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Author Topic: Spirit Lake  (Read 3736 times)

Offline Jimbobber1970

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Spirit Lake
« on: Feb 01, 2011, 11:20 AM »
The bite at Spirit seems to be taking a dump? Have not had much luck last week or so. Anyone else? Snow cover messing things up?
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Offline rjbreese

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #1 on: Feb 01, 2011, 11:31 AM »
 >:(  oh man! i didnt want to hear that fishing report, we are coming up from southern iowa 5 hr drive this weekend, bummer, seems like wherever and whenever we go somewhere we shold have been there yesterday or the week before??? are you catchin anything at all???
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Offline IAbear

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #2 on: Feb 01, 2011, 12:21 PM »
Still fish to be caught. But I had half as many this weekend of what I had the weekend before. Size seems to change from one day to the next.
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Offline rjbreese

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #3 on: Feb 01, 2011, 12:46 PM »
any walleyes?? where bout's is everyone pickin up the perch still. im sure this storm isnt going to help the bite at all.
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Offline esox_magnum

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #4 on: Feb 01, 2011, 06:56 PM »
I know guys that did poor last weekend and others that got their limits in a few hours.
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Offline brittlab

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #5 on: Feb 01, 2011, 07:00 PM »
I'd explore some new areas and get away from the masses. It's satisfying to find fish in untapped areas!
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See you on the frozen pond.......Mike

Offline nick858

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #6 on: Feb 01, 2011, 08:19 PM »
Figure it this way, its worth a trip for me.  On some of the slow day reports, its still better than anywhere i can go around here.   Kind of like those guys always posting pics of 8+ lb walleyes from Red Wing.  If you are sitting on a great place in your back yard, its easier to come up with good reports.
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Offline Zimmerman

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #7 on: Feb 02, 2011, 03:04 PM »
hows the lake looking with all this snow
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Offline esox_magnum

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #8 on: Feb 02, 2011, 05:59 PM »
Quote from: Zimmerman on Feb 02, 2011, 03:04 PM
hows the lake looking with all this snow

 White......
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Offline Zimmerman

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #9 on: Feb 02, 2011, 08:10 PM »
alright then... are there people venturing out yet with there trucks?
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Offline esox_magnum

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #10 on: Feb 02, 2011, 08:12 PM »
I'm sure there is, snows never stopped anyone, 20 or so on Emerson tonight.
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Offline Mr.Seaguar

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #11 on: Feb 04, 2011, 11:11 AM »
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Every plastics manufacturer claims plastics outfish livebait. So now I use livebait just for the increased challenge.

Offline BojiHawk

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #12 on: Feb 04, 2011, 06:29 PM »
Nope...no perch bite.  She gone.  Nada.  Dead sea. 

...in addition, there is NO WAY to get them to bite at night.  It's impossible.  Can't be done.  There is no way way with a N-land rattle spoon and a 3.5" dropper w/ a 1/32 oz. jig to get those perch to hit jigs between 1 am and 4 am.  Dropping LED lights into the water didn't do anything.  I couldn't hook a perch with my buddy and I who left NE last Sat. night around 6 and got to the permy at about 9:30.  Furthermore, they don't do a 180 degree change of apetite at 9:30 am.  There just aren't 45 10-12" jumbo perch anywhere to be caught up there last weekend.  And at no time did the guys fishing on top of our permy wonder what was in the pail that had me bent in half carrying to the truck at 6:30 PM last Sunday. 

Oh yeah.....there are also no walleyes to be had at all.  No 16, 16.5 and a 23" ers at all.  And they don't hit chubby darters with a teeny minnow head on the back treble....EVER!!!   

LMAFO   (saracsm key set to 'off')   I can tell you this..they are fickle and they are thick.  Changing lures, baits, presentation, speed of jigging, dead sticking, etc. are all key.  Pulling up a camera sent them into a frenzy.  They are now less scattered and each school has it's own personality.  From small hard baits to dinky plastics.  I had 6 rods baited and ready...and used each one....sometimes for less than 60 seconds to find out what that "table of diners" was having at that moment.  But....when you get the magic jig (and there is one that far out performed the others) you want to rig 2 poles and as your first bait falls, rebait the second.  As you unhook the caught perch....hold the next rod in your legs and GET IT DOWN QUICK.  You can make these schools hold long enough to pluck 5 or 6 fish in under 3 minutes.  But the feeders are movers.  You leave them bored down there...and the turbo fins kick in.  And the camera shows why:  That first fish strugging up is attracting hungry pike and walleye.  Keep a 6" chub on a plain treble close....the flash of that struggling perch seems to make them hungry.  The few toothy ones we caught hit 12' down over 24' of water :-)

In all fairness....the most fish I saw other than our 40 was about 8 or 9.  They only used 2-3 diff lures / baits.  That won't cut it.  I tied up and cut off around 20 diff. rigs.
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Offline SpoonieLuv

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #13 on: Feb 04, 2011, 06:33 PM »
Hey Boji, how is the snow depth, did you guys get alot in this last storm? Just wondering if 4x4 trucks are still getting around ok.
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Offline BojiHawk

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #14 on: Feb 04, 2011, 06:38 PM »
Your good with most 4x4's.  I have some pretty large BF Goodies (as big as will fit without a lift) and I never even blinked in the dark going to the permie.  Be carful of drifts from the few plows that have been out there.  It's possible to get stuck....bring a shovel for sure.  Today should have compacted it a little.
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STRIKELITE 4-STROKE, POLARIS 800 X2, OTTER OUTDOORS, FL-12, FORD F-150, ST. CROIX, HERITAGE LAKER AND FRABILL THERMAL TIPUPS, STRIKEMASTER BIBS AND PARKA, MR BUDDY, LOWRANCE H2O, AQUA VIEW XL, MARCUM PANNING TRIPOD, AND FATTIES.

Offline jawmbi

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #15 on: Feb 05, 2011, 08:32 AM »
Fatties??? ???  I like your fishing style for sure. Hope to meet you the ice sometime.
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Offline esox_magnum

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #16 on: Feb 06, 2011, 07:25 PM »
5 guys on Saturday totaled 90, Sunday just the wife and I, took home 50, just under 10" avg.
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Offline BojiHawk

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #17 on: Feb 07, 2011, 07:41 PM »
Quote from: jawmbi on Feb 05, 2011, 08:32 AM
Fatties??? ???  I like your fishing style for sure. Hope to meet you the ice sometime.

That's how I roll.  ;-)   Look for the guy that jumps out of his shack with a pail....looks right and left....and runs to a started quad or truck like he stole something...since I did.
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STRIKELITE 4-STROKE, POLARIS 800 X2, OTTER OUTDOORS, FL-12, FORD F-150, ST. CROIX, HERITAGE LAKER AND FRABILL THERMAL TIPUPS, STRIKEMASTER BIBS AND PARKA, MR BUDDY, LOWRANCE H2O, AQUA VIEW XL, MARCUM PANNING TRIPOD, AND FATTIES.

Offline esox_magnum

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #18 on: Feb 07, 2011, 09:55 PM »
Finaly kinda figured out how to get pics from my Droid to here, maybe.... From the weekend... For reference that's a 28" rod....




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Offline BojiHawk

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #19 on: Feb 07, 2011, 10:58 PM »
Those are nice....very.  That one on the reel is chub.  And is a great way to tell a "JUMBO" for people not used to JUMBO perch:  If you can take a straight edge (ruler) and run it from from the top of the upper lip of a perch across it's forehead towards the dorsal fin...and get a gap (notice the dip in the 'forehead' of those perch)....that is a jumbo....around 11 to 11.7"....maybe 10.5".  I'ver never taped a 10"er with that nice football forehead.  And...the BS perch this year seem to jumbo up fast. 

..They are all egg laden BTW.  Even last weekend.  But that is about the same bucket I rolled home last Sunday night.  In the midst of that dead sea / nothing happening / mid-winter doldrums / should have never traveled that far for perch.....bite.  LMFAO..  I'm going to Lewis and Clark this weekend....need a big tug and tired of pike.  Wipers and eyes...but save a few footballs for me.  Or don't.  Either way...I haven't seen this "slow bite" cept for 1 pm to 3.....when we only caught about 4 fish.
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Offline fin-n-feather

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #20 on: Feb 08, 2011, 03:20 AM »
Quote from: esox_magnum on Feb 07, 2011, 09:55 PM
Finaly kinda figured out how to get pics from my Droid to here, maybe.... From the weekend... For reference that's a 28" rod....

(Image removed from quote.)


(Image removed from quote.)
WOW!  Nice mess of perch!  Fin
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Offline esox_magnum

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #21 on: Feb 08, 2011, 06:31 PM »
Boji that tanker was under 11"
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Offline BojiHawk

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #22 on: Feb 09, 2011, 08:01 PM »
"that is a jumbo....around 11 to 11.7"....maybe 10.5""

I always leave the door open....under 11" it is.
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STRIKELITE 4-STROKE, POLARIS 800 X2, OTTER OUTDOORS, FL-12, FORD F-150, ST. CROIX, HERITAGE LAKER AND FRABILL THERMAL TIPUPS, STRIKEMASTER BIBS AND PARKA, MR BUDDY, LOWRANCE H2O, AQUA VIEW XL, MARCUM PANNING TRIPOD, AND FATTIES.

Offline bassfishnhunt

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #23 on: Feb 10, 2011, 07:37 AM »
With the nice weather coming next week I was thinking about making the 3 hour trip to Spirit. I have never fished there before and was wondering if someone would be able to help with some info??????? Is it far to wlk if you dont have 4WD or an ATV? Thanks in advance for any help.
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Offline esox_magnum

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Re: Spirit Lake
« Reply #24 on: Feb 10, 2011, 06:29 PM »
Basicly you want to be on or near the basin, about a 3/4 mile walk from any shoreline.
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