Long overdue report from Canada. Part V

[Scombrus]

February 20


Went out with another new friend, this time a nursing student and his soon to be brother in law. I met Clint when he was doing 72hrs work placement stuff at our office, we talked fishing non- stop for at least 20 of the 24hrs we worked together so it was inevitable we'd hit a lake up together sooner than later.
We headed to Dore Lake again for Walleye. Clint has fished this lake before, but only in the summer in the boat some 3 years ago. I'd been talking it up big time and he's seen some of my vids and pics of the good sessions I’d had there so far this year.
However, things were sloooooooow, to start with anyway, and I was getting the feeling the jinx of taking someone to a 'hot spot' would strike. It was freezing cold too. -20C with 25kmh NE winds...don’t know what the wind chill factor was....but it was freezing. At least Clint carries a chainsaw on his sled and we cut some dead trees and attached the sleigh tarp to it as a windbreak.

CLINT AND ANDREW BEING LAZY...BUT WARM(er)



I braved the elements and started drilling holes and hole hopping in search of fish....ANY FISH!.....but nope....no fish on screen, none of the usual schools of bait fish....NUFFINK! After an hour of hole hopping (or maybe I should spell that HOPING) I needed to get warmer so joined the boys by the tarp. Clint and Andrew were set up with door-stop style tip ups and did not move from behind the tarp, I can’t fish that way.....I gots to get my jig on man! B)

Well we sat there and talked/laughed etc until 4pm. I' had to get a fish...so I went deeper than the 30'FOW where the majority of the tip ups were next to the tarp.


First fish was a decent if somewhat skinny Pike. Like always the fish hit less than 5'FOW under the ice over 40'FOW. I've now lost count of the pike I catch like that on this lake, anytime you get bait coming through high up the water column, there will be a Pike chasing the bait up under the ice...cool!

A SMALLISH PIKE



Then the walleye switch got flicked all the way ON! First fish I got was a 21"er, followed by about six keeper size (around 15”-18”). Then I got a 27"er followed immediately after rebaiting with a 26"er. The boys got one a piece on different tip ups.....but jigging the deeper water with the aid of a fishfinder had me catching all the fish.
Clint did try jigging with a rod but without a fishfinder it was gonna be difficult, as even though the fish were around, you did have to tease them off bottom, give it a couple of good rips, then leave it dead still before they'd commit, not something you can easily duplicate blind (no fishfinder).


27"er FOLLOWED RIGHT AWAY BY A 26"er





Normally on this lake the bite starts early deep(50'FOW)from around 1pm, then gradually moves relatively shallow (30'FOW)as the sun starts to head towards the horizon. Today was different in many ways, firstly no afternoon bite, then I changed to a half oz Knuckle ball jig where I normally fish nothing but plain white 1/8 oz. The fish did not move in shallower but remained at the 40' to 34' FOW range for a very late bite....oh well...its mid winter still....I’m just glad they bit at all!

We went home cold but 1 fish shy of our 3 man limit, good day on the ice. Only the 21"er was kept, all the big girls went back after a quick picture to keep this lake as damn good as it is for years to come. Sorry bout no video, and I did not even get pics of the boys with their 2 fish, it was just too darned cold to mess about too much with the camera!


MMMMMM...SUPPER TOMORROW NIGHT






February 26

Went out with my buddy Clint again for lakers and whities. Clint landed 3 beauties, first one was a pig...the next two were nice too. I lost 2 at the hole....was not my day for trout, however I had better luck with the whitefish, must have caught 20 that day and kept 8. Clint got 2 whities too and a ling, I lost a ling getting tangled in everything and anything that could get tangled in my line.

We got a few double headers (fish on at the same time), some good laughs and supper thrown in to the equation. We both felt the trout were too nice to keep so back they went.

It was another brutally cold day, -17C with 22kmh winds. No slush whatsoever on the lake though :thumbsup_anim:

Lakers all fell for white 4" tube jigs tipped with minnow chunk, as did a few of the feisty whities. Definitely 2 types of whitefish down there...the biters and the window shoppers. You could be trying to tease one or 2 at the same time for 5 or minutes when another would just scream past the undecided ones and hammer it. Acme kastmaster started the day as the hot whitie lure, and then a 1/12" LPT tube jig did the damage.

Fishing in about 40'FOW, a couple large trout came in to look that were suspended otherwise they were all hugging the bottom, but not shy of racing up 20' to check out a bait.


Here's the Pics and Vids.


ALL THE TROUT LANDED WENT TO CLINT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO9a2ue6XZI








A FEW PICS OF CLINT'S LAKERS















I HAD TO SETLLE FOR 2 LOST TROUT AND A WHOLE HEAP OF WHITEFISH.....NO COMPLAINTS HERE.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VET5t7qq7aE











Well, that’s it for now, still a good 2-3’ of ice on the lakes...so should have a few more ice reports to come before I mend the leaking rivets in my boat and hit the water this spring.

Tight lines all

Simon.

[Mark78]

great report fella, with some great pictures too.