Fish-Hawk.Net

About nothing and everything all at once?

So I've been on a laker-hunt.. 5 outings in a row. El-Skunko each time. I know they're there... the fish that is.... My fishing buddy has caught at least one, 4 of the 5 times we've been. His hole, three feet away from mine.

Bait fish are constant, or I move till I find them again. I'm using what worked for me in the past, and what's working for my buddy that same day, and trying new things too.

I am positive. Happy. I grin through the tears as I pull the transducer out, yet again for my fishing buddy, while my cord ices over into the edge of my dead hole.

I'm quite honestly regretful of not grabbing a snapshot of the giant smelt I caught last week, as I'm fearful now that might very well be the only picture-worthy opportunity I will have for this whole ice fishing season. Smelt are super cool fish. And I'm very proud of my abilities to catch many large ones this year.. but I'm kinda ready to switch it up now...

At this point I'm torn between packing up the gear for the year and waiting for ice out, or taking the week off and fishing my absolute brains out until I make it happen (gawddamit...... )

Despite the cold front - time is a'ticken and ice is melting as we speak. I came to vent on a board where I know you all understand just a little bit.... Thanks for listening..
// End rant..

If it makes you feel any better, I haven't caught a fish since November...

It's hard to ice fish when you are uneasy on ice. I consider going out there by foot when people are driving trucks on. And even then, I have not stepped on a frozen river in at least 5 years.

At least you are out there catching something!

Don't give up, I did but that doesn't mean you should lolll

Have you tried using those big smelts as bait(pretty sure it is legal). That's what the lakers feed on in that lake.

I'm not an ice fisherman at all, so unfortunately I don't have much input.
But, I can see how being skunked...5 times in a row....can be rather frustrating.

Just remember: it beats working.

Stick to it; i'm sure you'll find 'em.

Alby

More often than not, a sting of skunks usually ends with a huge reward. Go back, your number is coming up soon, time to collect!

My GOD Tia! You're brutal. Thinking you should not only give up on fishing by this point, but maybe life as well.

You know I'm messing with ya. You're stuck in a funk though and it happens but you wait, fish karma will pay ya back big time.

Oneeleven wrote:I am positive. Happy. I grin through the tears as I pull the transducer out, yet again for my fishing buddy, while my cord ices over into the edge of my dead hole.

Loved that! You're a funny one. It'd be a treat if you fished some trip, kept a journal of each day and wrote a big report cause you've got a knack for humor in what you write.

That lake is the new Simcoe too... it's only a matter of time before absolutely everyone starts saying they went five times in a row and got skunked.

ya its sure sucks to be skunk, but i don't think giving up is an option!

give all you got everytime and it will pay up you' ll see!

and i always say that a bad day fishing is always better than a good day at work!

That certainly sucks ... Not sure if it helps, but skunk can happen to everyone a few times when chasing lakers.
5 times in a row? That is a heckuva bad string of luck and would pi$$ me off, I certainly feel your pain.

I vote you take one more full day on the ice, run-n-gun, pound it til ya drop. You are due for a reprieve.
Good luck!!

Not going to let you give up! There is a happy ending in your future!

Thanks for empathizing everyone. Sometimes I feel a bit crazy. I keep doing the same thing and I'm getting the same results... the days are a blur. Need to switch things up!

Out4trout wrote: I vote you take one more full day on the ice, run-n-gun, pound it til ya drop. You are due for a reprieve.
Good luck!!

Def need to run and gun. The weather has been uncooperative lately, but that's going to change.... (I hope )

Oneeleven wrote: I keep doing the same thing and I'm getting the same results...

And you've been skunked five times in a row. There's an old saying that fits right in here lol.

Reminds me of one time while 4 of us were having a rough day on Palmerston. Lot's of set lines with live minnows and jigging were not producing so after 4 hours I decided to change things up. I cut up a bunch of salted minnows and dumped them down the hole. Then I put a whole one on a small hook and let it sit on the bottom. I caught a Laker within 10 minutes and then another one a half hour later while my stubborn buds got skunked. Another time at the same spot there was a big gang of us there and it was a slow morning. I moved out to deeper water than everyone else and put a small minnow on a 1 1/2 inch Williams Wabler. Basically I let it sit on bottom with a lift and fall every five minutes and the odd jiggle while resting on bottom. Ended up getting a 5lb Laker which turned out to be the largest fish of the weekend.

So when things aren't working it pays to innovate. But I measure it in hours, not days.

Cheers

The lake is a bit different this year.In the usual spots I fish the bait fish are there but not the schools of small 2-4 inch that the trout seem to prefer IMO. If I could give you one piece of advice for that lake, is to look for these smaller bait fish. Any trout I have kept are full of this size, very seldom anything bigger than that in their guts.They chase them and keep them on the move when they are feeding. Schools that are hanging around on your flasher are not being chased by trout. Most times when you see the smaller ones they will be above the bigger bait fish and moving fast when the bite is on. Never the same, one day on the bottom at 80 ft the next day up at 10 ft (sometimes within hours). The key is not to be stuck fishing one depth and a dormant school of bait fish. Example Last night I set up in 75 ft of water lots of bait fish stacked 10 ft deep on the bottom, I fished them for about an hour with the odd rise but no bites Moved up to 30ft and bang bang 2 trout within 10 mins .Bait fish flickering on the screen as they darted through. It ends as quick as it starts though and within 20 mins all was quiet except for the bigger ones still hugging the bottom Hope this will help you in some way

Keep swinging! It happens to everyone, I don't care who ya are!

RJ

Come on RJ, help the lady out. Tell her your secret tricks to catch those killer lakers all the time. I won't read. I promise.