Fishing Forum

Me,Wombat1947, and his co-worker met up at Mantua early this morning..figured it would be nice to not have to deal with the masses on a weekend. But even on a Tuesday there were ice fishers aplenty.

Started fishing around 8:00 a.m. (Ice was a solid 5"), the bite was unusually slow. Even after moving a couple times, they fishies were few and far between. Finally after moving out toward the middle (around 11:00 a.m.) the perch decided to play. Fast and furious for about 15 minutes, and then oddly enough they shut right down again. I decided to boogie on out of there at about Noon Thirty since it was too slow for my liking, but Wombat texted me later and said they had gotten a few more.

Ended up with 3 trout, and 12 perch (one of which measured 10")...but I was after the Bluegills and they were nowhere to be seen today. Kinda slow, but a good time hanging out with good people.

Sorry, no pics. I figure you all know what perch and trout look like by now.
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On Monday, it seemed like the perch came through in schools. I'd see nothing on the flasher for 20 minutes, and then suddenly, the bottom foot of depth was all fish. Both my rods would jiggle, and I'd get a nice perch on one of them - but never get to the second one in time to set the hook. If I was quick at unhooking, I could get a bait back down and get a second fish, but the school has usually moved on by then.
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Thanks for the report. Sounds like the bite has died down just a tad bit.
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Lucky![laugh]
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We had a good time today. Even tho we didnt get into the gills. It was a weird day for us. The perch would come in schools. See tons of fish on flasher but couldnt get them to bite . The final number on the day for me and my buddy was 28 perch and 3 bows. The ones big enough to keep anyhow. We threw back a ton of small ones tho. Ice seemed to be melting a bit with the warm temps. It was a beautiful day for ice fishing. Guess everyone thought the same. Due to the crowds.
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Yeah it's a little different this year. The bite is usually not this slow at Mantua so soon after new ice; yet for some reason that's exactly what we're seeing up here. I talked to many ice fishers as I was leaving today, and they said the same thing.

It will be interesting to see how it develops over the next few weeks.
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Spent Saturday and Sunday there between both days only 6 trought, 5 bluegill and 1 perch, very very slow for Mantua after the first ice. Maybe other waters will be more gracious.
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Wondering with this warm spell if we'll get any new Mantua fishing reports soon?
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