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  • tunrevir

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gona head out deeper this afternoon!! Maybe the craps havn't moved to there usual winter spots!! At least my usual spots!!

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I haven't gotten a chance to get out on flake yet. How's the ice holding up in the warm weather so far? I am going to go poke around on some of my spots and see if I can pull some walleyes/crappies next week.

My 2.5 year old daughter really wants to come with so maybe if the water goes away and freezes up, I will take her out and let her catch some crappies and sunfish for fun.

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Fun! Bring an underwater camera with if you have one. The little ones seem to be fascinated by just watching them on screen. Some of us adults get a little preoccupied with that as well smile

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solid 10 inches in most spots but I did come across 8" in one area the other day. Kind of a real brittle ice right now and I would not advise driving out with a vehicle other then an atv. The fish are biting both deep and shallow. I have had decent reports from the narrows areas for pike and walleyes from 7-12' but have also had reports of guys doing pretty well near the deeper holes in 20-25'. I found active pike and crappies the other night in 13' but no walleyes to speak of and the crappies ran small.

Tunrevir~

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agreed, i would not drive out on the ice yet.I saw a few small car burning across the lake and I don't think I'd be doing that at the moment... I was fishing near the narrows Saturday and had 10" of ice but was softening up. I pulled in some panfish and lost a nice pike at the hole. I was surprised it didn't cut my line. I didn't find the eye's either, but I'm going to go deeper next time. I was trying around 11-12 fow.

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Was out last night in 16' to 17' of water. Got one 15" eye about a half hour before dark and got a 14" crappie a half hour after dark. With little crappies mixed in. Bite shut off about an hour after dark. Tried going shallower off a steep break and nothing. There was about 11"-12" of solid ice where I was with about 1" of water on top. Thinking about trying a different spot this afternoon.

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I hit Forest for the first time ever this afternoon/evening for a couple of hours. I only marked one walleye in 15-18fow and had no takers. In spite of the drizzle, a long walk on glare clear ice, 1/2" to 1" of water on the ice and a mild wind I had a good time. I was amazed to see a car drive at a fairly high speed from one end to the other after dark. Where I was I had 9 1/2" to the water line and 10" to the top of the ice (tape). I wouldn't drive my car on that ice even though it is pretty clear and hard.

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Got the kid out there today! Had fun catching a bunch of dinks, only 1 14" crappie!! First time out without a walleye!! We will c what tomorrow brings!!

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... reports from the narrows areas ...

When you speak of the narrows do you mean the area between lake 1 and 2 or between 2 and 3? I see, according to Google Earth any way, that there is a public access on the north side of the channel between 2 and 3. Is that where folks get on the lake in that area? Thx

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That is considered Willow Point access! And yup thats a good place to access the lake if your fishing between 2 & 3! There is a little access on the south side on the point between 1 & 2 if your gona fish that channel area!

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Got out last night just because we had scheduled it. Wow, was it cold. Sunny skies and rising barometer. Not the greatest for fishing but it was fun any way. I took a friends kid with (ok, he just turned 18 and had nailed a big buck with bow and arrow by the time he was 16 LOL).

Grand total: 24" northern (never tripped flag), 2 eater sized walleye missed at the hole (he got excited and didn't wait/set hook) and oh, yeah, perch. Walleyes wouldn't take a rattlespoon or similar lure. Two buddy caught were on a plain hook and live fathead.

Ice thickness was about 9-10". Forgot to measure exactly. No cars on the ice that I saw. Thanks to one of the guys on this thread. Most helpful for some newbies to the lake.

FYI - for others that like to use braid: I went jigging from hole to hole (we had drilled a few) after dark. It was so cold my line would freeze solid and at one point I couldn't even reel it back up. Had to switch to another rod with fluoro line on it. Even that got ice chunks on it.

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what kind of area are you guys having luck for crappies. i've not gotten any good size craps out there. been on lake #1 only;

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Couple things, First to the people driving out. I measured 9 inches of ice last night in several spots. Check the ice before you go out. Second, what colors work best on Forest for walleyes?

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jigs4eyes, there are monster crappies out there but you more thank likely wont find decent numbers of big crappies. you can get all the dinks you want with 1 or 2 good sized ones mixed in. from what ive seen the bigger one will come out of holes your fishing for walleye. just my .02.

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I've been pretty lucky with pink!! I saw a red car flying across the middle of 1st lake today! Goofballs!!!

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The big crappies will often come off of rigs for walleyes both jigging and setlines with shiners and fatheads. That is not to say they won't take a crappie minnow as I have caught them like that on occasion. Just like Hunter said, lots of dinks with a few larger mixed in. Flake has an overabundance of small crappies with a few eaters thrown in. Makes for good catching but not many for eating.

Walleye jig colors: This can change from day to day out there and even minute to minute. Pink and green have been go to colors but on occasion firetiger and red do pretty well and even some of the flash lures in gold and silver. Many times I will have two rods rigged and ready and if I get a snifffer that drops away from one bait I will drop the other bait down and try jigging that. I have had the fish rocket up and take the second bait on many occasions but am not sure if it was the different color or the fast drop back down to the zone that caused the fish to strike. 1/16th and 1/8th oz spoons are my staples both rattling and silent primarily buck shots and forage minnows. This year the tipups and setlines have been taking alot of fish for me and the bigger fish seem to be coming off the setlines with smaller fish taking the jigging spoons. Jigging raps have been a good option when the fish are less aggressive or forage spoons versus the rattling baits. Good luck out there!

Tunrevir~

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IS the west side of the lake out from the main launch off of 61 a good spot for walleye or perch? Not looking for specifics just a reference. We will be walking out so I'm just looking for the best access to a walkable spot.

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There is some easy accessible potential walleye water right off the main landing. Alot of guys will setup out in front of the funeral home in 12-15 fow which is just north of the launch. There is a large sandbar that comes out from the shore in that area the edge is in line with a pale yellow house on shore. The beach area has held walleye in the past and has seen relatively light pressure so far this season which is just to the south of the landing. Work the 12-15' depths out from the condos which is just south of the beach. Both of these areas will hold pike, crappie, gills, perch and towards dark walleyes. They are a few hundred yards each direction of the landing. Hope that helps! You will find that the perch are not of quality size but there are a ton of them just about anywhere you go on the lake.

Tunrevir~

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