Hog Island Report 4/9/15

[jbritch]

Got on the ice at 9:00 and set up in the same spot as last time; 4 f.o.w. and along the rocks to the south of the access at Tabor Point.  The bite was immediate and steady all day but more of the smaller ones (only small fatheads at the store).  I rigged my tip ups with big pike shiners and some of the smallest perch (which were even smaller than the shiners).  I kept putting the little ones in my bait pail and when I had 6 or 8 I put them down the holes that had the tip ups with perch on them hoping to lure that big pike back again.  BAM!  It worked alright but I lost another big one in the structure before I got two 2 footers; the second one came up out of the hole and spit out the bait and hook.  Then after I put some more tiny perch down another hole the same thing happened and I lost another big one when the line got knotted up from the spool spinning so fast.  I ran out of bait at 2:30 and came home with nearly a full pail.  There's 20 inches of ice that's getting soft and the bottom of the holes is jagged and catches your line.  Getting off at the access is very hairy; some places I stepped through to up over my boots, very uncomfortable so probably the last time this year for me.  Been a good year, though, and still waiting to hear the 2013 pan fish harvest numbers.  If anybody gets them before I do, please post them here so we can all see how we did.

[perch bait]

Sounds like you caught a good amount of perch. To bad that you lost so many pike. Same thing happens to me when I go pike fishing. The little ones always swallow it and the big ones always have it right in the corner of their mouths, wonder why that is? Sounds like you ended your season strong. 

[Lavman]

Thanks for the report, way to stretch your season! I packed it in 2 weeks ago, ready for ice out and SUMMER! I am wintered out for this year.....

[bootstrap]

thank you for all your ice fishing reports over the season. best of luck for the upcoming open water fishing.

[Light liner]

Yes thank you for the reports this year.
Was this your longest season on the ice for you?

[jbritch]

Thanks to all that offered the kind words; I really enjoy reporting on the conditions and glad some folks like reading.  I can't play poker and never can keep a secret so I was free with the details; maybe some of you actually tried Hog Island for the first time because of my reports.  To Light liner: this was a very good year for me but not quite the longest.  When I lived in Derby and fished Lake Salem, my last day ever was April 19th.  Could have fished longer if there had been a way to get out onto the ice but then there was no need because walleye season was over and the perch were massing up under the bridge.  To Perch Bait: I only had one small (5 lb) pike swallow the hook deep this year so my experience is different than yours.  The first 2 footer yesterday was barely lip hooked and the second one wasn't hooked at all.  Yes, it is a tragedy when I lose a big one in the rocks but that just shows how smart the big ones are and what a worthy opponent they are; they know how to fight back and probably head for the same hiding place each time, at least it seems so.  To Lavman: yup, I, too, gave in and drained the gas out of my Jiffy this a.m, sniff.  As soon as Shawn Goode gets the 2013 data to me I'll post it, hope it's before the start of next season.