Blackstrap 2014-2015

[BlueDevil]

Blackstrap is the Proving Grounds!  If you can consistently catch fish on Blackstrap you can catch fish on any lake, lol!  I tend to do better on Blackstrap by staying portable and drilling lots of holes, electronics is a big bonus as well!

[corney]

Every year I see less and less fish on the flasher at Blackstrap.  Too many idiots taking small fish home or going over their limits.  I try to stay away from the Strap buts its so close which is the problem also.  Last year their was so much garbage at the end of the year, it was sickening.  I prefer to head north and get away from the idiots, sorry for the rant.

I agree about the garbage, it's where I live. Sure be nice if whomever left all the busted up and  up side down shacks would clean up their mess. I would think that a few @$$holes are going to ruin that access for everyone soon?

As a local I would also agree there is no fish in BS, so go elsewhere. Lol

[corney]

It sure would have taken a die hard to sit on a pail out there yesterday!

[gman51]

i also live at blackstrap and have been fishing there for over 35 years and i can tell you that the fishing there hasn't really changed much in the amount of fish i see and catch. i mainly target walleyes and do good in the spring and fall and of course the hard water season for walleyes and pike. don't fish much in the summer because of all the boat traffic.we go up north a few times in the summer and winter to different lakes also. I'm sure there all lots of people that do great here for catching and have their places and times and lures they use to be successful spring, summer, and winter.and some that are not about to give up their secrets. anywhere you have a crowd of people like the northend or even Evans road there will be garbage left behind or just cleanliness around their areas. i see it all the time.they need to be charged as for the people leaving their busted up shacks on shore at the northend. well my take on all this is that if the DNR or RCMP or whoever has the authority and I'm sure somewon does would do some investigating and find out who these people are that are doing this and charge them some outrages amount of cash like $4,000 and make them clean it up.I'm sure it would soon stop.lol anyway as for the people that say the fishing here sucks and theres no more fish well there are other lakes go try them and quit complaining..i here their biting at where was it again......... as for the rest of us that know what they don't know..............  FISH ON !!!!!!!!!   

[engineman]

Blackstrap has always been good to me, but I guess I don't know what I'm talking about either. I've been "informed" by many people that there's nothing in there....so....have a nice trip somewhere else.

[ToonFisher]

I was targeting whitefish near shore this afternoon and caught just one that was 21" 4# and packed with fat. Then I switched to the usual three species near sunset and caught one 2# jack right away and then missed quite a few including a big fish on tip-up baited with the whitefish head. Ice was safe to walk on at Evans Road. I didn't measure but it looks like 6-7".

[ggpr]

Good to hear that they are biting around evans road, may have to check it out after work some day.

[AngusMacHuge]

Hows the snow cover on the ice after this weekend? Just wondering if it's enough to cause a bunch of cracking under the weight and flooding, or if it blew clear. I tried looking on the blackstrap web cam, but it's zoomed into the road instead of showing a good chunk of the sound end like it used to.

[gman51]

out for a couple hours tonight slow start around 430-5 caught a couple small eyes then at around 530-6 they came in and put the smack down on my spoon caught 6 in the 2 to 4 pound range and 1 huge mark on the lx7 that came in hot and had a look could almost feel his vibration on my line then gone....what a evening hole hoping

[ToonFisher]

There was ~2" of snow on Sunday, perfect for walking without worrying about slipping.

[ggpr]

Glad you had a good time ripnflutter,  Do you mind sharing the depths you were fishing at and maybe even general area of the lake?  How late did you stay until?  I ask because I might be able to make it out again after work this week and last time we fished from 5-8:15 pm in about 15 fow near the north shore dam and didnt see any fish at all.  Obviously it was not the greatest spot at that time. 

I am also wondering if anyone can comment on if there becomes a time after which it might be too late to expect to catch many fish?  I recall reading another post on iceshanty where a vetern member (from manitoba) mentioned it wasnt worth fishing after dark (at least in the area local to him, which i was thinking should be similar to saskatchewan).  I know that i can catch fish all night in the summer but i am not too sure about ice fishing.  i know burbot can/should be targeted in the evening (have caught some then too) until spawn and i would have assumed pike and walleye (especially) would be alright too.

With sunset at ~5 pm plus the little bit of twilight before it goes pitch black i don't have much time after work with light to fish during.  I got no problem fishing in the dark if it is manageable but just dont wanna waste my time if my chances of catching fish drop significantly.

[gman51]

was fishing just north of the boat launch. drilled 10 holes from 5' to 23' in a fairly tight area for that depth range. most of the targets were in that 12-15 FOW. but did get 1 out in 22'. they were probably shallower but its hard to move when your marking and catching in a certain depth and by yourself. it really slowed or almost stopped around 6:30 which it usually does for me anyway. i really had no success staying late I'm only out there for 2-3 hours am or pm or both but not all day i go home and and come back in the evening. unless of course I'm flagging pike then i stay out there all day. but of course i live here.its pretty easy. hard not to go back to that spot but I'm going to try a different area tonight that was productive last year at around first ice. hope this wind dies down for tonight.this aggressive bite wont last long as winter settles in so do the walleyes then i go to plan "B".

[gman51]

well wasn't like the other night but did manage a few walleyes and 1 pike. lost another 4-5 pound eye at the hole wrapped up in the transducer went to lift her up with just the line and .....#@$%$% that's my second decent one lost at the hole.well most of us have been there.anyway fished shallower 7-10 foot moved around a little but the wind and snow was a bit crapy so sat in the flip.good area i think i could have done better. going to try Thursday.

[ran7ger]

 when i used to fish blackstrap i noticed the marks on the flasher would quit about 1/2 hour after dark.  up here it's about the same unless you're targeting burbs - then fish until the beer runs out!

[gman51]

lol.right on the money ran7ger nothings really changed.there will always be that time in the evening when they roll in and if your in the right area and your set up for it  it can be bang,bang and it doesn't last long. i always stay a little later because you never know. but not like 7pm later this time of year. at least not where i go.got back tonight and did OK for numbers not lb,s.fished from 4 til 6:30 weather supposed to be crappy for the next little while. see how it plays out.

[ggpr]

I went to blackstrap today after going to the "boys lunch out" with some guys from my buddies work, very interesting event by the way   By the time we set up it was about 4:30 and we fished until about 6:30 but again never saw a single fish.  I must admit that we didn't move around at all, we just hid out in the shelter and had one tip up outside of it.  We were set up in 12 fow just out and a bit to the north of the northern provincial park boat launch.  Tons of bugs again after the camera light went on.

There is beginning to be a decent amount of snow on the lake or mainly the access to the lake.  The ramp was pretty snowed in with some large drifts forming.  the lake it self wasnt too too deep, it could easily be driven on once the ice is thick enough assuming we dont keep getting these huge snowfalls!!  We had to make a few attempts at getting up and out the ramp in my buddies tacoma but sticking the middle of the ramp these was the shallowest snow and it wasnt too bad in 4x4.  I couldnt see getting up that ramp in anything without 4x4 as it currently is.

Good luck with your fishing everyone!

[corney]

"Boys lunch out" was interesting!  Any idea on how thick the ice was over there?

[gman51]

?? those damm bug,s and camera lights. there was none of those where i was fishing.  well maybe a few bug,s.

[gman51]

3 days and no report.? c'mon people not everybody works.!!!..lol........ it,s not that cold i know , i know it,s the wind......... or you'd be there..... looks like a break in the weather starting tomorrow. ice should be doing fine, little sketchy getting around with the drift,s in some area,s i would think.got some time Monday eve, and Tuesday are my next trip.   

[BlueDevil]

Waiting for my NilsMaster Auger to arrive then I'll head down there.   

[corney]

Anybody out there today ain't right, not right at all!

That howling cold wind has to make the ice thicker?

[gman51]

yeah, nothing,s easy in these conditions. forecast looks doable for tomorrow night.

[AngusMacHuge]

Anybody out there today ain't right, not right at all!

That howling cold wind has to make the ice thicker?

I'll take that as a compliment. It was cold, I just hunkered down in the tent and stuck it out for a few hours. I'd like to say that I was rewarded with some great fishing but I pulled a big fat skunk. Set up shallow for pike (5-7 FOW) as I knew I wasn't going to be moving around to find fish, so I figured go after something that might come to me. No sign of any pike, but two of the biggest walleye I've ever seen in Blackstrap cruised by under my hole, likely in the 7-8lb range. No interest in my lures whatsoever unfortunately.

Ice was about 11 inches, measured with the handle of my scoop. I was in the area of the park boat launches.

[corney]

Least you were out fishing in a tent.

I was out in the cold and wind clearing snow for about 4 hours!

11" is promising, I suspect there will be vehicles out driving next weekend.

[Sawzee]

Has anyone been to the North end launch? Is the access road blown in? I went out Nov 21st and the ice was about 7-8" at 20 FOW. Thinking of taking the shack out friday.

[ToonFisher]

The south side has lots of snow along the shore this evening. It is over 1' in drifts. The ice should be ~10" but I didn't measure with ruler. I set up at 15 FOW and fished for a little over an hour. No fish was marked during the first half an hour. A few walleyes came by just after sunset around 5:00 PM. First one was 15", second one felt a bit heavier but was lost, and the third was 22" and really chunky.

[gman51]

nice..................       was out tonight 2 small eyes 1 pike that took my spoon.all part of the game. i knew it was a pike right away when i marked it on the lx7. just by the way it rolled in and positioned.especially in the graph and vertical zoom mode.what a cool piece of electronics.

[engineman]

how's the ice?

[gman51]

ice is around 12- 14" in alot of places.

[gman51]

personally i wait til theres around 2' but that,s me. i'm in no hurry.