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Spirit was good last weekend, nearly limited out. Was 7'' of ice but lots of slush, had 4-5'' of water on top of the ice. Sonar is recommended as there were fish from 15-50' and it varied from minute to minute.
The Maiden Rock Access at the east end of the lake is where most are fishing. You access it by Nautical Loop Rd on the west side of Hwy 41, there is a parking area up the hill from the ramp maybe 75 yards. I put a small dark blue oval where most people have been fishing, if you have sonar it is extremely helpful. We were fishing in 80 feet of water.
Awesome thank u!! Any perch? Or just koke and trout?
Anyone know what the ice is like at Sportman's?
I can’t wait for a response; I am ready to try pike fishing again. I am so tired of watching 1 or two guys being successful catching the Kokanee on Spirit Lake while 29 other guys don’t get nothing. You would think that if I spend $7.00 on Fire Corn that I could catch one of them. I also don’t feel that folks should post up maps to such a tough fishery.
Im going to bite the bullet and finally fish lower twin for kokanee tomorrow been hearing good things about the size of the kokanee
I just bought a pair of snowshoes just for those conditions. (Atlas Montane Series Snowshoe) On sale $125.May sound like a lot, but used them today in 10 in snow with a layer of slush underneath. I’m 62 and pulled my sled behind and it was amazing. Watched another guy struggle to get out in just boots. It’s a workout just getting dressed these days but man, best purchase for those conditions. Stayed on top. period.
I have been fishing Spirit for about 40 years and like CMS says if you get a bunch of people out there fishing in the same spot you can hold the school there and everyone benefits. That is why I posted the maps, and it is not a tough fishery it just takes knowing how to hook the fish. Like CMS says you bounce the rod tip a few times and then start raising the rod up and watching the tip, if it acts like the tip is not coming up as fast then set the hook. I took a guy out to Mirror on Sun and gave him an ultra light rod that I had around, he figured out how to see the bite pretty quickly but would loose them about half way up. I finally figured out that the rod was too slow action so he couldn't set the hook solidly enough. Here is a pic of the rig I use with the hooks that CMS tied up. That ''spoon'' is a Deadly Dick but a Kastmater or Sweedish Pimple wil work as well.
. Not gonna argue with a 40 year vet, but if you're having trouble with these more complex methods, don't be afraid to try keeping it simple. If I'm on a school, I catch em on the initial drop off a small Kastmaster almost every drop. Just letting that spoon free fall to their depth, then stop it and wait. If nothing for 20 or so seconds, slow lift (probably one or two in a day grab it on the lift, so might as well go slow just in case) then free fall, wait 20 or seconds, repeat. Maggot on one or two of the trebles. If the fish are there you'll get em. And with the bite directly at the spoon, rather than on a much less weighty drop hook, the takes are much more obvious. You gotta think, with that drop hook, they have to not just grab the hook, but also move that weightier spoon before you see any reaction in your rod. Just catching em directly with the spoon doesn't have that issue.