One Last Hurrah for Pike

[cat44]

Just thought I'd throw a post out there for anybody still thinking about chasing pike.  Yesterday we made our way to the Warroad side.  The river at the main access in town is wide open, maybe 1/4 mile or so out into the lake.  This was our first surprise......we were given some info that you could still access the lake here.  That ain't happening!!  The second surprise was we could not see one person out on the ice!  "Why wasn't anybody fishing??!" is what we asked ourselves.  We drove to usual spots to check things out and didn't see any fisherman or places that people have recently accessed the ice.  After a lot of contemplating we went back to the Warroad access and talked to the guys running the Arctic Cat sleds (they were still on the ice). We decided to make our way through the reeds and go out a couple hundred yards and give it a try.  Our group ended up with 4 fish.....2 under 30' a 34" and one just under 40".  There was a group of fisherman that did come of the Ice later in the afternoon. They said they had no luck at all.  We thought that we would of had a better bite, but oh well.  I wonder if since the river is open if that has an effect on the pike bite? I've fished pike many times the first couple weekends in April, but the river has never been open, so maybe this has a big effect.

I'm not posting this so I can get a tongue-lashing from people for going out on the ice. Had we not felt completely safe in walking out, we wouldn't have done so.  I'm posting this for guys like me that love chasing late season pike and have to drive a loooong way to do it.  With that said, if you plan on trying to make one last trip I would do some homework and try and get some information from a local that truly knows what the conditions are like.

[Boar]

nice job!! maybe with the river open, the majority of larger.females.are staging up river waiti g for the temps to warm up

[Hoey]

My wife and I targeted pike on Friday afternoon further south near Lamberstson's.  Not a single flag.  Also noted the open water around all of the runoff ditches.  

Just a note.  This time of year is excellent for casting from shore with spoons and spinner baits for pike.  

[tipupsonly]

Thanks for the report. We barely saw anyone out last weekend and ice was way better than I thought. I'm guessing the marina or Springsteel access is better. I've done really well late when the river is open but not right by it. I'm sure some have went up the river,  but I would bet many spawn on the lake in the reeds too 

[CANOPY SAM]

Kinda seems like the resorts, and many of us, got screwed out of another month of good ice fishing.  Back when the weather turned unseasonably warm, and the ice started going fast, everyone pulled the plug in anticipation of it all ending.  Who knew we'd still have well below freezing days and nights, and snow squalls still coming thru on April 10th????

I'm actually pretty miffed!  I'm typically up on the lake all thru March and into April catching big pike and skads of walleyes thru the ice.  It's pretty much the best ice bite of the year.  I didn't even go back up after the last reports of 55+ degrees, large tracts of open water on the lake, and the landings getting really mushy.

I honestly wouldn't say any of us "jumped to conclusions".  I think people (including the resorts) were just being thoughtfully cautious.  When one hears reports of trucks and vehicles going thru the ice all over the lake I think it's only prudent to stay off the ice.

Anyway, bummer that all those resorts had their ice season cut so short.  That's gotta hit the bottom line pretty hard.

As I sit here typing, and looking out the window, the wind is howling.  We had a light covering of snow on the ground almost everyday over the last 4-5 days.  The temp is hovering in the mid-twenties, and it feels awfully reminiscent of late November!  Only it's now April 11th!!!!  

Like I'm sure most of you, I am MORE than anxious for the weather to warm up so I can pull the boat out!!!! 

[Tom Sawyer]

9 minutes ago, CANOPY SAM said:

Like I'm sure most of you, I am MORE than anxious for the weather to warm up so I can pull the boat out!!!! 

[vman11]

The resorts have been hitting the lake pretty hard if you ask me.  They aren't annually reducing their number of houses or launches.  Maybe a blessing in disguise to limit the pressure for an unplanned 4-6 weeks.  Ice fishing for most south shore locations, other than the Wheeler's Point area, has been possible all through the weather.

 

[CANOPY SAM]

You make a very good point, vman.  Significantly reduced pressure at this time of year certainly can't hurt our fishing in the future.  I'm just thinking about the financial stress this must have heaped on the resorts and area businesses that depend on hoards of ice fishermen thru most of March.  That doggone warm spell really made it look, for all practical purposes, like our ice season was done.  When all the resorts pulled the majority of their houses SO early, myself, and I'm sure most other folks, followed their lead.  After all, if we can't trust their judgement on safe lake/ice conditions, who can we trust?

I'm sure they still had some clients going out, but the overall number must have been only a fraction of a normal year.

It's just such a special time of year.  I always look forward to those last ice trips.  Comfortably wearing a t-shirt in that warm spring sun, standing on primarily bare ice, catching aggressive pre-spawn walleyes and pike while risking a reasonably serious sun burn!

I just can't bring myself to risk a catastrophic event like going thru the ice....when I have a wife and four kids at home.  I'm usually one of the last guys out there at this time of year, but only if I'm absolutely confident that the ice is still safe.  This is the first year in many, many years, that I didn't drop a tip-up line into Lake of the Woods.   Just couldn't do it with such variable, and unpredictable ice thickness this year.  It's difficult to reconcile missing these trips with my boys as they won't be around forever.

I guess we'll all just keep our fingers crossed for a great early soft water season!

[curt quesnell]

The Zippel Bay Resort Ice Out Pike Derby is this weekend.  There is a great opportunity to get some pike and have some fun.