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Where to get on the lake


JonnyD

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I plan on fishing the SW side of the lake this weekend, and it is my first time ice fishing the lake. I moved up here last year, and have only been in my boat so far on the big pond.

A have a few questions. What is the closes bait shop in the SW area to get bait at? And where does a guy walk out at? With all this snow, I'm assuming it's going to be quite a pull through all the snow. Would any one be willing to give me a few ideas on general areas to fish, that won't include a 1 1/2 mile walk thorugh 8 inches of snow? I'm trying to tarket some perch.

Any help for a new guy would really help...Thanks

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jonnyd,

stop at lundeen's bait on the corner of 169 and 27, bill will point you in the right direction. cove bay is a good early ice area, but, it is a little walk from the public access to get to the area that is most fished. if you do fish cove bay, be carefull around the point, there is bad ice/open water all winter long. with the low water levels this year, it will be worse than years past. i haven't seen anybody fishing on the main lake yet. i may get out and check the ice this afternoon and see if i can reach some of the close in rock spots. it is -12 this morning, i think that it is making ice.

aceinthehole,

can you post a picture of that 47 inch northern??? that has to be one of the top 5 northerns caught in the state this year, as far as lenght goes.......tom fellegy

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Johnny D, Myself and a couple of FMr's are coming up to Isle on Saturday. This is my first trip up for ice as well. I'll have a white Durango and a green Otter II, one of the guys is bringing his one man as well. Look us up, maybe we can learn together. If you want, give me an email and I'll get you my cell so we can get together.

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Just wondering how big that pike was in your last post it was 43 inches? confused.gif nice fish either way. grin.gif

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can't wait to get up there and drop a line down a hole!!!! It's going to be a pretty good time!

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The 43" was caught on friday and weighted close to 34lbs the two 41" I got very each about 30-31 lbs but the 48" was by far the thrill of a life time almost, sh#t my pants when we got throught the hole. Their in there but like I said you need to find holes in the weeds 3to6' for pike and put a tipup right in the middle with a dam big sucker on it. Once the weeds are gone so are the big pike also us a quick-strike rig they are awesome and very effective no need to let them run with the bait. Be safe and good fishin. All fish were released CPR

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I thought the same thing about that northern....you sure that wasn't a musky? A 47" Northern is a monster. I have caught a few in the low 40's and once had a 44" Tiger, which I thought was a northern until further review. I hope you took a picture of that one.

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Quote:

The 43" was caught on friday and weighted close to 34lbs the two 41" I got very each about 30-31 lbs but the 48" was by far the thrill of a life time almost, sh#t my pants when we got throught the hole. Their in there but like I said you need to find holes in the weeds 3to6' for pike and put a tipup right in the middle with a dam big sucker on it. Once the weeds are gone so are the big pike also us a quick-strike rig they are awesome and very effective no need to let them run with the bait. Be safe and good fishin. All fish were released CPR


Those must have been very girthy fish to weigh that much.

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I hope I don't get slammed here, but it's just a friendly reminder when dealing with these giant northerns/muskies,etc. In no way am I implying that the people posting above mishandled their fish....

Weighing a fish of this caliber with a lip grip/boga/berkely scale is very tough on these fish. In fact their spinal cords can stretch out an inch or two through this process when weighing them vertically.

So please, everyone C&R is great, but has anyone else caught a big nort or muskie that looks like the hunchback due to improper handling? Please be careful, get a few measurements and let em grow.

Good luck fishing everyone, sounds like a couple of once in a lifetime fish. I think my 8" auger would've had me in trouble with those pike....

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Ace...I had to ask, I was not implying that you did not know what you are talking about. That is a great catch. I have never seen a Noprthern that large in person so good work. If you have a picture we would all love to see it.

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A 41" northern that weighed 30 lbs??? I have to see this thing. I have pics with fat 36-40" fish that are right around 15-20lbs. I suppose it is possible, but I will have to see it to believe it. Maybe somebody fed them a couple of lead balls before you landed them. grin.gif

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Hi Sandmannd,

I'm thinking I'll be some where in the Isle bay area as well. I'll have a green Durango, and will be in a Clam Guide flip shack. I have no idea where to go, so I'll probably just look for some shacks and fish in the general area. For some reason I'm not able to send you a message. But I'd be interested in meeting some others from the site. Feel free to send me an email [email protected]

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I caught & released a 40" on Mille Lacs, it was 15lbs and it was not skinny by no means. 30 lbs?? I would need to be there to believe that one. It would have to have 15lbs of baitfish in it!

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let the big pike go,so they can grow!! What a great place Mile Lacs is!!!

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I have a 42 inch mille lacs northern on my wall that had a 24 inch girth, it was right at 20lbs- i have had a creel worker tell me they have netted them up to 52 inches. maybe i'll get lucky and hit one this weekend in isle bay. grin.gif

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Just sent you an email JonnyD with my cell in it. Hope we can catch up together and see if we can't get some.

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i have seen northerns way up north i dont even want in my boat they are so big.... i think 52 would be an understatement for the size of the water mille lacs is, and all the bait there is to eat for them.

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