Chasing eyes on Tonka

Did a little searching in new areas. Got on a midlake hump, had plenty of rock and even better loads of Tonka’s famous 5″ perch. While waiting for the lowlight period I amused myself catching the little devils using my Aqua View. I had up to ten of them on the screen at all times. I worked depths from 15ft all the way to 30ft from sunset until 8pm – not too difficult it was a sharp break and it took maybe 20yds to pull that off. Not one walleye and only one small pike. I am going to move location slightly and see if I can find the spot on the spot. With all that forage something has to show up. Hard to fish the bottom of the break as it is somewhere about 50ft but there has to be a small flat or maybe a rockpile along that break that should hold fish.

Crappie bite continues to be decent. Little Atom nuggies tipped with a bit of waxworm was dynamite over the weekend. Fish are holding about 15 to 18ft down in 20 to 25ft depths. Look for holes dropping to 30ft that are mostly surrounded by shallow water. You’ll catch 5 or 6 little ones for every good sized crappie. Plenty of action for those with kids.

Stan~
Thanks for the report I agree with you if the structure is there and the food as well there has to be a spot to find the eyes…Good luck and keep us posted…

Mark;
Are you switching over to a minnow for the crappies once it gets dark?

Also, what have you been hearing about pike reports out there. Have the pike gone deep yet? I struggled on Sarah on Sunday for pike, fishing as deep as 15fow. Only one pike for our efforts, yet lots of bass. The sunfish were heavy in our area (good sunnies too, lots of nice eaters) and a few smaller, scattered crappies. But no pike chasing them around. Kinda odd for the area we were fishing.

Gary. I always have a minnow on a bobber for my second rod so I seldom jig with one unless that bobber keeps going down. Only one fish hit the minnow all night. I tried a minnow in combo with the nuggie but it was not what the crappies wanted.

As for pike I’ll start keying in on them next week. For some reason the last wo weeks in Feb has always been good for big pike but they are up shallow. I’ve pulled them out as shallow as 6ft and seldom fish deeper than 15ft. Fish the weedline keying on inside turns and points. Has to be shore related structure. The mid lake stuff doesn’t work. It’s my belief the pike are moving into shallow water as part of the pre spawn staging. Last tidbit is dead bait really works this time of year. Just keep it above the weeds.

I fished Tonka with my son last night. The eyes were biting really well. We caught 15. Lost a 45-50 inch muskie. She hit my spoon just under the ice as I was bringing it up to give ti a charge. I almost had her in the hole green as she didn’t know she was hooked. After getting tangled in the other line and around the transducer, it broke me off. Here are five 14-19 inchers we kept. Released two over twenty inches. 14 jigging/one on the set line. By far our most exciting evening of the year. 1/8 ounce perch spoons in 34ft.

Well done B.P.!!!

I bet that ski got the blood pumping!

Excellent! Just for the rest of us who struggle what structure did you key on? DO NOT mention an exact location (but if you want to PM me with one feel free! ) That beats my best night on Tonka by a long shot. And to have a musky on just seals the deal. Gary will want that spot from you for sure…

HAH!!!! Just another big muskie to chase on Tonka!

I got too many out there the way it is that keeps giving me the jukes. One of these days I’ll remain calm and not loose composure when those 50+ inch skis come charging in on the jerks!

It only took me 5 years to find a spot like this. Had I paid attention to my Lakemaster Map and my Walleye Wisdom Book, it would have only taken 5 minutes to find this spot. The spot even held up to the usual kiss of death. I took my Dad out to it. He’s usually a day late and a dollar short, but even he caught a 20 incher the other night.

Gary, you need to fish more! I remain calm and focused. Well at least until I fail to hook up. Then I start the blue streak and throwing gear around the boat and have to sit down for a few minutes Happens at least three times a year. Those big muskies can really ruin your day. But I’m back after them the next day.

Bp isn’t it great when it works like it is supposed to? I’m still looking for a late ice go to walleye spot but that’s the fun of it. Even when I finally dial it in I’ll keep looking for a better spot. It is all about figuring it out for me. Actually catching fish is the bonus.