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Posted (edited)

Hey OFC!

 

What a winter we are having! I love it. Warm and windy days have been the common denominator up here around the Soo. Many around here are complaining about the lack of winter but not me. I’m going to enjoy this until ice out because I know it might not happen again for another 20+ years.

Now to the fishing. ....

 

Ive been targeting pike and crappie on a few of my favourite weed beds.

I set tip-ups for pike with a smelt/cisco or sucker. They are hung by 40# fluoro quick strike rigs I tie up.

I set the tip ups anywhere in the water column from the tips of the weeds to right under the ice. This year I had my best luck with the baits 6-12 inches above the weeds. A few were caught closer to the upper part of the water column but the big girls all came just above the weeds.

 

First pike of the season is big and of course not ready for a picture!

Just a quick self timer in the hut.....

 

pushing 40"... there is some video footage of this fish at the end of this report.

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Ted and I hit the ice for a day of pike

 

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My crappie spots have been producing quite well this year compared to previous years. Fish are all big with the average size being close to 11”. Pink and glow crappie tubes and glow Northland Forage minnows have been deadly. During the day Ive been pulling them right off bottom through the heavy weeds. It can be a pain pulling up weeds all the time but thats where they are....

As the sun dropped, I began to mark and catch agressive crappie suspended.

 

The best crappie bites came when I was fishing alone. Isn’t that usually the way it goes! LOL!

Self timer shots.....

 

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Had a few buds out for them. Caught some but never hit them like I did the week before.

 

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Ive kept 12 crappies total this year for a wicked fish fry

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Every fish since then has gone back for next year!

 

My cousin Ted had been fishing a lake for walleye with a few of his buddies from the Fish and Wildlife program here at Soo College. They did quite well with Ted landing a real nice chunk.

 

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A few days later. Ted, another relative and I sent out to ice a few walleye of our own. Although we didn’t do quite as well with the eyes as the guys from FW did but we did manage a few keepers and the first two pike I have ever seen come from this lake. One was a giant!

 

43” by 22” and still swimming!

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Then he lands a 30”+ five minutes later...

 

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Hit LSPP for a day.....maybe the coldest day of our winter here LOL. Not a good idea. We spent most of the day looking for wood to keep the fire going and us warm. We couldn’t even jig for the first 4-5 hours because of the intense NE wind blowing the snow sideways until about 3pm. We got about an hour in of jigging and hit half a dozen lakers or so. They weren’t big but it felt great to hit a nice flurry after going through a day like that!

 

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My last few outings have been for perch. Hasn’t been a great bite but we have manage enough each time for a fry. I think I am going to move shallower next and target some of the giant rainbows swimming around at this spot!

 

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Here are some video clips of some of the pike. Including the 43"

PIKE VIDEOS

 

 

 

 

 

We were just slammed by snow and wind the last few days. It seems winter has finally arrived until I checked the weather and tomorrow and weds is calling for temperatures well above 0. Even though the mild temps have been common through winter our lakes are still locked with a bunch of ice. I'll be on the ice for another couple weeks than its steelhead time!!

 

Hope you enjoyed,

 

TDunn

Edited by TDunn
Posted

Can't wait to see if you guys get into those rainbows! Awesome chapter of fishing... Especially liked the three big walleyes stacked above the smaller ones. Thx for posting.

Guest ThisPlaceSucks
Posted

awesome man! after a slow start this year i've been nailing fish the last few weeks and now I don't want winter to go!

 

there's no need for you to ever go fishing alone you know! any day you need a parter for crappie out east, i'd gladly oblige... :whistling:

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