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There's been a reasonable sunfish bite out there - not hot and heavy, but a guy can get on some decent fish if he is willing to move around a bit. Hope that the cold weather moving in this weekend doesn't shut it completely off...

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Deerdragger. I have a freind in Cohasset, that has been doing well there, if the temps let a guy out without freezing to death. guess it is stil pretty cold there to. You have the snow, but we just have enough here to cover the ground. Hope we all get some warm up pretty soon. CAJ

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  • 3 weeks later...

It's just a crying shame on how much pressure Bass Lake is getting!!! I've heard several rumors of people double and triple tripping a day! I wonder how many of those people out there are over their possession limit on bluegills? Talk about ruining a great bluegill fishery!!!

Brian

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I agree -- When a lake has a five sunfish limit it does not mean you have to keep five. Catch and release is best.

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Yeah, u are right bmc.I see more and more people out there every day and the fish seem to be getting smaller and smaller....

It just seems that people are not thinking that they are hurting such a great lake this way.

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Bass "WAS" a good lake back in the day before the numbers. No one is practicing selective harvesting. Wish we could have these days back. All my big fish went back in.

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Girlfriend Emily Hanson

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The biggest through the ice solid a true 10 3/4"

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I've heard of a few guys going up with friends and slamming those fish. Scary thought what they can do in a short amount of time, and if everybody else is doing it too.

Nice fish, funner to catch than eat and like nowhere else in the state. Why keep anything out of there? You just make that lake like every other lake in the state instead of something exceptional....

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The biggest factor in this year's harvest was the road plowed from the SE access to the bay. I doubt if half the fishing pressure would have been there if it was not for the road.

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The road doesn't help, but people the last few years people have been blazin trails to the bluegill fishing area. By the looks of that area on the weekends, you'd think no other lakes in the area have panfish in them.

Brian

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Bass lake was hammered this weekend. Drove by on Wed around 2 in the afternoon and there was still 8 different trucks on the ice.

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I haven't heard a thing about it. doesn't matter to me either way, but the bright side is if they do close it, then we won't have to listen to all the whining about people catching fish over there.

I've gone twice in the last year and I kept my limit of five both times. they were very tastey.

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Where did you hear about the lake being closed? That would be terrible as we have vacationed on Bass Lake in June for several years. I too have noticed the quality of bluegills has gone down in the past couple years.

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I hope they don't for your sake WCS, but I think that it would help the lake out quite a bit. Isn't that the time they start spawning? I know in some lakes its earlier than June but I'm not sure for Bass. There have been tons of people out these last weekends and it is only going to get busier out there from here on...

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I was out on Bass Today 3/20/2008 for about an hour cought 5 released 5 and that was good enough for me

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Bitemebay-We need more folks like you on the lake. My son drives by the lake every day and says there are 15 trucks on the ice every afternoon on his way home. O K now do the math-15 x 5=75 if there are only 15 people fishin. Now take into account more people on weekends. Its not hard to figure out why there are very few big sunnies left.

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I was out there w/ a buddy on the 19th. He kept 4 9(8-9"), 2 I donated to him and he had to bug out. I stuck around for another hour or so and landed a couple more, the biggest being 9.75", just a dandy with that metallic purlpe hue to him. I let him go, but if he woulda' been over 10" he woulda' had a honorary spot on my wall! Fish were really finicky that day. Nice to see not all the big one's are gone.......YET!!! Nothing better than a big gill on a noodle rod and 2lb test giving the drag a work out!

Brian

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was out there today, lots of small ones. Caught 3 decent sized ones but threw them back. very slow pickin' is what i have found.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just heard about this lake this week and just started to do some research on it and I found this post....kinda depressing!!! It seems like a good sized lake though and with the limits if people follow them it should stay decent I would hope.......

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Troy,

I haven't heard that the lake is going to be closed but the lake association in conjunction with the DNR puts out spawning bed signs each year that close off sections of the weedbeds on the north and south basins to protect the spawning sunfish from iceout until June 30th. I own a resort on the lake and am on the board of the lake association and the DNR hasn't said anything to us and we are usually the first to hear of that kind of thing. But having said that, you never know how government works.

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THANK GOD that the resort owners and DNR do that!!! That and the long shallow stretch between the north and south basin's help out immensely!!! Granted, I don't think the fishing is nearly as good as it used to be size wise, there's still some awful nice gills in there!!!

Brian

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This afternoon someone walked out from Co. Rd. 62 and looked like they were fishing. Looked pretty slushy out there, but might be do-able w/ snow shoes to stay on top of the snow and slush.

Brian

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Four guys out there today...but the ice is black around the edges.

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i guess theyre catching them, but you wouldnt see me going out there, plus i am sick of ice and ready to get out after those walleyes!!

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it looked like they might get their feet wet coming off, but the main ice looked good.

a little rain here with temps around 55-60.

I think a lot of these lakes will go in about a week give or take.

last year I was on moose with the atv. good ice, but one week later she was wide open.

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yeah, i dont really feel like getting wet though, and i know what you mean, i just have other priorities, like cleaning the boat up :p

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