Fleming Report

[hawgTime]

Anyone have a current report about the fishing at Fleming?

hawgTime

[email protected]

[Mike W]

I did see lots of people out on French this weekend. I stayed on gun. The bit was pretty good on gun out from the landing. Worked my wat around the west end of the lake and caught crappies everywhere I tryed. Lots of 8 to 10 inch fish. I caught over 100 crappies and only 20 went over 10". It was fun for my first trip out on the Ice. I only got to spend a day up there. I think with a little more looking around and trying different times of the day you could find some bigger fish.
Euro larve where the main bait for me. Twisty tails, tube jigs, and rubber minnows pulled in the fish also. The plastics seemed to take the bigger fish but the little one sure spent alot of time chasing them around.
I have never tried just straight plastic baits in the winter before and was happy to see the fish would respond to them. Anyone else ever give them a try?
Good luck fishing

[Seabass77]

23 crappies on Fleming on friday afternoon/night...not much size but hot action. I left with my vex full of fish. Could handle dancing with the wind anymore. Wow was it nuts out there!!!

[slabberknocker]

Went to Flemming Sun. with icewolf and nailed the crappies in the morning. Caught well over 50 in the couple hours there. We only kept five and then switched to a different lake and nailed the slabs. Came home with our limit. Also caught a northern on a teardrop and a couple of gills. Great day of fishing. Great mid day bite.

Slab

[Mike Smith]

Pro Crappie guide how much ice on the lake?

[Guest]

Which Lake? Fleming has 10-11".

[Seabass77]

PCG, 10 - 11" ? Really? There was about 4 -5 " on Friday night, just out from the landing.

[slabberknocker]

On Sunday Fleming had 7" straight out from the acess.

Slab

[Guest]

Let me report again.... 10-11".

When it's cold like this and there's no snow on the ice, it doesn't take long to form 3" of ice.

Fleming is an interesting lake. It has a huge population of Crappies. People used to believe that there was only one good spot to catch fish, and that was on the west end off the 3 foot hump. Now it seems, as long as you are in 11-12' of water, and at least 75 yards AWAY from the hump, you'll catch Crappies.

Last winter I drilled holes all over the lake, didn't matter where, and caught Crappies one right after another.

They might be small, but if you keep the bigger of the small ones, they are the tastiest fish you'll ever eat. Pike run good sizes in there, and the gills, concentrating in about 9-10 feet of water, can run in the 9-10" range. (catch and release and major issue on the gills since there aren't very many of them)

Good luck, and maybe we'll see ya out there.

PCG

[knoppers]

pro crappie, thanks for the catch and release plug on the bluegills. I catch many nice gills and release them all. if I want to keep any fish, the crappies on fleming are very good, they are not big, but are very tasty, and fun to catch. the hot spots for them bull gills is very secretive to me, I don't even tell my relatives were they are. as for crappies, just search around with your sonar for fish, if you mark fish, well you got yourself a limit of crappie.

[Guest]

Crappies on Fleming...If you want a limit...Just get in 11-12 feet and fish....Anywhere pretty much. It's that simple.

Big Gills are alot more sparce. I know where to pick up a few, and patients is truly the name of the game.

PCG

[Nels]

Has anyone been fishing Fleming lately? (or Gun or Wilkins) I will be coming up on Friday 27th through Tues. and hope to spend quite a bit of time out on the ice. I've never really ice fished any of these and just want some suggestions for good action. Are the Crappies still biting good?

Thanks

[Guest]

Of course the Crappies are biting...

Fleming Crappies rarely ever quit.

Wilkins is quite a bit more tricky for finding Crappies in the winter time, has very clear water, and is loaded with springs.

I'll be up fishing the same time you are. Hopefully the bite is good.

Thanks

PCG

[This message has been edited by Pro Crappie Guide (edited 12-24-2002).]

[knoppers]

nels, carefull on wilkins, there is some weird ice out there. try rat lake, you can get some dandy crappies and some wlleyes to boot, just don't expect good activity untill the right time. just wait them out.

[Nels]

PCG:
If you see a Clam Jr. with a lot of patchwork on the fabric, that will be me. If I don't have the Jr., I will for sure have a large gray back pack to haul all my gear.
Sunday and Monday would be the days I would most likely be out there.
(Sat. I will try one last time for grouse, and if that is slow I will try Remote lake)

Good luck this weekend!

[Guest]

See...Whoppers knows his stuff. Wilkins has tricky ice...Rat has big Crappies and Gills...

If ya e-mail me your phone number Nels I could give ya a call and we could maybe a hit a lake together.

Ever fished Whispering?

[email protected].

PCG

[Nels]

PCG,
I sent you an email.
Are you going to be around on Monday?
And no, I've never fished whispering.

Good luck,
Nels

[Guest]

Got the e-mail, thanks.

You've got mail as well.

PCG

[Nels]

PCG,
OK,
I'll be @ Gun (not fleming) @ 2pm today.

I also sent this in an email.
Nels

[Guest]

so how did you guys do on Gun? I have been out the last 3 evenings and im stuck on 5 crappies each time. Sat and This evening at Twin Lakes and Elora on Sun. I might have to head back to Fleming for some numbers but i hate giving up the size.

[Guest]

I drove out and visited with Nels for a while, but didn't fish.

The wind was blowing like a mo-fo.

PCG

[Nels]

After PCG left me, I caught 3 crappies about 9", 2 7" gills and 3 4"perch. Then I moved out to deeper water (40 feet) and caught a couple more crappies, but they were smaller.
The wind was howling, and the temp really seemed to drop as the sun went down.
None of the fish really struck hard. I was mostly just dead-sticking.

[knoppers]

with all the small crappies in this lake, we need more preditor fish. I have e-mailed the DNR about walleye stocking, but get no relys. it just turns my stomach when I here of all the walleyes that get stocked into some 8 foot deep max twin city lake that freezes out every other year. once and a while someone catches a nice walleye in fleming, but still no stocking. I even proposed special pike regs for the lake, and still get no action or response, what gives. the DNR does its lake clasification back in the fiftys, dosen't mean that those rules still apply. I talked to an old timer, and he remebers years ago, when he was a kid of all the walleyes they used to get here. we need to all keep buggin the DNR about helping this lake out.

[Guest]

MY folks live on Fleming lake My Mom
and a few others have been on the countys
and the DNR's case for a few years now trying
to get things done out there and its like
talking to a wall!!!its a good little lake I sure hope they can get a few things done sometime soon but I wouldnt hold my breath
REDRIDER

[Guest]

Fleming has thousands of Crappies in it.

7 years ago we went out on Fleming and caught 10 oz- 3/4# Crappies like it was going out of business.

Now you can go anywhere on the lake, catch 5-8" fish like the end of the world is coming...nothing bigger.

I never knew of any walleyes in the lake...

Thanks for the heads up.

PCG

[Guest]

Shallow metro lakes are stocked many times to use are rearing ponds.
I must be doing something wrong - 9 years of fishing the lake, no walleyes. Though if it's news to PCG, I don't feel too bad.
Do some math on limits, then consider the ones that keep a limit every time they go out. In a small lake, I don't think it takes as long as most people think to put a serious dent in the fish population.
It's amazing the looks from some as you are fishing from your dock, releasing all your fish, while they keep every one.
gte

[Guest]

yes Fleming is full of little crappies
but there sure tastee I've never heard of
any walleyes being caught there either
I guess but anythings possible !
maybe a few get through the ditch from
wilkins, doubtful but yet possible I
myself feel the crappies are so huge of a
population in fleming that they are in
so much competition for food that they just cant get any bigger cause af thier numbers
but I am not an expert on this either
REDRIDER

[Guest]

I agree with you redrider.

[knoppers]

summer of 2001, there was a 8 pounder caught, and kept in fleming. in the winter before that, trying to resolve the latest alage blooms, the DNR let a rough fish netting operation net fleming, thinking that there was carp causing the water qaulity problems, they caught a ton of little crappies,go figure. some gills, pike, bass, and yes two walleyes around 19 inches. the good thing is they caught no rough fish axcept a couple dogfish. at least now we know the current water problems are man made. our lake association is currenty consumed with helping the lake, which I think is working. we all have to do our part to help. drop the DNR a e-mail, let them know we need the walleyes also to help the lake, or special regs. good fishin'

------------------

[knoppers]

come on MF