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First ice fishing reports


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Hey all:

Hit a bay on Birch Lake today for pike on tip-ups and walleyes in the evening.

Fishing on six inches of solid clear ice over 10 FOW with frozen cisco, I had only eight flags from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. It was -10 when I started and barely climbed above zero, with partly cloudy skies most of the day and a VERY brisk west wind gusting to nearly 20 mph (uh-huh, C-C-COLD on the hands when working a fish on those tip-ups).

Of the eight flags, I landed seven fish, six of them pike from 22 to 32 inches. Kept the 22 and a 23.5 for a fried pike finger dinner. Also caught a beefy 19-inch walleye at noon on a tip-up with the cisco. As always at that spot, I switched over at 3 p.m. to get ready for the evening walleye bite, which starts every night right there like clockwork at 4:30 p.m. I can practically set my watch by it.

First red flicker moved in on the Vex at 4:29, and it was over by 4:50. Had several lookers, only two or three takers and only landed one, a fat 16-incher. They come up to the lure like gangbusters but if you don't hold it perfectly still they just fade away.

Was jigging a small glow spoon with minnow head on one rig and a slip-bobber minnow on the other. Would have gone for the totally stealth mode tip-up with a bead/minnow but didn't want to keep going out into that wind as the temps dropped.

It was great to be out on the ice again, I'll tell you. A whole new season has finally started! And I'll be at it again tomorrow. Ahhhh, fresh walleye for Mrs. Catfish and fresh pike fingers for me. Mmmmmmm. grin.gifgrin.gifgrin.gif

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Have you tried and/or do you ever catch any of the Birch Lake slabs while you are fishing out there?

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Got another after I left, eh? Hope you and Mrs. Catfish enjoyed the supper. Have a good one tomorrow. As the Finnish would say, hyvaa syntamapaiva! laugh.giflaugh.giflaugh.gif

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went out to bass lake north of ely today for a couple hours. caught a 24" northern and a splake on sucker minnows. let the splake go after a quick picture to make sure about my guess of what it was. looked it up on the lake finder and none had been found in the recent survey or been stocked. they had been stocked in nearby dry lake. maybe it migrated through the falls or maybe by a fisherman. who knows haha but definately an experience!

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Steve-O, you are sincerely nuts my man. I am in the basement with the wood stove crankin' and I am still cold. Don't get me wrong dude, I love the cold hardwater thing. Heck, I don't even mind when deer season gets a little fridgid, but dude, it's like January cold, only the weather forgot it was still November! All hail the global warmer's grin.gif BC

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I was planning on going out on chub lake earlier today, but i chickened out because of this snowstorm, didnt want to end up in the ditch or get stuck anywhere. Oh well hopefully there will be fish left next week.

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We got out on Vermilion today for a little walleye action, and a little action was what we got wink.gif Got 3 nice keepers one the ice and lost a few that we did hook and missed a bunch of very tentative strikes.

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5 inches of snow at my house in cloquet today and more coming.

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Burntside Lake, about 9 inches of snow and it's coming down real good at the moment! mad.gif

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VermillionWally- Got out on Chub for a little spearing- didn't have any spectacular action but it was enough to keep a guy occupied...there was 4 inches in the bays, but I didn't dare venture far enough into the main lake. And the lake has around half a foot of snow on top of the ice.

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banged the eyes on shags...but thyre all tiny! it was fun fishing on the vex again. sandy point if you want all those ten inchers...Screw that for me! im gonna keep looking for the honey hole of 16'' or bigger...its gotta be on some lake some where up here!!! confused.gif

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Eatsleepfish- Ive never fished on chub, but i figure it and big are the closest lakes to ice fish on. Hows the fishing? Im looking for some tip up action for northerns and maybe some crappie too grin.gif. Hows the walleye fishing in there? The dnr report says theres some in there.

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stfcatfish,

what side of birch are you fishing? im down on the south kiwish. went out tonight for an hour...got nothing...is live bait the way to go on birch??

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mstark, welcome to FM. Great to have you here! grin.gif

I generally fish in or around Kramer Bay and Kramer Point (spelling?) on the south side of the lake off the public landing there. You get there from Country Club Road.

And this is how I fish pike, regardless of which lake. My best day for pike on Birch in four years was 29 flags, though of course I didn't land that many. Two things I like so much about Birch as that any flag that pops could be a legit 20-25 lber, and if you set up in 6 to 12 FOW you can switch to walleyes after 3:30 p.m.

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Just like every lake around the area, you have to put in time to find the fish. Pike are easy to find and catch, just get out and try to catch some fish, that's half the fun about ice fishing is finding the fish...

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Got out fishing on Big lake today. There was about 5-6 inches of ice in all 3 spots that i drilled. Didnt get any flags fishing though. I was using smelt on quick strike rigs under tip ups. Talked to a guy that was fishing out there with suckers under tip ups and he got a bunch of northerns and a walleye so i might have to try that next weekend. Almost forgot to mention It was like slush city out there today. Great for freezing up all your gear.

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