Cooks Bay Report

[blackdog1101]

Fished Cooks Bay from about 2:30 - 5:30, a few hundred yards south of the landing near Kirby's. Caught one walleye jigging a silver & chartreuse Swedish Pimple tipped with a shiner. Was in about 22 feet of water, fishing about 2' off the bottom. Caught the fish at about 4:30. Otherwise it was very slow. No action on a tip-up with a sucker.

I quit early because my hands were really cold. Anyone have suggestions for good gloves?

[Where's Walter?]

Blackdog:

Thanks for the report. Lemme guess, the walleye was 13"? Your report sounds like mine from 3 weeks ago on Cooks. Hopefully the bite picks up, seems to last from 4:30 to 4:45!!

On the gloves, I would suggest wool inside of leather.

[jjohnson5150]

We were out yesterday in the same general area at the same time. The 3 of us were in 2 fish traps & one frabill. 2 of us stayed at 20' & the other was in 12'. One Walleye was caught in 12' that measured 15-16". It was pretty slow.

[chris63]

I like to use fingerless(tips)wool gloves covered by the rubberized mitts with removable liners.......they sell the mitts at any sporting goods store.The wool fingerless gloves come from capras(?)in brooklyn park on 81 by the old Skateland.Hope this helps some.Choppers (wool inside with leather mitts are a good choice too!c63 Ps I know its a bit of a trek from the landing but have you ever fished out by the point,about a mile straight out east from the landing?There seems to be nice weed beds that stay green all winter long

out there.Be carefull and good luck catching!c63

[blackdog1101]

Quote:

---

Blackdog:

Thanks for the report. Lemme guess, the walleye was 13"? Your report sounds like mine from 3 weeks ago on Cooks. Hopefully the bite picks up, seems to last from 4:30 to 4:45!!

On the gloves, I would suggest wool inside of leather.

---

Walter, you are right on the money, 13". I was talking with someone who was fishing near me who lives in one of the houses up on the hill just south of the Mound beach, with the long stairs coming down to the lake. He also said the bite, around dusk, doesn't seem to last long.

Have you ever fished much in the shallower water on the nothernmost end of Cooks? I'm wondering if it would be decent panfish water.

I got home a little while ago from Cabelas. Bought a pair of THESE gloves. Gore-Tex and 150 gram Thinsulate. I think they're Cabelas' version of Ice Armor. Were on sale in the store for $30, down from $50.

Also bought a rod tip from a barrel in the Bargain Cave. I'm guessing its from a medium weight Ugly Stick or something similar, as it has the white fiberglass tip. Cost a whole $1. Will make an ice rod out of it for jigging. The jigging stick I've been using must be 30 years old. (Although there's really nothing wrong with it.) My only ice rod is panfish weight, too light for jigging heavier lures.

[blackdog1101]

Quote:

---

I like to use fingerless(tips)wool gloves covered by the rubberized mitts with removable liners.......they sell the mitts at any sporting goods store.

---

Chris, thank you for your post. I was wearing wool fingerless gloves yesterday. Usually they're all I need, but yesterday I needed something more. I'll bring both the wool fingerless gloves and the ones I mentioned above on future trips.

As an aside, I took an old pair of waders that are a little leaky and cut the feet off. When I ice fish I wear the footless waders like overalls over my snow clothes. This way I can kneel in the snow/slush without getting wet. I'm sure real ice fishing clothes are better, but for a rookie like me this seems to work well enough.

[blackdog1101]

Fished Cooks Bay from about 1:00 to 4:45, the northern part of the bay. Had a tip up with a sucker on it, and a rattle jig tipped with half a minnow, all went unmolested. I moved around quite a bit trying different depths. No fish, no bites, nothing. Lots of snow though.

[Where's Walter?]

Blackdog:

I have never caught much for panfish in Cook's.....plenty of perch in there! Best bet is to head under the bridge into Seaton - not sure if the ice is safe to go under the bridge! Most of my fishing has been near the landing.