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Ely - Babbitt Fishing Reports - Lake Conditions Too.


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It varies. If there's anything resembling a pattern over time, I've had some fairly consistent good luck between, say, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

But please, anyone who is reading this, don't take that to the bank. There are days when I get action right away for the first couple hours and then it's dismal. There are days it's dismal all day. There are days it's dismal until the last hour. And there are days that the fish are hot and bothered and hitting lures all day long and after sunset.

So my core message is get out there and fish from can-see until can't-see. With lakers, you never know in advance what type of day it's going to be.

That being said, if I'm on a proven spot or an unproven spot I'm confident about, I almost NEVER move off that spot between 11 and 1.

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Yup, I guess that's been my basic experience also.

Is driving around out of vanvac doable for the most part? (suburban)

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In a burb I think you'll be OK going off the plowed roads, as long as it has 4x4 and a poor-man's backhoe as backup. gringrin

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I drive a dodge dakota and mine has quite a bit of clearance and this was today at like 11. I was stuck because of slush. With all of this snow on top, it is letting the water come up the holes and turning all the snow into slush. BUT i did hit slush while driving to the spot. As long as you keep moving you should be fine. Just dont stop in any nasty stuff.

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I was out on the main lake today and found a pretty uniform 10 inches or so of snow, with a drift of a bit over a foot here and there. I saw no slush at all where I was. Driving with a full-sized 4x4 pickup was no problem at all.

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Wanderer (Tracy) nailed this 32-incher in 19 FOW late this morning on a tip-up/dead cisco. Was quite a nice long fight, and is his largest laker to date. Weighed 11-12 pounds.

Congrats Tracy!

Tracy-12.jpg

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Very nice fish!! congrats Steve, and Tracy!! I Think I know what spot thats at!!!"Big rock gives it away" Im jealous if it is Ive had more than one beastly Comet come racing in on my electronics but could not get one to eat and my brother had one on opening weekend take drag nonstop for over a minute b4 it got off but theres more than one big rock on the shores of B-side so I could also be mistaken.

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Sorry casey I didnt mean to sound Like a jerk but Im paranoid on here its hard to for me to tell being its just words on a computer screen if someones just giving me a hard time or they have some issue with me and I say things I probably shouldnt sometimes. sorry.

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Man Ive been fishing bluewater near home and didnt even catch a fish!Hell in two long cold boring , lonesome

days of fishing I didnt even see a fish on the electronics.....glad im headed that way soon!

That fish has a melon on it I wonder what it would have weighed if it had been feeding on whitefish-tulibees instead of smelt and other b-side forage.

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"Big rock gives it away"

Not really. I was surprised how many large boulders there actually are scattered along the shores of Bside once I started looking. smilesmile

Jim, I think his and your grins would give each other a run for their money. gringrin

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Jim, I think his and your grins would give each other a run for their money. gringrin

It is one of those things that you just can't get enough of and it it NEVER gets old grin

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BTW, you guys need to get your bad selves up here this winter. I hear there are some big lakers with your names on them. smilesmile

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

Wanderer (Tracy) nailed this 32-incher in 19 FOW late this morning on a tip-up/dead cisco. Was quite a nice long fight, and is his largest laker to date. Weighed 11-12 pounds.

Congrats Tracy!

Tracy-12.jpg

Tracy, Super looking fish! The ice is broken now! And NGuy took a nice pic! wink

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gringringringrin

WOOP! There it is!!

I've been looking for a fish like that for 4 years now. Finally.

I know it's not the be all, end all of a laker but what was great about the whole situation was it being a last minute decision to head up based on schedules, weather pattern, moon phase, and solunar tables. It was ALL stacked in our favor. We coupled those things with exploring a new spot we found in the open water season - and it all worked!

Matt and I only landed 4 fish on the weekend but they were all decent. There were a couple lost too. Just not the big one this time. smile

Thanks for the pic and the assist Steve. It was a great weekend all around.

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...

Tracy, Super looking fish! The ice is broken now! And NGuy took a nice pic! wink

Sorry, not my pic. It was Steve's picture. He strategically positoned my sd card in his wallet the night before and had not yet returned it untill the pictures of troutzilla were all taken. No big deal though, he is a pro with the camera so sometimes it is best to step aside and let the man work.

I took some "do these pants make me look fat?" pictures to retaliate with... but I am not going to put up shots of the trasportation. If everyone knew what he was driving around in they may become "spot thieve's" and try to get around that guide fee. wink

Btw Mr Foss, how did the "walleye" fishing go that eaving?

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No walleye fishing for me, Matt. Went home just after sunset to recuperate. And honestly, there was no ulterior motive in me keeping your SD card in my pants pocket until awhile after I got there. I totally spaced that I had it. Considering the festivities of the night before, I'm amazed I even remembered to bring it with me Sunday. gringringrin

As always, you guys, good fishing with you. Just fun to be around and watching when someone catches a fish that size, so thanks for the fun. And congrats again on your success! smilesmile

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

gringringringrin

WOOP! There it is!!

I've been looking for a fish like that for 4 years now. Finally.

I know it's not the be all, end all of a laker but what was great about the whole situation was it being a last minute decision to head up based on schedules, weather pattern, moon phase, and solunar tables. It was ALL stacked in our favor. We coupled those things with exploring a new spot we found in the open water season - and it all worked!

Matt and I only landed 4 fish on the weekend but they were all decent. There were a couple lost too. Just not the big one this time. smile

Thanks for the pic and the assist Steve. It was a great weekend all around.

That maybe the bigest Grin I have ever seen. When is the Avatar going to change? laugh

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BTW, you guys need to get your bad selves up here this winter. I hear there are some big lakers with your names on them. smilesmile

Lisa is so darn busy with school and it is just a little to costly to come by myself. I will have to work on her a little and let her know she can study at night in the fish house wink

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There is no chance in heck that I can wait that long !

I was sort of thinking this weekend winkgrin

A little grocery shopping and a little housekeeping and a lot of smooth talking grin

I am not going to bet it will work but I have to at least try !

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Dude, with all that you'll be exhausted before you even hit the ice! The things we go through so we can fish lake trout. shockedshocked

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Dude, with all that you'll be exhausted before you even hit the ice! The things we go through so we can fish lake trout. shockedshocked

It is always worth the work so we can have a chance to do battle with a Laker grin

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

[quote=Steve Foss The things we go through so we can fish lake trout. shockedshocked

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... There are too many other good laker lakes, some well known and many not so widely talked about or pressured (especially in the BWCAW). ...

Lac LaCroix has got some big uns in it... so the survey says grin

Kek has coughed up some monsters...

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