Well again I have been away too long. I have finally carved out some time to do a little blogging. Here goes.
My ice fishing this winter has not been as I would like it to be. We have had suspect ice all winter and I have been unable to get out as often as I would like. I have only been on West Okoboji twice, didn't do much the first time and the second time Rick Dicus and I caught some nice gills and a few perch off Pocahantas point. Boji didn't freeze clear across until this week and it is not very good. Boji had been open from Pocahantas Point, north almost to Omaha Point and east into Given's Point in Smith's Bay. The only real good ice is in the bays, Emerson, Millers, Smiths and North Bay. The fishing has been spotty, you can get them but you have to work. There has been some very nice walleye caught.
Big Spirit is where I have concentrated this winter, primarily because the perch seem to have made somewhat of a comeback. Rick Dicus, Tim Milner and I have caught some nice perch up to 12 inches. However, you can only get a couple when they come in, they are gone so quick I can't believe it. We just can't seem to be able to keep them in the hole. Tim has caught some nice walleyes right at dark on the north end. The perch are off Buffalo Run in 22 feet and at the south end west of the pump house. I believe the pump house bite has stopped as has the Buffalo Run bite. Rick and I were out last weekend, I caught one nice 10 incher right away and that was it, I never had another fish on the Vexilar and Rick never saw a fish on the Aqua-View. We made 4 or 5 moves and it didn't matter.
The highlight of my winter fishing, is the trip I took to Lake of the Woods. The trip was sponsored by Clear Channel Radio, KMNS, Sioux City. Experience The Outdoors with Rick Dicus put it together. Rick and I shared a shack along with Steve Zant and Mike Luff from Wakefield, NE. The walleye fishing was sloooow. We did manage to catch 12-15 keepers per day along with a few perch. It was slow but some of the 80 some folks on the trip never caught a fish. I was given the nickname Tullibee Tim by my shack mates. I developed an absolutely world class knack for catching the dreaded Tullibee. Of course, Dicus doesn't want me to mention his skill at eelpout angling. Rick prefers to call them Burbot, that sounds better to him than eelpout.
Anyway if you get a chance to do that trip, do it it is a really lazy way to ice fish. Ballard's Resort sends a bus to pick you up and then they do everything. The hospitality at Ballard's is second to none, the food is fantastic and the guides friendly and knowledgeable. I would highly recommend the trip. I had never ridden in a Bombardier half-track that is fun. The guides took us out about 8 miles on Big Traverse Bay, left us with minnows, the shacks were already warm, they bring you a big lunch about noon and come and pick you up about 5 in afternoon. Then it is back to the resort for some supper. Of course in the morning you are treated to a breakfast buffet! Really great.
Rick Dicus and I will be presenting a seminar on sonar at the Nebraska Walleye Expo, Feb, 24-25 and 26, in Lincoln, Nebraska. We will be talking about setup, structure, reading weeds, contours and bottom composition transitions. We will not be talking about GPS mapping. To get that you will need to go to one of Doc Samson's very fine seminars. The information will be primarily aimed at the novice, you pro's might pick up few tips as well.
Well that is it for now, see you on the water.
