLEYE TO GO WITH YESTERDAY'S 2, AND ENOUGH TROUT FOR SOME MORE MINNOWS!!!

All in all a fun 2 days fishing, promising 1st visit to Dore Lake, and a fairly normal action packed couple of hours on Thunder lake....even if the trout were not trophy size...you wont hear me complaining!

.

snag · February 5, 2009

Blimey Limey that was brilliant!! :clapping:

That eagle is a beauty.

Got to love those sunny days when no hut is needed and you can even peel a layer.

Great report as always,

Cheers

:thumbsup_anim:

johnnyb · February 5, 2009

Awesome stuff, man!! Love the play-by-play on the video clip of the sonar :lol: I use small-ish red hooks for stingers...never fish without'em. Looks like you're out of the woods...keep it rolling

Leecher · February 5, 2009

Simon are you sure you weren't using the barbless hooks you bought at your local shop on day 1 :whistling:

Man you got a lot of hit n miss :w00t:

But different story on day 2 :thumbsup_anim:

Got to love it when the fish come out to play like that.... Beautiful lakers and eyes :clapping:

Great report and good job :thumbsup_anim:

Thanks for sharing

Jacques

Roy · February 5, 2009

WTG SIMON!!!!!!!! Excellent report, super pics and video clips and great contribution to the team! Looks like you had a fun time out there.

tbayboy · February 5, 2009

Nice stuff Simon. Congrats on a couple beautiful days in the frigid north.

TroutnMuskieHunter · February 5, 2009

Super report Simon!!!......man I wish I was out there with ya!!! :thumbsup_anim: :Gonefishing: :canadian:

Whitespinnerbait · February 5, 2009

Awesome report Mate... :clapping:

Beats · February 5, 2009

Nice report. Lots of good size fish there.

brkygetr · February 5, 2009

Now thats the way to get it done!!!!

Keep on it!

irishfield · February 5, 2009

Great stuff Simon !

Sinker · February 6, 2009

Man, lakers and eyes out of the same hole??? Good gawd man, that's heaven!!!!

Thanks for the report!!

Sinker

Ramble · February 6, 2009

Excellent report. Nice to see some descent lakers and a few walleye cooperating for you.

-Dave

Tarzan's Jane · February 6, 2009

First time I have seen a sonar 'live' .... I think I understand it. :w00t: Great report...enjoyed it very much.

lunkerbasshunter · February 6, 2009

very cool report wiht great pics and videos!

Cheers!

trapshooter · February 6, 2009

Simon, heck of a report there. Some real nice fish, that one laker is dark eh. Got out for trout today myself but didn't get any over 20". Still fun and a nice change of pace from walleye. When you coming up to Sioux Lookout?

limeyangler · February 6, 2009

Simon, heck of a report there. Some real nice fish, that one laker is dark eh. Got out for trout today myself but didn't get any over 20". Still fun and a nice change of pace from walleye. When you coming up to Sioux Lookout?

would love to come up on MONDAY! you goin?

Grimace · February 6, 2009

That is about as good as it gets man.

limeyangler · February 6, 2009

Thanks for the replies guys, certainly was a contrast between the 3 days....started real slow and got better and better. Just wish lew and dave could've got the good bite on Thunder.

That eagle is a beauty.

certainly was big...about 2/3 the size of a golden retriever...or maybe that's what it was snacking on :devil:

First time I have seen a sonar 'live' .... I think I understand it.

Glad you enjoyed that twighlight....i could never fish without my Lowrance....dont know how i ever did before!

Man, lakers and eyes out of the same hole??? Good gawd man, that's heaven!!!!

Yeah Sinker it was fun....can't wait till opening weekend....last year that was only 2 weeks after ice out, my buddy Dave was in there with his boat, the trout were still shallow and he was hitting 20"+ walleye and 25"+ trout along one stretch of shoreline in 25'FOW on little joe walleye spinners on light spinning rods....OH YEAH! COME ON 3RD WEEKEND IN MAY !

Now thats the way to get it done!!!!
Keep on it!

I'm gonna Keep on it as long as i can, but with the baby due anytime now...time is running out for me....so you'll have to take me to that Walleye/Laker venue you went to last week sometime soon Dale...sound good? Is that a genius plan or what? :thumbsup_anim:

I use small-ish red hooks for stingers...never fish without'em

Hey JB.....can ya do me a big favor?....next time your out take a pic of how you rig your stinger and where ya stick it in the bait....would be much appreciated... :thumbsup_anim:

Simon are you sure you weren't using the barbless hooks you bought at your local shop on day 1

Would seem i was using those darned hooks again Jaques :wallbash:

great contribution to the team

Cheers Roy....just cant believe it took me sooooooo long to register one for us......i promise to try harder....lol

man I wish I was out there with ya!!!

your welcome up anytime, if ya come bring Jacques and Whitespinnerbait with ya!

brkygetr · February 6, 2009

so you'll have to take me to that Walleye/Laker venue you went to last week sometime soon Dale...sound good? Is that a genius plan or what?

10 hours from now..leave around 5 and look for my truck...I'll be on the other side of the road...LOL

Seriously.

limeyangler · February 6, 2009

10 hours from now..leave around 5 and look for my truck...I'll be on the other side of the road...LOL
Seriously.

AAAAARRRRGH....your'e trying to kill me Dale...i have to work tomorrow :angry: :dunno: :wallbash:

good luck though mate..watch that slush...gettin pretty warm :Gonefishing:

Edited February 6, 2009 by limeyangler

irishfield · February 6, 2009

Yah look kinda pale though Simon... cough... cough..

limeyangler · February 6, 2009

Yah look kinda pale though Simon... cough... cough..

NOTE TO SELF: must leave the shack more often....lol

brkygetr · February 6, 2009

That cough does sound bad :whistling:

Joey · February 6, 2009

What an awesome report Simon. Very good read. That fish sure was a tease on that finder.

I don't like treble hooks that much either. I find they are a pain to unhook. Maybe just sharpen your hooks up.

I must say, I miss you being on my team this year

Nice fish bud.

Joey

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2 day walleye and trout report

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