The flags were flying on pool 8 today in a backwater area. Normally i would tell you exactly where we were, but seeing how we had some great success today, i don’t want to give it up yet because nobody fishes it. We set our tip ups out in a circle just exactly where i predicted fish to be. We had our first flag within a half hour. As we were running to it, one of our other flags flew up! 
turned out that the first one was a bait stealer 
and the second one dropped the bait. Got back to gill fishing for a while and then another friend showed up. He put out some more tip ups and then the fun began as we talked about some of the fishing that has been going on lately. we hadn’t been talking for much more than 10 minutes and i turned around, what do ya know, flag up! We ran to it and i took the fish. Turned out to be a keeper bass at 14-1/2 inches. Nothing huge yet, but fun to catch. Got back to fishing again, and then there were no flags for a very long time. probably more than an hour and a half without a flag. Finally, closer to time to go, We had another flag. This time it was casey goodes turn to take it. I thought it was going to be his lucky day, and the fish was slowly taking off like a big one, and then he set the hook. Apparently, he jerked the hook straight from the fish’s mouth and lost him casey left and me and my friend carson got back to work. Finally it seemed as if the gills were getting bigger but still most were shy of keeping sized. Before i knew it, we had our 5th flag in the air. This one was another good run, but was lost after a short fight. back to fishing, still catching a whole ton of tiny fish, i mean like 3-5 inch gills. looked back and another flag was up. ran up to it and it looked as if i was going to seal the deal with ease on this one. I was sure right. This fish had taken out a lot of line and i think he thought he was going to keep going. WRONG!! I set the hook and fought him really good for about 15 seconds. then he turned around and went straight the other way. At first i thought i had just lost him, and i was pulling in the slack line, all of a sudden it was heavy again. Im like SWEEt he’s still there! Fought him for another good 30 seconds and finally got a hold of the leader. It was all over for this big fish. I pulled the head up and got the gill. There was a nasty sucking sound as his huge gut came through the hole. I mean this fish was easily 10-12 pounds, maybe a pound or two bigger. Hard to say but measured 35 inches and was the thickest, fattest northern i have ever caught or seen in my life. i was lining her up for a picture for the ice tournament when my friend carson yelled “tip up!” i told him to take it while i delt with my fish and he was fighting the fish pretty good. He told me it was a biggun and he needed my help so i let the big one sit for a sec and helped carson ice the fish. It was wrapped around a big stick that it somehow managed to snag on, but i reached down the hole and pulled the fish out of the water. This one was about 25 inches. Finally we were able to get a pic of my big one and let them both go. We went back to fix up the tip ups and while we were doing that, our furthest flag tripped. My turn. Went over and i swear i have never seen a spool spinning faster than this one was. The fish meant business, but so did i. I set the hook and fought him for a long time because he was so fiesty. brought him up and he went right back down. Finally turned his head up through the hole and got a hand on him. This one wasn’t too fat, but dang it was a nice 30-32 incher. Sorry for a long post, but man what a day. It was so much fun even when the gills were running very small.(i still probably caught around 30-40) It was a blast finally breaking the ice (no pun inteaded) with the tip ups for carson, as the fish that he caught was his first ever tip up fish. What a day, and what more could you ask for. I want to enter my 35 inch northern in the ice tournament but the camera died when i was trying to get the pic. If you don’t want to count it, thats fine because i don’t have the picture, but the pic really does justice of this fish. It was a horse.
February 6, 2006 at 12:32 am
#1297695
just look at the thickness, it was unbelievable.
it doesn’t do me any good though with my mom the way she is now 
.
if you don’t put them in the right spot, you won’t even have a flag. The only flags that produced fish were in one 10-15 foot area (lengthwise) and they were 3 different flags. We put flags in other places where they didn’t even get a flag. I know the area really well so i know where the northerns and bass are.