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Posted

Very nice fish and picture! It seems that you've found the way to catch some slot fish! Nice job! I stayed fairly close to home on Tuesday Hawgeyes. There are some "holes" around Daisy Bay that I frequent from time to time and that's where I spent most of my outing. I went to the east end today and actually saw 2 other boats that were definitely walleye fishing. These light, soft, short, tentative or whatever you want to call them hits that we're missing, I believe, are mainly those 12"-14"ers that are so abundant lately. Most of the big fish I have boated or hooked and lost the past few days have grabbed the minnow like he meant business. I'm guessing your slot fish came from the 20' water you were fishing.

Good Fishing,

MarkB smile

Posted

Sorry guys I never made the meeting.. What's the report? Anyone go?

Posted

It was 28 degrees this morning when my wife said, "light and variable to day, let's go out for awhile". smirk It was a bit chilly running across Big Bay but, once we reached our spot and started fishing, it was really quite nice. We fished an area that had multiple hazard buoys a few days ago and the musky boys were both casting and trolling. We found the fishing good but challenging. I bought a fresh batch of minnows and threw out everything but the really big ones. Our hit to hookup ratio was ~3:1 and that can be frustrating at times. I am still of the belief that most of the light hits are the smaller fish, but, today, we had quite alot of pickups and then, they just let go and didn't come back shocked. We caught several walleyes in spite of finicky fish and the bigger fish were definitely active today. We caught fish from 27'-40' with 36' being optimum. The really big fish we caught needed no finesse. They hit like a snag with fins. Water temp when we started was 41.5 degrees and when we left for home it was 43.5. We saw no young loons or gulls. Gunshots were heard in all directions as hunters prepared for tomorrow's opener. I wish them all success and a safe hunt smile.

Good Fishing,

MarkB smile

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Posted

Great pix Mark ! I am now thoroughly convinced that you and your wife get the prize for "Most Dedicated" on Big V. Oh.... and by the way, sending you some warmth from sunny and 85 Maui.... Back to reality (MN) tomorrow though.

I just had to......... smile

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Posted

I would love to be right where you are Joe...................in about 3 months.

Hope you've had a great break, it looks like fun and sun cool

Good Looking whistle

MarkB smile

Posted

I want to bump this up again, great Hawaii pic, but any news on the meeting?

Posted

We had an absolute blast Mark. Enjoy your trip in the winter out here ! Breaks up a long winter I'm sure.... cool

Posted

MarkB,

When I have fished deep water before for walleyes, I'm concerned about fish mortality when they are release. What is your secret for releasing the fish to swim another day?

Posted

Excellent question Chester. Late October/November walleyes usually involve the deepest water available in whatever lake you are fishing at that time of year. I don't know if there is scientific data to support my experiences but water pressure is not a major factor <35'. Larger fish never seem to have problems for one very obvious reason: It takes longer to bring them up! I believe that IF you are going to C&R fish in deep water in the late fall, then you must be aware of the fact that the word of the day is SLOWLY...Slow down your presentations and slow down your retrieval while reeling fish in no matter what the size. My wife and I caught lots of walleyes this fall and never had one disgorge their air sac. One drawback(if you wanna call it that wink ) : We have muskies grab our catch quite frequently(3-4 times) in the fall and I attribute that to leaving the fish struggling in the water longer.

I hope this helps with an answer.

Good Fishing,

MarkB smile

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

MarkB have you been out at all lately? Or for that matter any of the Muskie guys? I'm planning on coming up mon-wed and saw that there's some warmer days coming then. Just wondering if I should drag the boat up or just bring the shotgun for those little brown birds!

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

The bite was decent Friday morning and evening but it got progressively worse as the weekend went on. I made it out 5 times between Friday morning and tonight but I don't have much to show for it. I landed a total of 25 walleye with all but 5 being under 14 inches. Each time I went out the fishing got slower, by the last trip this evening we each only iced 2 walleye all were under 13 inches. There was still about 3" of ice left but it sure took a beating and I will be staying off it for awhile.

Posted

Most of the popular fishing area on the Tower end has about 5.5" of ice now. I walked almost all the way to Ely Island and found a few places with 4" inches. The bite has been slow but steady definitely not the strong early ice bite I expected. We have made eight trips up so far and have only caught one slot fish and only a handful over 16 inches. There are a few four wheelers on the ice but I will stick to walking for now. Lots 8 to 12 inch walleye hanging around. My biggest fish came out of 23 feet of water next to a reef.

Posted

Ice pic from today. Looked like somebody had perm. house way out there.

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Posted

The early season ice fishing for me hasn't been as good as last year. I fished out of McKinley Park the last two days and caught 6½ fish (the half fish was a slot fish that broke my line as I was lifting her out of the hole). The other fish were all decent size (13-16"). Fished 3 different depths (18', 24' and 27') and caught fish at all depths. I marked a lot more fish at the deeper depths, but had a hard time getting them to bite. But when they did bite, they hit it hard. On 3 of my last 4 fish, the bobber was long gone by the time I noticed it. I had 5½" of ice on Friday and 6½" on Saturday (I chickened out on Thursday when my chisel went through the ice on the 2nd poke). Yesterday, one guy was dragging a permanent house around behind a 4-wheeler just outside of McKinley Park bay.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Went further east of Mckinley today to fish some shoreline breaks, caught only two little dinks and missed one in three hours this afternoon. I measured 6.5 inches of ice where I was at.

Posted

Hoping to come up for New Years and am wondering if anyone is driving out of Stuntz Bay yet? Also, has anyone ventured out into Big Bay to get an ice thickness recently?

Thanks as always

53orbigger

Posted

10 inches in Big Bay a couple of days ago.

Saw a couple of jeeps and trucks out there this morning and yesterday.

Cliff

Posted

Great News! Thanks Cliff. Is there much slush to worry about?

Thanks again.

Posted

No slush and not much snow either.

Be careful if you decide to drive out! There will need to be a couple more inches of ice before I try it!

Cliff

Posted

Thanks Cliff. We'll take the snowmobiles out to check the ice thickness before we decide if we want to drive across. I'm hoping that with the cold temps forecast and minimal snow that it'll make another 5-6 inches by next weekend.

53orbigger

Posted

Smart Guy!!!!

Posted

I had only 7½" out from McKinley Park on Thursday and off o Birch point on Saturday. I will be fishing in Big Bay on Wednesday and Thursday and will let you know what I find.

Posted

Thanks guys. Does anyone know if there is enough snow to possibly get off the ice and into town for gas and such with snowmobiles?

Thanks again

53orbigger

Posted

I had 10-1/2" to 11" yesterday in Big Bay.

Trucks driving out as far as Birch Island the past few days and I am sure that I saw a couple out as far as Potato Island yesterday!

Plan to drive my F-150 out after Christmas.

Cliff

PS. Good bite this morning! Iced 15 walleyes in a rock pile in 28' of water in 3 hours. Shiners on set lines worked best.

Posted

Should be able to get into tower for gas by snowmobile. Lots of sled tracks in town. Today there were many full sized trucks on the lake at mckinley park.

Posted

So you can travel the lake by sled? I assume no ridges yet in big bay. We will be up for 4 days over new years. I plan on putting a concerted effort into icing a few eyes.

Posted

Sleds are running all over the lake now. As far as pressure ridges they are always out there!

Cliff

Posted

Thx Cliff. You have any favorite hook colors? I'm loving the setline report. Nothing better than running a spread of tip ups.

Posted

  james_walleye said:
Thx Cliff. You have any favorite hook colors? I'm loving the setline report. Nothing better than running a spread of tip ups.

Pink or red plain #4 or #2 hooks.

Or Holographic green Eye Droppers.

Cliff

Posted

Cliff is the ice out of Mckinnley drivable yet?

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