Panfish Pics

[gimruis]

Lake Minnetonka is by far the best "metro" area lake for crappie numbers and size.  That's the lake I primarily fish in the spring time and its relatively easy to catch 10-12 inchers.

 

I have an issue getting anything bigger than about 12.5 inches though, and I've tried for years.  I see people that come into the crappie contest weigh in every spring with 15 to 17 inchers and it blows my mind.  I would trade limit after limit of 12 inchers for just ONE of those 16 inchers.

[smurfy]

2 hours ago, gimruis said:

Lake Minnetonka is by far the best "metro" area lake for crappie numbers and size.  That's the lake I primarily fish in the spring time and its relatively easy to catch 10-12 inchers.

 

I have an issue getting anything bigger than about 12.5 inches though, and I've tried for years.  I see people that come into the crappie contest weigh in every spring with 15 to 17 inchers and it blows my mind.  I would trade limit after limit of 12 inchers for just ONE of those 16 inchers.

meh a 12 inch crappie tastes the same as a 16 incher!!!!!!

 

just rassin ya gim!!!!!!!

[gimruis]

16 hours ago, smurfy said:

meh a 12 inch crappie tastes the same as a 16 incher!!!!!!

 

just rassin ya gim!!!!!!!

Any thoughts on where and how to find these elusive super sized slabs?  I assume that a 16 incher is not going to be hanging out in a school of 11 inchers, so if that's what I'm catching, I need to move.

[smurfy]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

Any thoughts on where and how to find these elusive super sized slabs?  I assume that a 16 incher is not going to be hanging out in a school of 11 inchers, so if that's what I'm catching, I need to move.

nope notda clue. first i've never even been anywhere's close to lake minnetonka much less on it.........and secondly i head north, not south mainly to fish.  and lastly, the crappie is down on the list of fish i chase.

[gimruis]

25 minutes ago, smurfy said:

the crappie is down on the list of fish i chase.

Its near the bottom for me too.  I give it about 3-4 trips in the spring after ice out but once gamefish/opener starts, that's the end of the line for me.  So my window of opportunity is brief...and so is my knowledge.

[Rick G]

9 hours ago, smurfy said:

 and lastly, the crappie is down on the list of fish i chase.

I still don't believe you actually fish

[smurfy]

What you talking about bubba  last week brother and myself 

[smurfy]

Another day 

[Rick G]

Nice... You found some of your brothers fish pics to post

[Rick G]

Made it out for a bit on Monday.  Wind was crazy, found some good ones though...few bonus fish too.

[smurfy]

i owe you this!!!!!!! nice that eyeguy let you take pictures of HIS fish!!!!!!

[leech~~]

29 minutes ago, Rick G said:

Made it out for a bit on Monday.  Wind was crazy, found some good ones though...few bonus fish too.

Was the water clear there?

[Rick G]

7 hours ago, smurfy said:

i owe you this!!!!!!! nice that eyeguy let you take pictures of HIS fish!!!!!!

Other way around... I let the old coot take pics of my fish. He never remembers who caught them...  

[Rick G]

7 hours ago, leech~~ said:

Was the water clear there?

Nope, but that spot on Clearwater has a bunch of good bluegills on it

[Kettle]

On 2/19/2023 at 9:43 AM, smurfy said:

Another day 

Glad someone eats those rough fish next to the gills. Makes my stomach uneasy 

[gimruis]

8 hours ago, Kettle said:

Makes my stomach uneasy 

Sort of like undercooked fish in my world.  Haha

[smurfy]

15 hours ago, Kettle said:

Glad someone eats those rough fish next to the gills. Makes my stomach uneasy 

yea kettle...thats all my brothers doing. he's a cheesehead now, they eat anything. but he lives near the Wisconsin river and has more walleyes then most normal walleye fisherman get. 

 

those bass especially the bigger ones went through the smoker.  the other ones he probably fried up , if i catch a bass, i do keep it and give it to my stepdad....another cheesehead!!!!1 

[Rick G]

 It's been a pretty good last week of fishing for me.  On a pretty decent crappie bite as of late.  Hit the ice early this morning, fish bit pretty well till about 8:30 am then kinda got tough.  Fished mostly 17-22 ft, most of the crappies came in suspended well of the bottom.  

Edited February 28, 2023 by Rick G

[smalliehunter]

Had the big house out Tuesday and Wednesday. Did pretty good.  Fishing weeds in 11ft

[smurfy]

 dang....beautiful fish!!!!!!!!!!! nice going!!!!!!!!!

[monstermoose78]

4 hours ago, smalliehunter said:

Had the big house out Tuesday and Wednesday. Did pretty good.  Fishing weeds in 11ft

Glad to see you got some dandies 

[Hookmaster]

Fished a west metro lake yesterday afternoon. Still drove out. Ice in good shape as is the landing. Started in a hole looking for crappie with the LiveScope. Found some but they would spook when I drilled near them. The pic of the LiveScope shows suspended fish 60 feet away. The circled part is where I back flushed the slush down one of the holes I drilled. Got tired off chasing them around and moved shallower, 16-18 feet. Got into some bluegill. Caught about 15 with most around the 8 inch mark with one 8 1/2 and one 9. Also a 10" and 7" crappie.  These lengths are all approximate since I measured them on a Little Dipper and it doesn't have a "0" mark. Also I have never confirmed how accurate the ruler is on it. Gotta bet me a bump board for panfish. The smaller one I have starts at 10".

[Hookmaster]

Last weekend I was monitoring a bay on Tonka whether people were still driving out. I saw 6-7 vehicles. In one spot there were 4 trucks with 3 wheel houses. One of the houses was 20 ft+. On Sunday I arrived to see the sheriff put up a thin ice sign that 6 vehicles had driven past.

 

I returned to fish it last Wednesday late afternoon with 4 vehicles already out. Drove to the spot I fished 2 other times in the last month and drilled the first hole. LiveScope showed the fish 30-50 feet away. Drilled a cluster of 5 holes in that spot and game on. It was almost as fast as you could put your line down. A lot of up bites. After it slowed down on the small jigging spoon, I switched to a 4mm tungsten jig and caught more. The fish shifted 10 feet away once where one of the other holes was and then went back to the initial hole. For crappie, I ended up with a 13, a couple 12s, couple 11s, three 10s and a handful of 9s. Also 4 bluegill either side of 8” plus several smaller of both species. All fish were released. The pictures I posted are the 13 with me, both 12s an 11 and a dink. I measured them on a Li’l Dipper which is accurate from the middle of the hole at the top of the handle. I am going to order a Ketch board. The rod for the tungsten jig is a Tickle Stick and for the spoon a Panfish Sweetheart.

 

All three times I’ve fish this spot the big fish move out about 60-90 minutes before dark. I suppose they are moving to a different area (weedline?) to feed. If I get out to this spot again this year I’ll try and figure out where. When I drove off the bay there were still 6 other vehicles out.

 

Edited March 18, 2023 by Hookmaster
poor pic quality

[Hookmaster]

Drove out again on Tonka yesterday late afternoon and fished sundown. Six other vehicles on the bay. Ice in great shape. Lost a lot of snow since last Wednesday. Snow melt starting to drain down the access so that'll go first.

My hot spot was  still hot but not as many bigger crappie. Had to coax them a little to bite. Still got a 12 (inhaled the jigging spoon), a couple 11s and several 9-10. They were 80-90 feet away from where I caught them last week in 20-22' instead of 18-20' maybe because of the bright sun. Gotta love LiveScope for helping to find them. At 4:24 pm (spring solstice) I thought the fish might start jumping out of the holes or at least go on a ravenous bite, but nothing changed. When all that bit were little bluegill I went looking for the crappie and didn't find them. I did find 2 schools of sunfish. One in 15' that had 7" fish and one in 18' on a ridge between shoreline and a hump that separates 2 deeper holes. Those were 8" average.

[Rick G]

Made it out for while on Monday.  Bite was crazy good, had fish suspended right below the ice.  

[smurfy]

???? little early for that isnt it????

 

nice fish though!!!!!!1

[Hookmaster]

Fished a southwest metro lake on Saturday and still drove out. One truck was already out when I got there. Only caught a couple small bluegill as I chased the schools around. They just wouldn't stay still. Went back to where I caught them on the 15th and there were plenty of gills and crappie. Gills were 7.5-8" with one 9" and the crappies were 9-10" with one 11 3/4". Tried a new reel, 13 Fishing Descent (thanks Royce) on the Tickle Stick and once I got the free spool tension setting adjusted, I liked it. Glad I brought the ice cleats. Should have brought a sun buff, my face got a little red. Waved a younger guy on a snowmobile over since he was looking more than fishing. Turns out we met about 8-9 years ago duck hunting but hadn't seen each other since. Met his dad and talked to him about 45 minutes since we had some stuff in common. All it took was me willing to share my spot that made the last part of my outing more enjoyable.

[Hookmaster]

I noticed something in the pictures of the fish in my previous post that show up on my phone but not here. The little icon in the lower right. When I touch it, up pops the email of the author of the newspaper article that the phone detected. Maybe the phone is too smart!!

[leech~~]

3 hours ago, Hookmaster said:

I noticed something in the pictures of the fish in my previous post that show up on my phone but not here. The little icon in the lower right. When I touch it, up pops the email of the author of the newspaper article that the phone detected. Maybe the phone is too smart!!

He wanted his fish Back!  

[Rick G]

Lakes are getting sloppy in my area...fish have feed bag on big-time.