1/26 - 1/28 Report - Kelly P's Sleeper

[HateHumminbird]

Just got back from one of our best URL trips in the past few years!

My luck on the big lake has always been such that I'm coming to town as a cold front is rolling in. This weekend was no exception. As a first, however, I'd get to fish just before the front, as well as after.

Rolled into Waskish around 2:30PM on Friday afternoon, and Jon took us out to our house. Before he could finish giving us the lowdown on the bite, I had the first fish of the night on. Within an hour and a half, my dad and I were limited out, and we ended up with 28 crappies for 2 guys in roughly 2 hours or so of fishing. There were several eyes mixed in as well, all b/w 17.5"-19". Action was so fast, it was very difficult running a jigging rod with a bobber rod right next to you. Midway thru the bite, I opted to keep the bobber rod out of the water, simply because it took too much time to re-bait, and they were hitting the varmint like a freight train.

Saturday, the cold and wind was upon us, but we still ended up catching 24, that day, with the best bite being between 5-6PM. Sunday morning two more crappies and many walleyes came through the hole for my dad, but I was out scouting a new spot or two with only some walleyes to show for it. Sun. morning was cold!!!

1/8 oz JB Rattling Varmints in glow red were the ticket, and produced about 3/4 of the fish all weekend. Saturday was a bit trickier however, with most fish being sniffers. A quick and easy remedy to those fish was to reel up quickly, glow-charge the varmint with a tazer, and send it back down immediately about 2 feet above them. 90% of the time with a fresh charge they'd come up and smack it. That was the difference Sat. Without it, we'd have ended up with only a handful of fish. It was helpful to have a bobber rod down, and we did our best on pink #4 Gammi's with a small minnow. This was in case the fish lost interest after you pulled your lure up and away.....they'd swim over and hit the free-swimming minnow.

I can't say enough about Kelly and Jon. I've always been put on fish with these guys. It's not magic, though it seems like it at times; they simply work harder than most out there. Case in point, on Friday, Jon was eating his first meal of the day around 3PM. A can of chicken noodle soup. This is the preferred meal of the Petrowskes out on the ice, as you can heat the can on the manifold of the plow truck, and should you have to leave it in the cab for awhile, it's still good after it re-thaws. Unbelievable. Eating is a major inconvenience when you're constantly plowing, moving houses, and scouting to find new fish.

Here's a pic of your avg. 14+" URL crappie, with another one on the screen of the LX-5 below me:

And here's a pic of my disgruntled old man after I told him the 19" 'eye he was holding was in the slot. Must've been hungry!:

Joel

[00rowe]

Joel, were you in the light blue 2 man sleeper? if so you must have timed it right, we were in there thursday by 1 and left around friday at noon and caught 20 slabs between 3 of us. Jon and Kelly definitely do there best to put there houses on fish. We were also up there 2 weeks ago and limited in another one of their sleepers.

[Wookiee]

Do you tie your Varmint spoon directly to the line? Oh and nice fish of course.

[HateHumminbird]

I like to tie off directly. Presentation is more natural IMO, and I seem to have less problems with the treble hooking the line on the fall.

I also forgot to mention I kept the Varmint tipped with a minnow head at all times.

Up there, it seems to really be about the windows of opportunity. Make good on them, and you can be pulling in crappies one after the other!

To save time, I usually would pinch off about 6 or so minnow heads at a time so I had a fresh supply ready to stick on the hook and send down. Nothing worse than a Marcum lit up like a christmas tree while you're struggling for a minnow.

Joel

[kelly-p]

Like Jon told you Joel you owe a thanks to 00rowe also. When he was in that house we told his group how you fished. They could have had more but they threw the dumb ones back down the hole for you to catch.

[minimite]

kelley, did those pictures of the boys work on your email. i would post them if i was smarter than the can of chew in my pocket and could figure it out

[Borch]

Well see Joel....if your on the school a crappies they'll even bite during cold front conditions.

Looks like you two enticed a couple of them anyways.

[HateHumminbird]

Borch:

If that's what you call a couple, you should quit your day job and guide up there!!! I've done better in terms of numbers, but usually with larger groups. It's been rare, for me at least, to drop into your first spot and do as well as we did. Not to mention, even when I've marked fish during high frontal conditions, that doesn't mean they've typically cooperated for me. You'll catch a few here and there, but they've never been nearly as aggressive for me as they were that Fri. night. Thanks Kelly and Jon!

Joel

[kelly-p]

We had a group cancel out for this weekend because of the coldweather. This house that Joel used and the one alongside are now open for this weekend.

Both are 8X16, 6 holes,2 bunks and a cot. Call if you want them.

[minimite]

is it just for fri. and sat. nights?

[crappeyeslayer]

I am interested... i will give you a call over lunch!

[Borch]

Quote:

---

We had a group cancel out for this weekend because of the coldweather. This house that Joel used and the one alongside are now open for this weekend.

Both are 8X16, 6 holes,2 bunks and a cot. Call if you want them.

---

After a phone call this afternoon they were both filled. Good to see. Hate to see a spot like that go to waste.

[bear05]

Kelly-P,

I was looking at your sleepers and i was just curious on the availability, wheather i have to call someone of if i could do it on the internet. If you could shoot me an email at [email protected] that would be great.

thank you,

andrew somers

[kelly-p]

You got mail. Call or e-mail either one. We're on the lake most of day so mornings or evenings are best.

[mtheis]

Kelly and Jon: I have heard so much about your excellent services. My son, dad, and I wish to go up to URL during the week of March 12-17. Is anything available open to use as sleepers. Something comfortable for them? Email address is [email protected].

[mtheis]

Kelly you have mail!

Michael.

[Badger_55]

Thanks alot for a great time Kelly, Jon, and the rest of Waskish minnow station. We were fortunate to head for home with our limit of walleyes and crappies. For how cold it was the house was excellent, beds were great. Really looking forward to being able to come up again soon.

Thanks, Ben.

[kelly-p]

It turns out that the women you saw in the house next to you were from Spain. Can you imagine the stories they'll have about MN winters when they get back. the cute thing is that they stayed in the little house while all the men took the big house. The women icefishing for the first time in their life out fished the men.

[Tripleplay]

Kelly,

I just wanted to thank you for the getting the opportunity to fish out of this same house last Wednesday (January 31st). Although the fish and weather weren't at their best when compared to the previous days as well as what looks like was a turnaround after we left, we enjoyed our time in a very comfortable house and caught some fish.

All in all we ended up with a number of slot walleyes released (managed to keep 4 under 17"), the one northern that we had to hook three different times before she got some time breathing air and hopefully headed for a different hiding spot than under our house, a couple of perch and three crappies. Not bad results for having a couple of youngsters that had never caught a walleye thru the ice.

Would have loved a few more crappies but that one I caught when you were visiting is my first URL crappie in three trips so fulfilled that portion of the trip for me.

We'll definitely be back in the future and it will be in one of your houses although we might have to upsize as one of my daughters is bound and determined to come along next year---not necessarily for the fishing as much as she thinks she missed out on a great trip similar to deer hunting weekends.

Thanks! Irv (aka: Tripleplay)

[winks]

Yep, I'm sure those 2 young women will be telling stories about Upper Red Lake and ice fishing for years. 1 was from Brittany, France and the other from Barcelona, Spain and both had experience ocean/Mediteranean sea fishing and had seen snow before but -25 and howling winds was a brand new experience. While getting bait and passes at Hillmans I was talking to the Spanish woman outside while she smoked a cigarette and she was afraid it would be the last of the weekend due to the cold! They got lessons on bait, hooking minnows, and tackle at Hillmans and they put their new knowledge to work. I was willing to go co-ed on the sleeping arrangements when I saw the small house was producing more fish than the 5-man but others thought the girls needed their privacy. I did spend quite a bit of time in the small house "coaching" the girls on the finer points of getting 14+ inch crappies up a hole. Set one of them up with my best rod, w/red glow Rattlin' Buck Shot and the Vexilar and sure 'nuff she pulled up crappies and walleyes. In fact, yesterday morning she was the last one to reel up when it came time to go home. They needed my sunflower for some auxillary heat, so I never got the portable set up.....actually glad to have had that excuse. When I fired up the Jiffy and punched a couple holes through the ice, they thought that was "way cool" and couldn't believe how thick the ice was. (no I didn't need an extension)

The other 4 guys were all Red Lake rookies and had a great time. We finished up with 35 crappies, 10 keeper walleyes and put back 15 or so more walleyes, biggest being 20" Thanx, Kelly!

[Badger_55]

Really, yeah i bet you can imagine with just four guys in a fishhouse together for 2nights how entertained we were to see a couple of girls out on the ice roughly 40 yards from us. I'm sure everytime they were outside they seen four heads pokin through that window. Good stuff, I'd have trouble sleeping if I brought my girl up there and they outfished me. OUch!

[kelly-p]

When it's time to move that house you were in we'll probably

find evidence that you guys tried to tunnel over there.

[Badger_55]

If we had one more full day we would of mader