st cloud St Cloud Fishing Reports

[smurfy]

Didn't go out today. The forecast of snow and rain scared me so since I have a tax appointment tomorrow I scrambled getting that finished, worked with the hounddog a little and filled out forms for insurance. 

 

Tommorow.

[eyeguy 54]

12 minutes ago, smurfy said:

Didn't go out today. The forecast of snow and rain scared me so since I have a tax appointment tomorrow I scrambled getting that finished, worked with the hounddog a little and filled out forms for insurance. 

 

Tommorow.

Join us Thursday

[smurfy]

Mayhaps. What we fishing for, where, 

[Rick G]

1 hour ago, smurfy said:

Mayhaps. What we fishing for, where, 

Smurf, we are fishing for these....and we want %100 commitment to being there before details are disclosed, other than it's right in your back yard.  Rumor has it, a special guest fishing legend might also be joining us

[monstermoose78]

1 minute ago, Rick G said:

Smurf, we are fishing for these....and we want %100 commitment to being there before details are disclosed, other than it's right in your back yard.  Rumor has it, a special guest fishing legend might also be joining us

Yes that’s right the Monstermoose will not be showing up lol  

[Rick G]

Just now, monstermoose78 said:

Yes that’s right the Monstermoose will not be showing up lol  

Monstermooooose never shows up

[monstermoose78]

1 minute ago, Rick G said:

Monstermooooose never shows up

Monstermoose has to work

[monstermoose78]

One day Rick I will fish with you guys again!

[smurfy]

25 minutes ago, Rick G said:

Smurf, we are fishing for these....and we want %100 commitment to being there before details are disclosed, other than it's right in your back yard.  Rumor has it, a special guest fishing legend might also be joining us

I'll let you know tomorrow, i might have some fires going Thursday.

[eyeguy 54]

46 minutes ago, Rick G said:

Smurf, we are fishing for these....and we want %100 commitment to being there before details are disclosed, other than it's right in your back yard.  Rumor has it, a special guest fishing legend might also be joining us

Well, I am a legend in my own mind. 

[eyeguy 54]

21 minutes ago, smurfy said:

I'll let you know tomorrow, i might have some fires going Thursday.

Put the fires out!!  We will make sure you smile 

[smurfy]

Working on it.

[smurfy]

20 hours ago, smurfy said:

Working on it.

well gentlemen, i got my fires under control and moved, but i woke up this morning feeling pretty tough. i waited till this afternoon to decide but unfortunately i need to bow out tomorrow.  with the current status of things  i do NOT want to risk giving this to anyone else. i'm certain its just a head cold but not taking chances...... i feel pretty rough.

 

sorry guys i was really, really looking forward to fishing with you guys, and didnt want to wait any longer letting you guys know..........good luck, have fun. i'm sure there will be other opportunities before ice goes away!!!!!!

[eyeguy 54]

Get well

[smurfy]

5 minutes ago, eyeguy 54 said:

Get well

Thanks.

[Rick G]

2 hours ago, smurfy said:

well gentlemen, i got my fires under control and moved, but i woke up this morning feeling pretty tough. i waited till this afternoon to decide but unfortunately i need to bow out tomorrow.  with the current status of things  i do NOT want to risk giving this to anyone else. i'm certain its just a head cold but not taking chances...... i feel pretty rough.

 

sorry guys i was really, really looking forward to fishing with you guys, and didnt want to wait any longer letting you guys know..........good luck, have fun. i'm sure there will be other opportunities before ice goes away!!!!!!

 we are going to need to see a doctor's note, or it's another unexcused absence .   Did this kind of behavior fly at work?

[smurfy]

 Yea I'm within the perimeter of the attendance policy. I feel like I've been in a 10 round bout with sugar ray leonard.

[smurfy]

geez i thought i'd see pictures rubbing it in.  

[eyeguy 54]

1 hour ago, smurfy said:

geez i thought i'd see pictures rubbing it in.  

[smurfy]

awe man............ nice.................

[Rick G]

Well, might as well add some details to Royce's pics...lol

With the longer days and warming weather pattern this week.  We have started to see more quality fish moving shallow to take advantage of the food and cover skinny water provides. Panfish start to move out from the basins during late winter to feed on the insects that become more active as the days get longer and warmer. There is also more oxygen available due to the weeds starting to grow again.  

 

We have been finding more quality fish showing up in the 8-12 ft areas close to the greenest thickest weed available.  Insect type baits  like the p3 spug, the chigger fry and mayfly rigged on 3-4mm tungsten jigs have been working best.

[eyeguy 54]

I just look at pics

[Rick G]

With the incoming low pressure system we had coming in yesterday, I figured the fish would be snapping... They didn't disappoint. I started off the morning in 12-14 ft of water off a long shoreline flat. The Vexilar was lit up like a Christmas ... Unfortunately, most of the fish were smaller bluegills with some very nice crappies hanging together. The trick was to drop my bait down, and if I don't get a crappie to race up within about 30-45 seconds and slam my bait, the bluegills would rush in to steal my offering.  This meant a heck of a lot of hole hopping, I bet I looked nuts jumping from hole to hole like a mad man

By noon the crappies had totally left the area I was in, or so I thought.  I spent the next two hours drilling holes, up and down the shoreline, shallow and deep, all but the baby bluegills were missing, even the bass that roam the area quit biting.   I was just about ready to pack up and change lakes when I figured I'd drill a couple more holes super shallow, just for the hell of it... I drilled three holes that were 2-4ft deepish from bottom of the ice.  I dropped the camera down, because it was too shallow to use the Vexilar effectively, to my surprise the crappies had indeed moved through the weedline, to shallow pockets clear of vegitation . For the next two hours I fished between these super shallow holes, the crappies and a few nice bluegills were very aggressive and most hooked them selfs because they bit so hard. They were spooky though,  I found if I moved too much or made even a little noise, the fish would spook and it would take a few min to come back.  

I started off the day using a jointed pinhead minnow to catch the deeper fish. The pinhead has become my go-to when on aggressive crappies or when working an area fast.  A insect mimicking bait definitely was key once they moved to the skinny water.  

First pic was best of morning, sunny and beautiful out, I think I even got a little sunburn...lol

Second pic was best one of the afternoon, after it became overcast

[IceHawk]

Very detailed and Great Report Rick! Way to grind and think outside the box 

Edited February 28, 2021 by IceHawk

[smurfy]

Thinking I'm going to check out rice lake this week. Crappie palozza

[Rick G]

Eyeguy and I made it out Monday.  Hit a local lake, when we launched the ice was still covering about half the lake.   We ventured into a long narrow boat channel that offered pretty decent protection from the crazy wind.  Action started very slow, but ended up finding fish in the very center of the channel where the water was deepest.  I had my best luck on a 1/64 oz jughead tipped with a chunk of crawler.  I was able to get a few on plastics, but not near the amount I got with meat... Saw a few crappies caught, but wasn't able to land one yet myself...lol.   Felt good to be back out chasin' the pannies again with the long rod though.  

I would suspect that the nice weather we have coming next week the fish should start showing up in your little backwater honey holes.    Time to brush the dust of those long rods, guys

 

[Rick G]

Being the sun popped out for a while today, I figured it was a good sign that maybe some fish would bite. I wasn't wrong, kinda....

 

[Rick G]

If we could only get some stable, warm weather These up and down temps the last two weeks has made finding a consistent bite a challenge.  One day the fish will be shallow and biting good, and the next they pushed back deeper and aren't as willing to bite as well.

I have been taking advantage of the days when the wind lays down, and the rare occasion when that bright thing in the sky comes out...lol.   Been finding lots of smaller fish in the local boat channels and shallow back waters.  The best bays have been the ones with deeper pockets within the bay for fish to take cover during cold snaps. Have really only found a few large crappies in the old traditional early locations. Starting to wonder if their going to move in this yr to feed , or if they will just show up close to beds, as some of the male crappies are already turning darker.   

[smurfy]

that is one beauty of a gill Rick!!!!!!!!

[Rick G]

Figured I better pop in and say hi, it's been a while

 

Life and work have kept me fairly busy this summer so far. I have had the chance to get out quite a bit though. Lately I have been working the Sippi pretty hard. Water is super low this year, so fish have been pretty easy to find.  Bass and a few walleyes have been hanging surprisingly shallow for how warm the water is... I have had good luck with grubs, stick baits and a few on crankbaits. 

 

Couple of the better ones from this week