NumenOn the Water
Date: 2-7-15
Date: 2-7-15
Body of Water: McEwen Lake
Boat: None, ice fishing
With: Alone, but friend KS happened to be out there, too
Target: Crappies and pike
Time: 11:15 AM to 4:15 PM
Conditions: Generally pleasant; 35 - 39 degrees F and pretty calm with only mild, easterly wind; high clouds, but thin enough and bright/glarey enough that I actually choose to switch to sunglasses for most of the trip; about six inches of slushy snow on top of 9 inches of ice.
I had enough assorted bait left over from my previous trip(s) that I was able to take advantage of a brief weather/schedule window for a somewhat impromptu mid-day trip. With something of a storm predicted for the evening and next day, I hoped there would a positive barometric influence on the fish. And, with a Kite Festival on Reeds Lake, it was easy to return to McEwen. As I trudged across the lake, I could tell that there were many folks in the vicinity of where I planned to fish, so I veered a bit to the south and east. As I drilled my first exploratory hole, I was greeted by KS, who was there fishing with extended family. He was marking a few fish and had missed a flag, but otherwise, things were reportedly slow.
It appeared that there were plenty of suspended crappies in 39 feet of water; but I went through all four of my basic presentations (rap, pimple, slab and drop) without a strike. I figured they had mid-day doldrums, and would simply turn on later. I punched a few more holes, working towards shore, scanning and fishing each one; with pretty much the same result. The most important revelation being that a little, innocuous do-nothing point near the SW corner of the lake actually fell off very quickly into 35 feet. This was probably the steepest break in the lake, and I was marking suspended fish just off it. This looked like a new place to concentrate my efforts.
I quickly had tip-ups set nearby in 12 and 25 feet of water. While the sucker in 12 feet remained untouched, a shiner down 21 feet in 25 got hit five times; and I landed four pike. One was a solid keeper, two were marginal keepers, the fourth was sub-legal, and the fifth (which felt very small) escaped before I saw it. These flags kept things interesting while I chased pan-fish; and while the pike here empirically aren't very big, the legals had good body condition (and so maybe there's potential for something bigger). And, I don't think I've ever had 5 pike flags in one hole in a single trip. Pleasant conditions with decent activity; what else could one ask for?
Meanwhile, the pan-fishing was tough! I literally had multiple fish on my screen for the entire session. If they dissipated, a quick move to a nearby hole would give me a fresh set of targets. They were suspended off bottom, would often rise to greet my descending bait, and generally seemed catchable. I briefly connected with a few light biters, but for the most part these bites were simply pecks. I did catch one; and it was a nice (8+ inch) bluegill! He ate a maggot-tipped slab spoon, about 24 feet down over 30.
I had enough assorted bait left over from my previous trip(s) that I was able to take advantage of a brief weather/schedule window for a somewhat impromptu mid-day trip. With something of a storm predicted for the evening and next day, I hoped there would a positive barometric influence on the fish. And, with a Kite Festival on Reeds Lake, it was easy to return to McEwen. As I trudged across the lake, I could tell that there were many folks in the vicinity of where I planned to fish, so I veered a bit to the south and east. As I drilled my first exploratory hole, I was greeted by KS, who was there fishing with extended family. He was marking a few fish and had missed a flag, but otherwise, things were reportedly slow.
It appeared that there were plenty of suspended crappies in 39 feet of water; but I went through all four of my basic presentations (rap, pimple, slab and drop) without a strike. I figured they had mid-day doldrums, and would simply turn on later. I punched a few more holes, working towards shore, scanning and fishing each one; with pretty much the same result. The most important revelation being that a little, innocuous do-nothing point near the SW corner of the lake actually fell off very quickly into 35 feet. This was probably the steepest break in the lake, and I was marking suspended fish just off it. This looked like a new place to concentrate my efforts.
I quickly had tip-ups set nearby in 12 and 25 feet of water. While the sucker in 12 feet remained untouched, a shiner down 21 feet in 25 got hit five times; and I landed four pike. One was a solid keeper, two were marginal keepers, the fourth was sub-legal, and the fifth (which felt very small) escaped before I saw it. These flags kept things interesting while I chased pan-fish; and while the pike here empirically aren't very big, the legals had good body condition (and so maybe there's potential for something bigger). And, I don't think I've ever had 5 pike flags in one hole in a single trip. Pleasant conditions with decent activity; what else could one ask for?
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| McEwen Pike. Photo courtesy of KS (just so I won't get sued.) |
Meanwhile, the pan-fishing was tough! I literally had multiple fish on my screen for the entire session. If they dissipated, a quick move to a nearby hole would give me a fresh set of targets. They were suspended off bottom, would often rise to greet my descending bait, and generally seemed catchable. I briefly connected with a few light biters, but for the most part these bites were simply pecks. I did catch one; and it was a nice (8+ inch) bluegill! He ate a maggot-tipped slab spoon, about 24 feet down over 30.
So maybe those "finicky crappies" are actually just mixed in with gills. I'm surprised I couldn't get any bites on the teardrop/maggot combo, regardless. Maybe I'll crack these gills with a little extra 'gilling finesse.
What do I have to say about this?
I was forced by conditions to do some extra work and try mildly new areas and techniques; and I'm still learning after all these years. After 20 straight crappies and no tear-drop success here, I was very confident that I was fishing over crappies (but recall my reticence prior to landing the first one a few trips ago.) Now, I don't know. And, I'm curious about the biology of the lake; what the panfish are foraging on, have they switched diets later in the season, etc.
An eight-inch gill and a few 24-25 inch pike; nothing great. But this modest success is generally enough. I'll keep at it.
I also have to blame Sunday's Splitting Headache and Flaming Scalp on the Sunglass Conditions of this session. I was probably almost stricken down with Snow Blindness.
I was forced by conditions to do some extra work and try mildly new areas and techniques; and I'm still learning after all these years. After 20 straight crappies and no tear-drop success here, I was very confident that I was fishing over crappies (but recall my reticence prior to landing the first one a few trips ago.) Now, I don't know. And, I'm curious about the biology of the lake; what the panfish are foraging on, have they switched diets later in the season, etc.
An eight-inch gill and a few 24-25 inch pike; nothing great. But this modest success is generally enough. I'll keep at it.
I also have to blame Sunday's Splitting Headache and Flaming Scalp on the Sunglass Conditions of this session. I was probably almost stricken down with Snow Blindness.
