Southern MN Mid Morning Jumbos

[Bigeye30"]

Well it's been awhile since I actually posted so here's what I've been up to, this past week I spent targeting Big Jefferson to see what I could get to hit, for the past five years this lake has had numerous amounts of small perch that one could say were a little bothersome at times, well low and behold last weekend I couldn't believe my eyes, these things are growing, I happen to run into a school of these that were ranging from 9-10 inches, although not all were, I did do quite a bit of sorting, but if you looking for a quick bite or have kids that need to be on constant action this is definately worth checking into, so heres the scoop, I found most of the larger fish in 12-15 fow on a sand break, seems that this is where the larger ones have been holding as I drilled out deeper and shallower and the quality was just not there. From 9-11 am it was as fast as you could get the bait to em, the setup was even simpler, plain red hook with a medium to large sized fathead, nothing more. I did try jigging but they really wanted the set line, after 11 I noticed the fish were still there but a little more picky so I switched it up to a small teardrop and waxie and wammo right back into it, I ended keeping a limit all measuring 9-10 inches and although there still not the Mille Lacs jumbos these babies definately made a meal. Heres a few pics to enjoy,

Well I had such a blast catching these guys that I thought I would go out and try to target some slabs, know I'm no crappie slayer by any means and personnally am not a fan of fishing for them other than a few times a year, for a different change of pace, Since the perch were in shallower I figured the crappies must be close by as well, I setup in a little softer bottom in 25-30 fow for the evening, guess what they were there, I iced a nice limit ranging from 10-12 inches and marked alot more, the fish were a little more finicky then what I was used to and it took awhile to get the hang of these things again, but after a day of perchin and an eve of crappies I'm back searching the area for the eyes.

Oh ya not to forget I want to thank Reel Fishing and Tackle, I stopped in for a scoop of minnows and thought I would check out a new pannie rod, wow did they have a great buy, I ended up purchasing a med light Rapala rod for 9.99 on sale, used it for all the crappies and must say I'll be going back to grab a new jiggin stick for the eyes, these rods are alot of bang for the buck. Good Luck out there.

[MinnesotaMongo]

Nice report. That's what I like about this forum - good solid advice.

Thanks!

[Sifty]

Nice looking fish and nice report.

Look's like you had a great day.

Sifty

[idratherbefishing]

Looks like a good day Bigeye! Give me a call, Iowa eyes and gills are biting.

[Team Otter]

Why does he need to drive to Iowa? Forget to look at the pictures? Ha!

Good report Ryan. I knew you were saving up information and waiting to post during the biggest cold front of the year.

[Bigeye30"]

No kidding Bill, hmm keep me posted for the late ice, the budget isn't allowing any travel right know. Hey we have to devise a plan for the spring trip as MN changed their opener. I was a little bummed as it was nice fishing the two of them, but I see the points and understand.

Ya Jamison the cold snap forced me off the lake, I was out there for a bit and setup in a new spot that should produce but the wind kept hollowing and I figured for once it may be wise to get off before something happens. These kinda temps and winds can wear a person down in no time if something were to happen, so I went fishing on the computer last night for a change, good to catch up with everyone.

[Team Otter]

The cold snap has forced me to the store for re-stocking in ~10 minutes.

[idratherbefishing]

T Claffey and Frederick are on there way down on Monday morning. I'll keep you posted.

Are you sure they changed the MN opener? Has it passed the through the legislature yet? Living down on the end of the earth here news from the capitol travels slow!!!! If they do move it up the border water opener(Little Spirit) is like the last weekend in April.