opener

[sachem longrifle]

Should I fish in the bays? What depth? I am planning a trip on opener and appreciate any advice or FYI on what to expect. Never been up there on opener before. Thanks

[sachem longrifle]

More specifically, how is fishing in the Four mile bay?

[Kaz]

Sachem: The bay can be very good, infact, in the early season, the 12/17 foot hole just west of the green bouy is a good place where you can anchor. I've pull several limits from there. Also, you can venture just outside the Gap and have lots of fish snapping... Kaz

[sachem longrifle]

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Sachem: The bay can be very good, infact, in the early season, the 12/17 foot hole just west of the green bouy is a good place where you can anchor. I've pull several limits from there. Also, you can venture just outside the Gap and have lots of fish snapping... Kaz

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Good. We will be staying at River Bend Resort again for opener. Is it jig and a minnow or do crawlers come into play?? I am expecting the fish to probably be in post spawn mode so I would guess they would not be up to chasing crawler harness or crankbaits

[Kaz]

Sachem: Both work well, but I'd have both along, you never know what's going to be best.. R/B is a great place, Judy and Charlie do a good job of keeping you happy. If you have the time, stop in at the taxidermy and see some really great mounts... Kaz

[Mike Patenaude]

2 words...FROZEN SHINERS

[lakowoods]

I will guarantee you catch more on Frozen Shiners than live fatheads or crawlers or cranks.

[sachem longrifle]

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I will guarantee you catch more on Frozen Shiners than live fatheads or crawlers or cranks.

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What do you troll them behind?? I hear that LOTW still has quite a bit of ice. I'm thinking of not going up opener for that reason

[Mike Patenaude]

I use a Northland jig, I can't recall what's it's called off the top of my head, but it has a short shank, metalic chartruse head which also comes in gold and orange. I've tried the other colors (yes gold too for all you LOW gold fans) however nothing comes close to the chartruse color. The other thing that has me sold on this rig is that there is an extra eye for a stinger hook. I would be willing to bet that last year about 1/2 the fish I hooked were on the stinger and missed the main hook. Frozen shiners are said to disperse scent about 10 times more than live shiners do which explains the success rate. Last spring everytime I went out I had (10) fish to every (1) compared to boats around me. You can get them at the local bait shops, however they usually run out as the word gets out. I prepare ahead and usually buy a couple of full buckets in the fall before I head home and also I always save my left overs from ice fishing. Fishing them is pretty normal to Walleye fishing in that you jig slowly, touching and lifting just on and off the bottom. light tackle and a good line are key too. I use a 6-1/2 ft ultra lite with 6lb fireline, the best invention ever for this type of fishing. Jig size varies with current, but always use as light as possible. There you go.. wow that was like an article. That ice better be gone I'm booked for opening week.

[Royal Dutchman]

That Northland jig is the "prism eye". I fished the green one last fall, in fact, the same jig for almost 6 weeks of fishing the river almost every day and never lost it! Had the bottom 1/2 worn down to silver and just kept bangin' eyes.

I hear lots of people using 1/4 oz. and even some 1/8 oz. but I just can't keep bottom contact with anything lighter than 3/8 and feel I'm out of that critical 4" strike zone too much of the time. It seems to me, if your catching pike, you're running too high. If you're catching sturgeon, your letting it set on the bottom too much

I always have a rod with a gold and another with a green tied on & picked up the gold one this April and never changed from that.

Tried the red Power Pro 10/2 line and really liked it. Easy to see above the water for vertical jigging & slip drifting. Maybe April & October on the Rainy, when the eyes are stacked like firewood, is not a true tackle trial but a darn good way to get confidence in your presentation.

We use a 2" treble stinger for minnows and a 3" for crawlers. Don't even think about using a stinger with a leech. There are days when we see 75% of our fish on the stinger.

There's chapter 2 for your book Mike.

[Mike Patenaude]

That's no fun... I can't even argue. Sounds like we both had mutual success with this weapon. I suppose you will want your name added on the front cover now. By the way I'm not hearing much is the ice going away? I see the temps have been way up there in the 70's. Do you think it's going to be gone by opener?