I had a problem with milky lube, but all I needed to do was get a new gasket for the drain screw. You may also want to remove your prop to see if there is any mono/line wrapped around the shaft since that may be letting water in???? I’ve heard you need a good seal with the prop washer…
TGIF,
Finding the eaters was a little tricky the first day when we were out in deeper water. That’s where we found a lot of the numbers, but the fish were all in the 6-13″ category. We got a tip the first night that we needed to fish shallower so we did. The next day we went shallower and caught only walleyes. Seemed like around 2 or after the bite started to pick up and was going very good closer to 4. We were throwing back some 15″ fish so we could target the 16-18″ fish for our limit to take home. The vexilar would just light up and as you were reeling one in another would take its place near the bottom. Gotta love it when they come up off the bottom and hammer it!
As far as places to stay near Pine Is…… there are many different resorts near the mouth of the Rainy River that rent cabins as well as fish houses/sleepers. We use our portables so we can make the move when needed- (usually shallow in the morning, deeper late am-early pm (sauger time), then back in for the good pm bite, bite seemed to shut down after dark for us.) Wigwam is a nice place to stay and have decent food/bar, otherwise we’ve stayed at a couple motels in Baudette.
Hope this helps. Lots ‘o luck!!
Was up late last week and caught around 200 ‘eyes & saugers in 2 days between 2 of us. First day we went out of Zippel and seemed to catch the smaller mix of fish. There was around 12″+ of ice, but only ATVs were out there due to some large ice heaves and cracks. Second day we fished over Pine Is. and saw better quality fish and only caught walleyes. All sized vehicles were driving out over Pine since there was 15″ or more ice. The fish we caught over here came mostly in the late afternoon, but we took our limit of walleyes all between 16″ to 22″. Did have 1 fish that I never saw- couldn’t get it up off the bottom with only 6# mono. Maybe a big ‘eye, pike or sturgeon. Good luck and be safe!!
Fished the north sand on Sunday and boated about 15 eyes myself. It seemed as though most of the bigger fish had left the areas I was fishing since the majority of my fish were < 17", with quite a few in the 12-13" range. Should prove to be another healthy year class for next year's slot range. It was a great weekend to be on the water weatherwise and the bite was an added plus!
Thanks guys for the info. My brother-in-law had mentioned someone up in the Brainerd area but he couldn’t remember the name. I’ll check these 2 places out, then I’ll have to convince the wife its a good idea. Thanks again!
Whenever I go fishing and nothing bites, I’m assured that I’ll always be able to catch hell…..<}}}}-<
I know most of the buoys up on Kab have reflective tape, but you’d have to almost be up on them to see them. Some of the reefs extend past where the buoy is located so one needs to use caution. I know of a couple reefs that aren’t even marked until someone hits one and marks it with a bleach jug. As far as the legality of putting tape on the buoys..??.. I personally wouldn’t think it would be illegal since it would help everyone avoid costly lower unit/ hull damage.
Should be a good time to be up there. I used to work at one of the resorts up there for 4 years and had some excellent fishing when I could get out. I’m sure your friends have some spots they like to fish, but here are some of mine: Peterson’s Bay, Ram Is., Harris Is., Cutover Is. in 8-15 ft. just to name a few that would be close to your location on the lake for that time of year. Lindy rigs with crawlers and leeches worked very well for me. Seems that “plain and simple” is the way to go on that lake. The lake also seems to become a “dead sea” after dark and if you don’t know the lake all that well I wouldn’t suggest boating at night. There are a lot of rock reefs that are marked, but the buoys aren’t lit at night…….Best of luck!!
maybe next year you can add some discarded Christmas trees for some structure at a low cost to you. I know up on Red Lake they made around 50 or so “crappie cribs” and sank them to give the fish some protection and some structure to attract the baitfish. I believe the cribs were 6’x6’x6′ and were made out of logs?? Good luck.
Hey, Waterfowler….. check your PM on your home page!!
-Red ‘Eye
Managed to make it up to the lake Wed. and had decent luck. The perch were coming through in the late afternoon and then towards sunset the walleye action heated up for about 1 1/2 hr window. They bit on about anything you put down the hole from a plain hook and bobber to jigging them. GOOD LUCK to all of you able to go out this last weekend and wet a line.
was out friday up on Smith Lake by Osakis- the crappies are biting. they moved in around 6 pm and were suspended about 10-15 ft off the bottom. have to pick through them to get some “keepers”, but the vexilar was solid red so it provided for some fun.
We hit south tips of 8 mile last weekend and caught a few ‘eyes, but very slow. We drove out from the public access by the casino with ATVs since we weren’t sure how thick the ice was out on the flats. There ended up being around 12-15″ out there, but we had to weave around a lot of ice heaves and cracks. A few trucks were out there but you wouldn’t catch me driving out there for awhile- one of the last places the ice froze as we could see by the large ice sheets that eventually bonded together.
Was out last night and 2 of us caught about 20 nice ‘eyes with only 3 in the slot; the rest were 21-25″. We were out on the SW side towards Eddy’s and Rocky Reef in around 16-20’. They have some roads plowed and marked and there was around 18″ of ice- some was a little rough.
