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No prob! For what it’s worth, live Smelt or shiners will catch your biggest trout then eggs then crawlers and then powerbait. Always exceptions but that’ll be your avg how it works everytime
Glad you got into them Frank. Nothing today for me was targeting bass and browns it was a mess out there. Had the wheeler by the time I got back to the launch the sled was 1/2 full of water. Drying my stuff out right now and putting it on eBay.
In Ma I can run 5 traps so I always mix it up.I rarely get rainbows on shiners though, even set just under the ice where the crawlers work so well.Browns and brookies do hit the shiners well.I don't use smelt because of lack of availability in the area I fish.I do usually try a few large sized shiners but unless there are bass around they usually go untouched. I think my problem is my home pond just doesn't have the forage to grow big fish. The trout live primarily on insects and copepods. There are no smelt or shiners, only banded killifish and bluegill. Largemouth bass may also outcompete the trout for what forage there is.I guess I need to explore new venues.
And when I do run Smelt and shiners I use baits that are outlandish. Pin baits will typically get you small fish. If you want numbers great if you want quality I’m telling you this is true. I had to go to eggs bc that’s what was on there mind today, it is what it is.
Nice Rainbow there! I've been personally targeting Bow's this year with great success I forgot how much I love pulling them through the ice, My daughter caught her first decent bow this season weighing in at 4.11 lbs after we gutted it, Wish I could of got out today just got home from work and lake is 20 minutes away I may just have to sneak out there now this post got me all horned up
That’s a great fish!
It really was I was super stoked to watch her land that fish crazy thing though she pointed out to me that the smaller 20'' bows we have been landing consistently this season have all fought harder than that big one
Nice! Congrats Dad! My wife’s aunt lives on the lake I believe you are fishing, I’m amazed that they stock it with 21-23” fish! I’ve caught some pigs there!
Pretty much what I already use except I use a #6 bait holder for nightcrawlers. Do you get robbed alot? Hit and spits? Do you get many gut hooked?My favorite thing about nightcrawlers is they seldom get robbed or hit and spit, which makes a huge difference when using tip ups spread far apart. The thing I hate about crawlers is the percentage of gut hooked fish.
the reason you don't do well in mass on shiners is, the majority of the ones you are fishing on are this years stocking, even the larger ones, are brood stock, ones that have lived a few years or even a single year in the wild become meat eaters... when I fished Waldon, I used huge shiners, I also caught 4 and 5 lb rainbows that had seen a season or two..Eggs are a rainbows first love...unfortunately, you have to weed out the little guys...
Nice fish Frank....
Yeah most guys I've talked to bash the hell out of that lake for being slow, I personally can't complain I've had some great days and most days we avoid a skunk, This year me and my kid fished it a lot almost every outing to learn it for the derby, She really wanted to get out there and compete. She took 2nd place with a 20'' rainbow so her persistence paid off
My favorite pond is loaded with holdovers. They just don't get very big. Not just by my results, I fish the heck out of it nine months out of the year for several decades and have only seen one big fish. That one was landed by my kid when he was five years old. All those years I fished there without a big fish, when I finally hook one, I handed the rod to a five year old. Walden used to be a pond that produced large more regularly (still can but not like the old days).Unfortunately smelt died off in Walden in the late 80s and far as I know have never come back. Of course the state agency that controls the pond won't let me sneak in before the gate opens so I can jig smelt in the dark. Back in the 80s I had an understanding with the guy who opened the gate. They're hard azzes now, probably get my car towed if I tried that now. Good ice is hard to find at Walden in these warm winters.
Don't do it, Denny! You'll just have to buy most of it back next year when you get the itch again.X 2 on buying the sled cover. Short money and only one thing to dry out.
For what it’s worth, I did have Dillies( my preferred size for worms) and Mealies andddd PB and thankfully didn’t need them to avoid the skunk.
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Topic: BOWTIFUL DAY! (Read 10609 times)
