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Frustrating. Second skunk this year. Ran around Dollar island and the Vanvac landing with no takers. Water temps are very warm. Surface was seventy four degrees. Everytime I pulled the ball's up from the bottom I would feel them just to get a feel for the temp's down below. Also very warm. We had one fantastic day last year which keeps me going back,but this is really getting to be bogus. Another fellow at the end of the day came to the landing with riggers and said no luck also. He gave up after hours of no takers and tried for smallies. No takers there either. We did notice that people were going out on the lake at dark for the night bite. Anyone try this there? Maybe trolling glow spoons early or after dark might do the trick. BC

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I will wait for the hard water to get up there. Thanks for the report though.

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Sorry you had a bad one, Mark. I was out tonight for three hours from 5 to 8 with two strong hits but none hooked. I was off Van Vac in 50 to 70 FOW, one rig 45 feet down with a flutter spoon, the other 35 feet down with a husky jerk glass minnow. Both hard hits came off the spoon. That spoon runs best at 2.1 to 2.4mph, and we had both hits when that downrigger sped up on an outside turn, going about 2.5 mph. We caught a 12-pound pike on the glass minnow.

I'd have dropped the ball with the spoon to within a few feet of the bottom, but I had a laker newbie in the boat and didn't feel I had the time to be pulling the ball up and dropping it back down every time I hit a reef or hole. I marked no fish suspended far off the bottom. Most were within five feet of the bottom. There is a disorganized thermocline about 25 feet deep on most of the deep-water sections of Burntside, with temps in the 50s below the 'cline.

I'm planning to head out again Thursday evening, and will let you know how it goes if I'm able to get out.

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Steve, Most of the fish we marked were right near the bottom. I put the ball on them as much as possible. Went through a large school of baitfish (smelt) and gave them a headache as the wire on the rigger did a little dance for us (cool grin.gif). I am sure thing's will start to crank up as these night temp's are getting lower. Fun trip anyhow. Kid's caught plenty of sunnies and smallies to keep them busy on the father-inlaw's lake. Nate caught a four pound northern that gave up quite a fight. Saturday evening was beautiful. Northern light's, great bonfire, and satellites buzzing overhead. Great time. Good luck up there and hopefully we can still connect on the big lake before it close's for lake trout. Take care Steve. BC

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Do you guys ever fish with one pounders out there. Sometimes that's a good way to catch trout when they're near the bottom and not too active. It seems, on superior at least, that some days the fish prefer baits with only a pound of lead in front of them as opposed to 12. On the days that riggers are hot the pounders don't seem to do as well, but they can sometimes be your saving grace when the fish are a little sluggish. Might be something to try on bside.

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Quote:

Fun trip anyhow. Kid's caught plenty of sunnies and smallies to keep them busy on the father-inlaw's lake. Nate caught a four pound northern that gave up quite a fight. Saturday evening was beautiful. Northern light's, great bonfire, and satellites buzzing overhead. Great time.


Now that's what a weekend up north is all about. When the trout start biting again on B-Side, that's bonus time.

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Fished Bside again for four hours tonight. Two hard hits that didn't hook, and one nice fat 2.5-pounder from the Lockhart/Miller Island Nursery. Six-pound balls within five feet of the bottom, with a small silver/black husky jerk 10 feet behind one ball and a black/bronze/hammered chrome flutter spoon 40 feet behind the other ball. The hits that didn't hook came off the jerk, the fish off the spoon.

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Steve,

Burntside water temps are running at a consistent 68 degrees from about 15 feet to 22 feet. Thermocline about 24-25 feet,anything from 26 feet down loaded with suspended particles/vegetation, looks like a meteor shower with the camera. Northern pike seen at 26 feet and below, walleyes and suckers together in 19-23 feet, bass 28-30 feet. No walleyes biting, bass tough along with pike. Way too much turbulence down deep. Temps dip into low 50's 38+ feet.

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Something I have been trying to figure out for awhile, How do you determine where the thermocline is?

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Jim: Thanks for the details. Good stuff to know. How far down does the junk in the water go?

big musk: If you have a thermometer to lower it's easy. Warm surface water that stays about the same temp or decreases gradually until there's a fast cooling zone, which is the thermocline. But I see it on my electronics. The fast change from warm to cold water delivers a faint return on sonar if the temperature change is fast enough to make a fairly hard layer. It's a consistent thinnish line if the thermocline is hard and consistent. If not, it comes back as scattered, blotchy, occasional return, but at the same depth.

On Burntside, there isn't even much of a thermocline on some years if the summers are cool.

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Steve,

Haven't really looked becauseI don't usually fish trout, but 36 feet + doesn't seem to matter, it's all over the place. Talked to a island cabin owner tonight, and his pump intake is at about 27 feet, and he is changing filters every 3 days, compared to once monthly. Also talked to Joe Geise (sp?) from the DNR, thinks it's zooplankton which fluctuates in depth, and is prevalent with the warmer water we had 2-3 weeks ago.

Big Musk- An underwater camera has a temperature unit, which will give you the temp at certain levels verified by your fish/depth locator. You can also determine it on your locator as Steve described. The therocline is where there is an abrupt temperature change within 2-4 feet, and continues to drop after that. Any questions, call me at 218-365-4744 between 6-10am daily.

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Thanks for the info Steve and Great Outdoors! I typically fish lakes that probably don't have a thermocline, but have always wondered. Heading to Upper Whitefish tomorrow, I'll have to play with the locater and see if I can find it.

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Doesn't sound like the report I was looking for. Will be on Burntside for a week starting next week at this time. Thanks for the reports.

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Hey guy's. Talk about stuff in the water, just got back from Millelacs, Isle area, and the whole lake has some algae bloom going on. Kid's asked if it was "fish eggs". Round, tan, super small little balls floating on the surface every where. Did not seem to effect the fishing. BC

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

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