Quinte - Jan 31, 2009

Post by **OVFisherman** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 3:32 pm

Hello Fellow Fish-Hawkers,

Made a trip down to Quinte on Saturday and fished the Big Bay area, from sun up to about 5:15 pm. The bites were really pretty steady throughout the day, just the hooksets weren't always there. Seemed at times they would just suck on the minnow and trying to set the hook just pulled the minnow out of there mouth. A lot of light bites, but still managed to ice a Pike and a few Perch.

All of the fish caught were on a set line, 15 FOW, as jigging only produced a few light hits. Used a silver/green Sidewinder for the most part, but tried quite a few others trying to entice them (3 different colors Swedish Pimple, 3 different colors Hawger Spoon, silver/chartreuse Mr. Champ, to name a few), but not much luck. From what I have heard from others while there the bite has been slow in some areas, better in others. Just have to be at the right time/right place, same as in other situations.

It was a good day nonetheless, no 'eyes, but still good to be out ice fishing somewhere. A special thanks to Grizzly (Quintefishing Guru) for taking the time to point out a few of his spots and share some of his knowledge of the Bay (went above and beyond in my opinion) to this Quinte Amateur, even though I have only "met" him through the Quintefishing Forum, and never in person. Not yet anyway.

Anyways, here are a couple of photos from the day, sorry about the snow in the second one as it came down pretty good in the afternoon (whiteout), but I am sure that all of you know what Perch look like.

Good Fishing To All

OVFisherman

Post by **Prairieboy** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 4:45 pm

Good Quinte pike.

So when you cleaned it did you have a look at what it was full of? The pike I brought home from quinte last year were full of 6 inch shad. The bellies were sticking out so far i thought they were plugged up. Amazingly they were still taking the bait...couldn't believe it. Makes me wonder why they bite on a minnow at all when they have such a high population of baitfish (and big ones) in there. I guess it is all about opportunity knocking and the fact that the minnow isn't trying to get away

Cheers,
Prairieboy

Post by **Jair** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 7:17 am

Looks like a nice little snack you got there.

Hopefully those light bites were just the rest of the perch fam.

Same thing was happening to me this weekend til I switched to a jign' Rap
w/t a minnow head & it seemed to get those short biters up through the hole.

Cheers, Jair

Post by **skubasteve** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 1:45 pm

Nice, I love Quinte

Post by **Tip-up** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 2:39 pm

That's a nice pike OVFisherman

WTG

Post by **West Lake Willows** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 5:08 pm

Well done OVfisherman!! Bet the perch are cleaner then the ones from Muskrat.
Scott

Post by **OVFisherman** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:34 am

Hello everyone,

Thanks for the feedback, and just wanted to answer a couple of the questions.

Prairieboy - Shad, although I was kind of expecting Perch because there seemed to be enough of them in the area I was in.

Scott (WLW) - much nicer and cleaner than Muskrat Lake Perch, but you already knew the answer to that one from your own experience on Muskrat, so I won't take you up on that bet.

Good Fishing To All

OVFisherman

Post by **wolfe** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 12:56 pm

It seems from some of the recent reports that the fish are taking the set line over jigging.

Q: when you are choosing to NOT jig, you simply just let the bait dangle? Imagine you would try different depths if you're not getting any reaction? Also, what are the better baits to use if you plan on just letting your line sit. You mentioned Swedish Pimples -- I wouldn't think you would opt for any artificial like this unless you planned on injecting a little action into it.

Thanks for the tips. Trying to arm myself with any advantage b4 the next endeavor!

Nice fish, by the way. Quinte is some fishery.

W.
W.

Post by **Jimmy_1** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:01 pm

Not to hijack,

But I have noticed that crappie have been interested in small minnows but that it has been difficult (at least for me) to get a good hook-set.

Are smaller baits like pieces of worm or maggots just as effective at attracting them as minnows?

Curious.

J

Post by **West Lake Willows** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:42 pm

OVfisherman, I haven't met you but you seem nice. If nothing your a very brave man to so proudly and publicly proclaim your support of such a terrible hockey team.

GO LEAFS GO!!!!

And that is why I don't support my club so publicly. I have my jersey wrapped in a paper bag in the top corner of my closet. Its at the point now I have to pull all the curtains and lock the door just to watch a game. Although I guess its not much better being a Sens Fan right now either. Maybe we should all convert to the OVfisherman's ways.

Post by **OVFisherman** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 1:59 pm

Hello again,

Just to answer a couple of more questions for you.

wolfe - this is how I will rig up for a set line (see picture) and it seems to have worked for me for Splake, Lakers, Perch, etc. I use fishing rods, but will work with the good old willow branch as well. As for depth, I start out at the bottom and will work my way back up in increments until I find the right depth. I normally hook a minnow through the back just behind the dorsal fin, so that the minnow stays pretty lively. The key to this I have found is too keep the hole as clear of ice as you can, that way the swimming action of the minnows adds a little pulsing action to the rod tip (you can watch the rod tip bounce), and when I clean out the holes, I usually will bare hand it (can get a little cold at times) as I find it is quieter than using a scoop. And when freeing your line from the ice, tap a little hole right where the line is and work my way to the outer edge. I have had hits right after the line has been freed up, and the minnow starts "dancing" again. Whenever I clean the holes out I will jig the line a few times then leave it till the next clean out. If I want a little more flash, I substitute the SP's in the photo, for silver. Not saying this will guarantee fish, but has worked for me.

Jamsers - I don't fish for Crappie, so I can't say for sure about worms or maggots, but if I am fishing and start getting short strikes from Perch, I will sometimes move the hook a little more towards the head of the minnow, or just a minnow head, as ALL the Perch I have caught this year have had the tails of the minnow sticking out of their mouths, when the minnow has still been on the hook. Perhaps some more experienced Crappie anglers can help you on this one. Downsizing might help though.

Hope this helps. Quinte is a good area to fish, has been slow there lately from what I have heard, but will pick up this month I'm sure.

Good Fishing To All

OVFisherman

Post by **Jimmy_1** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 2:11 pm

I don't think I can use a smaller hook!

Post by **OVFisherman** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 2:12 pm

Must have been posting when you were Scott. Through thick and thin (GO FLYERS GO), and being from an area that is loaded with Laff's fans and Sens (disgruntled Laff's fans) fans I have learned to be thick skinned on this topic.

Flyers Fans are NOT nice. Broad Street Bullies all the way.

Next time I'm down on Quinte, look for a bright orange Flyers hat, it could be me. Just make sure you're not toting a rifle or anything like that.

Good Fishing To All

OVFisherman

Post by **wolfe** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 2:30 pm

OVF, thanks for the great tips and helpful picture. Only other point I would want to hit on is: what if I don't use live minnows? We have a bag of very small sized salted minnows (currently frozen), but I don't like to use live ones. I'm sure with the dead ones, we'd have to jig them around, not just let them sit there. Do you ever have luck with other (buggy) live baits?

Thanks for the advice.

W.