Decided to head down to Petrie Island today, specifically Crappie Bay. Picked up some minnows at the bait shop, and was on the ice by 9:45am. Ice surface was quite slushy, but weather was warm with a bit of a breeze. Set up a tip up with a spreader rig, baiting each hook with a large 4-5inch minnow. Turned the Strike Sensor on, and turned my attention to my primary jigging hole. Within minutes the sensor was shouting its alarm, and I rushed over to the tip up. The line was peeling off the reel pretty quick, leading me to believe that it was a decent sized pike. Nope - a jumbo perch to start the day off!
Set up the HT hut and began to jig. Was using a chartreuse and green Marmooska jig, tipped with a Berkley Power Maggot. Was also using a small silver Forage Minnow tipped with a minnow tail. Didn't take long for the panfish to show themselves.
The action was steady for the next couple of hours, with plenty of jumbo perch and gills coming to the ice. Landed a nice largemouth on the ultralight offering, giving a decent fight for sure.
Plenty of big crappie landed, with my biggest of the season coming to the surface. Nearly lost this big girl when the hook pulled free at the hole - the arm down the hole trick saved the day for that one. 12.5-inches in length, but a huge girth on her....
Many of the crappie were suspended today, some 3 to 4-feet off bottom. They were falling for both aggressive and subtle presentations, although many were hitting on the pause.
All in all, probably got around 30 panfish for the day. Not bad to say I only saw one other person out on the Bay.
My girlfriend decided to join me after she finished work, getting on the ice around 3pm. (Called her on the cell to tell her about the action..) Sadly, the fish shut down when she arrived (bad omen) and she didn't get bit at all. Saying that, I only got three between 3 and 4:45pm. Definitely a morning and early afternoon bite today...
A heads up on those interested in buying bait. I bought my minnows right at Petrie today, and the quality was very poor. Most minnows died within 20 minutes on the tip up, causing me to go through a lot. Not sure if it is a bad batch, or the stock is of poor quality. Just some advice for those fishing the tourney this coming weekend...
Enjoy the pics and good fishing,
Justin Hoffman
The days creel..
The big three..
The big girl..
What a great surprise!