Gull Lake, MN 12-18-05

Just got home from spending the last two days on Gull Lake with a couple buddies. Our plan was to check out a couple areas that spit good walleyes late this past fall and see if they might still be there. Saturday we set up on a hump that topped out at 15′ and dropped on all sides to 30’+. We were all by ourselves and managed to ice a few walleyes on tip ups with shiners and Buckshot Rattle Spoons tipped with a fathead head. We also caught a dozen or so small perch. Once the sun went down the eel pout came out and the walleyes dissappeared. We stuck it out until 8pm and called it a night.

Today we set up in nearly the same area, but instead of being on the hump, we moved on in to the shoreline break. We drilled holes from 9′ out to 30′. While trying to set tip ups on the weed edge in 11′, we kept having nice perch hit our shiners and trip the flags. We then moved the flags out deeper and set the houses up shallow and caught perch non stop for over 2 hours. As fast as you could get your spoon down there, they would hit. About 1 out of 4 we acught was 9" or better with 12.5" being the largest. We also managed quite a few walleyes mixed in with the perch. Most of the walleyes were in the 16-19" range with a few throw backs. No monsters, but I know I still have a mess of fish yet to clean!

The ice was 6-8" in the areas we checked. There was roughly 4" of snow on the ice. We didn’t see much slush, except at a couple of the access points and where there had been houses previously. Some of that slush was quite deep and I would defintly keep an eye open. Also, try to avoid the crowds. We were able to see 2 villages, and from talking with guys fishing them, they didn’t do real well. Sounded like noise from drilling holes, setting up, etc., during prime time was the biggest factor. Get a good map, and go out on your own. It is so much more rewarding!! Good Luck!!