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Burntside Laker Report----2/26---updated--2/28


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well i was out again today. got a late start on things. didnt get out onto the ice unil 11am. i set up in about 33fow. i dont have electronics so its an estimate. i got my first action at 1:05pm. flag was up on the tip up. iced a nice 3lb laker. i was using a small rainbow on a quick strike rig. 2:35 WHAM big laker takes my 3/8oz buckshot spoon(purlple/silver spoon)...my polar lite heavy rod bent in half...drag was screaming...got it up about half way...hook pulled out. \:\( kept on jiggin...2:55 while i was realing my line up....nice 4lb laker takes my buckshot spoon..this one i landed. i kept both. plan on having a nice lunch for me and my friends.

the one that got off had some weight to it. easily a 5 pounder. most likely bigger.

overall it was a great day. from 1 to 3 was the hot time. i stayed out till 5pm with nothing after 3.

mike

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

Thanks for the report Mike.

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well....was at it again today..2/28...was fishing by 9:15 at the same spot as the other day...fished hard until 4....nothing to speak of...i was stubern and did not move from the spot that i did well at the other day...it was in 33fow...with deep water all around...i tried lots of things with no bites...i dont have a flasher so i dont know if there were even fish in the area...i got to get a flasher...it will take the quessing game out of it...well today was the last day of inland lakers for me...luckly my work (outward bound) is letting me mush a team of dogs out to knife at the end of march as part of my "professional development" pretty cool eh.

hope others did better than me out there. there were a lot of people fishing.

mike

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

You don't need a flasher to catch lake trout but I wouldn't want to fish without one, and yes I fished many years without on..

The benefits of seeing the interaction of trout is one thing. Not seeing baitfish and trout is another. If I'm not seeing fish I move.

I was going to say have fun on the Knife lake trip but how could you not. Good Luck!

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Mike, sorry to hear there were no fish yesterday. Just paying the laker gods, I guess.

Also great Outward Bound will let you do the Knife thing. I'm told it's unforgettable.

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Mike,

When you get back from your trip would you mind if I picked your brain a bit?? I am going into Knife next January on a 4 day trip (skiing in pulling a pulk and cold camping). Mostly would like to get a little info on the winter trail to Knife, and maybe some advice on winter camping spots. I wont be going past Thunder Point most likely, simply not enough time. Are you staying the whole time on knife or hitting some of the side lakes in the area?

And yes, definitely "pretty cool"!! cool.gifgrin.gif

Stevo, are you going to be out on B-side for closing weekend? I am thinking of coming up with dylan saturday morning and just driving out both days. What's the cheapest place to stay in town for the 2 of us??

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xplorer,

you can pick my brain all you want. i have mushed out there already this winter...not to fish...just traveling by on a training. when we where out in late jan. the mushers highway was established. lots of mushers put in at moose and mush up to knife. there is a packed down trail most of the time...weather permitting(wind, snow, etc)and how much it has been traveled. there are some winter portages that go around bad ice. you can pick up mckenzie maps at piragis or order them online. the new maps have most winter portages marked, as well as summer camp sites. the beauty of winter camping is that you can camp where ever you want. just pick a nice sheltered bay and set up camp. make sure you read up on Leave No Trace before you go out so you are prepared and dont leave a mess out there.

im going to focus all of my time of knife....im searching for the monster laker.

im happy to answer any questions you have.

mike

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My brother and I have skied in with sleds a couple of times to Knife Lake. We've usually gone in late March and were lucky both times with a hard and fast trail. We've always made it in one day, but it is a long trip. Sam Cook, in his last mushing aticle, claimed it was a 2-3 day trip if you were pulling your own sled, and although this hasn't proven to be the case yet it certainly could turn out this way with heavy, fresh snow. Ensign Lake can seem like it goes on forever. We set up wherever we are protected from the wind. Usually right on the ice edge. Next time (later this year) we have vowed to bring in a canvas tent and a stove as we've had our fill of nylon tents in the winter and cold camping.

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mike and spivak,

Thanks for the info. I've gotten some great info from finnbay on the site previously, so I have the basics down. I built my pulk last weekend so I can practice the rest of this winter. I've already gone over the leave no trace and permit info with the forest service office here in duluth.

I'm pretty sure that i have the winter route used by the mushers down (my last question was how they went from Vera to Knife...from what I gathered there is a winter portage into Portage lake and then into Knife, correct??).

What I am wondering is if it might be quicker to go from snowbank to boot to ensign? It is 1.8 miles shorter to the same spot on the mushers trail on ensign. And, if I would take the pulk out by snowmobile to the BW line on snowbank, that would make the trip to Ensign where i could pick up the mushers trail to be 3.4 miles shorter. I realize I would be breaking trail for those 5 miles, and snow depth next Jan. would determine if I would even consider it, but the distance savings seem significant compared to starting at Moose. Yet, in talking to smitty's, they said that they dont see anyone going thru Boot.

Thanks for the help guys, I'm really pumped for this trip and wish I was going this weekend!! The reason I picked January, was so i didnt have to hand auger thru toooo much ice, hopefully making me a little more willing to move around abit since I've never been there before. I also have a 2 weekend window in case the first is too brutal, and a possible 5th day allowed for each, if needed.

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its like you said..it depends on the conditions.....i think that there are more portages going the boot route..and more open lake travel the moose route...if its a super windy couple of days..boot would be much more proctected....overall i think that its pretty much the same...yeah there are winter portages...and also summer ones.....people use summer portages as well...sometimes they are much more hilly than winter portages.

hope that helps.

mike

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Steve,

I thought that i saw that on another post but couldn't remember for sure. I havn't decided for sure, but would like a couple more days on B-side to try for a couple grillers/smokers, and would love to see Xplorer Junior battle his first one (I am taking him to URL next weekend for 3 days to hopefully ice his first true slab).

I gotta get you and that ghostman Chunky down here one weekend in April/May and go out and troll the sand for salmon and lakers. You've got an open invite at the Xplorer abode for a weekend if you guys can make it work. I've heard that they even sell a particularily smooth Lager over in souptown that you may like grin.gif

Keep it in mind if you can get down here.

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Thanks, Chris. I'd love to get down there. We'll see how things are going. grin.gifgrin.gif

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  • 2 weeks later...

well burntside is an awsome lake. sat was slow fished in 25 to 45 feet only seen three fish one chaser. sun out from berry 7:30 hooked up around 8:15 got off on a white tube. 10:30 buddy hooked in to a 17in on a small green buckshot with rainbow head 4 ft off bottom in 60fow. 11:00 my girlfriend hooked in to a monster she was'nt gaining anything tieend the drag a littel and it started comeing in my heart was pounding. after about 10min finally got her up the hole a 32in pout the bigest iv seen caught she hooked that on a gold swedish. around 12:30 she hooked in to a 25in laker that giver her another tusil also on the gold swedish them to came from 60fow and 6ft off bottom. i was out fished missed two in the same depth on a green glow jig and berkly gulp green white smelt. the trip was the first for lakers sense my grandfather died he was the one that got me into to those wonderful fish and iv just started fishing for them again. i just didnt want to go after that because he was'nt here if you all now what i mean. so this trip ment alot to me, and he's proably pisted that i stoped fishing for them.catfish and GO thank you for all the info.

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Glad you and yours got into the fish, walleye365, and thanks for the report. Now you're going to have to change your HSO/FM handle, though. grin.gifgrin.gifgrin.gif

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hey catfish, how did you do to day if ya made it out. what were you thinking on the change.

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Well, if you're back on lakers, you can't be on walleyes 365 days a year, can you? grin.gifgrin.gif

I should be on the ice tomorrow or Wednesday, depending on several factors, and will post a report if I can get out.

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i got ya, when i registerd it took about 20 min and 200 hundred diffrent names they were all used up so i used part of my email. sorry for explaining my self lakers forever my friend lakers forever. good luck fishin

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Went out to burntside today about 9. About 15 mintues after i was set up i caught the first laker. It was a HUGE 10 incher grin.gif The 10 incher was definatly not a smart fish, i put it back down the hole and it kept going down about half way and then swimming back to the top of the whole, it did this about 15 times!lol I fished this spot until about noon and then headed to a new spot. Got set up by around 12:15 and hooked up immediatly into a 17 incher, then 20 minutes later a 19 incher and at about 1 I hooked into the one in the picture below. I didnt measure this one, but it was bigger the previous two. Picture was taken off the tailgate of my truck... I ended up fishing until three and called it a day. That one hour of fishing was a lot of fun, i also had two others on throughout the day that i lost and quite a few lookers. It was a good day to be fishing out on burntside, nice and sunny and relatively warm. I was fishing anywhere from 30-45 feet and all fish were caught around 4-6 feet off the bottom on a sliver and blue kastmaster. All fish were released to swim another day.

Picture011.jpg

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Good report on a good day, grousehunter. Thanks for posting it for us.

What were you driving and how was the driving out there today?

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Was driving my s-10 4-wheel drive. Driving wasnt a problem at all for me today. Talked to one person that said they got stuck for a little bit in a bigger drift, but it seemed easy going to me.

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That's good news. I drive a Toyota 4Runner 4x4, so I'll leave the sled home and just cruise around with the SUV. I'd had the sled out one day last week instead of the vehicle because I needed total mobility and was a bit worried about the blowing/drifting.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Brianf.
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