Petrie Island Sunday

[jsdx]

Well, I've spent some time on the ice and its been pretty slow.

The main entertainment has been the cheap underwater camera I have.

Was able to watch walleye and perch all day eyeing my bait, and a couple of soft nibbles but they refused to bite. I had two real takes, where I watched the fish half eat the bait and swim off. Despite waiting for the fish to fully swallow it, I can report those fish are fine, and well fed. I tried full minnows, heads, tails, and worms. Ever see a perch ignore a worm ? grrrrr.

Tried alternative lures, aggressive jigging, soft jigging, dead stick. Best response was aggressive jigging where the fish would scream over to inspect and then ignore the bait.

Others around me were saying they saw lots of fish on finders, some pretty excited fishermen watching screens light up but no bites.

Finally however a small walleye hit the ice so happy to see. Smaller fish but pretty. It was also end of day, and I was getting cold, but this then resulted in another hr as the old hope "the're starting to hit!!!" ...

Sunday the ice was still 15 inches but the top 8+ was white and 6 or so black ice. I'd be very careful heading out now.

Fishing in 20ft of water, camera has an infra red light, handy as the water is very dark.





This may be the end of the season based on the "abundance of caution" chicken rule and still liking breathing but we'll see.

Tight lines,
John

[Corvus Lacus]

Appreciate the report, thanks for posting.
I've considered getting a camera myself, but I've come to the conclusion that it's just going to make me even more frustrated than ever. I'm already pulling my hair out when I see " hooks" on the sonar and I can't get them to bite.

[jsdx]

I've considered getting a camera myself, but I've come to the conclusion that it's just going to make me even more frustrated than ever.

100% correct

First thing you notice is how many fish ignore you. Drives you crazy.
Second thing you notice is how often you futz with the camera to position it and spend time not fishing.
Third thing you notice is that when a fish takes your bait, it often wraps your line around the camera cable and that's a joy to unwind...

That said, its cool to watch and if you have kids, this thing would pay for itself in keeping their attention and having a fun day on the water.

[John Zach]

The bait that you absolutely NEED to use when you're fishing at Petrie Island this year is a Jigging Rap. I don't know why but it has been the only thing that really works for the walleye and perch. (The pike also like it if you're fishing on a hump or in other shallower water.) So far I've used the Acme Hyper Rattle and the Clam Tikka Minnow. Tip the treble hook on the bottom of your jigging rap with a piece of minnow tail. I've found that the best bite time is for about an hour after the sun is fully up in the morning and for an hour before the sun crosses the horizon in the evening/late afternoon. Jig somewhat aggressively about 2-3 feet off of the bottom.

When you're targeting perch, use the same bait setup, maybe go with a smaller jigging rap, drop it down to the bottom, slowly raise it a foot or two and then just let it sit absolutely still and some of the more aggressive or larger perch will come up and nibble on the minnow tail.

I've seen some good fish caught at Petrie this winter and it's been somewhat productive for me, so don't give up. Trial and error is the key.

I'm not gonna say exactly where to go, but try to go shallower rather than deeper.

Tight lines,

John Zach

[jsdx]

Thanks for the advice, will give it a go...

Funny, I did have a rap on for a bit, but those lures swim in circles around the camera wire so kind of annoying...
Same for over eager minnows which get their revenge by tangling your rig

I have fished till dark a few times, and I have seen some nice fish, this year they have been ignoring me. Last year, same camera a huge walleye bit the camera lens, ignored the minnow.

Hope the ice holds, I'll try your suggestion, no camera to interfere ...
thanks