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Run, Gun, and Gun Some More!

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Team Otter Grand Master

Team Otter

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On Friday, as indicated in my "Late Ice Preview", I was focusing on crappies, 'gills and perch. Well, Saturday and Sunday, I put perch at the top of the list and the list was pretty short. I focused my efforts for 2 days solely on perch and let me tell you, I saw a lot of changes. Saturday was a day of simply enjoying the weather for sure, but the priority was also to catch fish! And fish we did catch. After scratching off a few "go to" spots, I decided to start looking in areas with steep breaklines adjacent to mud to sand transitions. One particular transition area turned out to be holding a nice concentration of perch in that 7 - 11" range, which made for quite a bit of sorting but also a ton of action. It was just a blast. Two things were critical in getting the better fish to bite in this area; slush in the hole and/or your house pulled over you and jigging your presentation 6 - 10' off the bottom. The quality of perch increased the higher you could get the fish to committ in the water column. Fiska Jigs tipped with spikes ruled the roost on this day and the bite was very definite and 'to the point'. Now, today, the scenario was completely different. Should have been there yesterday, right? Well, for some, yes but not the crew I was with today. I hooked up with Ken (hawkeye43) and one of his boys to hunt out some more perch. We started where I finished yesterday and found the fish to be quality but very scattered and less active than on Saturday. To make a long story short we spent a majority of our day looking, catching a few here and there only to be rewarded with a flurry of action towards evening that capped off another great day on the ice. Today, unlike yesterday, the perch were relating to elongated inside turns adjacent to concrete-hard sand and hugging tight to the bottom in 21 - 24' of water. A completely different pattern than the day before! A variety of presentations took fish today but Buckshot Rattle Spoons, Marmooska Jigs and Fiska Jigs tipped with spikes took the trophy. One thing we noticed today was that several of the fish were hugging the bottom so tight that they were actually picking our presentations right off the bottom and dragging it with them. The only way you could notice you had a bite was to watch your line move from side-to-side. You could also see on some of the fish that their bellies were worn down to just about nothing. Too many eggs to carry around and the fish don't want to support the weight? Not sure but it was an interesting observation and I think it helped us put more fish on the ice.

I'm going to take a couple days off and then I'll be back after those perch. I was reminded this weekend why I love late ice and I hope this year the weather holds and we can enjoy some great fishing through the ice that remains in March!

Good luck and we'll see you on the ice!

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eyepatrol Grand Master

eyepatrol

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Sounds like you've really been on some nice fishing lately. Pretty awesome when you can get the panfish tri-fecta on one lake, and not have to go north for it. I almost came down there Saturday, but decided to hit another lake instead.

Nice work guys!

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yar 32 Enthusiast

yar 32

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Hawkeye nice to see you can still get on those fish.for me it will be a little bit before i get on the ice little sore yet. Until then keep hammering them. smirk.gif

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hawkeye43 Mentor

hawkeye43

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Yar32, Maybe a little ice time on the side might make you better faster. If we time it right, we could have you back home and other half would never know for the better. Matt hurting also with 4 wisdom teeth being pulled today. He is not alot of fun.

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Team Otter Grand Master

Team Otter

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Clamtrap, I apologize for missing you on Sunday. I saw you talking with Ken but I was already on fish, so I didn't want to leave. grin.gif

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Team Otter Grand Master

Team Otter

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Eric,

You should have came down. The bite is solid and the quality is there too. It's a tough bite to beat especially when it's only 35 minutes from home.

You available this week/weekend at all?

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eyepatrol Grand Master

eyepatrol

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Yeah, I didn't make a decision on what lake to hit until the minute I walked out the door. Only reason I didn't show is that I just didn't want to give the impression that I was running around chasing ambulances. smirk.gif

I think Saturday will be free until early afternoon. I'll get back to you on that.

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Team Otter Grand Master

Team Otter

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Let me know. I'll try and get you on top of some fish if you're interested.

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Team Otter Grand Master

Team Otter

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I still can't get over that perch your son "hung". Too funny.

You'd think that after the beating you took at the June '06 Get-Together that sunscreen would be in your tackle box all the time. cool.gif

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eyepatrol Grand Master

eyepatrol

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Sounds good. I hit up on quite a few fish Saturday (and shallow too - 5fow), it's just that none of them exceeded 6". smirk.gif Sorta knew that going into it, but wanted to try anyway.

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clamtrap Collaborator

clamtrap

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T.O maybe we will see you this weekend I plan on getting out one more time, then I'm heading to lake of the woods one last time. I will be out for sure on Sunday most of the day.

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Team Otter Grand Master

Team Otter

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That sounds good. I'll definitely be out and about but probably on foot this go-around. grin.gif

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hawkeye43 Mentor

hawkeye43

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Basscatcher, You are more than wecome to come play. I think with all that running I could lose at least 15 lbs before the ice goes out. tongue.gifgrin.gif

clamtrap, There is one more spot that was better today than sunday. Glad you guys had a good time. Still could drive out today, if it gets cold a few nights we will be good to go for a few days again. Man I love spring. cool.gif

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clamtrap Collaborator

clamtrap

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well maybe I will see you this weekend. I thinka that I will be bringing the four wheeler out again. I will be talking to you and hoping to hook-up with T.O.

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hawkeye43 Mentor

hawkeye43

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I was going talk to you at work yesterday when I was there, should have. later

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eyepatrol Grand Master

eyepatrol

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I'd say there's a good chance I'll be there Saturday morning for my last ice outing of the year. wink.gif

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Team Otter Grand Master

Team Otter

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It's time to "play the game".

Ken, I'll call you Thursday night.

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clamtrap Collaborator

clamtrap

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you will have to let me know if it will be safe for the ranger or if we have to walk out, I hope that it's nice so that we can fish outside, so we don't have to drag the portable along. Talk to you later

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Team Otter Grand Master

Team Otter

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Truck traffic was fine today. I'll update tomorrow night too. smirk.gif

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