Yesterday, the bite was slow for most of the day.  The areas I moved the four small rentals we have out are in 14-16 feet of water and, at this time of year, good Northern Pike territory. It was evident, especially in two houses reasonably close together in the same spot.  One house had zero activity with Perch during the day, and the one next to it C/R a large Northern and saw even a bigger one down the holes.  When Pike goes into an area, most everything else leaves…

We will pull rentals to shore as customers leave today and tomorrow while this colder weather is here for the next 24 hours.  The final two will be pulled on Sunday morning before the warm-up begins again.

Yesterday, we pulled the stakes, rerouted the trail to the Graveyard Reef, and pulled the bridge ramps from the original Graveyard road.  The crack we were crossing there was approximately 2 feet wide and spread eastward toward Pope’s Reef and the Point. We are recommending no travel in that area. The top two inches of the ice were extremely soft when we drilled in the stakes—a sign it will be losing its strength soon.  I’m sure some colder weather will help firm it up, but it will never be the same.

From here on out, all travel will be with ATV or SxS for portable fishermen, rentals, and small single-axle wheelhouses can be pulled by ATV or SxS. Only our small lake trucks will go to rentals to pull them in.  We have ample parking available. Check in at the office first before unloading. Permanents can stay the last time this weekend in their houses on shore if they want to.  After the weekend, we will go day by day for portable fishermen for Northern Pike and Perch.  If we don’t get enough business to warrant staying open, more than likely, we will close for the season.  Keep checking the report.

Keep a Tight Line!

Eddy

We had three rentals out overnight.  Some Perch were caught in the afternoon  A few Walleye overnight, but it was slower than it has been.  One rental has a Northern Pike lurking around it’s area as currently, they are not seeing any Perch action when we checked on them this am.

The ice is still holding up ok.  Over the last couple of days, it has expanded from the sunlight and warm temps as much as it can.  The pressure ridge movement slowed some yesterday, and this morning, the bridge ramps on the crack we crossed on the two main roads had not moved much.  Tonight and tomorrow, we will see a temperature dip for about 36 hours, so cracks will appear as the ice cools down and shrinks; Anglers will need to be aware out there.

Today, we are going out and pulling road stakes and the bridge on Graveyard Road and will be staking a new trail from Tullibee Road, NE, to the Graveyard.  We are avoiding Popes Reef as there are numerous working cracks in that area, and we advise no travel in that direction. We will be crossing the crack on the Tullibee Road to get to the farther-out Reefs.  A pressure ridge 2 miles out just south of the Tullibee Hole will make it unaccessible until we decide to get our ATV bridge out there.  Depending on the weather, I will determine if we will do that next week.

Everything for vehicles out there will be ATV except for the few light vehicles at the rentals today and tomorrow. Our few rentals will be pulled to the storage lot on Friday and the balance on Sunday morning when customers leave.

Keep a Tight Line!

Eddy

Yesterday, the bite was slow for the Walleye.  One angler SW of Spider got some nice Perch in the morning. But others in that area mainly caught small Perch.  One group of perch Anglers came and fished the mud area NW of the Graveyard, but very few Perch were found. One angler on the North end of the Banana Reef fishing for Walleye caught and released a  20-3/4″ Smallmouth.

The crack we are bridging on two main roads opened another 4″ yesterday, so it’s between 18″and 24″ wide.  It’s been many years since I’ve seen a crack of that size between our shoreline and Gull Reef during the fishing season.  With no snow cover this year, has been challenging on the ice with the sunny days and colder nights.

We recommend ATV travel for portable fishermen if you want to get across the ramps on the cracks to fish the Graveyard, Banana, and Tundra Reefs.  Vehicles under 4000 lbs can go out in limited areas.  Small single-axle wheelhouses can be pulled with a UTV or ATV.

Regarding what happens after the season closes, staying open depends entirely on the weather. I will keep posting until we close for the year.

Keep a Tight Line!

Eddy