Home Team Advantage

[O.My.Buddy]

So after the butt kicking skunking of Nemo's Revenge I was really hating ice fishing again...but after some commiserating or rather just miserating on the forums and knowing that the bite is going to be on in the good weather after the epic storm I threw the gear in the bucket, threw on some layers and grabbed the auger. I get out in the driveway and there's still shovelling to do. dammit. bucket and auger down, do the shovelling. Get down to the corner and still the sidewalk on the main road is not plowed, guess the sidewalk blower guy couldn't put the crack pipe or houlie down long enough to turn the corner. I get to the lake and there's a sled track going out towards the fishing ground I'm aimin for...sweet...I get out there, dig a hole...fish for 15 or 20 minutes...absolutely notin, not even a tap...kinda what I half expected because it's been something like 2-3 weeks since I've been catchin decent keepers out there...at least it's nice out there, no wind, warm sun on my face, touque, jacket and sweater off... ok I'm gonna move up the track parallel to that hut over by the snowmobile trail...first drop a 4 incher...2nd drop another dink...lookin like yet another dink fest...yay...jig a lil bit more fish, this one feel better, about an 8 incher gets off in the hole next drop another 8 incher...keeper...started getting into some bigger fish, you know not every drop and some dinks too, but steady, guys at the one hut packed up and left I holler over to the guy at the other hut "Catchin many?" somethin like that...they say a few keepers, lots of dinks, kinda slow..ok, they pack up to...I have a half dozen, I'm thinking that's good for a lil supper...ah what the heck fish a bit more, nudder drop a few lil jigs, wham...fish comin up but pullin back goin all around, either a huge perch or lil bass, maybe a lil hammer handle...fish comes up...big bawned perch...I put a few back like that this year and that fish is a meal on it's own. I kept it. 13.5 inches and a 10 inch girth...another drop...11 incher...cool.. I got eats..I'm outta here. On the ice a bit after 2, back home 430

 

[behnoosh]

like!!!

 

[Brian]

Not bad OMB...
Got out on a great day, got a meal in 2 hours....sounds like a good time to me...

 

[BackwoodsBassr]

Nice feesh OMB! Those are some plump, flash forzen treats for sure, bet they tasted great!

Nice of you to share your technique too. I got out for an hour on the Ottawa and got skunked...no home team charms for me even in such perfect conditions.

 

[O.My.Buddy]

thanks...I was catchin em on the same little spoon I was using for lakers the other day and a couple on a bad boy tipped with saltie...GBD slept in again this morning which he is notorious for so we miss the first light bite in ideal weather conditions today...I figure he probably thinks fishin tommorrow in the pouring rain is gonna be more fun than calm dry conditions today lol

 

[BackwoodsBassr]

Haha friends over-sleeping = story of my life.

P.S. thought I read that you were drop-shottin em in your first post, my mistake. Wasn't trying to be sarcastic.

Thanks for sharing about the spoons!

 

[chris f]

nice sized perch, great color on them as well, thanks for sharing

 

[NADO]

nice, your perch fest was way better than mine. 90 fish and only one keeper! I let a bunch of 8 inchers go as I didnt want to waste my time cleaning them. The keeper was a nice 12"er, its in my freezer frozen whole lol. Thats if for me for perch until the deep water is no longer safe!

 

[O.My.Buddy]

I think I'm gonna need a perch lift me up tommorrow or soon anyway...fished Kahshe the last 2 days...GBD caught a 15" pickerel on my rod, on that same lucky spoon that caught the perch too...that was the only one in 2 days fishin it...a couple guys that live on the lake were out there, they caught one about 3 lb...I don't think I wanna see it til the summer now though

 

[BackwoodsBassr]

lol now that i know you guys use perch as a confidence builder i feel like an industrial sized plug for not being able to catch one through the ice. I'll unlock the river soon...

 

[O.My.Buddy]

you mention fishin the river, perch are lazy and don't like current too much, I'd try downstream of large islands, flats in a bay or marina, behind points/wingdams...sometimes you'll find a small kettle lake that has perch as the top predator, then that one goes in the top secret-never mention file...think speckie pond but perch instead of specks

 

[O.My.Buddy]

Also, the town I live in is known as the Perch Capital and ppl come up even from lots of places stateside to fish here so that helps! Location, location, location!

 

[BackwoodsBassr]

Classy of you to share that info man! As it happens I'm in a little bay off an island on the Ottawa river (called Petrie Island).

I'm just not going far enough out, only sitting in like 5 fow. Plus the bay area I'm in is ridiculously pressured...

I think the main problem is that I've only been going out for an hour or two at a time...I get restless and it's hard to turn down unlimited free hockey in the winter because it's so darn expensive to rent ice here in the summer!!!

I hope that when I commit to going in to deeper water and staying for peak hours my luck will change...just need to bring some food and wobbly pops to pass the time... but it could very well just be my inexperience.

Cheers man, look forward to seeing more of your jumbos for motivation!

 

[Dozer]

Looks delicious. Thanks for the play by play, darn that snow plowing dude :lol:

 

[O.My.Buddy]

Caught another 13 incher today. It was kill hooked. Fish gulped the lucky spoon. Treb wound up in the bone behind tongue between gills and into the artery I think. lots of blood. Had to cut the line and broke the hook off the treb trying to yank it out at home ...had to drill 3 holes to find the one that produced...just dinks at the other two. Kept 4, cooked em with 2 pickerel fillets from Kahshe the other day. Very delicious and belly is full. Bassr, I definitely think you're fishing too shallow...I'm fishin 25-27 feet of water out from a drop from 12 feet adjacent to a bay.

 

[hightechdecks]

you mention fishin the river, perch are lazy and don't like current too much, I'd try downstream of large islands, flats in a bay or marina, behind points/wingdams...sometimes you'll find a small kettle lake that has perch as the top predator, then that one goes in the top secret-never mention file...think speckie pond but perch instead of specks

i have one of these 15" all day long, anyone wanna make the 10 k walk into it with me lol

 

[hightechdecks]

OMB when we first fished this year you were all about the 13 fow. now you seeing that where the basin connects to fllats and shelfs is where its at.

 

[O.My.Buddy]

what are you talking about GBD? I didn't fish 13 fow for anything this year except pike...you were all about perchmere first ice but all I ever seen come outta there is 4 inch fish

 

[hightechdecks]

so you finally gonna take me today? gotta round out my crappies from yesterdays adventure

 

[O.My.Buddy]

ya I'll be over n a little bit here, gettin my coffee fix and got some shovelling to do