Homer Is King Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 (edited) Over 10 years ago a buddy of mine invited me out on an ice fishing trip to Lake Nipissing that he organized every year. It was my first ice fishing experience and I didn't catch any fish but had a great time. Over the years I've slowly geared up, learn, and I have started to catch fish. I am now hooked on ice fishing and this yearly trip to Nipissing is one of my favorites! Unfortunately my buddy passed away a couple of years ago. In his memory we have continued the trips. We have named the derby after him. It makes the trip even more special to us. This year we returned to Chilly Willy's. It was our 3rd year with him. We returned because the last 2 years were very successful. He has clean huts that are in great shape. His service is really good. Plus, he puts us on fish!! This year was no exception! We had 2 huts for a total of 8 guys and everyone caught fish! We caught more walleye than any other year. We also iced some nice pike and a couple monster ling!! The first day we arrived the weather was warming up after a long cold snap and the pressure was dropping. During the day we found most of the fish outside the huts in deeper water (20 to 25 FOW). In the evening our hut was on 16 FOW and it lit up form about 3 to 6 on the first night. 80% of our fish came on this day. On the second day the low pressure stabilized and we had to work harder for fish. The evening bite was ok but nothing compared to day one. By day 3 the fishing had slowed right down. Most fish were caught on a hook and minnow that was jigged very slow. We also caught a couple on buck shot jigs tipped with a minnow. Here are a couple of my nice fish! A couple slot size walleye that promptly went back down the hole. Here are some of the other guys fish: A 32" and a 33" ling!! The ontario record is 36.5". We also got an 18" ling. These are the first ling I have ever seen caught up there (in person that is). Our operator was even surprised at the number of ling being caught by his cabins. Part of the tradition is having an epic meal on the first night. This year it was prosciutto wrapped, 2" thick beef tenderloin with Jerk shrimp. Epic!! We are up fishing and doing manly things. Real me NO NOT eat quich. That's way we bring these for breakfast: This is what happens when the fishing gets slow. It was another great trip to Nipissing. I am already planning next years trip! Edited January 16, 2012 by Homer Is King Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Hahahaha, great report, love the snowman. The Village Grocer has some great food Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 That's awesome! Kickingfrog is ready to snap now! Haha. We catch a few huge ling like that each year; did you keep any? How was the perch bite? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickingfrog Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Omelette pie, love it! RC is right. I made a sound I've never heard before while reading this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rousseau Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 thanks for the report looks like a great time out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Thanks for sharing, The ling look great too...lots of good meat in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NAW Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 That snowman is great. And the ling are tanks! Nice trip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeytier Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Nice going! Lots of good reports around this year for Nipissing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Bob Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Thanks for sharing, The ling look great too...lots of good meat in there. GREAT Ice Report.....nice pictures......THANKS for sharing... Roy, never had ling.....how do you cook it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubbles Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Great report, looks like a great time. Did you catch the ling at night or during the day? We caught a few for the first time last year on Nip. all at night. Interested in how to clean and cook them, I hear they are tasty, never tried them, intend to give them a whirl this year when we get more. any tips out there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Is King Posted January 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 (edited) Thanks guys!! The perch bite was very slow! We did great with the other species but the perch weren't biting. We go a few but nothing big. The largest was 9.5" with most being less than 7". That's the lower limit of my personal "keeper" slot size. We let the first 2 ling go. When we landed the 3rd one we decided to give it a try. The 32" ling weighted in at 10 lbs 7 oz. None of use had ever cleaned a ling before so I did a quick Google seach on my iPhone and we were ready to go. They fillet about the same as a normal fish except there is not a lot of meat around the rib cage. It's all mostly high in the back. There is a lot of meat in the tail as well. We saw a couple of techniques where they would skin in like a rabbit but we filleted the skin off the fillets like a regular fish. Here's my buddy getting ready to go to work!! When we were do we had 2 long thick fillets. We battered it with fish crisp and fried it in oil. It was delicious!! The meat was very mild and very firm. We were curious about what it had been eating so we cut it open. What a surprise. The innards were more like a small mammal than a fish. The liver was huge (left side of the pic)! It had a mass of intestines. The roe sack was massive!!! If we had known she was a female we would have let her go... The contents of the stomach included a 6" ling, several minnows in various states of digestion, a couple fillets that looked perfectly cooked, and a small handful of back bones! Edited January 16, 2012 by Homer Is King Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dheitzner Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Tank lings man! Wer got a few up there this year, but those would have eaten ours! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Is King Posted January 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Forgot to mention... The 33" came at about 8 am on a still line. The smaller ling bit mid afternoon!?! The 32" ling hit a still line at about 10 pm. It pulled the rod and holder right over and almost down the hole. What a fight!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishfield Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 I suspect that's a mud puppy! Yumm ! lol Thanks for the report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Looks like its been stealing shiners! That 6" ling in its gut is wild. Last year I put a 6" chub with a treble hook in it, back in the minnow bucket for future use. My dad, dumped the left over minnows down the hole (I did not condone this) and the next day we caught two huge ling. Well, my brother checked the stomach contents, lo and behold, there was the treble hook! One way to guarantee higher ling catches is to drop the carcasses (perch, ling) back down the hole. They'll basically school up into a feeding frenzy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddyp Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 Great stuff! Had a few bad years lately up there. Glad you guys are seeing Walleye! N the ling are interesting! Great pics!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asdve23rveavwa Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Great stuff, Chris!! We tried Ling for the first time this week as well. Had it as an appetizer before a walleye and perch dinner...MMMMMMM!! Cut into one inch pieces boiled for ten minutes, dipped in melted butter. Delicious, but, you sure don't get alot of meat from them. Would definitely eat one again, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leecher Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Awesome report Homer Your million dollar smile says it all Thanks for sharing Leechman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trapshooter Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Looks like a great time. Love those big ling!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud7378 Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 awesome report guys, looks like a good time had by all!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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