Aitkin Sec.12 lake

We hit 12 today for some crappies. The ice looked good. it was 7 to 8 ” where ever we went. Caught a few crappies also.

Mike, where did catch your fish on 12…….The only spot I know is on the far east end in around 30 ft of water.

thanks for the up date!

We walked in on a trail that comes off of tar road at the north east side of the lake. Found our way out to 25′ of water there. The fish where hanging close to the bottom. With in a couple of feet. Plenty of perch and I got to watch a snake coming in on the camera and take my ice jig. After catching him 3 more came by. Or maybe it was just the same on circleing.
During mid day the fish where very slow and just wanted the bait sitting there. It was a day for the camera as alot of the bites I saw on it you could not feel. Around 4 pm they became more aggressive. We then had to pack up by 5.
Minnows and euro larve both took fish today. Minnows where the most active right at dark. Our largest crappie went about .5#.
We used to get them bigger than that many years ago. What has it been like in the past few years?

I think your talking about the snowmoblie trail…..I really havn’t fished that much since they moved the road! Thats a number of years………back than I fished it alot till you needed a blank to get on the ice late in the year!!!!!

Yep. That was the snowmobile trail.
When I was a kid I would fish that lake on the east side out of a rubber raft. There where some nice sized crappies there at that time. Wish I had more time now a days to hit all the local lakes up there. With all the electronics we have now it seems pretty easy to find fish on those lakes. With out the flasher and camera yesterday we might of had a one or 2 crappie day and would of left saying they just wern’t bitting. The camera showed different.
It looks like around xmas we might be up for a few days. The folks are hoing to be spearing over on long lake at that time. We should be chasing fish on Long, Dam, Gun, and who knows where else.

A good friend of yours has a cabin on Long Lake. He has two of the old cabins from the youth camp or something like that….his name his Mike Olson! I agree about the use of our modern day electonics..I’m lost with out it now.

Dont know mike olson. I do know the camp. We where some of the bad influences on the camp in our youth.

Are you very familier with long lake. The local lake [censored]. stocked it with walleyes about 2 years ago. Guess they where trying to tip the ballance of hammer handles to walleyes. At that time we dropped a camera down near the landing and there where tons of small eyes down there. Thought I even saw a pike swim by with a huge grin and bib on. I would imagine since then either the eyes might of taken hold or the lake is full of hammer handles with a hankering for walleye fry.
We used to fish alot of crappies out in the deep holes of long lake as kids also.

Is there any snow on the ice??? I am going up Thursday to fish a lake not real far from there.

Not alot of snow. Cleats might be a good to have with. The ice on 12 did not freeze real clear. Not sure it is the same on other lakes. Sometimes it is nice when its clear for seeing the weed lines.