Fishing Forum

Heading out with 3 friends this morning. I hoping for another chance at the biggest walleye I've had on my line and also some of those finiky crappie. Have a great day fishing!

Well walleye weren't cooperating. Lost a little one caught a little one. The trout were cooperating. Between the 3 of us we had an 18", 16" and 3-15"ers. Had some hits and shake offs and a few rock fish, the rock fish did not get any lures this day[:p]

Here's some pic's
Michael

Keep looking to the East
He will be coming in the clouds.
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[cool][#0000ff]Both crappies and walleye are probably a lot deeper now than you were fishing. The walleyes especially. They go down to over 50 feet deep in the cold...following the schools of baitfish. They will sometimes come back up shallow for brief periods, looking for food, but deeper is better until the spring spawn. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Those everlovin' rainbows stay shallow and keep ya busy though. Gotta love 'em.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]What were the water temps?[/#0000ff]
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the overall depth at that end is 20 ft and the temp was 47-48. What size minnows do you drag?
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[quote idahopanfish]the overall depth at that end is 20 ft and the temp was 47-48. What size minnows do you drag?[/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]The size minnows I use depends upon the species I am targeting and the size of the prey species they are feeding on. As a general rule, it is hard to go wrong with minnows in the 3" - 5" range. But, sometimes a big 6 or 7 inch minnow will wake up the larger fish without the smaller ones pestering you to death.[/#0000ff]
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Do you think that the freezer "smell" affects the appeal of the minnows as bait?
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[cool][#0000ff]I can't answer for ALL fishies, but some seem to prefer FRESH to freezer burn. As you probably know, anything frozen without being sealed against odors from other items in the refrigerator or freezer will pick up those odors. Also, any fish (including minnows) that are frozen with air in contact with them will develop "freezer burn"...where the oils in the flesh turn rancid and the flesh dries out and turns nasty smelling. I freeze my minnows in water, with all the air squeezed out. Some guys use a vacuum sealer, but that can add to the softness of delicate minnows.[/#0000ff]
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