Closing Out March with some 'Eyes and Other Goodies

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Oneeleven
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Closing Out March with some 'Eyes and Other Goodies

Post by Oneeleven »

Sunday was an amazing day on the ice for Lvace and myself. We went out angling for Walleye as it closes at the end of the month, and ended up each catching two species that were new to us and what a thrill that was!

The morning started off pretty quickly with a bite for me. The rod didn’t bend and no pulling on the line, just a gentle strike. I Love the mystery of pulling up an unknown… and voila! It was a Mooneye (thanks Marty because I had no idea what it was and would have been taking to Google very quickly without you!).

What a pretty fish! The sun shone off its bright-white silver scales. Its mouth was quite delicate and small. It looked like it belonged in someone’s tropical fish tank, not an iced-over Canadian river!
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I caught a few of these and Lvace did as well. The other fish we were bringing up to see the sun were Sauger. Not new to Marty, but new for me. So plenty of smiles were going around!

In the afternoon we moved on and really started gunning and running. We really weren’t marking much on the sonars at all. After walking half a mile and drilling holes every few feet, we found a sweet spot. Still nothing crazy, but Saugers and one of those elusive ‘Eyes for Marty.

All of the sudden, Lvace calls out… “can you hear that?” It’s his line peeling away, several times over. Dang that’s feisty for a Walleye. What is it? Hmmmmm …. Up it came and it was a Ling! And a good sized Ling too! Such a cool fish! The head of a Newt and the body of an Eel. Slimy and not at all impressed to see that pretty sunset that had just begun it's decent.
Marty Ling.jpg
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Next I saw a really decent red bar on the Sonar. Perhaps this is the Walleye I was waiting for? I was convinced. Danced my jig, making that bloody, ragged minnow head look oh-so-delicious…. Bam… Up she came and yes it was a Walleye and a decent sized one too…A quick unhook and wait… no… those are clearly defined black spots on that topfin and tail. It’s no Walleye, but a Sauger! What a pretty looking fish! And I bet she would have made a pretty great meal, but down the hole she went.
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My arms are sore from drilling so many holes and I have a sunburnt face today, but it was all worth it!
Last edited by Oneeleven on Mon Mar 30, 2015 9:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Oneeleven
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Re: Closing Out March with some 'Eyes and Other Goodies

Post by Oneeleven »

Here's a close-up of the sauger
Sauger Baby.jpg
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And one of Marty's first-ever Mooneye!
Marty Mooneyes.jpg
Marty Mooneyes.jpg (118.61 KiB) Viewed 4296 times
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TheMaverick
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Re: Closing Out March with some 'Eyes and Other Goodies

Post by TheMaverick »

Congrats to both of you! Great report and thanks for sharing.
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Re: Closing Out March with some 'Eyes and Other Goodies

Post by ShawnD »

:handgestures-thumbup: Nice fish Tia and Marty .
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lape0019
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Re: Closing Out March with some 'Eyes and Other Goodies

Post by lape0019 »

Looks like a great day on the ice guys!
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Fishoholic
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Re: Closing Out March with some 'Eyes and Other Goodies

Post by Fishoholic »

Nice trip Marty and Tia! A nice multi species outing is always fun.
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zeke13
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Re: Closing Out March with some 'Eyes and Other Goodies

Post by zeke13 »

Another great day on the water .. although it seemed to start slow for you this year, you certainly have taken to the hard water ... congrats!!
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Re: Closing Out March with some 'Eyes and Other Goodies

Post by RJ »

Nice shootin. Late Ice is always best, for fishin and sunburns... :lol:

RJ
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Eli
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Re: Closing Out March with some 'Eyes and Other Goodies

Post by Eli »

Sweet! I'd love to catch a mooneye thru the ice.
That's a beefy sauger, also!
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PunchRig
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Re: Closing Out March with some 'Eyes and Other Goodies

Post by PunchRig »

Nice report !!
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Lvace
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Re: Closing Out March with some 'Eyes and Other Goodies

Post by Lvace »

Fun day for sure! I am already white around the eyes and red everywhere else on my face... That ling hit a medium jigging rap white with yellow head tipped with a minnow tail..... very unexpected.... All my sauger and DORE where caught bouncing on the bottom and reeling up slowly with the same jigging rap. No real size but the numbers where alright! :D I also have to thank Yannick for the tips :D not many know that stretch of the river as well as he does!
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Out4trout
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Re: Closing Out March with some 'Eyes and Other Goodies

Post by Out4trout »

Cool to see the mooneyes, not too many of them in reports. That sauger is fantastic. Thanks for sharing!
Looks like a good late season for ya!!
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Re: Closing Out March with some 'Eyes and Other Goodies

Post by Kerrazy »

Great report and great combo of unique species!
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Re: Closing Out March with some 'Eyes and Other Goodies

Post by Walleye'm Fishing »

Gotta love a mixed bag of fish! Nice report, way to go!
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Re: Closing Out March with some 'Eyes and Other Goodies

Post by Tip-up »

Mooneye are a neat looking fish. We caught them a lot at Petrie while fishing for walleyes.

Great report!
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