Ice laker: Latest in the day you've caught one?

[Steve Foss]

Well, after fishing hard for three winters until after dark and never catching a laker after about 3:30 or 4 p.m., I just quit fishing after that time of day, and the last few years have gotten off the laker ice by 4 p.m., with a few exceptions. Never saw a laker during those exceptions, either.

But on another thread here it came up that a member just iced a nice laker going on 5:30 p.m. and had a tip-up flag after 4 p.m., so I'm interested in hearing other folks' experiences.

Of course, the days are getting longer now so there's more light later in the day.

Still, what have you all found?

[tonkapat]

one as the sun dipped below the trees on sunday and one a half hour before then. Didn't have a watch

[caseymcq]

A little after 5 p.m. this Sunday.

[Wanderer]

3:45 or my last one on Saturday. Kinda supports your theory. But I've been fishin your theories for almost all of my laker career.

We stayed out later, till dark, last year but never really saw much activity later than 4 pm. But we have caught fish earlier than 8 am, so thats why we get set up by sunrise now.

If they hit in low light A.M., why not P.M.?

We don't have anything better to do while we're up there than be on the lake anyhow.

[Steve Foss]

Imagine, Wanderer, by knocking off shortly after 4 p.m. both days we may have cheated ourselves out of the mythical 30-lber!

[finnbay]

After having spent MANY days on Thomas, Knife, Burke and Sunday winter camping, most of the time IMO you'd be wasting your time. We experimented on some of these trips just to find out. There would be a lot of activity between 2:00 and maybe 3:30, then dead from there on out. I can't remember catching one after 4:00 (January time). We even sat up and fished 'til way after dark (7:00-8:00, what else is there to do?) and all we caught were eelpout.

With fishing you can never say never. But, I think the percentages are working against you.

[Jackpine Rob]

I've caught them well after dark on some of the lakes Finnbay mentioned - but we move up on top of the reefs. 10 feet of water or so, fishing a few feet below the ice.

[finnbay]

Touche'! We did try fishing shallower as well, but I guess we didn't have the touch. We did only fish ciscos, and maybe jigging would have made a difference.

[Wanderer]

 Originally Posted By: stfcatfish

Imagine, Wanderer, by knocking off shortly after 4 p.m. both days we may have cheated ourselves out of the mythical 30-lber!

I shudder to think of it!

So, I suppose you'll be parked on Brent's shallow spot in the waning hours of your next outing? Just have to be thorough....

[Steve Foss]

Brent was actually over 48-50 FOW when he caught his nice fish and had his other chasers. But of course that was only 15 feet away from the tip of the point that topped out in 15 FOW. And that SUHWEET saddle/trough that drops to 40 FOW between the tip of the point and shore, golly, if that doesn't have potential.

I'd actually like to get together half a dozen anglers all at once to blanket that structure with tip-ups and jigging and really get a handle on it. Of course, then I'd have to TELL half a dozen anglers where the spot is.

Yepper, you BET I'll be on that spot again. So many spots that have produced fish in open water for me that I haven't had the chance to hit on the ice yet. I could spend a lifetime at it.

Come to think of it, I reckon that's just what I'll do.

[Wanderer]

 Originally Posted By: stfcatfish

Come to think of it, I reckon that's just what I'll do.

DAWG!!!

[Steve Foss]

Get your application in up here, bubba. One place we talked about that could be just perfect!

No wait, what am I DOING? Inviting another laker-obsessed angler to move to Ely, one who knows a bunch of my spots? NOT!

[Mike Stark]

catfish,

if you need someone to fish that spot with ya.....im in!...i wont tell no one.

i fished today until 5pm with no luck after 2:55pm.

mike

[Surface Tension]

I don't recall how many I've gotten in the afternoon but I've never quit fishing lake trout because it was late afternoon.

Never really fished them at night on the ice but have fished them from shore at night in May and caught them.

[LindyRigga]

I actually caught a laker about 3lbs. at 9:00p.m. a few years ago on Burntside...sometime in January. Very odd I thought. It was a comfortable afternoon and I decided to stay out after dark and see if I could maybe get a Walleye...turns out nope, just a laker. 4" powergrub (glow).

[Christopher Quast]

I caught my first laker on Gunflint this weekend and it was 5:30 pm

[Tullibee]

Beat me to that story Lindyrigga. That was sure a surprise when it was a laker and not a walleye. I have also been witness to one small laker caught after dark up the trail here. It happened to be the night of the eclipse.

Cory