I have a good 4 inches in some bays on the west end of Rainy Lake as of tonight! That means more big pike to me. I will target deep water adjacent to likely whitefish spawning sites in and around the islands. As the ice thickens I will be able to venture to the walleye grounds! There is plenty of open water, don’t get me wrong, but I will be ice fishing on Thanksgiving. First ice means potentially giant pike around here!!
nice 
Onestout,
I didn’t mean to mislead! I did not catch those today. I should have said that in my post. Just a couple past examples of what early ice can mean here. I hope to post some fresh pics of larger specimens later this week!
The current scoop here is use extreme caution. The wind has really broken up the ice in some spots. In most open basin areas there is no ice. The waves I could see yesterday were BIG out there. If you know where to travel and what to look for there are some beasts waiting to be caught. Serious ice travel is probably a couple weeks out but I will be on some fish long before then!
Be safe.
Ok, question…that second pic…am I seeing a chubby darter and a Lindy rig???
It looks like a quick strike rig with some blades for flash
Nice fish!
Vikefan,
Good eye! I see what you see….that is not a chubby darter. I use couple different rigs that some may scoff at, but I will explain.
The chubby darter you see is actually one of those “keel” weight type sinkers that looks like a gold side black back minnow. They also come in a white shiner looking minnow in various weights. I like them even though they are off set a bit because they look “real”…well sort of…how about they look natural. I usually combo that up with a hand tied 7 strand leader about 3 to 4 feet long with a circle hook and that’s it. I just started using circle hooks a couple years ago, but they work and the fish can be released unharmed. It also is a much better finesse looking presentation. These pike don’t get to be 40 to dare I say 50 inches in length by being stupid or ignoring ridiculous tangles of hooks and kinked wire with a smallish sucker attached to it… That said, the second pic is just the keel weight with a Northland Tackle quick strike rig…yes the spinners add some flash! Nice Taz! The other reason I like the “keel” weight is the weight. When using BIG baits I want to pin that bait as much as I can without going to heavy. In other words, decrease its ability to evade a curious monster pike! If the minnow can shoot up 10 feet because it’s only got a couple slit shot nearby, the pike might decide to pass…as in Oh well I wasn’t that hungry anyway. I Know, I know, plenty of big pike are caught on basic rigs. I also know that quick strike rigs can be effective at hooking and releasing fish unharmed IF you can get to them quick. Lots of ways to do it…I am just a guy who like to fish too much.
Shoot, I am rambling…sorry. These are only my thoughts as I approach catching these beauties! I don’t claim to be an expert, but I’ve caught a few.
Well I’ll be…thanks for the info. I usually jig for pike, but I may have to give that a shot this year!
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
