Tullie report 2-25-12

[fishuhalik]

been a pretty good day so far. around 40-45 tullies, no crappies yet. they've been biting on just about everything. pimples, slender spoons, hair jigs, & diamond jigs have all worked. they're real aggressive, hitting multiple times even if you miss em. there's plenty of ice to drive. not too much snow, we have 2 accords and have only been stuck when we stopped. there is lots of people out here, holy cow! there has to be 200 setups on the lake.

[fishuhalik]

i just left, had some obligations back home. final tally as of 12:00 was around 54 tullies, 2 perch, & 2 pike. lost a few, missed a few, but i'd say 90% of the fish we marked hit. fun day!!! i'll post a pic sometime later when i'm at a desktop

[BartmanMN]

Sounds fun.

[Fishman11]

sounds like you had a blast. Where do you drive out from to get on the ice? Is there always a lot people out there or is it just because its the weekend?

[fishuhalik]

we use the public access. there's always a bunch of people on the ice out there. obviously a nice sunny weekend's gonna be busier! i couldnt believe how many people were in the community holes today though. they were just packed in there. it's a big lake with fish almost everywhere, spread out a little!

[fishuhalik]

.

[lakeshoremunster]

Fish,

I hear you on that, some folks need to give others space to breath.

What I love the most are the guys that just drive around to see if anyone is catching fish and then they pull right up to you and start drilling holes.

[lispeej]

We also made it out to big sandy. But we stayed away from the crowds. We wanted to give folks their space. We only fished for a few hours in the morning than took off to a different lake. Managed to only catch 1 crappie, 1 northern, and about a dozen tullies. I think we were probably at the wrong spot. But that's ok. All around, it was a nice day to be on the lake.

[fishuhalik]

lispeej, i wouldnt say thats a bad day. i've gone up there & drilled hundreds of holes and come up with nothing twice. we were just really on em yesterday. get to know the lake & you'll love it. there's soooo much structure out there that holds fish. they arent just on the north end of the lake folks! we were in 24-26', which is definitely on the shallow side of what i usually fish for tullies. i usually look for 24-35'. if you look at a map of the lake there's alot of water in that depth range and alot of it holds fish. good luck to ya if you go up again!

[lispeej]

I plan on going back up there soon. Maybe in a couple of weekends or so. But, I will go searching for other areas. I do have a good map of the lake, so we will see how that goes. Plastics seem to work best for me for tullies. How about you guys?

[lakeshoremunster]

it really depends on the day, some days they are picky on what they want and some days they will take anything. It also depends on the school of fish that comes by.

[addict]

Repost from the other similar thread, couldn't help being as it's so fitting. Anyone ever wonder why great fishing spots are getting harder and harder to find?!

[leech~~]

Repost from the other similar thread, couldn't help being as it's so fitting. Anyone ever wonder why great fishing spots are getting harder and harder to find?!

Because people don't give out enough info, when they are telling were they caught the big ones on the internet! I wish people would give out GPS locations, so it would be easier to find out where the heck they are talking about! Don't you?

[fishuhalik]

Repost from the other similar thread, couldn't help being as it's so fitting. Anyone ever wonder why great fishing spots are getting harder and harder to find?!

they aren't that hard to find if you know where to look. I could tell you (but wont) about 8 lakes that I fish regularly where we've got 15" crappies & 11" gills out of this year. Also get alot of nice 12-14" crappies & 9-10" sunnies. One of em is a pretty well-known, heavily fished lake. You just have to be willing to travel a bit. So no, I don't mind sharing about bsl. It's a big lake & not exactly a secret.

[fisherman-andy]

Repost from the other similar thread, couldn't help being as it's so fitting. Anyone ever wonder why great fishing spots are getting harder and harder to find?!

Repost from other similiar thread: Havent notice any of that. Guess i've become a better fisherman.

There are plenty of small and secret lakes and ponds I hold dear to myself and wont tell a soul. However Big Sandy is not one of them...

[Sand Burr]

10% of the people look at a map and go out and fish. 90% of the people go out and look for people on the lake and fish. FACT!

[addict]

there is lots of people out here, holy cow! there has to be 200 setups on the lake.

Hmmm, (puts monocal to eye, smokes pipe) Lets think about this now. a decade ago was far different out there wasn't it? Oh yes, a decade ago you probably didn't fish there, wondery why that would be????

[leech~~]

Hmmm, (puts monocal to eye, smokes pipe) Lets think about this now. a decade ago was far different out there wasn't it? Oh yes, a decade ago you probably didn't fish there, wondery why that would be????

Because of todays better equipment & some people shutting off their PC's and getting outside?

[addict]

Yeah, that must be it leech, looks like you do a lot of this by your post count! lol

[leech~~]

Yeah, that must be it leech, looks like you do a lot of this by your post count! lol

Outside fishing just about every weekend buddy! When do you want to go?

[fishuhalik]

yer right. i fish it cuz i read reports online. thankfully a very well-known gentleman that fishes out there often pointed me in the right direction, & i've had a ton of fun because of his unselfishness. if you ask me, the internet is the best thing to happen to ice fishing since the flasher. sure, some people have posted about some little lake that got hammered & fished out, but there's plenty more like it to go out & find. & if/when bsl gets fished down for tullies, i still have ml, winni, leech, swan, & about 500 other lakes with tullies in it to go explore. i've met some great people on this site & have taken them to some of "my" favorite spots because i like to share a great fishing or duck hunting experience. to me it's just as much fun to get a buddy on some nice fish as it is to catch em myself. now, if someone else takes me to a spot my lips are sealed unless he gives me permission to take someone else out there.

[addict]

Thats good!

[leech~~]

addict, you must have been reading the DNR lake site. Here is what is stated for Big Sandy about Tillie's on it. See last line!

"Tullibee and yellow perch are important forage species for the lake's game fish and also provide additional opportunities for anglers. Yellow perch catches have been declining since 1990, falling to 5.1/gill net in 2010. The average size of perch was 8.2" and 26% were 9" or longer. Tullibee are a cold-water fish and are usually limited to the confines of Bill Horn Bay during the summer months. While they provide quality forage for northern pike and walleye, with fish averaging 11.8" and individual fish measuring nearly 17", they also appear to be of interest to anglers. Anecdotal reports indicate a relatively new winter angling fishery for tullibee appears to be developing on Big Sandy."

[sunnyday]

Awesome report! Keep them coming. We love these kind of post and we love the Internet. My group of 30+ will be there. We're going to move from Mille Lacs to Big Sandy since there's a ton of fish and no limit on tulibee. We will see you out there for the next few weeks. If you see a new community hole, it would be us. Our group is growing making it easier to locate fish so if you can't find fish, join our group.

[leech~~]

Awesome report! Keep them coming. We love these kind of post and we love the Internet. My group of 30+ will be there. We're going to move from Mille Lacs to Big Sandy since there's a ton of fish and no limit on tulibee. We will see you out there for the next few weeks. If you see a new community hole, it would be us. Our group is growing making it easier to locate fish so if you can't find fish, join our group.

[NewtotheNorth]

A lake as big as Big Sandy is hard to be fished out... Unless you are netting them...

The way I see it is, the more people together, the less fish being caught.. Stay away from the crowd and catch the mother load.

[Fishman11]

Agreed to what you said in your posts. To add a little to that, where would all the Money for our fisheries come from if it wasn't for all those who bought licenses. So the more fishermen/women out there the merrier for our lakes and rivers. There is plenty of water out there to fish and it doesn't hurt to help a fellow fishermen with somes tips. Selfishness is what will turn away future fishermen and make it less enjoyable for everyone else.

[Fishman11]

I here there's tons of people on that lake at times. Which area will you inhabit for your community hole, in case we happen to slide on over there

[Guest Kyle]

I have never been to big sandy, and want to take my wife up there to try for some tullibee. I'm trying to get her into fishing so I figured Tullibees would be a good way to do that. Mill lacs has not been producing for me, otherwise I would go there. Would anyone be willing to help me out and point me in a direction on the lake? Like I said, I've never been there and dont have a clue where to go, but I really want to make it a good time for my bride.

Thanks for any help. If you don't want to share on this forum here is my email: [email protected]

[Big_Sandy_Lake]

I know of a lot of guys who net tullies in big sandy. They net anywhere from 500-1000 per season, so netting definetly goes on. This lake is getting lots of pressure, hopefully it is capable to handle it. We have had this discussion before and I can tell where it is leading, the law is the law and anyone can fish where they want when they want and keeep what they want as long as they are following the law. Untill the law changes on limits, it's a free for all!! Not that I support it, but what's a guy to do.