Gull Lake

[VX 12]

Hey guys, Just wondering how deep water anyone getting smelt at, how thick ice is, north or south ?and how many smelt your averaging. would like to get some melt in freezer before the big thaw, would like to have one last weekend of fishing with the kids and Ill be driving an hour so any info will be very helpful . thanks in advanced.

[GoBlue2255]

48' south end has been fairly productive, been marking alot but only on the feed for short time then  spotty

[Smeltman]

North end about 80' of water. You have maybe a 2 hour window to catch them in. Then slows down. That was last week Sat. Not sure now . Ice is about 7".

[smeltbuster]

I finally got some fish last night! 108,in 50 FOW. 3 other guys fishing by me, had about 50 between them. Most of mine came 20-25' down.Did not mark too many high fish.Guys in that 70' band did pretty good too,talked to one guy who said they had about 250(I dont know how many guys).Bring your ice cleats,its slick!  Be careful not to get too close to the creek,its opening up.The bite started at dark.I will be out there tonight ,look me up,I will probably be there around 5:30 p.m., gotta go clean some fish,finally 

[sweetdad040]

Might be our last weekend I heard 51 and rain for Sunday, that is not going to help the ice.

[sweetdad040]

I finally got some fish last night! 108,in 50 FOW. 3 other guys fishing by me, had about 50 between them. Most of mine came 20-25' down.Did not mark too many high fish.Guys in that 70' band did pretty good too,talked to one guy who said they had about 250(I dont know how many guys).Bring your ice cleats,its slick!  Be careful not to get too close to the creek,its opening up.The bite started at dark.I will be out there tonight ,look me up,I will probably be there around 5:30 p.m., gotta go clean some fish,finally 

Thats the report I've been waiting for. Thanx SB

[Swedish Pimp]

Headed down there tommarow. Going to hit the ice around 7. Sure is a nice change from Dec. When it was getting dark at just after 5. Kind of kicks you in the ass the next day. Gets late fast. There will be 8 of us. Look for a otter shack (snow camo blue) and stop by for a beer.

[whizper]

Last night was horrible. Fish were biting for about 20 min. Ended up with 27. Lot of frusterated people at lanch when i was leaving. We had firework show though. Thankyou for making my night. Lol. North end 75fow.

[smeltbuster]

Last night was slower than Thurs. night,I ended up with 51 & one guy fishing next to me had 30,3 other guys that set up with us had about 15 between them.Marked very few fish.Fished in about 50 FOW.My shanty was the closest one to shore.The fireworks was a nice distraction,& I got to meet 2 more Shanty members.Smeltman how did you do? I will be out again tonight.

[dgb]

We had a decent night on Gull Last night. We fished until about 10:00, 3 of us iced around 175 smelt. We were fishing in 75ft of water and the vex was full of fish starting about 15ft below the ice. Lots of biting fish when we left also. Here is a few pics from last night.

Trying to find the smelt at dusk trying to figure out where we want to set up for the evening.


The Vex is full of fish.


The action is getting good.



The evenings catch.

[smeltbuster]

Just wondering if anyone found a nice metal Jiffy skimmer on the walk in last night.I left around midnight.It is not in my sled now.

[sweetdad040]

I,ll be out tonite. I,ve gotta get a bag in the freezer. Soundz like the bite is later in the evening. Look for me about 3-4 this afternoon, I,ll be there till late. I can sit on the couch or the ice. The bite is very slow from the couch.

[princecraft]

We had a decent night on Gull Last night. We fished until about 10:00, 3 of us iced around 175 smelt. We were fishing in 75ft of water and the vex was full of fish starting about 15ft below the ice. Lots of biting fish when we left also. Here is a few pics from last night.

Trying to find the smelt at dusk trying to figure out where we want to set up for the evening.
(Image removed from quote.)

The Vex is full of fish.
(Image removed from quote.)

The action is getting good.
(Image removed from quote.)


The evenings catch.
(Image removed from quote.)

Nice mess of smelt.  Glad to see you had some action.

[sweetdad040]

Was there standing water on the ice last nite?

[smeltbuster]

No,just a bit of thin slush & that froze up after dark.Probably the same thing tonight,bring your cleats !

[sweetdad040]

No,just a bit of thin slush & that froze up after dark.Probably the same thing tonight,bring your cleats !

Cleats for sure.
Last weather check.... Lows in the mid 30's, winds SE 10-15, 60% rain about 8.

[Smeltman]

Last night was horrible  :(worst night i had this year . Marked very few fish until after 10 then vex lit up like a Christmas tree. for about an hour the bite was on , before 10 pm we had 7, when we left we had 40. Sounds like you did pretty good dgb i wish we could of found them like you. Most guys i talked to did poorly. It was really nice to meet you Smeltbuster , next time we will have to fish closer together, that was a cool rig but would i would have lots of trouble with it. Maybe out Sunday will have to see what the weather will bring.

[sweetdad040]

My top 10 of 30 for the nite.

[sweetdad040]

My report.
I hit the North end about 4 to set set up and settle in.
4" of hard pack, on 4" of clear, with a 1/4" skim of slush.
I was in 60fow, sitt,n alone between the 40 footers and the 70 footers. I never marked o fish till 8:00 then the bite was slow but steady till I left with 30 at 11:00, and they were still marking and biting.
I did carch my personal best, most times 4-6 inch smelt is my norm. but I got afew close to 7 last nite.
 I hope theres one more weekend left.
I talked with guys coming off the deep water with reports of 20 to 100.
I talked with guys on the shallow water when I came off with reports of 2 to 50.

[smeltbuster]

I ended the night with 58,fishing in the same holes I used Thurs. & Fri. nights.50 ft. of water.Almost all of my fish came30'-40' down.And yes Sweetdad ,them are some nice size smelt.The past 2 nights I have been getting some big females.The size is getting very close to what they used to be ,back in the 70s' & early 80s'.Smeltman ,I'm glad I got to meet you finally;also met some others that are on here from time to time. Sweetdad, I think we walked off the at the same time!Even though the fishing hasnt been all that great this year,for me,I have met a lot of nice people because of this thread.That has made my season turn out to be a good one      Phil

[sweetdad040]

I ended the night with 58,fishing in the same holes I used Thurs. & Fri. nights.50 ft. of water.Almost all of my fish came30'-40' down.And yes Sweetdad ,them are some nice size smelt.The past 2 nights I have been getting some big females.The size is getting very close to what they used to be ,back in the 70s' & early 80s'.Smeltman ,I'm glad I got to meet you finally;also met some others that are on here from time to time. Sweetdad, I think we walked off the at the same time!Even though the fishing hasnt been all that great this year,for me,I have met a lot of nice people because of this thread.That has made my season turn out to be a good one      Phil

I believe we did walk off together. I remember a guy say,n he had 58, good to kinda meet ya, lol.
I talked to a guy that was coming off the deep water that mentioned The Shanty, camo suit maybe a graying beard. Said he had 100 +/-. Didnt get a name from him.

[wmu1989]

  My buddy and I ended up with 131 in about 2 hours Sat. night. Fished the north end in 68 fow. Flasher was lit up lick a christmas tree all night

[Smeltman]

We caught a couple of smelt that were 9'' on friday they looked like  trout instead of smelt  . We let them go, good spawners rather eat the smaller ones. I doubt I will be able to get out again we will see. All in all a pretty good year  .

[smeltbuster]

I'm pretty sure were done with hardwater smelt on Gull. :(But, my sons & I, will check the ice conditions on the north end & 2nd. bay the next few days.I will post what we find.Hoping to get on 2nd. bay Thurs. night,but I got a gut feeling it aint gonna happen!Gettin the pontoon uncovered & in the barn Tues. afternoon,if I cant get on 2nd. bay,& the north end is open,there will be some idiot out there,Thurs. night! Keep ya posted on ice conditions, thats what I do 

[sweetdad040]

I'm pretty sure were done with hardwater smelt on Gull. :(But, my sons & I, will check the ice conditions on the north end & 2nd. bay the next few days.I will post what we find.Hoping to get on 2nd. bay Thurs. night,but I got a gut feeling it aint gonna happen!Gettin the pontoon uncovered & in the barn Tues. afternoon,if I cant get on 2nd. bay,& the north end is open,there will be some idiot out there,Thurs. night! :icefish:Keep ya posted on ice conditions, thats what I do 

I was really hoping for one more weekend. Finger crossed.

[stevenmang85]

One more weekend...

[Capt J]

Thanks for the honest repot guys good job.  Have a great summer.

[sweetdad040]

Thanks for the honest repot guys good job.  Have a great summer.

Probably the best thread all season

[smeltbuster]

Probably the best thread all season

7,256 reads & 9 pages as of now;People drive 2 hrs. to fish here,some spend a couple of days. Sad to say,NO local bait shops,with good info.Gull lake is a GEM ,& for those of us that live close to it, we better realize just how blessed we are , if time permits,I will check the ice tommorrow,after work. I still have all my stuff in my SUV.The "toon" is ready to go,but I want to sit on the hardwater some more. Keep ya posted.

[primetime]

Sad to say,NO local bait shops,with good info
Sounds like a good place to open one up.

7,256 reads & 9 pages as of now;People drive 2 hrs. to fish here,some spend a couple of days. Sad to say,NO local bait shops,with good info.Gull lake is a GEM ,& for those of us that live close to it, we better realize just how blessed we are , if time permits,I will check the ice tommorrow,after work. I still have all my stuff in my SUV.The "toon" is ready to go,but I want to sit on the hardwater some more. Keep ya posted.