Throw me a bone

[Dkreager]

So this is definitely just a hobby for me as I ride and race motocross and that consumes 9 months of my life a year. I can usually hold my own and catch a handful of fish just about everywhere I go. That being said i don't usually start drilling holes until mid to late January. My buddies and I headed up to north park this weekend. We fished john, north Delaney and south Delaney. Fished between 5 and 10 feet of water and had nothing commit. Saw the biggest rainbow in my life at john in about 6' of water. He had to have been 30" and at least 9lbs, I'm talking massive. We fished mostly the edges of weed beds and found a couple submerged little trees, still nothing. I'm lost when it comes to early season and I know how hit and miss north park can be. I appreciate the help

[fishslap]

I ice fish north Delaney a few times a year and never do any good.  A few times I’ll get into a handful of decent fish but that’s it.  I’m officially done with it.  I know there are big fish in there but I don’t think that lake meets the definition of a gold metal water if you read the criteria.  It also gets a lot of harvest from what I can see.

[GSP_Pike]

Grew up in MN racing MX and enjoying many outdoor activities including fishing and hunting.  Not many activities have higher fun factor than MX and pulling a holeshot, outback snowmobiling is close, definitely not fishing or golf.  Its called fishing for a reason, and not catching.  It reads like you do okay fishing but would like to catch that "big" one.  Been fishing a long time, I have caught a few big ones but not consistently.  Like motocross, make sure you have good equipment, new line, good knots, sharp hooks, etc...  If you hook one, don't want to lose it for those reasons.  Like motocross racing, don't give up.  Persistence eventually will pay off.  Odds increase when you know fish patterns, what they feed on, fishing the right times of the day and year (spring and fall are best), and what structures holds fish.  Reservoir fishing is more challenging because water levels are always changing.  I am still trying to figure it out West here compared to MN lake fishing and bait is nearly non existent here which adds to the challenge.  Put down RacerX and instead read In-Fisherman for some knowledge.   Good luck...keep you feet on the pegs and your hands on the bars! 

[Sawtooth]

I've been fishing those lakes for many years, and though they can be temperamental, it seems like John is making a comeback after a number of down years with larger trout (Fish and Game dumped tons of fish in there to make a dent in the overly-abundant food supply). Nice to hear you saw one that big.  Most will probably be in the 14-18" range, but fat.

The bite there is typically very light.  Years ago I was fishing there with Shoe and having little luck, and he got me onto using a great slip bobber - Venom bobber - that is great at detecting light bites, and I've used them ever since (order online from Minnesota, I think). 

Our best luck has been fishing mostly near the bottom in the 10-12' range, and we usually stay on the west side near the picnic tables. This year white tube jigs seem to be attractive. On John you can use mealies or shrimp with the tubes to add a little extra attractant (but no bait on the Delaneys). Used to have good luck with a lead jig holding a 2" Gulp minnow as well.  If nothing is happening on North after a good effort, try going shallower or deeper.

Fishslap is right about North Delaney - bigger fish, but you may be lucky to catch one. Bite there has been only very early morning. If nothing by 9-10 a.m., I'd move to South or John.

[Dkreager]

Grew up in MN racing MX and enjoying many outdoor activities including fishing and hunting.  Not many activities have higher fun factor than MX and pulling a holeshot, outback snowmobiling is close, definitely not fishing or golf.  Its called fishing for a reason, and not catching.  It reads like you do okay fishing but would like to catch that "big" one.  Been fishing a long time, I have caught a few big ones but not consistently.  Like motocross, make sure you have good equipment, new line, good knots, sharp hooks, etc...  If you hook one, don't want to lose it for those reasons.  Like motocross racing, don't give up.  Persistence eventually will pay off.  Odds increase when you know fish patterns, what they feed on, fishing the right times of the day and year (spring and fall are best), and what structures holds fish.  Reservoir fishing is more challenging because water levels are always changing.  I am still trying to figure it out West here compared to MN lake fishing and bait is nearly non existent here which adds to the challenge.  Put down RacerX and instead read In-Fisherman for some knowledge.   Good luck...keep you feet on the pegs and your hands on the bars! 

That's awesome! Yeah I rode one for the first time at 18 months old, raced for the first time at 4 and never looked back. I'm 25 now and just about to get my pro license. Fishing is definitely my slow down, but I've always loved it, used to ride my bike to pond a couple miles from my dads house that had some nice 2-3 lb. Largemouth bass in it. My cousin and I used to bike from his house up to dixon reservoir and catfish until 2 in the morning. I'm Just an over grown redneck kid that loves shooting pheasants, catching fish and riding dirt bikes! Yeah I definitely do okay, I love learning so I do a lot of research and i know enough to at least see fish just about every time I go. I'm also a warm water guy, I love to chase walleye and can consistently get them from the shore at boyd. I've never paid any mind to trout and their habits throughout the year, which is pretty stupid since most of the fishing I get to do is through the ice lol. Early season is also extremely foreign to me so i was kinda just making sure I wasnt doing something completely off the wall. It sounds like I should probably move around and play with my depths a little bit more, especially when the fishing is slow and there isn't much to loose. I should also broaden my lure selection, which I've known that for years. Trout up there seem to go for my tube/mister twister combo so I've mostly got those in a few different colors and a hand full of other little spoons and what not. If it ain't broke dont fix it.... but I guess its broke lol

[Dkreager]

I've been fishing those lakes for many years, and though they can be temperamental, it seems like John is making a comeback after a number of down years with larger trout (Fish and Game dumped tons of fish in there to make a dent in the overly-abundant food supply). Nice to hear you saw one that big.  Most will probably be in the 14-18" range, but fat.

The bite there is typically very light.  Years ago I was fishing there with Shoe and having little luck, and he got me onto using a great slip bobber - Venom bobber - that is great at detecting light bites, and I've used them ever since (order online from Minnesota, I think). 

Our best luck has been fishing mostly near the bottom in the 10-12' range, and we usually stay on the west side near the picnic tables. This year white tube jigs seem to be attractive. On John you can use mealies or shrimp with the tubes to add a little extra attractant (but no bait on the Delaneys). Used to have good luck with a lead jig holding a 2" Gulp minnow as well.  If nothing is happening on North after a good effort, try going shallower or deeper.

Fishslap is right about North Delaney - bigger fish, but you may be lucky to catch one. Bite there has been only very early morning. If nothing by 9-10 a.m., I'd move to South or John.

Last year I made a trip up to john and couldn't keep em off my lines, I had to stop fishing with 2 poles cause of how hectic it was. They would come in hot and heavy for about 30 minutes and then they'd disappear for 10. It was like that from about 7:30 to probably 2. Nothing bigger than 18" but a fun day on the ice for sure. Since then I've been trying to figure out south Delaney, I've had some decent days and I've had some really awful days. I've always seen fish in the 20-25" range though so that always keeps my hopes up. I tried everything I had I my box on john that day. Every color of tube I had, little minnow immitation jig, spoons and ran them dry, tipped with a waxy or a meal worm and they still wanted nothing to do with it. I dont use my sonar if I can see the bottom and I watch a handful of them come in and look, but it was like as soon as I twitched the lure they'd peel off. Extremely frustrating lol. I'll take another trip up before the front range has decent ice and see how it goes. I appreciate the info!

[Sawtooth]

At South we've had our best luck on the west side just a little north of the low parking lot on the SW corner, about where the shore bends to the west. Used to fish off the ramp on the south side, but the pull up the hill coming out wasn't fun for an old guy. This year only caught a skinny one in South, so heading up Monday to try John for the first time this year.