Blackstrap

[ryder29]

Today I caught my personal best Perch.  Didn't have a tape measure, but luckily my daughter had her iPod with her to snap a quick photo.  It has been awhile since I posted a photo so hopefully it works.

[saswhitetail]

Nice fish Ryder29 were you on north or south end we were on the south end and caught a bunch like that today

[ryder29]

Thanks!  I was between the north end and Shields.  Today I saw a bunch of those bigger ones, but could only land the one.  It was a great morning!

[Malayney11]

Was out today from 10-5 really slow, lots of pike and cam but showed no interest in the bait, 2 missed flags and one small bite in the shack other than that nothing. Gonna try again tomorrow

[Malayney11]

Very slow again today, only 2 finger sized perch made it up the whole, only 2 pike on cam the whole day and no hits on the tip ups

[ppmagee4]

ya three different fish. oh trust me, theres alot more bigger fish then 15lbs in that lake. i eat the fish all the time from there. never been sick n it tastes just fine. however i dont keep anything over 7lbs, an thats in any lake. 3lbers are perfect for me. im heading out today, moving the shack to the lucky spot since the ice is good an thick to get to it.

I know you dont want to give your lucky spot up....maybe you can send me an email with where yo
u are close to....have been in the north and close to the pump house....lots of fish on the radarbut zero bites...need to find a place to keep the 5 year old entertained...
[email protected] (LOWERCASE)

[fishingfever32]

Well was out today. lost two jack, pulled one threw the hole. Seen big birtha on cam... 20plus pounds i would guess. buddy caught a 12lber the other day and the 12lber was alot smaller on cam then this one... Also seen the biggest perch i ever seen before aswell, didn't catch him, but he was there... Perch filled the cam most of the day, and jack in and out. oh ya, seen something pretty cool too,,,, a jack came flying threw and attempt to grab a perch, then my hook, then after my cam... Happend all in seconds, pretty cool day...

[pawlukja]

The strap has been good for us this year. Last time out we caught over 60 perch with less then 10 under the 11" range. Caught my first eye ice fishing at the strap to bad it was the father inlaws. Just kidding caught one just over 3lbs inbetween the north end and shields. The perch have all been very heavy and not just with eggs. We are catching males that are just as big or bigger then the females. It takes awhile to find them and you better be willing to move with them.

[pawlukja]

Forgot to mention this. When we were out last week we tried about 5-6 different spots and the ice was anywhere from 24"-30" except for one spot that was only 15". With the lack of snow on the lake I thought that it would be very consistant through out. Is there really that much moving water in this lake?

[fishingfever32]

hey, ya ive been having decent luck too. been moving around lots though. where abouts was 15" of ice if u dont mind me asking

[saswhitetail]

Not sure what it's like now but at the beginning of jan I was fishing Evans and there was 18 inches then we moved north of the boat launch in the park and there was only about 11 haven't been back in that area since so I'm not sure if it's still like that

[pawlukja]

hey, ya ive been having decent luck too. been moving around lots though. where abouts was 15" of ice if u dont mind me asking

It was on the southeast side in front of the swimming area.

[fishingfever32]

was out again today, and i must say, i had big birtha on.... seen her at the hole, and had a hard time getting her head up. Didn't have the gaft with me and she took off down. struggled with her for prob 15 minutes, and then she got away    However i did pull in a 10lber, but still disapointed birtha got away

[pawlukja]

Does anyone have any advice for tipups on blackstrap? Don't want locations or anything just some pointers. I use to have decent luck but the last two years...nothing. Do I put the bait on the bottom, half way up, or what? I use to and still try to keep the bait half way from the bottom and nothing but 2 missed flags. Is there a bait that works better then others? Use to use smelts buy I am trying larger bait like herring now. Before the last two years I would catch at least 2-3 pike anywhere from 5-15 lbs every time out.

Any pointers is greatly appreciated.

[Malayney11]

Does anyone have any advice for tipups on blackstrap? Don't want locations or anything just some pointers. I use to have decent luck but the last two years...nothing. Do I put the bait on the bottom, half way up, or what? I use to and still try to keep the bait half way from the bottom and nothing but 2 missed flags. Is there a bait that works better then others? Use to use smelts buy I am trying larger bait like herring now. Before the last two years I would catch at least 2-3 pike anywhere from 5-15 lbs every time out.

Any pointers is greatly appreciated.

I have been having the most luck this year with tip ups, I use regular smelts and keep my bait about a food or so off the bottom.  I also find it helps to give the fish a minute once the flag goes off to get the bait down, helps to get the hook set especially if you are using a larger bait.

[ochocenko]

I have been having the most luck this year with tip ups, I use regular smelts and keep my bait about a food or so off the bottom.  I also find it helps to give the fish a minute once the flag goes off to get the bait down, helps to get the hook set especially if you are using a larger bait.

X2 - foot off the bottom, use big herring (6"-8" long), and let em run a little. Usually let the flag go and sit and watch the spool. If you catch it quick you will see it spin for a few seconds then stop. The pause varies between fish but be paitient... wait till you see the spool really take off and run up to the flag, grab the line and set the hook.

As for at the strap, try close to a drop, staying on the high side. find the perch and the big mamas aren't far away. I usually fish my tipups in 10-15 fow at the strap.

[pawlukja]

Thanks for the tips guys. Hopefully be out there this sunday and Ill give it another try. As long as I'm on the ice I have a tip up set so hopefully trial and error will pay off.

[tipupfrenzy]

be carefull with "the wait"   sometimes if you are not paying attention, you may allready be spooled or your tipup may be tangled

[Whytie]

Hey guys just wondering how the bite is around the sheilds area and if it safe to drive across the lake after all this warm weather we been having. Thanks

[fishingfever32]

dont know how the shields area is doing but ive been seeing people still driving across the last as of wednesday

[tikkaboy]

Thinking of going to the north end tomorrow, can anyone tell me if people are still driving on?

[ochocenko]

Yes, everyone is still driving on... Remember guys its the begining of february - the sun doesn't have all that much power or duration to deteriorate the ice. Plus its still hitting -8 or better at night. the ice has been 18+ inches since the cold snap (except for a few areas as mentioned).

As for snow, if you have a truck you'll be fine. Cars not so much unless they got that north end plowed out.

[Dubya_I]

Went out for the afternoon Friday on the north end just north of the arm. Managed a few perch for some appetizers, and had some thievery pike steal 2 tip ups(almost made me want to put a leader on).

[fishinwilly4g63]

Went out for the afternoon Friday on the north end just north of the arm. Managed a few perch for some appetizers, and had some thievery pike steal 2 tip ups(almost made me want to put a leader on).

I make my own quickstrike rigs out of 18" 30 lbs fluorocarbon with a treble on one strand and big octopus hook on the other. Fish can't see it underwater and its extremely abrasion resistant, never had a pike bite through my rigs. Had one engulf it entirely and bit off my braided tipup line, felt like I had snagged a log until it got to the hole, shook its head once and then it was gone. So now I run an 18" fluoro leader to my rigs so that won't happen again.

[Dubya_I]

I make my own quickstrike rigs out of 18" 30 lbs fluorocarbon with a treble on one strand and big octopus hook on the other. Fish can't see it underwater and its extremely abrasion resistant, never had a pike bite through my rigs. Had one engulf it entirely and bit off my braided tipup line, felt like I had snagged a log until it got to the hole, shook its head once and then it was gone. So now I run an 18" fluoro leader to my rigs so that won't happen again.

Thanks for the tip, I think it is time to bump up the test. I was hesitant to put that heavy of fluro on because I thought it would spook the fish. 

[Malayney11]

Hit the strap this weekend, went to my shack on the northend sat and pulled up a 7.8lbs pike 20 min after I got there, after that it was pretty slow.  This morning I set up at evans road, lots of small bites, but couldnt get anything to stay on. Went back to my shack for the afternoon and brought up 3 small perch, and missed one on the tip up.

[fishingfever32]

So i was out this weekend, and got skunked. First time in a long time... I find that when i do go on weekends i come home empty handed. Go during the week, i always bring something home. Im starting to think, its alil noisey under the ice for there's alot of traffic on the ice during weekends. I may be wrong, but that's my theory... Hoping to get out there tomorrow, and we will see if im right or just got luck durring the week. 

[KenH]

Thanks for the tip, I think it is time to bump up the test. I was hesitant to put that heavy of fluro on because I thought it would spook the fish.

I use the same type of setup and have never had a bite off

[Whytie]

Had a great saturday pulling perch biggest was 12" and the rest were 10" made for a nice meal. Caught and released 3 jacks all in the 3-5lb range and missed a few flags. My little bro set the hook on one and it bit through a 30lb test steel leader. today was a lot slower but still manage a few 10" perch lots of dinky little ones stealing bait and caught and released 3 jacks in the 2-3lb range nothing too big today.

[pawlukja]

Went out on sunday with the father inlaw and my 10 year old son. Started off slow but about 30 mins in at our second spot we finally found the perch. Most of them were 10 - 11 + inches with about 8 or so in the 12" range. We caught 5 that were 1.5 lb to just shy of 2 lbs. Between the three of us we caught over 60 in total. Other then our first two trips of the year (1 fish between the two) we have had close to this type of action everytime we go out. This time was the best though.