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Anyone out chasing pike on LOW?  Thinking of a trip this Saturday or the next weekend.  Thinking Swift ditch or springsteel area.

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Am heading up next week for four days just wondering about availability of sucker minnows in Warroad?  Will be fishing the same areas, the last couple of years I have done better between Springsteel  and Warroad.               Stay Safe Good Luck    Bear55

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My self 4-8 fow  and half way down I have got them as deep as 24 fow.  Stay Safe Good Luck  Bear55

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Thank you. Was up last year at this time with little success. Maybe a little too deep though. We'll just have to try it again.

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Also I have a live and a dead bait just to see what their biting on. Some days live some days dead or both I guess what kind of mood their in.   Stay Safe Good Luck     Bear55

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i was up saturday walleye fishing ( it wasnt very good where i was at) so i went to check on a friend who was pike fishing. 

he was in 15 feet and had one over 25 .lbs and had iced two over 40", all on suckers about 9" long. he had dead bait with but no fish on it. this is pretty much all he does all winter, he started thursday with no flags he moved,on friday he caught little fish and two between 37-40 he moved, saturday was his best day wth the one over 25 i think he said 43-44" and two over 40, he stayed there and on sunday only caught one 35-36. he didnt kept the big fish he has one bigger mounted from a few years back hes told me before that it would have to be really big before he would mount another. asked him today if he was going up this weekend he said yes the weather will slow them down some and he was going to fish deeper in the morning and move in later in the day. ive fished with him and he moves a lot and some days he will jig a sucker on rod and reel and the other will be a tip up, some days he has a bunch of friends with other days hes by himself,  he also said color didnt matter to him, most of the time his bait is set from just under the ice to half way down depending on the depht, he said there are no real secrets to pike fishing but try to get away from the mass of people if you can.

look for a guy who has about 10 gopros out he likes to film everything.

please forgive my spelling and grammar

and yes i asked him if it was ok to write this,

 

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Yes a good report also have to agree with staying away from crowds and moving  if nothing is happening after an hour or two I am on the move.     StaySafe Good Luck      Bear55

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i'm a little late from last weekend. my buddy went up and he said the cold didn't help much. he started at 12 mile caught a couple small pike and a 27" walleye all on suckers, moved in to the sandbar in the afternoon had four false flags, downsized the bait and caught one pike about 30" moved in to by tom's bay  and caught little pike, went back to a big bait and lost a bigger pike at the bottom of the hole said it was his fault the fish got off, this was all on saturday. sunday he went to stoney on 4 wheeler. stayed in 10-15 foot range all day just moved looking for bigger fish and didn't find them. he did catch four all in the afternoon all on a smaller sucker all of them around 30" he did see two big fish caught at stoney on a sucker in that 10-15 foot. 

he's up on the lake now, going to be there though the weekend.

one thing we talked before he left was, after he catches a big pike out of a hole he moves the tip-up when he started with the gopro thing he has a gopro in a hole next to his bait so he can see how the pike took the bait. he has it on a stick so when the flag gose up he pulls the gopro out so not to get tangled in the line, (he said he learned the hard way to get the gopro out of the way). but what he found out was a big pike in shallow water will really cloud up the area, in deeper water dosent  matter as much. he moved the tip up 50 feet or more and his catch rate went up. in shallow water. he said he'll drill extra holes in the area he's fishing to keep the noise down, but he said if you have to drill when flags are going off by all means drill.

he said it should be good this weekend. 

going to find him saturday, fish with him or he can tell me where to go (i know what your thinking) and he's done that also.

 

good luck

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A group of friends fished out of stringsteel and east.  Pike were very cooperative Saturday and Sunday morning.  

 

6-8 ft of water produced 25 pike most between 26-35".  Largest a 18lb 40" caught at 8 am Sunday.  Large suckers did the catching.

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Fished pike weds. fri. weds Swift Ditch couple trucks west no one east went east 7 fow  20 mins.in and a 32 I though it was going to be a good day that was it moved 3 times 4.5 - 9 fow . Thurs. Went out of Warroad toward Spring Steel. 2 fish 26&32 7 fow  and 6-630pm. Fri. same area as I was heading home that day  and my worst day couple flags no fish .No activity with dead bait so was just using live but pretty slow for me . The cenex in Warroad has a good supply of LARGE SUCKERS 9-10in  I second guessed everything I did moving to bait depth but that why its called fishing and not catching.  Stay Safe Good Luck   Bear55

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Anyone go out of Swift ditch recently? Looking to try for pike this weekend out of that landing, looking for access conditions. Or does anyone know the outfitter that run out of Swift ditch (if he still does) that I could call and ask? 

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I was there last weds. the access was in good shape and over 30in of ice  I got these numbers off the board by the road the guys name is Jon  218-442-7371 or 218 452-1406  some times this the first one to go bad  I know last year it was the access road that went bad and 2 years ago was one the last trucks off before they closed it and that was a little scarey hope this helps  Stay Safe Good Luck   Bear55

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Me and a buddy are heading up Friday to chase some pike, we are going to go out Warroad area. Are there access points between warroad and springsteel? Should I bring the wheeler or can I get anywhere with the truck? Last question, do you guys use steel quick strikes or flouro?? Thanks any info

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I was in that area 2-3 years ago and a guy drove off between Warroad&Spring Steel it may be a private access point. I make my own rigs singal & double trebles have better hook up percentage with the doubles. Also here is Spring Steel no 218-386-1000  also K&A operate out of Swift Ditch 218-356-8210 just another no.I hope things hold up for you guys. Stay Safe Good Luck  Bear55

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Thanks for the the info all! Will report after the weekend. We use steel quick strike rigs, try and find some that aren't so long as sometimes the longer they get they tend to get caught on the edge of the bottom of the hole . 

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Should have wrote this the last time ,I use 80# nylon coated wire #2 trebles some times blades& beads or just bare bones also have to agree with shorter rigs.Stay Safe Good Luck  Bear55

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Anybody else out there see the front page of the Outdoor News today a 46-in almost 28lbs. nice fish good job. Stay Safe Good Luck      Bear55

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Got a wild hair today to make one last trip ice trip this year, called Spring Steel as of today they were still driving trucks out and they said the fishing has gotten better. Will give a report Thursday or Friday. Stay Safe Good Luck   Bear55

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 I'm heading up Friday. Going out of spring steele. I have a delivery route that took me up there today.  Took lunch at the warroad access. They got it closed with yellow tape.  If anyone heads up earlier an update would be great.  I'm planning on an atv but will walk if I have to.  Thanks.  Good luck and tight lines!!!

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Must of been tough to sit there looking at the lake and not fish! Can't believe it was 60 up there today!? Not what I was hoping for. Didn't hit 50 down by the cities today. 

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tipupsonly it was very hard to just sit and not fish. Yeah it was very very warm up there. I'll walk out if I have to!!!! It'll be my 3rd weekend up in a row.  Love this time of year. 

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Just got back, Warroad access is foot travel only two trucks broke thru on weds morn. Went to Spring Steel on weds it was drive out at your own risk they had a truck break thru tues. eve, I walked out in the little bay there maybe half mile out 7 hrs 1-flag-1-fish 34.5 at 230 that was it did get to see a truck break thru just one tire but they had alittle trouble getting out. Today walked out of Warroad did not need the auger found plenty of open holes. Fished till 100 no flags there were other people out and they were as busy as I was. By SS the ice was 2 feet  but the top foot is getting soft I seen atvs out . It was nice day on the lake yesterday I heard 66 in town also I had a critter attach it self to my sucker today that I did not know was in the lake, a lamprey. I hope this helps you guys be careful out there and good luck.  Stay Safe Good Luck   Bear55

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