Splake Fishing - 01/25/2009

Post by **OVFisherman** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 12:55 am

Hello Everyone,

Took a good hike in the woods Sunday to a Splake lake. Actually, stopped at another trout lake on the way, fished for about and hour, 1 small perch made it to the hole, but not out. Packed up, and carried on to the next lake. Turned out to be a good move as the Splake were hitting pretty good, as in the first 30 minutes, 3 were iced with the fourth before the hour was out. My friend and I managed to ice 3 more for the day, before we decided to pack it in.

My friend like's to call his "Fishing Rod" a "Lightning Stick". I also like to call it his "Lightning Stick" as "Lightning never strikes the same spot twice"

It's usually enough to get him going for a bit.

I have to admit, the first three fish came from his first hole augered; he was standing near the firepit (about 40 feet away) , and I just finished skimming the ice clear of his line (about 3 feet away), when his "Lightning Stick" just about smacked the ice, producing the fish in the picture. Not a monster, but a decent size considering the size of the lake it was in. The rest were between 12" to 16". Needless to say he didn't make it in time.

All in all a good day on the ice, nice long walk in the woods. Pretty refreshing out there today, but the Sunshine sure felt nice.

Good Fishing To All

OVFisherman

Post by **DropShotr** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:48 am

Thanks for the report and pics.

Looked like you a good day.

Thanks for sharing,
DropShot'r

Post by **Tip-up** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:55 am

Sweet splake OVFisher....

Post by **plncrzy** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 8:05 am

Very nice... good to hear also...

Can I ask you what time of day the splake hit?

Post by **bradford2** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:55 am

Great looking fish!

Post by **Wallyboss** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:00 am

Great fish OV

Post by **baz fish** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:20 am

Nice trout OV

.

Post by **Out4trout** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 5:55 pm

Way to go - great looking Splake...
Congrats!

Post by **wolfe** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:18 pm

A very nice report -- what a great day to be out, enjoying nature, some sunshine and even a few fish!

W.

Post by **Fishing 24/7** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:25 pm

verry nice n healthy looking splake!

great job and good thinking on the lake switch!

nohting wrong with a lil run and gun when things arent working out!

congrats.!

Post by **The Nipigon** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:52 pm

Sweet fish...gotta love it.

Thanks for the view.

Post by **HogHunter** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:30 pm

Nice Fish, gotta love the old willow branch...I usually fish with all the toys and gadgets, yet I still use the willow branch when the time is right

Hey is that a splake or a brookie, kinda looks like a spec...if so, it's an even nicer trout!

Post by **Tip-up** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 7:55 am

HogHunter wrote:Hey is that a splake or a brookie, kinda looks like a spec...if so, it's an even nicer trout!

The forked tail is evident that it's a splake HH although that fish really does look very much like a little brookie.

plncrzy, I bet the splake hit before 10:00am

Post by **Jimmy_1** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 7:56 am

But they got a perch that day too!!!

Post by **OVFisherman** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 1:06 pm

Hello everyone,

Thanks for the feedback. It was a good day to be ice fishing, regardless of how many were caught. The catching part was the bonus.

plncrzy, the first three fish were caught between 9:35 am and 10:10 am, in 8 FOW, and the bite slowed down a bit after, but stayed pretty consistent, about 1 or 2 hits every 30-45 minutes. The rest were caught in 14-15 FOW. We missed about 4-5 decent taps on lines, trying to stay warm by the fire, but that was okay, as they seemed to stay hungry after stripping the minnow.

So Tip-up, you pretty much nailed it on the time.

HogHunter, a couple of the fish really looked like Brookies, minus the square tail. There may be some natural Brookies left in the lake, and if there are I sure wouldn't mind being the one to catch them (and release them). I don't mind taking a few Splake, but any naturals I like to return. I live very close to Algonquin Park, so I have the opportunity, and the knowledge of where to go, so a lot of my Brook Trout fishing is done there during the Spring and Fall. I love my Float Tube.

Jamsers, the Perch was hooked in the first lake of the day, right at daybreak, and we stayed for a short while after. After no hits for 30 minutes, we made the decision to pack up and hike to another lake (another 45 minutes of hiking through the bush, gotta remember the snowshows next time

).

The first photo is a couple of rigs I used on the lake. The swedish pimples have rattles in them, and pretty much double as a weight and attractor, and I prefer to use red hooks, floating jigs, and tiny tear drop jigs (on the bottom). If I want more flash, I substitute the chartreuse and orange for silver swedish pimples. Pretty simple setup, and effective.

The second photo (Bow Juan Worm) is a version of the San Juan Worm, and I like to use these on occasion, the only difference is I lip hook my minnow to imitate it trying to feed on the worm, whereas with others I will tail hook (behind dorsal fin) and let the minnows create their own jigging action. I picked up on these from a fly-fishing buddy of mine in Calgary when I lived there, and they worked very well on the Rainbows and Browns on my three ice fishing trips to Montana. Worked pretty good on the Bow River for them too.

Hope this helps.

Good Fishing To All

OVFisherman