sylvia / twin

[pjh]

Any Ice / fishing reports for sylvia twin?

[duckman5547]

I fish Sylvia and Twin everyday. For the last week the bite has been anything but consistent. One day you'll catch none and the next day you'll catch four or five. The ice is also inconsistent. I moved my house yesterday and found anywhere from 3 to 8 inches. Hopefully we don't get too much snow as this will make for miserable conditions all year.

[pjh]

Im thinking about maybe sunday. either some bays by the channel or maybe out by the big island on twin. I'm worried about the walk to the island from the launch though. do you know if anyone is doing it yet? Thanks again for the ice info.

Paul.

[Weener]

I was watching it the past couple days and it doesn't look like anyone has done it. There were a couple guys walking by the access, but never vetured out to the island. The ice doesn't look very good.

[duckman5547]

I was on the lake this morning. The fish were going good, i fished three hours and got 4. The downside is that anyplace you make a hole it floods right away. I had to pull my big house off the spot because I had 5 inches of water around it. As far as walking to Bulls island, you should be fine going there. It froze there the same time as where I had my house and I had 7 inches. I saw a 4 wheeler go all the way across from the landing last night. They never stopped and checked the ice one time. Let me know if you would like to meet up and slam some eyes. I should have my big house back out by friday.

Jeremy

[Weener]

Where are you going to put your house? I may be out there this weekend.

[duckman5547]

I am going to put it on the west side of the west lake. It will be right where the road comes close to the lake. It is a silver and green fish house on wheels. I'm sure it will be the only big house on the whole lake. I'll be there saturday afternoon and sunday afternoon, both days by 2:30 or so. If I'm there my 4 wheeler will be there. It is a red honda rubicon. Let me know if you are going to make it.

Jeremy

[Weener]

Jeremy - How are the Walleyes hitting on the west side? I'm heading out this Saturday. I'll be hitting the bar off the old tree farm if I can get there with the wheeler.

[eyepatrol]

duckman

Is there any location on Sylvia where a guy can gain access to the lake? Only public access I'm aware of is on the Twin side.

Also, are those walleyes coming in deep water? Just curious as I've never caught walleyes out of either of the lakes.

thanks

bc

[duckman5547]

The fishing on the west side is hit and miss. I only caught 1 tonight and 2 last night. The slush is horrible all over the lake. You should be able to get the old tree farm with a wheeler. I was all over the lake yesterday with mine. The least ice I found was 5 inches. Just beware of the slush. You can e-mail me for more detailed info. duckman5547 at hotmail (Contact US Regarding This Word).

[duckman5547]

There is a small landing on the east side. You go west on 71st street off of county road 3 and follow it to the end of the road. I don't know if they are parking on the ice there yet or not. If not you should try and get there early as there is not much room. I will drive down there tomorrow and let you know. If you do go there do not let any land owner down ther try to run you off. This is state owned land and every year one of the landowners tries to run you off. As for depth I have caught fish from 15' to 42' this year. It has been fish from 14"-17" from deep water and better fish 20"-29" from shallowr water. Hope this helps you.

Jeremy

[billbixby]

Greetings, and good to see people working that lake. It's hard enough in summer, but the hard water makes it a challenge, for sure.

Duckman, I mean no disrespect, and I have a pretty good idea which owner is trying to "run people off" of that property, but it is actually a private landing. It's owned by the collective properties on that shoreline. We use one of them. Access came with the cost of the property long ago. That's why it's not marked "public access."

Just bear in mind that if "that owner" wants to call someone, they probably can, although I'd consider it impolite. Driving out from there is never a problem, but parking there is where it gets sticky. The most you'd get from me is a question about where the fish are biting and how the ice is.

Good luck and good fishing. Hope to see you out there in January/February when I get to go.

[duckman5547]

I just drove over too the landing on east lake sylvia. I could not see where they have been parking on the ice yet. They have been parking on shore, but there is not much room. I did see some tracks from what appeared to be a vehicle going off towards the narrows. I don't know what kind of substance these people were on but I would not advise this.

As far as that landing goes, years ago it was a private landing, this changed in 1989 when it was donated to either the county or state, I'm not sure which one. I haven't had any problems the last few years, but before that every year someone would put up a stink about it. I'm sure I'll see you on the lake later this winter, I'm there everyday. It really is tough being laid off all winter. . Let me know when.

[eyepatrol]

duckman...

Thanks much for the input! This is one of my favorit lakes for panfish, and I've tried it a couple times for walleyes however with no success. Probably why I haven't caught any 'eyes though...haven't worked it enough times to figure it out yet. This year I plan to put a little more effort into it and give it a go.

Two more questions....do you know if the lake has any springs, current areas or any other things which make it hazzardous to walk or drive (any "do not go over there" spots)? Does the ice on these deep lakes get thick enough to drive a truck on?

thanks

bc

[nytelyter]

been keeping my eye on this post. i spent every summer on this lake til i was 14 . my grandmother had a cabin on the east side of sylvia. it is by far my favorite lake. i was out their hard water fishing last year,for the first time. it has some of the most pristine water in it of any other lake south of brainerd. there are MONSTER sized fish in this lake due to forage fish like fresh water herring and the other usuals. they are tough to catch fish tho. as far as the question of springs. YES there are many springs in this lake. as i reacll a few years back the dnr even dropped their quad runner thru. it seems like all the creeks that are around this lake run out of not into the lake and i do believe that is why it keeps its clarity. it is so cool to be lookin down the hole in 20 fow and count the rocks and lures on the bottom just like you were lookin at them thru a store window. i fish with a cam and you can see fish coming in from waaaaaaaay far off. it is a lite line lake. i willl make it out there again this hard water season. if for nothing elase to just sit and watch the bottom of the lake. and yes i have driven on this lake late in the ice season but i do not venture to far off the beaten trail. good luck.

[Weener]

I grew up on the west lake and my parents still live there. I will never drive a car on Sylvia. I've driven all over Pleasant, Cedar, and Clearwater, but won't drive on Sylvia.

[Gadgetman]

Jeremy your wrong about the access on 71st. I used to live on 71st until 1991 and had some issues regarding that access myself. I spent a great deal of time at the court house researching the details of that piece of property. Here is how it plays out; it is a public access on a private road. Everybody from cty rd 3 down to the access itself has a deeded access across the back part of all those other pieces of property. At one time one family (Alama I believe) owned all of it and when she divided it up she just gave everybody an easement over the other properties. As you can imagine it would have really pissed myself and the other property owners that arent on the lake to have that piece of property "donated" to anybody, as it is technically nobodys property to donate, and taking that access from our properties would have had a negative affect on our property values. Additionally, the guy who lives in the home that Wingers used to own just recently (last fall) tried to have that piece of property added to his property. He even went so far as hauling in a truck load of boulders and dumping them in the middle of that access. The DNR was on him immediately and he had to move them. So the long and the short of it is that you can get away with using the landing but if you park any place but the ice you will probably get a ticket as the folks at the end of the road dont really appreciate the traffic, garbage etc... I would recommend that all who use it be as considerate as possible so as not to fan any flames that might be there. Incidentally, there is a spring just to the right as you drive on the lake, last year somebody put a vehicle thru at that spot. I will echo Weeners vote, I will never drive a car on either of the lakes. One of the happier days of my life was moving from that side of the lake ot the other side and not having that problem to deal with. With the property that we bought on the other side there was an easement issue. You can bet that I spent some $ and got an attorney to write it up totally in my favor so that I control how it might be used. See ya on the lake, dont let the slush get you.

[billbixby]

Gadgetman, Wow, that last one really hits home. We're in the little red cabin next to it. The guy that bought Wingers is not so friendly to those of you parking there, so I echo the sentiments of beware. I ALSO echo the sentiments of the spring and the picking up of garbage.

It will always come down to respecting each other. I'd appreciate it if anyone of you going out there let us know if someone is doing anything "inappropriate." Otherwise, like I said, I'll be hitting it in Jan/Feb, and I'd love to hear from you where they're hittin'.

[duckman5547]

Gadgetman,

I wasn't sure how the private road worked into the issue of the landing. I knew anyone could use the landing itself, just wasn't sure on the parking there. I know alot of people do park there which I can understand would make any who live there mad. As far as driving on the lake, I have fished the lake for 25 years, driving out since I was old enough to drive. It is one of those lakes that if you don't know don't go venturing off anywhere you want. It will be awhile before it is good to drive on this year. I cut some new holes today, one hole had 9", the other 2 within 20' of the first had 5". The slush is horrible, it is starting to freeze now and there is a crust on it that the 4 wheeler falls through. Hopefully with the warm weather, the snow will settle some.