Pineview update

[Uncle_Arnie]

How'd it turn out?
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[Fowl-Hook]

What location on the lake did you get the sleds on?
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[L-D-R]

had a great time with my buddy . lots of little crappie with only 11 nice ones .
ice was good no slush where we fished getting on the ice with our sleds was no problem . got the chance to try out the new striker drill and the new tent was great nice and warm .

not sure where the big crappie are but going to keep looking
we sent just about every color and size of jig down the hole we did the best on glow tear drop tungsten tipped with wax worms . jigging seemed to be what they wanted .
supper light bite
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[Ticklestick]

How is the ice in the narrows?
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[Kent]

[quote Ticklestick]

How is the ice in the narrows?

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I didn't measure it, but I would guestimate it at 6" yesterday.
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[Ticklestick]

[quote kentofnsl][quote Ticklestick]

How is the ice in the narrows?

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I didn't measure it, but I would guestimate it at 6" yesterday.[/quote]

Excellent, I will go check it out tomorrow if the weather doesn't get
to nasty.
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[L-D-R]

We went off browing point. ..


The ice in the narrows looked good there were a few people fishing down there
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[wiperhunter2]

How was the catching Kent? If it was really good, just send me a PM.
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[Kent]

It was good for baby crappie and small perch. Excellent sturgeon bait but not for human eating.
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[wiperhunter2]

Good to know, sure makes me wonder where all those big crappie go in the Winter[:/].
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Many crappie and perch lakes are cyclical. On years when there is a good spawn there will be lots of young fish...decreasing in number over their short lifespan as they are caught out or die natural deaths. When there has been a good spawn, there will be good numbers of larger fish 4 or 5 years down the road. The survivors from a poor spawn and/or heavy fishing pressure are fewer and further between.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]That is the case with Pineview right now. You have proven there are still some larger fish in the lake. But the smaller ones...from the last good spawn...far outnumber the bigger ones and are easier to catch.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]The bigger fish are also not in the big schools of the more numerous smaller fish. So you pick up strays here and there but seldom any wide open action lasting over a long period.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]These bigger fish are also more likely to be closer to the bottom and not suspended in schools. They are meat eaters...looking for baby perch. So you will often do better fishing with bigger offerings. Like the jigging spoons pictured below. And a chunk of perch meat often catches more of the bigger fish than wax worms or other small baits.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Every year on Pineview is different...with different water levels and different fish patterns. But if you can put in the time with a good sonar and an auger that will drill a lot of holes you can usually find fish. And if all you find are small ones, don't hang around too long. The bigger ones will be SOMEWHERE.
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[wiperhunter2]

Agreed and sometimes being lucky enough to find the spot where the big ones are, is just a stab in the dark, especially when there are so many smaller fish but it's fun trying. Of course the bigger issue is trying to release those small fish that you don't want to keep, they just will not go back down to depth, without one of those weights like you have talked about before. If perch meat will work crappie, I wonder if chub meat would work as well[:/].
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[Springbuck]

Are those really from today, TD?
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]I'm sure chub meat would also work...ala fligs.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]I have also done well on a big piece of crawler.
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[TubeDude]

[quote Springbuck]Are those really from today, TD?[/quote]

[#0000FF]Nah! I never catch fish like that from my living room recliner.
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[#0000FF]Those were probably at least 5 years ago...when I still dressed funny and walked on (frozen) water. The point I was hoping to make was that there are usually some larger fish around and you have a better chance of catching them with larger offerings. Doesn't mean you won't catch a few dinks on them too, but the bigger fish generally prefer larger bites.[/#0000FF]
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[catchinon]

"just a stab in the dark"

No pun intended? []

I hope to get up there some night and now that I have the Milwaukee drill I'm happy to move around a lot. My question is, how far do you have to move between spots? Can you just move along a few paces at a time or do you need to move fifty or one hundred yards at a whack?
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[wiperhunter2]

That is totally up to you but it does help to know where the structure is. Sometimes drop offs and edges hold fish but not always. As long as you have plenty of drilling power to drill lots of holes, I like to drill 8 to 10 at one time, in a cross or X pattern. I'll drill holes 10 yards apart until I find what I'm looking for. This approach works best with two of you, one drilling holes, one guy coming up behind the hole driller to check the hole with a fish finder or flasher. When you find a hole with fish, drill more holes around it and set up, being as quiet as possible. Drilling make a lot of noise but stomping around on top of the ice setting up can be an issue as well depending on if the fish are suspended or on the bottom. This isn't as big of concern with bottom hugging fish, unless you are in shallow water.
As I said, knowing where structure is can help because if one spot does not pan out you might need to move 100 yds or 1/4 mile to find the next spot.
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