Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

Recommended Posts

W and SW winds, mid-80's, a thunderstorm, E winds and a 40 degree morning all in the same weekend. Welcome to MN right? smirk.gif

I spent this past weekend chasing after 'eyes down here and as always, we were challenged but certainly not out-done. I would not say the bite is "on" by any means but there are plenty of fish to be caught for the person that is willing to adapt, change, be mobile and do the little things right, often times all at once. grin.gif I worked through several presentations with my clients and we really only pegged down 2 that worked well. On Saturday, jigs and leeches in the weeds was definitely the answer to the question. Mid-day proved to be the strongest bite in 6 - 10' of water and the presentation, without a doubt, had to be vertical in order to get bit. Whether you pitched or drug, the fish that bit were the ones right under the boat. Color didn't seem to matter a whole lot but the predominate colors in my boat were green, charteuse and white, in no particular order. So, this morning when I was packing my gear, I thought it would be appropriate to finesse the fish like Saturday but in a different location because of a change in wind direction. Well, we beat the jig and leech theory to death with nothing to show for our efforts. I then made a drastic move to slip bobber fishing tight cover adjacent to gravel but that didn't pan out either. As a last ditch effort when the sun finally popped out this afternoon, I decided to really go against the grain and pitch cranks to weed lines, despite the seemingly negative mood of the fish. 2nd cast, BAM, and many others after that. I was pleasently surprised to see the fish that active on such a goofy day. The key to getting the fish to "go" this afternoon on cranks was to fish the emerging weedlines in 3 - 4' of water that also had submerged vegetation in front of it that almost acted as a step for the fish. It went like this; pitch the crank as tight to the weed line as possible, slowly roll the crank over the submerged vegetation and by the time your lure was half-way back to the boat, hang on! Despite the occasional northern pestering us, the 'eyes wanted to pay too. #5 shallow runnin' Shad Raps was the best crank today and Baby Bass and Crawdad definitely were the colors of choice.

Some of our better fish from Saturday

TO550.jpg

21"er that inhaled a #5 Shad Rap (released)

TO551.jpg

Back to Back!

TO552.jpg

I'd love to stick around and really get these fish pegged but I'm off to Mille Lacs at the latter part of this week for a guiding stint up there for 3 - 4 days and then off to SD for a tournament the following week. Can't be everywhere at once as much as I'd love to.

One thing is for sure...those shallow fish will be in a sure-fire pattern by the time I return to these waters. grin.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You the man!!!!! laugh.gif Nice, as my 2 year old daughter would say, wishies.. Good luck in SD.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice report TO, sounds like my kind of fishing! Gotta love casting crank to 'em!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A COUPLE OF GOOD FRIENDS AND I WERE OFF CHASING EYES TODAY WITH SOME SUCCESS, PITCHING JIGS AND LEECHES WAS THE TRICK I HAD NOTICED WHEN I GOT HOME FROM THE LAKE TODAY THAT THE FEW WE HAD KEPT. REGURGITATED SMALL BLUE GILLS. YET I STILL DIDN'T EVAN THINK ABOUT CRANKS. THE BITE WENT SOUTH ABOUT THE TIME THE CLOUD COVER BLEW AWAY ALL IN ALL A GOOD DAY HOWEVER WE LANDED About a DOZEN NICE EYES FROM THE 16-21" RANGE (WEIGHED AND RELEASED A FEW AVERAGING 45-48OZ.) . AND A FEW LARGEMOUTH AND 2 PIKE IN THE 5LB RANGE 1 MUSKIE ABOUT 38" ALOT OF SHEEPIES ONE THAT WAS 115 Oz.(THAT WAS FUN) grin.gif WEED LINE WAS ABOUT 10.5 -11 FEET MOST FISH CAME OFF THE WEED LINE WITH A SLOW TAPER RATHER THAN A CLEAN EDGE. NOT SURE WHY BUT I THINK IT WAS CAUSE THE THE SLOWER TAPER WEEDS WHERE A HAIR DEEPER AND ACTED AS A TRANSITION LINE TO A SOFTER BOTTOM. ANY HOW CHOW FOR NOW !!!!! here are just a couple pics sorry i didn't take more as i was busy netting fish but catching on ocassion toobooneye.jpgboonebass.jpgpatmuskie.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote:

WEED LINE WAS ABOUT 10.5 -11 FEET MOST FISH CAME OFF THE WEED LINE WITH A SLOW TAPER RATHER THAN A CLEAN EDGE. NOT SURE WHY BUT I THINK IT WAS CAUSE THE THE SLOWER TAPER WEEDS WHERE A HAIR DEEPER AND ACTED AS A TRANSITION LINE TO A SOFTER BOTTOM.


Bingo! grin.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks. My partner and I will take all the help we can get. We always go up against a lot of strong local talent. But, in the end, we seem to do well. In the last 6 years, we've finished in the top 5 every year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Otter, my employer has me moving out to Spokane, WA this summer. I am estatic, at least the hunting and fishing looks promising. However, my son has never chased MN 'eyes(he lives in WI). How is your calendar looking for June? Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the skie was fun however the 7.5 lb sheepie was a bit more powerful

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice fishes LC. From the pictures, I can see you caught them where I normally fish them too. smile.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

it was funny i threw out a bouy after the first fish within 5 minutes there was 3 boats one anchord.one when trolled circles around us over the tip of the bar, the other boat about drifting into us. i really gotta move the mapping software to the front of the boat. so i can stay on the spot without marker bouys!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, I noticed another boat bow in the background of one of your pics sitting awefully close with plenty of open water around. smile.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice fish,Lucky!! As for the company you had, unfortunately, people's desire for fish overides fishing "etiquette". Close drifting is bad enough , but anchoring near the spot, that's tough to take. How's the water clarity? L2f

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.


  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • mulefarm
      With the early ice out, how is the curlyleaf pondweed doing?
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   The big basin, otherwise known as Big Traverse Bay, is ice free.  Zippel Bay and Four Mile Bay are ice free as well.  Everything is shaping up nicely for the MN Fishing Opener on May 11th. With the walleye / sauger season currently closed, most anglers are targeting sturgeon and pike.  Some sturgeon anglers are fishing at the mouth of the Rainy River, but most sturgeon are targeted in Four Mile Bay or the Rainy River.  Hence, pike are the targeted species on the south shore and various bays currently.   Pike fishing this time of year is a unique opportunity, as LOW is border water with Canada, the pike season is open year round. The limit is 3 pike per day with one being able to be more than 40 inches. All fish 30 - 40 inches must be released. Back bays hold pike as they go through the various stages of the spawn.  Deadbait under a bobber, spinners, spoons and shallow diving crankbaits are all viable options.   Four Mile Bay, Bostic Bay and Zippel Bay are all small water and boats of various sizes work well. On the Rainy River...  Great news this week as we learned sturgeon will not be placed on the endangered species list by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.     The organization had to make a decision by June 30 and listing sturgeon could have ended sturgeon fishing.  Thankfully, after looking at the many success stories across the nation, including LOW and the Rainy River, sturgeon fishing and successful sturgeon management continues.   A good week sturgeon fishing on the Rainy River.  Speaking to some sturgeon aficionados, fishing will actually get even better as water temps rise.     Four Mile Bay at the mouth of the Rainy River near the Wheeler's Point Boat Ramp is still producing good numbers of fish, as are various holes along the 42 miles of navigable Rainy River from the mouth to Birchdale.   The sturgeon season continues through May 15th and resumes again July 1st.   Oct 1 - April 23, Catch and Release April 24 - May 7, Harvest Season May 8 - May 15, Catch and Release May 16 - June 30, Sturgeon Fishing Closed July 1 - Sep 30, Harvest Season If you fish during the sturgeon harvest season and you want to keep a sturgeon, you must purchase a sturgeon tag for $5 prior to fishing.    One sturgeon per calendar year (45 - 50" inclusive, or over 75"). Most sturgeon anglers are either a glob of crawlers or a combo of crawlers and frozen emerald shiners on a sturgeon rig, which is an 18" leader with a 4/0 circle hook combined with a no roll sinker.  Local bait shops have all of the gear and bait. Up at the NW Angle...  A few spots with rotten ice, but as a rule, most of the Angle is showing off open water.  In these parts, most are looking ahead to the MN Fishing Opener.  Based on late ice fishing success, it should be a good one.  
    • leech~~
      Nice fish. I moved to the Sartell area last summer and just thought it was windy like this everyday up here? 🤭
    • Rick G
      Crazy windy again today.... This is has been the norm this spring. Between the wind and the cold fronts, fishing has been more challenging for me than most years.  Panfish have been moving in and out of the shallows quite a bit. One day they are up in the slop, the next they are out relating to cabbage or the newly sprouting lilly pads.  Today eye guy and I found them in 4-5 ft of water, hanging close to any tree branches that happened to be laying in the water.  Bigger fish were liking a 1/32 head and a Bobby Garland baby shad.   Highlight of the day way this healthy 15incher
    • monstermoose78
    • monstermoose78
      As I typed that here came a hen.  IMG_7032.mov   IMG_7032.mov
    • monstermoose78
      So far this morning nothing but non turkeys. 
    • monstermoose78
      Well yesterday I got a little excited and let a turkey get to close and I hit the blind!!
    • smurfy
      good......you?? living the dream..in my basement playing internet thug right now!!!!!! 🤣 working on getting the boat ready.......bought a new cheatmaster locator for the boat so working on that.   waiting for warmer weather to start my garden!!!
    • monstermoose78
      How is everyone doing? Holy moly it’s chilly this morning I stayed in bed and will hunt later today when it warms up.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.