Pelican Lake Fishing Reports - Ashby

[jjohnson5150]

This weekend was incredible. We limited out rather quickly on Walleye & Pike. It was one of the best bites I've seen in my 5 seasons on Pelican. Big fish for the weekend were my wifes 23" & my 21". Otherwise, the Walleye were really nice eater size 15" - 19". Fish are shallow & hammering Rapalas. The only bad parts of the weekend were the cut up hands I got from gills & having to leave at 5 AM today to get to work. We opted to leave this morning so we did not have to leave yesterday.

I attended the lake assoc meeting on Sat AM. The county land commsioner (I hope I got his title correct) went through a draft of the document put together that states what our objectives are for lake management. It's my understanding that this is needed to apply for any of the clean water / arts money that will be available. A motion was passed to increase the lake assoc dues from $10 to $20 per year. This increase will help with potential fingerling stocking in the years the DNR does not stock fry. A motion was passed for the assoc to set aside money to do this as long as the DNR does not take away their stocking as a result. Someone was going to check on that to make sure. Everyone hoped the hwy 19 project would be done before we all die. The land commisioner also advised the assoc to look into the feasability of creating a biking / walking trail around the lake that would connect up with the main trail that goes from Evansville to Ashby. He said a survey that was conducted showed biking / walking was one of the most important activities (2nd to fishing of course) for property owners.

[#fishhunt#]

First time forum writer here. Nice to see reports from this lake. They never write about Pelican on your normal fishing reports. My parents have a cabin on Phillips Point road that they bought from my Grandma. I have been going up there since I was born, 43 years ago. Did anyone go up last weekend? I'm heading up tomorrow at noon hoping the bite is still going. I was up there over Memorial day weekend and we found walleyes but they were scattered. They all seemed to be in 7-9 feet which is what we usually fish. We were using Jig & minnows(white or green and white 3/8oz seems to be the colors) and crawler spinner rigs(blue spinners). We caught 12 and kept 8. Four were 20 to 23 ". I let everything go over 18-19". Quite a few northerns for pickeling. I think we kept 7 and caught about 15.My wifes uncle picked up a 16.5" crappie in the same spot I caught one 5 tears ago. Were you using #11 floating raps, rattle traps? I have not trolled hard baits much on the lake since it gets weedy so fast.

[jjohnson5150]

How did you do this past weekend? What was the weather like? I use shallow running shad raps early on. With the cold temps, I expect to be able to use them for another few weeks. We did not go up this weekend since the weather looked horrible. The weekend before we did okay. I think we ended up getting 3-4 Walleye & a handful of Pike. I'll be up with the guys Thu evening for a fishing weekend. I fully expect to spend much of the weekend on the water.

[#fishhunt#]

We made it up Friday to try and get some fishing in. My dad and I seigned for minnows and didnt get any and went to the Melby Flyway to get minnows. They didnt have any shiners so I got some fatheads. They were about the size of crappie minnows. I went out by myself and tried the south side reefs and got beat up by the East wind and waves. I used a green and white 3/8 oz jig and minnow again. I fished from 7:00 to 9:00 and picked up 4 walleyes and kept One. (Sizes 17", 20", 21" and 23"). Saturday was the same for wind and 40 degrees. I went out at 6am for 2 hours and never got a bite at the rocks. I also tried the south shore, and Deadmans point. I picked up one small northern that a released. Went back out with my dad at noon and tried the shoreline West of the Narrows althe way down to the tin shack by the outlet. Had one small bite with a spinner and crawler. Then we tried Phillips and I had one more bite on a crawler that short bit. The rain started at 2 and that was it for the day. I never went back out. Went out at 8:30 on sunday 42 degrees and wind again and we picked up 2 walleyes on jigs again around Bird Island (18 and 19 3/4 inchers) Kept the 18 and let the other go. We missed 3. Seems with the cold weather they were kind of negative and not hitting real hard. Slow presentation seemed to be the best in the crappy weather. Good luck next weekend hope the weather cooperates. Let me know how you did. I am landlocked by birthdays and graduations until the June 26th,27,28 weekend.

[jjohnson5150]

All b-days, weddings & graduations should be in Sept or celebrated at the lake.

I'll post here on how this weekend goes. We usually start out pulling rapalas & go from there. Sometimes, that's all we need. I'll have to get some live bait because sucker minnows off the dock are a must. Then there is the bullheadin' with lighted bobbers after dark. The approaching stable weather should shape things up for the weekend.

[BoxMN]

Hey fishhunt, I am just curious what Deadmans point is. I haven't heard that one before. I won't be up again until duck hunting, but like to see how you all are doing out there

I am guessing it might be the point on the south end of the lake, real rocky and pretty sharp dropoof, where the hill is fairly steep coming down to the point?.?...

I had a bad day under that real big cottonwood on the south "beech" just a little bit south of that point many moons ago

[101winchester]

Box - that Cottonwood is called the Cigar Tree (pronounced SEEEGAR) from way back when. If a person had a penny for every cold drink that was consumed under it you would be very rich. the point you are refering to I call Grandpas point, because our family farmed that farm until 1980. Spent alot of time going down that embankment with the rope, good spot to fish sunnies on a Sunday afternoon. There are several of us on here that have spent alot of time on those rocks.

JJohnson - shoot me a pm @ jnohre at gctel dot net I'm free this weekend and will be out there fishing with the family. Tim

[#fishhunt#]

We call Deadmans the point just west of turtle bay or just east ok Big Sunken Island. Sometimes we call it Rooster point. You know about that rooster that used to crow every morning. The way may grandpa used to tell the story is that he pulled in a guy 3 guys out of the water there about 45 years ago while they were duck hunting and one didnt make it. Not a great way to remember it. I'm not sure if its true or not but he kept saying it was. I always thought they just want us to wear our life jackets all the time.

I do know where the point is on the south end of the lake. It is an excellent spot when the fish are on it . I have fished it about 3 times this year with no luck. I know last week they were catching a few walleye west of the point before the cold front came in Charlie and Lu Schultz live just West of it. Saturday i couldnt getr a bite over there. I think Charlie is the Pelican Lake property owners president? Our family grew up with theirs in Bloomington.

[#fishhunt#]

10-4 on the:

All b-days, weddings & graduations should be in Sept or celebrated at the lake.

A person would never go hungry if they lived on Pelican.................and they didn't mind eating the Bullheads and the Cormorants.

[BoxMN]

Thanks for the info 101, and yep, I have sat under the Cigar tree for various reasons over the years

Fishhunt, we call that Vodka Point, and I used to hunt off it now and then. I know the guy who owned it at the time (Galen, who used to own Ashby Resort, and now owns a resort up in Canada), and he used to lease it to the 3M duck camp, and I am friends with guys (one now gone) who used to guide for them. Had some good bill shooting out there late season.

And yep, bullheads can be tasty when the walleyes are sparse, ha!

[#fishhunt#]

jjohnson5150-How did last weekend go for fishing? The weather looked like it cooperated. I suppose the mosquitos are out in force now.

[bassman34]

I will be heading to my grandparents cabin on Eagle Lake, just up the road from Pelican, on Thursday night through Sunday. Was thinking of making a trip down to Pelican to search for some crappies with my 5 year old son. Have they been biting good yet and where are some spots we could try? Any info. or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[jjohnson5150]

This past weekend was decent. We ended up needing extra screws for the 2 bragging boards we have. The 4 of us ended up cleaning a dozen pike & 5 walleye. I won the big fish pool with a 27.5" Pike. The biggest Walleye went 19". We also got into a mess of bass. I got the biggest Bass also. It went 19". All the fish were caught in 4' - 8' of water. The weeds are really starting to grow, so trolling raps shallow is starting to get tough. It's time to move to deeper diving jointed raps on the outside of the weeds. If anyone prefers trolling lindy type rigs, it might be time to put away the minnow bucket & move on to leaches and / or crawlers. Stop in at Indian Mounds resort for some good bait. After dark on Fri we went bullheadin with our lighted bobbers & stinky bait. What a blast! Lots of laughs. Sorry if anyone had their windows open & we kept you awake until midnight.

We did not get into any Crappies. I've had a difficult time locating them in #'s. The best concentration I had was one April when they were around our boat lift. Otherwise, it's hit & miss. Usually, when you do get one, it's a slab. Water temp reached 72 on Sunday, so the Crappies are likely in deeper water. To be honest, I'd look to a different lake for Crappie action. Sunfish action might be good though. You would just have to try some new areas. Sorry I could not be of any help with the Crappies. If you do go out & find them, please let me know.

[#fishhunt#]

I second the idea of going to another lake for crappies. They are tough to find now especially when 90 percent of the white crappies died in 2007 over labor day. The blacks are around but dont seem to concentrate in a particular area. You may be able to pick up a few in the mouth of widows bay on the side with the pencil weeds. It's also a good spot for sunnies and bass if they are in there. That would be a good spot for kids because you can catch all species there. Like jjohnson said when you get a black crappie it is usually 11 inches or better. I would like to know if anyone has caught a white crappie in the last 2 years.

[#fishhunt#]

Sounds like the northers were hungry. Did you catch the walleyes and northerns speedtrolling raps or live bait. Have you tried the Narrows this year yet?

[jjohnson5150]

We've had multiple slab white crappies in the past 2 years. One went 14". They are still there. I got some mid sized ones this winter too.

The Pike were all caught on raps trolling around 1 mph. I have not been in the narrows this year. No need when I've been catching them elsewhere. At times I fish around big island point & phillips point. My other spot will remain a mystery.

[BoxMN]

This was end of May, and one of only a few we got, but it was 14.5"

Can you tell where we were this is my brother.

[#fishhunt#]

Nice Crappie. Good to see and hear of some whites being caught. I suppose the numbers will be back in a couple years. You're definitely not hiding that spot to well in the photo.

[#fishhunt#]

Phillips has definitely been one of my top 3 spots this year. Another weekend off and I'll be up there the 26th. I can't wait to get on the water again. I remember about 10 - 15 years ago when there were about 25 boats fishing in the Narrows early in the year. I havnt seen that in a while.(Except the Ice houses)I usually get one good weekend a year in the Narrows.

[bassman34]

So guys, if the crappies aren't biting good on Pelican now, where would be a good place to go that is relatively close to Eagle Lake that me and the boy would be able to get into some crappies? Would Ten Mile be a good bet for this weekend?

[#fishhunt#]

I haven't fished Stalker or West Battle for a while but I would think that would be OK for pan fish. I heard Ten Mile has turned into the small mouth capital of MN. I know people that have fished the small lake across the road from Eagle in the winter with pretty good luck for crappies and a ton of bass in May/June for fun. I dont know the name of the lake but you get in from the Gruey? Church Road area. Sorry I couldnt be more help with the crappies but I usually stick to Pelican and I cant find them there.

[BoxMN]

I have not been there, but Dead Lake is supposedly known for crappies, and not too far away. Another option if within rrange.. Good luck up there!

[bassman34]

Thanks guys. I know Ten Mile has awesome bass fishing, both largemouth and smallmouth. I've caught crappie out there too, but haven't really targeted them specifically.

That lake across from Eagle is called Middle Lake. I've seen boats out there before but never knew how they got on. There used to be a private access somewhere on the east side that you had to pay the guy to put your boat in, but I don't think it was a very good access. And I don't know if that is available still or not.

Well, we'll see what the weather will do tomorrow and go from there. I'll maybe swing in to Ben's Bait in Battle Lake and see if they can spare some info. The folks in there are very very nice.

[#fishhunt#]

The road going in was horrible a few years ago and you needed a small boat and trailer to go in with. I thought I heard they fixed it and put a new public one in there. Let me know if you check it out.

Thanks

[jjohnson5150]

I picked up 2 Walleye in a few hours of fishing this weekend. They went 23" & 16.5". The 23" fish was FAT. Not sure what it weighed though since I took a pic & let it go. We ate the other one an hour after I cut it up. Man was that good. Both were caught in 6'-8' in or outside of the weeds on shallow raps. Water temp was 72-77 on Sat.

WARNING - Swimmers itch is back & raging if you do not scrub / dry off right away. I've heard applying a liberal ammount of high SPF water proof sunscreen helps prevent it, but you might want to do your own research if you plan on being in the water leading up to the 4th.

[#fishhunt#]

Thanks for the update. Heading up Friday-noon to Sunday to camp and then back up Tuesday night through the 5th. Hoping to get soem good fishing time on the water and a little golf in. The swimmers itch does not sound good. Darn parasites.

[jjohnson5150]

One pattern I've noticed lately has to do with the wind. If it's calm, you might as well forget about it. A 5-10 mph breeze is golden. Even 10-20 mph works if you can control the boat. We will be up for 9 days starting Fri evening. I should be able to get some good time in.

[#fishhunt#]

Maybe we'll see you up there. I will be camping/fishing on a lot south of the narrows towards the Big Point end on Fri-Sunday with the family and friends and will be at my parents place West of the Mouth of Widows Tuesday night to Sunday. Another weird thing for me on this lake is that I seem to do better for walleye between 10am to 5 pm than in the mornings or evenings. This may coincide what you are saying with a little more wind during that time of day. Plus with the wind I don't thin it spooks the walleyes as much when fishing 8 feet or less. There will be a good fireworks show -weather permitting -starting at 10:00 PM on the south end of the lake on July 4 over SE of the Eagles Nest and then after that there will be another one North of the mouth of Widows. 10 times better than the Evansville fireworks. Drive the boat over and sit out on the lake with an adult beverage or sodas and enjoy. It should go 30 to 45 minutes with continuous action if you like that kind of thing.

[GRA]

fishhunt We've seen the fireworks being shot off on the south side in the past. When you think it must be over here come some more. Just curious, is that one family shooting that large amount off or several families?

[#fishhunt#]

GRA- The main one is done by a guy from the cities whose parents live there. There are a few others being shot off also but not like his show. This is one person that pays for most of it and does an awesome job. They have been friends with our family since playing hockey in 1st grade together. It usually takes him and whoever is helping about 3 hours to put it together. All of the fireworks are attached by one fuse. I have not talked to him on how much he has this year(economy down a little). Last year there was a minor mishap with the fuse that is why there was a 2 part show. I 'm sure it will be a good show. It is pretty neat when you are over there in your boat and it they are going off right over you. Bring mosquito spray. A slight breeze always helps to keeps them mosquito's down a little.

I see you are from Dawson. I go through there 2 times a year going to south dakota to pheasant hunt. DO NOT SPEED IN DAWSON. I have never got a ticket there but the law is always waiting.