April 17th?

April 2, 2003

Welp, ice conditions don't sound good. i had plans for coming up to get LATE pike in couple weeks. Will the ice hold up? I've looked at the extended forecast and it's supposed to be right around 30 degrees. Will the ice hold up? I'm willing to walk out if I have to. Whatcha guys think?

April 2, 2003

Flag up, went up there this past weekend 29th and 30th. We got out to the south shore fine out of Warroad. We took a car out there - on our way out we saw a pickup that had the left side go through the Ice. There was a good 40 inches of ice out there but it was really starting to really get bad (honeycombing). We filled out with 2 Pike over 40 inches (going on the wall) and many in the 4-6 lb range and alot we had to throw back which were between 30-40 inches. Next weekend should be just fine for ATV's and Snowmobiles. When we were out there we saw many pickups. - Anything else you need just ask, Watchman

April 2, 2003

Watchman, Just kind of wondering, did you go east of swift or weren't you out that far? Later, Stiffod

April 2, 2003

Watchman what were you using for bait. Smelt or Sucker minneows? Also how far from the bottom and what depth were you in? Heading up there this weekend and might go chase some pike if the are hitting. Thanks------------------ Grip it and Rip itIFFWalleyes I Fish For Walleyes

April 2, 2003

Stiffrod & IffWalleyesWe were West of Swift Ditch about a mile from shore. Fishing in 8.6 feet of water with 7-8 inch Sucker minnows with the tail cut off to slow them down a bit. Other people out there were using smelt and Herring but were not catching a thing with them. We had our tip ups about 16 inches off the bottom. We were 9 miles out from Warroad. If you see a big steel building on short and you are out about 8-9 feet of water BINGO, I think we just happen to be in the right spot at the right time because the other people to the east of us were not having as much luck as us. Like I said I got my biggest Pike so far 41 Inches and its going on the wall (but in the freezer all wrapped up for now) I don't see a problem getting on the ice this weekend at LOW but I guess ATV's and Snowcats would be recommended since the ice is rotting. Happy Fishing and hope you guys get a couple wall mounters like we did. Watchman

April 2, 2003

Congratulations on those fish Watchman! My first time fishing for those big pike on Lake of the Woods was last weekend. We didn't do so well, 2 fish over 2 days. Big one was 37". We were using dead ciscoes in about 6-8' of water out of Springsteel.? for you guys using big sucker minnows, do the suckers swim around enough to trip your flags? You said you clipped the tails Watchman, is that enough to keep 'em from swimming away? Like I said, I'm kind of new to Pike & Tip-Up Fishing. The ones we caught were fun, but was it ever boring in between flags!Wish I could get out there again this year but it isn't going to happen! Can't wait to do it again next year!

April 2, 2003

Hanson, Now about the clipping of the tail fin on those big sucker minnows, yes every once in a while they would trip the flag but what we did was wedged the line in the tip up loop that the line came out of, so if a fish did take the sucker the flag would indeed go up. When we hooked the line like that the minnow would not trip the flag. I sure can't wait until next spring too. I have been going up there 2 years now and boy do we get the big ones each and everytime we go up there. Watchman

April 3, 2003

Awesome thanks Watchman I have fished near there before but never quite that far out from warroad. Looking forward to getting some Gators. Another question were you just using plan hooks, quick strike rig, or some kind of spoon?------------------ Grip it and Rip itIFFWalleyes I Fish For Walleyes[This message has been edited by iffwalleyes (edited 04-02-2003).]

April 3, 2003

Hanson, to help prevent the tripping of your flag on the Polar tip ups, just take a little bit of electrical tape and make a few wraps around just to the side of the groove where the line sits in. The thicker you go with the tape, the harder it is for the flag to trip. Sounds to simple but it is really effective.

April 3, 2003

Thanks for those tips guys. I'm definitely gonna give that a shot next time as well as trying a variety of bait (dead & alive). I know there has been a number of discussions about Live vs. Dead for big fish and thats why we used the big dead bait. But with as much action as we saw, it surely wouldn't have hurt to try some suckers also.

April 3, 2003

I guess I'll bring the tip-ups AND fishing poles. Don't really care to haul the boat up there....is there much pike fishing from shore in early spring????? Lets hope the ice holds up for a couple more weeks! Keepem crossed boys!

April 3, 2003

I was out with a friend tip-up fishing on Muskeg Sunday afternoon for about 4.5 hours and between the 2 of us we got 5 in the slot and 2 others just over 40 we also threw back. 4 caught on dead LOTW Tulibees the other 3 on Smelt. Go figure? Wanted to get out for a bit this afternoon but it is just plain nasty outside....Polar hurricane with a BIG wind!Fisky

April 3, 2003

IFFWALLEYES, We were using just plain hooks - they were very large though - just hook the minnow through the bad just right in front of the top fin with the hook slightly angled toward its head. The KEY - let the Pike take the minnow till just about all the line is gone just to make sure they have swallowed the minnow. But beware the run hehe. We had a monster up to the hole but the **** gaff wouldn't hook anything and then the Pike put it in hard reverse back down the hole. The next couple weeks are going to be the best of the year for Big Pike.

April 3, 2003

Watchman:How does the single hook work for releasing the slot fish?

April 4, 2003

WideTrack, works just fine - when we set the hook it just hooked them in the mouth - very rarely in their far throat. We tried putting on the extra stinger too but that seemed to not work very well. Single hook all the way - the bite is light. Let em have it - watchman

April 4, 2003

I just call Babbler's and they said that they closed their road on Tues it was getting to sloppy by the shore. I just talked to Longpoint as well and they said they were still letting 4 wheelers and snowmoblies go out.------------------ Grip it and Rip itIFFWalleyes I Fish For Walleyes

April 4, 2003

Well anyway... using a single hook sucker rig, and letting the fish "swallow it" sounds like a recipe for a dead fish to me.A side note... leaving a single hook in the stomach of a fish has proven to be 100% fatal in studies.A better method is to use quick strike rigs, or if you insist on using single hooks you should really consider using circle hooks.My two cents.

April 4, 2003

I was waiting for that WT! Figured I would'nt go there last nite because I knew you would!!!Have you been into any of those hawgeyes as of late out on Buff?Nice springlike weather the past coupla days eh? fiskyknut

April 4, 2003

Had to give him time to swallow the bait you know!I fished the bay last weekend with pretty good sucess. I didn't run into any real big ones, nice quality fish though. The way the opener is shaping up again, the big females should be around on the 10th...Ya, isn't this snow just wonderful?

April 4, 2003

Yep the way things are looking weatherwise I'm thinking those Big girls will be in the same place I finally found them the day after opener last year, so I'll be there on opening day this year! I am supposed to hook up with Scoot tomorrow and fish up on the Rainy again, Sounds like fun huh?!!!

April 4, 2003

Yes, I have my spot picked out for opener too! If things play out as I think they are going to it should be awesome.The only way I'd be out on the open water in it this type of weather, is if I'm looking for jumbo muskies... You guys have fun in your boat tomorrow...

April 4, 2003

It's gonna be brutal. I am so ready to put the darn Carharts away, maybe June we'll see some springlike weather!

April 4, 2003

Fisky or WT, are either of you fishing any pike this weekend? I'm going to pick my sled up on Sat or Sun so I am going to give the pike another shot. Interested?

April 4, 2003

Ripper:Thanks for the offer, but I have previous commitments. Perhaps another time.

April 4, 2003

Widetrack, To you reply about letting the fish "Swallow the bait" I am referring to Large 7-8 inch Sucker Minnows, and I mean letting them have it until you know they have the hook in their mouth - Sure don't depend on the size of fish, some bite and run, some ihale and some well they just like to taste the bait taking it nice and slow to eat. I don't mean letting them have it until the hook is out of site but if that happened cut your line and the fish has an acid that will eat away the metal hook - which then the fish will be fine and dandy - Just my 2 cents on that issue as well - maybe I just didn't explain it well enough watchman

April 5, 2003

Watchman:I can offer you 100% proof from studies done, that leaving a hook in the stomach of a fish proves to be fatal in all cases. They may live 1 month or 3, but they are a dead fish. The old wives tale of letting hook disolve is just that... a tale.Seriously, consider using circle hooks if you need to use the single hook method.

April 5, 2003

Some information on Circle hooks."It is ironical that the circle hook, developed for commercial longline fishermen because of its deadly hooking ability, would also become one the of the most innovative and effective catch-and-release devices to come along in decades.What makes this awkward-looking hook so effective for longliners is the fact that fish will hook themselves, an important factor for longliners who leave their baited gear unattended.Circle hooks have been around since the turn of the century and commercial fishermen have been using them for more than 20 years, but only recently have recreational anglers discovered the unique catch-and-release advantage of these peculiar looking hooks. Circle hooks will invariably hook fish in the corner of the mouth, making it much easier to release a fish with minimal handling and unharmed.There is also mounting evidence that the circle hook lives up to its reputation. Spud Woodward, a marine biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, has caught several hundred red drum up to 45 pounds. "More than 95 percent of these fish were hooked in the corner or the jaw," says Woodward. "Since we tag fish as part of our ongoing research, the circle hook helps us release a healthy fish back into the wild."Al Ristori, a well-known saltwater angler and writer, reported a one-day catch of 25 striped bass on circle hooks with all but one bass hooked in the jaw. I used circle hooks this summer on bottom species and 90 percent of my fish were jaw hooked. In view of this growing evidence, some states are even considering making the circle hook mandatory for certain species to reduce mortality of undersize fish.Studies also indicate that circle hooks are more effective than typical hook designs, which means you will catch more fish. One Canadian longliner reported the results of his comparison tests to the Fisheries Development Branch of Nova Scotia. Longlines were baited with an equal number of traditional and circle hooks. Of the 3,706 sets of each design fished over a period of eight days, the circle hooks took 794 halibut compared with 450 fish on traditional hooks.What makes the circle hook different? First, and this is important, don¹t try to set a circle hook when a fish hits. In fact, don¹t try to set the hook at all. Let the fish chew on your bait until the hook does its job. One manufacturer, Eagle Claw, stresses this message with a label on its circle hook packages "On the take, do NOT set the hook; just reel fish in."Here¹s how the circle hook works. A fish will take the bait into its mouth and start to swim off. At this point, if your try to set the hook, you will probably yank it right out of the fish¹s mouth because of the hook¹s design. Let the fish run and allow your line to tighten. When the line becomes taut, the eye of the hook will actually clear the mouth, but when the fish continues to swim away the hook will rotate in the fish¹s mouth and the fish will hook itself in the corner of the jaw.To overcome the urge to set the circle hook, try fishing "deadstick", which means leaving your baited rod in a holder and not touching it until its time to reel the fish in. When the fish is landed, a simple twist with a needle nose pliers on the shank will free the hook or you can use a dehooking device. Releasing small fish over water means you will not even have to touch the fish with your hands.The circle hook should prove most effective for most bait fishing situations, especially livelining big shiners for largemouth or herring for striped bass. Catfishermen may also find the deadstick technique productive with stinkbaits.Several manufacturers, including Eagle Claw and Mustad, now make circle hooks in sizes ranging from 1 to 8 for most freshwater bait fishing and 2/0 to 16/0 for saltwater species. There is some variation among manufacturers, so your best bet is to visit a tackle shop and compare actual sizes.There is an additional advantage to using circle hooks. Because the point of a circle hook makes nearly a circle, a clumsy or careless fisherman is less likely to accidentally sink such a hook into his finger, ear or clothing." Editor of Outdoor Life Magazine

April 5, 2003

Study done on Gut hooked muskies. By: Gord Ellis Some angling myths just won't go away. "Brook trout never bite after a lightning storm" is a personal favourite, but one of the most outlandish is that a deeply hooked fish will survive "because the hook will dissolve in a day or two." In the muskie-fishing world a debate has raged for years over the ethics of a simple, yet effective, fall technique used on both sides of the border. You place a big single hook in the nose of a sucker, usually over a foot long, and allow it to swim freely on a long line in deep water. Muskie that grab the sucker are allowed to swallow it, before the hook is set. Many large muskie are taken this way and, increasingly, released. Proponents rely on the dissolving-hook theory to rationalize the use of single-hook sucker rigs, but other anglers question whether any fish could survive having a huge hook ripped into its stomach. It's an important question, especially in light of Ontario's move to maximum muskie size limits so that many more fish are released to spawn and grow larger. In Wisconsin, alone up to 2,000 legal-size muskie are caught on single-hook sucker rigs each year. In 1998, the Chippewa Flowage Musky Study took a step towards answering questions about mortality of fish caught on sucker rigs. In the study's first year, 47 muskie were caught, nine of which were hooked deeply on sucker rigs, and radio-tagged. Of the nine, due to injuries from swallowing the hook, four died and were recovered by the research team. The fate of the other five muskie is unknown, but they were alive when batteries on the short-term transmitters quit. A muskie caught on a jerkbait as part of the study died later and was also recovered. An autopsy revealed a single hook in its belly. However, 33 muskie caught on artificial baits and then released had a 100 per cent survival rate. This surprised even the most optimistic of Wisconsin's muskie hunters. (Five other tagged muskie were netted, not angled, and were alive when their transmitters died.) In 1999, the Lac Courte Oreilles tribe, the group that funded the original study, decided not to continue tagging muskie caught by sucker rigs. However, Wisconsin guide John Dettloff was concerned about the four dead fish from the previous year. He felt the results from the study left room for doubt. He wanted to prove conclusively that single-hook sucker rigs did or did not kill muskie that were released. Dettloff raised $5,000, thanks to grants from the Hayward Lakes and the South of the Border Chapter of Muskies Inc., to continue radio-tagging deeply hooked fish. In fall 1999, Dettloff's study team caught 14 muskie on single-hook sucker rigs. This time, radio transmitters fixed to the fish had a battery life of at least 400 days, with the potential of going 600 days. Three of the tagged muskie died fairly quickly when released. In spring 2000, Dettloff and his team began tracking the remaining fish. The news was not good. "By late May at least half of the tagged fish were dead," said Dettloff. "There were about four or five of them still moving around, but...by July they were all dead." Using an underwater camera, Dettloff and his team located several of the fatalities on the lake bottom. Two others washed up on shore and bears dragged them into the bush. Anglers caught two of the tagged muskie early in 2000. A 34-incher (86 cm) was released by an angler who noticed it was tagged. "That fish looked okay, but was a little on the thin side," said Dettloff. " It ended up dying about a month and a half later." The other muskie was a 42-inch (106-cm) beauty, which Dettloff said weighed about 21 pounds (9.5 kg) when tagged in 1999. When re-caught July 4, 2000, it was emaciated. Although released, it died two weeks later. Dettloff said, "We knew (gut-hooked muskie) were dying, but we hadn't had a chance to see a live fish and observe its health. That fish was as skinny as a rail." The deaths of those 14 muskie - 100 per cent delayed mortality - convinced him the single-hook sucker rig has no place in an ethical angler's bag of tricks. "On some lakes, you may have as many as 100 fish per year being caught and released on sucker rigs, because people think they're surviving," said Dettloff. "Usually when we tell people about these results, they quit using the single hooks immediately. "I'm an old-school muskie angler," said Dettloff. "I used single-hook sucker rigs for years and hooked many record-class-sized fish on them. So I was shocked to discover the reality of this method. I've quit using it forever." Some anglers believe the extra hardware on quick-strike rigs (usually a single hook and a treble on a leader) scares off muskie and causes the sucker to die sooner. But Dettloff says a quick-strike rig was responsible for catching one of the world's largest muskie. "The world record caught by Louie Spray back in 1949 was caught on a special harness rig that was basically a quick-set rig," said Dettloff. "He (Spray) tried to market it, but he was ahead of his time." How times have changed. Clearly, as the results of Dettloff's study show, single-hook sucker rigs have no place on Ontario's precious muskie waters either. [This message has been edited by widetrack (edited 04-05-2003).][This message has been edited by widetrack (edited 04-05-2003).][This message has been edited by widetrack (edited 04-05-2003).]

April 5, 2003

Good fishing!I'm heading to the lake.[This message has been edited by widetrack (edited 04-05-2003).]

April 6, 2003

Widetrack, You have too much time on your hands. But you do have some good information. By the time it took you to type up all this, I could of been to the lake and back catching some monsters. hehe But all in all you have some very good information Widetrack I appreciate the time you took to inform us about that. Watchman

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