Fishing a Haliburton back lake this weekend...

[castgame]

buddy and i will be snowshoeing/camping on a back lake this weekend just south of algonquin on a splake lake. i was hoping to get some OFC community tips on:

 

a] ice quality up there right now -- the temps look perfect but you can't be too careful! think i can expect safe ice this saturday?

b] fishing splakes with artificials. my plan was to start close in to shoreline that looks structured, and progressively move from 5' of water to probably 40' of water until we find the fish. will be jigging small spoons (krocs, cleos, wobblers) and white plastic grubs and spoons. my question is this: where in the water column do you jig? and when do you get the hit -- on the fall, when the lure's suspended, on the rise? how aggressively should i be jigging?

 

thanks in advance. i'll have pictures and a report when i'm thawed and back to civilization next week!

Edited January 22, 2013 by castgame

[Jds63]

I got 2 this season ... one was caught jigging agressivley with a small spoon tipped with minnow and the second one was caught using a tipup setup ... splitshot, hook and minnow .. both in about 12 ft of water

[chris.brock]

they're a hybrid but fish them more like brookies, I would suggest 6 to 15 feet of water like JDS said, I wouldn't bother going out to 40 feet

 

if you're fishing shallow, fish the middle of the water column

 

you're allowed 2 lines too, it may be worth it to bring in some minnows and tip-ups

Edited January 17, 2013 by chris.brock

[castgame]

I got 2 this season ... one was caught jigging agressivley with a small spoon tipped with minnow and the second one was caught using a tipup setup ... splitshot, hook and minnow .. both in about 12 ft of water

 

where in the water column were you? just off bottom?

 

what i really want to know is how do i work a jig or spoon through the ice?

[castgame]

they're a hybrid but fish them more like brookies, I would suggest 6 to 15 feet of water like JDS said, I wouldn't bother going out to 40 feet

 

if you're fishing shallow, fish the middle of the water column

 

you're allowed 2 lines too, it may be worth it to bring in some minnows and tip-ups

thanks but because i'm tenting it they'd freeze overnight for sure

 

how aggressively do i jig? when would i expect the hit?

[chris.brock]

thanks but because i'm tenting it they'd freeze overnight for sure

 

how aggressively do i jig? when would i expect the hit?

some guys are likely more knowledgeable, but do medium aggressive jigging, about 3 foot lifts, a hit could happen anytime (at the top, on the drop, on the rise)

 

for the minnows, powder snow is a great insulator against freezing

 

tenting eh?, you guys are hardcore, post a trip report when you get back, sounds like a cool adventure

[Joeytier]

I would definitely suggest bringing minnows, but 2 to 3 inch bright tubes will produce, as well as just about any small to medium sized flutter spoon.

 

My general rule of thumb is less then 10 FOW, sometimes less than 5, but the water is very clear, then they could easily be taken in excess of twenty feet. Look for mud flats and deep timber, and you should find some fish.

[Joeytier]

Also, frozen minnows on a deadstick can be deadly as well.

[castgame]

some guys are likely more knowledgeable, but do medium aggressive jigging, about 3 foot lifts, a hit could happen anytime (at the top, on the drop, on the rise)

 

for the minnows, powder snow is a great insulator against freezing

 

tenting eh?, you guys are hardcore, post a trip report when you get back, sounds like a cool adventure

 

good thought on the snow! though i still don't think i want to carry in two dozen shiners plus the gallon of water on the 10km snowshoe in

 

provided my camera doesn't freeze shut, i'll definitely post some pictures. won't be my first time tenting and ice fishing, but i hope it's the most productive on the fish front

[NAW]

We had planned a trip up this weekend with the snowmobile. But decided to push it out a week or two to make sure. Don't want to waste a day because of crappy ice or conditions.

 

The ice should be good for walking. Post an ice report when you get back if you don't mind From you general area, we where going to hit the same lake this weekend. Would have been funny..

 

I can't remember what they where hitting last year. I think it was a tinny wax worm beetle thingy. Red. In the 10' range. Lightly jigging off bottom. Only bringing it up a foot or two. Half way up the odd time to raise some attention.

[chris.brock]

as for ice quality, you'll be fine, I bet there will be 10" on smaller lakes up there this weekend

[Iamcanadian]

Ice conditions will be fine. Not sure what lake your fishing but a lot of small back lakes Just south of the park and north of Haliburton have been shut down in the last year or so.They been bought up and no fishing has been allowed.Even if they were stocked by the mnr you will be tresspassing.There is no crown land between the village of Haliburton and north to the park

[SirCranksalot]

good thought on the snow! though i still don't think i want to carry in two dozen shiners plus the gallon of water on the 10km snowshoe in

and then tent!! Note to self: If invited, never ever go fishing with this guy!!

[castgame]

Ice conditions will be fine. Not sure what lake your fishing but a lot of small back lakes Just south of the park and north of Haliburton have been shut down in the last year or so.They been bought up and no fishing has been allowed.Even if they were stocked by the mnr you will be tresspassing.There is no crown land between the village of Haliburton and north to the park

double checked the regs -- no mention of the lake should mean it's open for splake year round. not private land, so not trespassing. that's as much as i'm gonna say

and then tent!! Note to self: If invited, never ever go fishing with this guy!!

it's just a matter of gear. plus, how could you get an earlier start than waking up 20m from your holes??

[chris.brock]

Ice conditions will be fine. Not sure what lake your fishing but a lot of small back lakes Just south of the park and north of Haliburton have been shut down in the last year or so.They been bought up and no fishing has been allowed.Even if they were stocked by the mnr you will be tresspassing.There is no crown land between the village of Haliburton and north to the park

interesting,

did a big parcel of land get bought up between Fort Irwin and Whitney?

 

Crown land doesn't seem to get sold off

Edited January 19, 2013 by chris.brock

[Rod Caster]

If you want to catch more fish than everyone else in your party, use these in brown and add a tiny chuck of minnow or worm:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-NORTHLAND-SCUD-BUG-FRESHWATER-SHRIMP-ICE-FISHING-JIG-LURE-/321035635814?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4abf370c66

 

5 to 20 fow. Look for downed trees on shoreline abutting shallow flats.

[Christopheraaron]

Skunked, couldn't mark a fish all day, fished from 5ft all the way to 100ft using live minnows, frozen minnows, small tubes and twister tails, just couldn't find them. Oh well, pike and perch tomorrow

[singingdog]

There are still plenty of public-access lakes in between Haliburton and Algonquin.

[castgame]

back from the trip in. we had a total blast despite the plummeting temps, and an overnight storm that brought high winds, tons of snow, and even thunder and lightning! that was a first for me to camp through. here are some pics from the weekend:

 

 

 

loaded up and 'shoeing in to the first lake to cross

 

 

there was a surprising amount of open water. we watched two sleds scoot over this thin bit here. the water was only waist deep so i wasn't worried, but still walked carefully and quickly.

 

 

a river we needed to cross. this took a little bushwhacking

[castgame]

getting the first holes drilled for the last of the evening's light

 

 

our site's on the island

 

tent pre-storm

 

tent in the morning

 

Edited January 22, 2013 by castgame

[castgame]

sunday was a clear, cold, windy day. constant 60kph gusts coming straight across the lake. made for beautiful but difficult conditions

 

 

the walk out after the snowfall

 

the long trudge back over a windy lake

Edited January 22, 2013 by castgame

[castgame]

the trip was beautiful and remote and should have ended with many pictures of trophy splake, but as you can see, there aren't any because we got 100% skunked. we must have put down 30 holes all over that lake off every kind of point, island, stream, downed tree, cliff, and otherwise. fished 3" white grubs, 3" white tube jigs, and small spoons (blue and silver cleos and wobblers) in every part of the water column. we mostly stuck to 5-20 fow so maybe we should have gone deeper, but the conditions were brutal and our window of time was relatively short. i don't know if the fish were just shut right down or if we were doing something wrong, but we couldn't buy a hit. oh well. the journey was incredible and i'd do it all over again! maybe next time for ice-out...

Edited January 22, 2013 by castgame

[castgame]

approximate locations of holes we fished. would any of you guys done anything differently? that stream on the left of this picture is an inflow -- i wanted to put a couple holes down near the mouth but it was fairly shallow (3'-6') and i wasn't too confident in the quality of the ice around current.

[lickmyarmpit]

Wow man awesome report, tenting in the weather the last few days that is gangster....too bad about the skunk.

[chris.brock]

awesome report, looks like a great adventure, you guys are hardcore