Redemption is the best form of revenge

[Rod Caster]

Hey Team,

 

After four Skunky skunks in a row (minus a few tiny perch), it was time I hit my "hot spot" on Nipissing for a little redemption fishing. I finally got up the nerve to drive further on the lake and invited a few of my fishing regulars. Joey (Tiger!) was in, until I cancelled on him, when I un-cancelled, he had made other plans so I invited my uncle and he was immediatly willing to join.

A few pressure cracks made our journey a little squirly, but we found some tracks and reached my spot at around 4pm.

 

The bite started at 430, with a perch/walleye/ling mix. In total we finished with 4 walleye (missed at least 3), 25 perch and two pig Ling. My action "Jaxon" spoon did most of the damage for me, while my uncle used a jig and minnow combo.

The best part of the day was having an 6 or 7lbs ling completely SMASH my Jaxon spoon. What a rush after a dry spell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The required sink shot

 

 

what a cutie!

 

 

I hope this signals an upswing in my winter fishing!

Edited February 7, 2012 by Rod Caster

[Joey]

So, are they really poor man's lobster? How do they taste?

 

Great report and some nice fish there!!!

[asdve23rveavwa]

Awesome Chad. Wish it was half the drive for me, I'd be hitting Nip ice a bunch of times every winter.

[mercman]

Great job Chad !!!! I love sink shots That ling is an ugly thing.

I finally broke down, and am going out on the ice with Mike on saturday. I havent been on the ice since i was 12 Looking forward to finding out if i like ice fising

[Rod Caster]

So, are they really poor man's lobster? How do they taste?

 

Great report and some nice fish there!!!

 

I've only had them dipped in butter... and the the butter was DELICIOUS haha. This time I think I'll bake it the same way I bake my walleye, that way I can actually compare the flavor. Thanks!

 

Awesome Chad. Wish it was half the drive for me, I'd be hitting Nip ice a bunch of times every winter.

 

If that is ever the case, I'll be glad to show you around Nipissing and some other nearby lakes

 

Great job Chad !!!! I love sink shots That ling is an ugly thing.

I finally broke down, and am going out on the ice with Mike on saturday. I havent been on the ice since i was 12 Looking forward to finding out if i like ice fising

 

If it's slippery out there I think Mike will have an entry in Vinnies "funny photo" contest. Good luck out there. I'm sure Mike will keep you safe AND put you on some fish.

[Nipfisher]

Good on ya bud. I'll say yes to your "spot" some time. Sled is all fixed up and we can leave right from Callander. Should only be 15-20 minute ride. I am glad the fish started biting again. It was tough for the last 3 days.

[Rod Caster]

That would be great. Even tough its driveable by truck, I'd still rather go by sled... Less worries if the wind or snow bury the tracks.

 

I was out last night at deepwater point and didn't get a single bite, neither did my buddy in a neighboring shack or the others in my group. Even my "spot" was slow tonight compared to what my uncle saw last week. they have to feed sometime, so things should turn around.

[Skipper D]

RC, funniest ice fishing pic contest , capsation for your first picture , Why is that little gun pointing at you ...lol

[GreenCanada]

Nice haul!

 

My brother has landed a few monster Ling's out near Calgary in the past few months. They definitely are the poor man's lobster, but I don't hear anyone complaining!

[Leecher]

Great job Chad getting that monkey off your back I know the feeling all too well

Some good eats in that sink shot

[Rod Caster]

RC, funniest ice fishing pic contest , capsation for your first picture , Why is that little gun pointing at you ...lol

 

Haha I didn't quite understand until I looked back at the photo It almost looks like my uncle is about to pull a pistol out of his jacket pocket too.

 

Nice haul!

 

My brother has landed a few monster Ling's out near Calgary in the past few months. They definitely are the poor man's lobster, but I don't hear anyone complaining!

 

This will be a good test for me to see if I really like the meat or not. It's funny how the fish weighed nearly 7lbs, and i only got 1 or 1.5lbs of meat off of it. These things are ALL head and guts.

 

Great job Chad getting that monkey off your back I know the feeling all too well

Some good eats in that sink shot

 

Thanks Jacques. It was a good start to my season, but then things slowed down. If you were in my area, I'd invite you over for some walleye wings and cheeks and a hockey game. I have a whole bag of cheeks and wings collected from the past year of fishing!

[NAW]

I see the oil stain didn't come out of your jacket

 

Nice sink of fish you got there Chad!

[Rod Caster]

I see the oil stain didn't come out of your jacket

 

Nice sink of fish you got there Chad!

 

Hahaha. If only I had the ingenuity to point the exhaust away from me while drilling. Duhh.

[motion]

Way to go Chad! Looks like you may give Alexander a run in the future Nice to see you getting on them during the Lake Nip "bewitching hour"

 

Cheers.

[TDunn]

Nice!

Always a little sweeter to get into them after a few tough outings.

Good eats man!

 

 

TDunn

[EC1]

Glad to see you onto fish again!

How'd that ling taste? I really want to try one this year...But I don't think it will happen unless Simcoe coughs one up for me during the day.

[Rod Caster]

I froze the ling and took it back out last night. Tonight or tomorrow will be the test. I had lobster last night, so I can really test that "poor mans lobster" theory. Haha.

 

Bassassin and I are going back to the spot today. I'm hoping for more perch so I can freeze a few bags and eat them during the "off season". I will report back later

[Joeytier]

Sweeeet fishin. You sure didn't miss much troutin'.

[Rizzo]

where are these dang ling in the summer? Never hear a thing about them til the ice shows up

[Rod Caster]

We moved slightly off the spot today and caught a few nice perch, 8 walleye and a big slimy ling. It was very windy today but it was a great day!

 

 

[Nipfisher]

We moved slightly off the spot today and caught a few nice perch, 8 walleye and a big slimy ling. It was very windy today but it was a great day!

 

 

 

 

Nice. How many keepers?

[Rod Caster]

5 keepers. A few big fish were missed too.

[Rod Caster]

Tonight I ate baked ling with a light cajun spice rub.

Overall it was very good. Not walleye great, but good. The "poor man's lobster" term definitly comes from the texture of the meat, which is oddly similar to that of lobster. I had lobster a couple nights ago so I was able to make a fair comparison.

The strip of meat along the back is nicer to eat than the belly or tail meat.

 

I'll certainly keep ling again, but next time I will partially freeze the fish before I clean it.... it's very slimy/slippery when it's completely thawed out, making it difficult to filet.

[Joeytier]

Did you freeze the fish whole, and then clean it? I stopped doing that years ago.

 

Good to hear it was tasty, at least.

[Rod Caster]

Did you freeze the fish whole, and then clean it? I stopped doing that years ago.

 

Good to hear it was tasty, at least.

 

No, the fish was quite fresh and not frozen. I should have rolled it in the snow while I was on the ice.

 

I'm happy about the flavor too. They are biting on a regular basis now, so why not keep a couple? It's better than chucking it on the ice like a lot of people do.