Report

Well I have been having limited success in the past week! It’s become a chore to even scratch one walleye over 15 inches. This morning I was on French from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. I brought up 8 or 10 walleyes…..all about 6-8 inches….then I got 5 or 6 perch that were 5-6 inches. I wasn’t going to bother waiting to catch anything smaller! There was 8-10 inches of ice. Lots of large permanents out….although I didn’t fish anywhere near them so I don’t know if their just staking down motels out there or actually catching fish. Most were sitting on some spots I hit for crappies about 10 days ago, but the crappies I caught on those spots were 5 to 7 inches…..nothing worth pulling a $5,000 permanent out on the ice for. I have talked to the spearer’s and some tell me that they’ve seen bigger walleyes go through below, but when they tried angling….none of them would bite! I feel the mid-season lull coming on already or maybe I already miss the short early ice bite. Northerns are still quite active on most of the lakes throughout the mid-afternoon….they’ll hit shiners of any size on tip-ups in 7 to 10 feet of water. It can be fast action….keeping 2 tip-ups going can be a chore and about a $20 bait bill very quickly. The pike I’ve gotten ranged from 20 to 35 inches. Their fun, but they aren’t walleyes!!!!!!!!!!
Good Luck! TGIF

Thanks for the report. Must be why they call it fishing and not catching hey. Maybe next time you will hit the hot bite as it always changes. Thanks, Bill

Thanks for the news, TGIF… heard any reports from Shields?
“Hoggie”

I would go to Mazaska before going to Shields. Go to the public access on Mazaska and fish the rim of the hole out in front of the access….can’t miss it….there’s a little city out there….crappies and walleyes (slow and not many, but decent 15-17 inches). For Shields the crappies are biting with some degree of cooperation. 7-10 inchers. They seem to be moving up and on the flats in 6-7 ft. some evenings and then slipping out and suspending at that depth over 10-12 ft and sometimes suspending even deeper over deeper water during the day…..you gotta find them from day to day. Some of them will come up and a hit a minnow a couple feet below the ice. I don’t use lantern most of the time so I don’t know if it effects the bite or not. The walleyes that are biting are small and plentiful. I know there are better fish….I caught them at first ice, but I haven’t opened the lock on the jaws of the bigger fish recently. Northerns are still active on just about all the lakes I believe…6-10 feet of water with tip-ups and shiners has been popping flags consistently for the last 20 days I’ve iced about 80 pike between 20 and 35 inches and released them all. Until then it’s hop on this lake, hit that spot, get away from the crowds, and sort through these for awhile. Hopefully I will get to take a shot at some new ice on some spots that I have been watching before the invaders start driving their trucks across them. Good Luck!

I have been fishing French and have caught many walleyes most of them under 14″ long. Be careful going on the ice out in front Knippels there is a small hole about 2 ft X8 ft right where some people have been driving on the lake to park on the shore line. Be careful there lots of fishing to be done!

Fear no fish!!! good luck, HAPPY NEW YEAR>

Snagger… thanks for the heads-up!
“Hoggie”

Hey, I really like your reports. You really know what your talking about. can you tell me anything about Cannon Lake?

Coming back home this weekend from College in Wisconsin and I was wondering how thick the ice was on Mazaska, I haven’t had the FL-8 running in a good three weeks and I can’t handle one more weekend without some crappie for dinner. Let me know if you know anything about the ice conditions.

Thanks,

Brian

TGIF,
Just getting ready for work, I plan to hunt for crappies after work this evening. Can you give me any clues on where to start. A lake would be helpful?

I’m new to this site, so some one help me out. I’ve been chasing the elusive crappie for the last week on our southern mn lakes and haven’t had any luck. I’m looking for a southern Mn report to help me out.

Thanks guys,
Big Slabs

Have you been down to the river yet this year? I heard that they have slowed down already. I plan on going down to pool #4 to try it this weekend. Maybe I’ll see you down there. I was fishing on shields the other day and got into some nice sunfish. I think they like my extra limp rod because the guy I was fishing next to had a stiff one and he wasn’t getting much action.