Hi guys,
On march 11th & 14th I gave LML another try.
March 11 was a bright sunny day with calm winds and not bad temps.
My partners and I decided to try an area of LML we have never ice fished - Rowans Ravine.
We were not sure exacty what we would find in that area but, we set up just a bit S but near the point.
We fished from 4 - 14 feet of water over a sandy, silty bottom from 2:00pm-8:00pm.
In that time we saw a 4 perch, 1 walleye, 3 pike{2 kept coming back again and again} and 12 burbot.
Only a few burbot would look at the lures - most had a mission and moved through quickly.
Fishing was a bit slow, but with a day like that you can't complain.
This was the end result.
The big fish of the day came first and almost pulled my set rod right down the hole, close call.
This pike was 32"long with a 13"girth.
The next one was smaller at 21", but also had plenty of fight.
I ended the trip with a 30" burbot.
Smelts worked for the burbot and larger pike, but the smaller pike wanted a flutter fish.
There was only one other group fishing near us, and I didn't see them go for their tip-ups once.
March 14th found us at Pelican Pointe' and more strong winds, but this time the temps were above 0 and the winds actually felt warm.
There was only 2 other groups fishing the point.
We fished from 7 -12 feet over deeper sand and shallow gravel/weeds from 2:00pm - 7:50pm.
This area had many fish, but most of them also had a mission and would pass right by the camera.
Our group saw, 2 pike, 8 white fish{ usually 2 at a time} and 30 burbot usually traveling in tight groups of 2 to 4 at a time.
The burbot had other things on their tiny little minds.
I only had 6 stop for me all day, 4 of which I hooked, but I iced only 2, the other 2 were lightly hooked and the hooks came out as they rolled into a ball just under the ice and beyond my reach, although I did try,lol.
In the end we iced 3 burbot, 2 for me and one for my partner on a set rod.
The 2 burbot were 8.2 and 8.9lbs, my partner's was 7.5 lbs.
I did see a few things I have never seen before. I finally actually saw 8 burbot all roll into a tight ball right infront of the camera, and even a few fish would go on their side and beat the botton with their tail just like the spawing salmon do. I only caught one in the group who broke off and grabbed the lure. As soon as the burbot left 2 white fish moved in and started picking at the bottom. I am thinking they were eating the eggs. I also saw a pike hovering around the burbot school, probably waiting it's chance to grab a burbot or whitefish, lots of neat and complex behavior going on beneath my feet.
Swimbaits were the only thing they showed an interest in, even the smelts were rejected.
Maybe they though that they were little whitefish or tullibee's eating eggs, and hit out of agression.
The other group beside us came over for a chat and they said they were fishing there most of the day without a single bite. They could see them, but not get them to bite.
On a side note, it looks like spring is on it's way, finally.
We saw many, many deer to and from the lake. We also saw spring birds like horned larks and blue birds.
Along the way on the first trip we also saw this fine fellow in white, this male snowy owl.
All in all it was a nice 2 days to be on the ice and at least we found a few fish.
Here's hoping for more nice days and more bites.
WW
