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Burntside Fishing/Conditions Report...(updated-3/30/09)


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  • Steve Foss

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IMG_1051.jpg

I've always fished lakers out of a 7" hole and have lost only one that wouldn't fit in the hole (had to have been over 15#). Since then, I chisel the bottom of the hole much larger and have a very easy time getting them into the hole. This picture (if it appears) is a 34" 13½# laker I caught last year. Maybe it is time for me to get a larger auger before I lose a monster in my 7" hole.

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if i knew how to post pictures i would post the smallest ever caught laker on burnside.

Now that's a wild claim. I've caught smelt on Bside that are longer than the smallest Bside laker I've ever caught. gringringrin

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nice fish jerkinlips.....what lake did you get that pig from?

this year on thomas i ended up borrowing a 6in auger from leaddog because mine was sharpened wrong and would not cut. i was worried about such a small hole. but one day my friend landed a 12lber through that 6in hole. it just barely fit.

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when mike gets home and shows me how to , i will show you the smallest ever. still proud to have iced the baby! Foss , your'e the best. keep everybody on their toes! you got to stop this old man stuff. we old men can still show the boys a thing or two.

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email me the pic...ill post it.

i think you might be beat on the smallest laker. just a couple pages back is one of the smallest lakers iv ever seen.

but we'll see

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Hey, I've got a son the age of your pup, mikesdad. We're not old, we're just . . . ah . . . SMART. Yeah, that's it. Smart! Who but the older smart guys do you suppose helped dadsmike get on his pattern? gringrin

I've caught 8-inch smelt in Bside (not many, but a couple), and I have pics of two lakers that are about 7 inches. Wish I'dve laid the lakers out along a ruler. They stock them as yearlings, so these were caught the winter after they were stocked. Which gets to 8 inches faster on Bside, a smelt or a stocked laker? gringrin

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I know! it's a good feeling to know you can actualy make a difference in this world of ours. teach a kid to love fishing and he takes it to a whole new level. we all live our lives thru others. when its our kids we are blessed. bless uo'll..that's southern illinois talk.

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Personally I caught my biggest Laker through an 8inch hole ....however it barely squeezed through and it gave the huge laker many more opportunities to twist free or leave me hangin with my jig caught on the bottom of the ice because I couldnt get its huge melon to start up my hole, Anyway these days its hard to fish without my 10 inch hole ....my luck thats when Id get the sow of my dreams to finally make an appearance.

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If I'm hole-hopping I keep it to the 8-inch. However, there are a number of spots I've got that are so good I do the lucky shamrock and overlap three holes in a clover pattern. These are spots I've repeatedly had big fish on, including a 34-incher that had a hard time fitting through an 8-inch hole.

With my luck, I'll be hole-hopping and there'll be a monster hooked that won't fit through the 8-incher. But you know, I'm the original boy scout when it comes to that shnit, and I've got a couple extra pieces of gear that would save the day in that case.

Next year! Or not! gringrin

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yeah lee if this kind of laker fishing keeps happening for me i might start drilling two holes side by side...sure would be a lot easier getting those big ol heads up the hole.

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The overlapper is great for getting heads up the hole, but the medium-sized fish can easily turn around within the hole and head back down. Six of one, half dozen of the other. smilesmile

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Well thats how it usually works for me....about the time I start thinkin Im never going to catch one that big is about the time one of mammoth proportions eats my lure and id end up losing it!

I dont wanna have them kind of nightmares. "EVER" LOL

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Lakers09.jpg

Mikesdad,

I like your thinking in regards to catching small fish. wink

I honestly don't know if this one broke the 5 inch mark. grin

But I was able to narrowly slip him up the 10 inch hole. Whew!

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mikesdad, I can tell who guided you to that 10-inch monster. No wonder you sent your boy so far from home. gringrin

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I thought using gamefish for bait is illegal grin What a cutie (refering to the fish).

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That 6 inch hole adds to the challenge...Really, its partly a space thing. Only so much room in the dogsled. Plus those years with 3' of ice in the backcountry you can hand auger a lot more holes. Besides I keep winning them at PF, NWTF or MNDH banquets. No worries, especially not fitting through the hole. Good problem to have. I know when KM caught that monster a few years ago he managed to improvise even there by himself. When we hook a good one, theres usually some help to guide the line and fish up the hole. Marginally hooked are tough to land regardless especially that head shake right below the hole!

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o and Leaddog thanks a million for that auger...we would have been chippin through that double layer ice with an axe! would have been one wet and long job.

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Mstark,

You've thanked me enough, sharing tactics and all. Next time I see you on the ice, you might get a neighbor, though. It was a good year, bro (aka Anchor) and I put 12 up in 4 trips probably a record for us plus some tasty walleyes. Not bad, a 3 day wknd only nets 1.5 days of fishing after the run in and out with the dog team and the long drives.

Travel safely and see you on the ice next Winter.

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Caught that fish on Trout last year when the fishing was good (8 lakers in 2 mornings of fishing compared to 6 lakers in 4 full days of fishing this year). I've only fished Burntside once back in the 70's.

I like Steve's comment about the smaller holes preventing smaller fish from turning around in the hole. That's been one of my theories also. Plus, much easier I'm sure to drill the smaller holes; takes me about 30-45 seconds to drill a 7" through 20"of ice, then about 30 seconds more to chisel the bottom of the hole much larger. I even chisel the bottom of the holes when fishing for walleyes; makes it much easier to guide the fish into the hole.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

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