Fifth Annual Burntside Bash!

[Xplorer]

Chunky,

Boy, really wish i could make it up for a prefish on opener, but I got invited to spend that weekend up on a premier laker lake up in Canada. For 3 days I'll be plying the depths of Lower Manitou for lakers. I was up to this area about 5-6 years ago and had my personal best day of laker fishing on a -20+ day. I sat in 1 spot and caught 17 lakers from 2-7 pounds, and I was all of 25' from the island that the cabin was on. It is a 22 mile sled ride in, but well worth the effort. I figure my elbow should be recovered by Bash weekend

As for a starting spot, anywhere you chose works for me, just remember that last year everyone around me caught fish, and i ended up with the striped kitty in my Otter

I am trying to get off of work for friday, but no luck yet..if not I'll be up friday night staying with End of the Line in his sleeper icehouse in the upper parking lot (much better than the back of the pickup like last year )

for the weekend.

Bash V, who'da'thunk'it

If I get up friday AM, will you be out on the ice? If you need a sled for the weekend let me know.

STF, I checked out the particulars on the site i found for those particular jigging spoons, and they require a minimum $100 purchase for US orders. I may have to start an order sheet to make it possible, so we'll see. You guys have a goood one, its family obligations the next 3 weekends for me with a little time for fishing over Xmas weekend.

[ripstick]

We are all set Nl FRi am Bd110 and stacey. loonasea.sk and myself fri eve. last year we had ice and they marked the bad ice for fun run. Truth be told there will be iceand there will be fun. besides Jan is Jan.

[Shawnny B]

Hopefully I will be able to catch a fish when I come up, Yeah that means that I will be attending this event and hopefully making a yearly event.

ShawnnyB

[SKIPPERS KID]

I will hope we all get fish and have fun trying see ya all there .

[Xplorer]

Tom,

The "fun" part is guarenteed, the catching fish part is not For those that have been there before, you already know this is a great time had by all. For anyone trying to decide on whether to go or not, GO.....and make a point to enjoy a really great FM get together

[bwtrout]

Legend be told, a glance upon Chunky's twinkling eyes wilst behold great trout

As so, a glare stern square from Stfcatfish renders thee frozen hole

[Shawnny B]

You know I thought I acted funny while in college up there, I think theres something in the water up there! I love reading this section of posts. See you guys soon. Is anyone planning on hitting any other lakes on friday night or Sunday? ....

ShawnnyB

[sachem longrifle]

This sounds like fun. I would like to possibly go. Email me with details and costs, lodging, equipment and other info at [email protected]. I have 2 four wheelers and I would like to bring my 3 boys along, if that is ok. I hear from sources that Burntside is beautiful, more so than Kabetogama.

[Surface Tension]

sachem, by all means bring the kids along.

All the details are right here on the forum and if you have any questions to answers you can't find just ask.

Theres also the Fun Run that weekend so get you lodging taken care of ASAP. Maybe Stf can post a list of motels in the area.

[Steve Foss]

Hotels/motels/lodges are easy to find on the Ely Chamber of Commerce Web site at www.ely.org

[ripstick]

Just an Idea But it would be nice if 1 of the bsb xperts. would start a seperate thread for those who are going that are new Ideas on what to bring asin rods line tackle. Last year got really bad adivce from duluthians {not fmers} on what to bring.

[sachem longrifle]

How far is the Grand Ely Lodge Resort from Burntside?

[ripstick]

10 mins

[sachem longrifle]

Good. I can't wait. My boys want to go.

[Surface Tension]

ripstick, I'll talk about rods line and tackle. We'll start with rods. I like something on med/heavy action, length in 32-42. Now that could include a huge range of rods. To nail that down further, I want backbone but not a pool cue. What you have to take into account on rod selection is not so much the size fish you might catch, its the weight lures you'll be using and depth you'll be fishing. A walleye rod would get you by but the deflection as you jig larger and heavier lures won't feel good. You'll be fishing deeper then you would be eyes so you add the resistance of more line out. That means more rod bend/deflection just to jig a lure. You also lose sensitivity when the rod and weight lure isn't matched. So like I said a walleye rod would get you by but you should select lures matched for that rod.

Now that holds true for all inland laker fishing because lure weights are relitively the same and depths that I fish are all in the range that my laker rods can handle. Having said that my inland laker rods would be worthless for jigging Lake Superior lake trout. Lure weights and depths go way beyond what those rods can handle.

Reels, I prefer levelwinds, the Penn 920 and Garcia C3 to be exact. The size is a good match to the rods I use. Another reason I prefer them is if you use a braid no matter what the claims are they all will freeze if used outside in cold temps. Thats not a big problem with a levelwind but on an open face reel you'll have a mess.

Line, you could be perfectly matched with rod, reel, and lure weight but we way off on line. The resistance of deeper water not only drags on your lift, it also slows your lure drop. I use 10 lb mono and 10 lb braid. Thats enough to land huge lakers but the line dia works with my lure weights, anything heavier will coil and thats not good when you have to be in contact with your lure.

I rarely fish deeper then 60' so line strength with mono isn't any concern and either is detecting the slightest nudge.

Lures, like I said above, don't pick lure weights or lure profiles your rod will mush under. Example, an airplane jig and walleye rod won't work but a Swedish pimple or 1/4 oz Go Devil would be fine.

So heres some the lures in my laker box. Swedish pimples, Go Devils, jigging raps, airplane jigs, tubes, Erie dearies,

sonars, and cicadas.

[Steve Foss]

I'm with Frank on pretty much all that.

I tend to go heavier on my three rigs. Lakers aren't line shy until you get into really heavy lines.

Even though I fish almost all the time from a heated flipover, I stay with mono for lakers. They're so strong and make such sudden runs that I like the stretch mono brings to keep rods from snapping and to help keep from tearing out hooks that may not be embedded well enough.

And a note on Bside lakers: You don't catch too many eaters on typical laker sized tubes, airplanes, etc, which tend to be a couple-three sizes larger than walleye lures. Burntside eaters (1-3 pounders) like it small, as in walleye sized. And the larger fish will readily smack a walleye-sized lure here, too.

So if you're in the market for stout laker gear, go for it, but don't be discouraged if all you have is walleye sized lures and walleye sized gear.

Here's my rundown on three rods.

1. Berkley Lightnin Rod baitcaster, 36 inches, LSIC36-MH-R, rated for 6-17 lb line. Ambassadeur 5500 C3, 12 pound Trilene XL, ball-bearing swivel, three feet of 10 lb fluoro, lure.

2. Polar HT Polar Lites series spinning, 34 inches, PL-34H, Shimano 4000 series reel, 14 lb XL, swivel, 14 lb fluro, lure. This is a $15 rod, and has plenty of backbone and a good tip. Stronger than your average walleye gear, it's just right for inland lakers, and is very affordable. If a guy wants to get started with lakers and not shell out a lot for gear, this is the rod to get and couple with a standard sized spinning reel with 10 or 12 lb line.

3. Handmade by Surface Tension 34-inch baitcaster, Ambassadeur 5500C3, 12 lb XL, swivel, 10 lb fluoro, lure.

For lures, I have one rigged with a big airplane jig or rattle spoon, which I may use to get fish to come in from distances. Second one is rigged with a No. 9 jigging rap and third with a smaller jigging spoon. Bigger the lure, bigger the chunk of cisco I tip it with.

For lakers, jig aggressively. So aggressively that any walleye in the area will be sent running away. Lakers love to chase. I like the jigging rap especially for its erratic action, and I've worked out a technique on lakers that come in all hot but just won't hit. Rell the rap up fast, watch the laker dash up on your vex but don't wait for him to get to the lure. While he's sprinting up, drop that lure back down so it's 10 feet below him, and he'll drop back down for it. Before he gets quite down to it, sprint it right back up and wait for him to get nearly to it then drop it back down past him. We're talking about 40 to 70 FOW, so you crank it up above him 20 feet, even, and drop it back below him 10 or 20 feet. Keep doing this and it can drive that laker crazy. After a few cycles of this, when I crank it up hard and he dashes up to get it, I just hold it still and let him come, and lots of times that'll do the trick.

Egg 'em on, I say.

Other days, they're all over it right from the start. My best day on Bside, a five fish day including a 12, was with a walleye-sized flutter spoon.

If you don't have electronics, drop your lure to the bottom and bang it off the bottom a few times, then reel up a few feet and jig aggressively, working your way up the water column until you're right below the ice. Then drop the lure back to the bottom and do it again. Drill lots of holes around a piece of structure, because you may want to hole hop as the day goes on.

For my second line, it's always a tip-up, and unless I've got a dead frozen cisco sitting on the bottom hoping for one of those giant scavenger vacuum cleaner lakers to scoop it up, I never bother with dead bait, though lots of guys use dead cisco or smelt all the time.

My preference is a lively golden shiner or big rainbow chub half way down the water column about 30 feet from where I'm jigging. Often enough, I'll have a laker come in on my lure and not hit no matter what I do. Then, 30 seconds after it swims off for good I hear the jingle bells of my flag popping. I've had some days where I get more action on the tip-up than my lures.

[Surface Tension]

Steve, thanks for posting the rod series you have. All mine are hand made so I didn't have any specs. The Polar HT Polar PL-34H is a heck of a rod and very little cost.

[Steve Foss]

Yep, of all the ice rods I've bought over the years, from panfish to laker sized, it's the best combination of performance and price I've ever seen.

I've moved my gear post over to the Inland Laker gear thread Frank started. Let's continue this gear talk over there, so we don't clutter this up here.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Ok.. all this talk sounds kinda fun. I am always up for something new.

If a person put the work in.. about how many fish can someone expect to catch in a day?...As you boys know.. I need action or I go bonkers and start drilling more holes. If its really slow, Me and my Nils could have enough open water to go fishing out of a boat.

I'm thinking of talking to dad this weekend and see if he wants to give this a shot. Then I'll need to hop on the phone and make some reservations!

[Steve Foss]

My man, you can go a day without seeing a laker on your electronics, let alone catching one. On the other hand, you might catch half a dozen and see 15 total. Plus, in Bside's clear water, you can tease them to within several feet of the surface and make sure your shelter is dark so you can see down the hole — and you can sight fish them then. Man, is that a blast.

And if things are slow, drill more holes or pull up and move. And don't worry, we'll get you on some great spots if you're mobile.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Quote:

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And don't worry, we'll get you on some great spots if you're mobile.

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I assume you mean have a sled?... I'll have to get it licenced in MN and get it ready then... LOL

[Steve Foss]

Sled's the best way to guarantee you'll be able to move around on Bside. In some years the snow's too heavy for a pickup except right where the road goes. And some years the ice is too thin for trucks. Sleds rule. Only time they're not NO. 1 is when there's no snow on the ice.

[ripstick]

Thanks to steve and frank for the brief run on eqiupment. Got to bring your own luck. Now I know a few people were talking out thier er er er hats trying to be nice. You are best to get the info from the experts.

[SKIPPERS KID]

I need help but I will be with AKC frank--Surface and I now I will be on fish But it is about being fishing not catching? good luck to all and have fun .

[Steve Foss]

You're with Frank? Well, you'll probably get sick of sitting around at HQ, then. Pretty sure he and I are going to be stuck there most of the day.

[wayne556]

Hay Steve you will be seeing the wife and I again this Bash! we will be at the adventure inn for the weekend. Thanks for the great pics from last year we had a great time with you and the rest

Wayne

[Paul Waldowski]

DD,

If the sled is already showing a current license from another state it will still be valid in Minnesota. Hope you can make it up there, this is gonna be one for the ages and will be talked about in the FM annuals for years to come

[Steve Foss]

Yep, Deitz, Paul's on the money. Make sure you plop down a few bucks for the Minnesota trails sticker, however. I've been told by two C.O.s that even if you're not riding state trails you'll get ticketed if you don't have it. Any ELS terminal can sell you one. Mine cost $16. And I'm NOT trying to start an agrument about whether the sticker law can or cannot be enforced that way, just telling DD what the C.O.s told me.

[Powerstroke]

I really want to come up for this one this year. Are there any guys heading up from or through the metro with room for one more? I've got no problem coming up by myself, but it sure is nice hangin out with other nice folks. I've never done the Laker thing before, but I read about it every year on here and plan on doing it. I think this is the year to try.

I can drive or chip in with your ride. I've got a 4x8 Frabill suitcase style, Otter sled, Vex etc. I DO NOT have a 4wheeler or sled, but I do have a utility trailer if you need someone to haul yours.

[Steve Foss]

Hey, someone help Powerstroke out. He and I have lots of Lawn and Garden stuff to talk about. We'll put our heads together and come up with the right fertiziler to grow those Bside lakers to 40 pounds.