2016 Panfishing

[one more]

Yes, I am looking forward to getting out myself! I have not tried a electric knife yet. Hardscrable, are you referring to the two men that drowned in Kosciusko county? I know the family of the Young Man and him from Bremen.

 

[Hardscrable]

Yes, I am looking forward to getting out myself! I have not tried a electric knife yet. Hardscrable, are you referring to the two men that drowned in Kosciusko county? I know the family of the Young Man and him from Bremen.

Yes. I did not know either but from pictures I saw ( in local newspaper article ) it appeared to me that they were probably experienced, avid fisherman. In my lifetime I have fished thin ice and taken some "chances" but always VERY wary of old, rotten ice...it is unforgiving. When I heard of the incident I was very surprised that any experienced ice fisherman even attempted to fish that day. Just looking at the ice from my living room for a couple days you could tell how bad it was. Regardless, very sad accident and truly sorry that these two young men lost their lives.

Were they friends that went fishing together or merely both happened to be in the same spot at the same time ( other one was from S. Michigan ) ? One report was that possibly one went thru and the other was attempting to rescue.

 

[Hardscrable]

First boat of season was here a week ago yesterday. Fished up to remaining ice, moved a lot. My occasional checks with binoculars saw no fish caught. Neighbors pier went in yesterday. Neighbor on other side went to boat show ( in Rome City ? ). Packed my ice gear away for another year. Preparing for the spring frenzy fishing from my yard...can't beat it with a stick.

 

[mom45]

My husband is so anxious to get out there in the boat. He is driving me crazy and I love to fish. We picked up a different boat and he has it all fixed up complete with the new fishfinder...now we just need a bit warmer weather so we can hit the water.

 

[Hardscrable]

Went out at 5 this afternoon just for the heck of it. First cast a decent gill. Next cast another decent gill. Caught 15 or 16 in about 35 or 40 minutes but those first two were the best. Wind picked up. Hands cold so I quit. Kept 5 or 6 in live basket. Will see about adding to that tomorrow.

 

[bwframe]

Went out at 5 this afternoon just for the heck of it. First cast a decent gill. Next cast another decent gill. Caught 15 or 16 in about 35 or 40 minutes but those first two were the best. Wind picked up. Hands cold so I quit. Kept 5 or 6 in live basket. Will see about adding to that tomorrow.

What water are you on?

 

[Hardscrable]

What water are you on?

I live in Kosciusko Co...home to countless lakes. I live on small ( 200 acres so 10 mph speed limit - no skiing, wave runners ) Waubee Lake. I have 225 feet of inlet channel and 90 feet of lake front. The channel starts at road ( culvert ) and flows into the lake. Lake at my property is kind of a bay area ( the "Kettle" as it is called ). Fish inhabit this area thru winter and up to spawning. The water coming in ( temp, oxygen, food, etc ) draws the fish to my shoreline area. The sun warms the muck bottom ( black ) of the channel which warms the flow more. Result is that daily the fish follow the channel up to the road ( dead end ) and fill the channel with fish. Everything from panfish ( gills, red ears, crappies ) to large mouth to northern pike to trash fish. Rainfall, sun, wind speed and direction, etc, all contribute to the equation. Right combination and the fishing is fantastic. They go back out at night. Next day may be fantastic or nothing...depending. This normally last for 2 - 6 weeks...totally weather dependent. When in channel I can daily walk out and observe fish or no fish. When fish are here I normally start fishing by 2pm and go to dark. May catch 100+. Keep & clean 1 -2 dozen a day. Fill my freezer with filets and give away a bunch to friends & family. The fish I caught yesterday were in the lake at the junction of channel & lake...not into channel yet. Ate bluegills Saturday night and have 1 package left from 2015 so they are arriving just in time. Sun and temps next couple days should cause things to pick up. Tomorrow supposed to be sunny & 70+ so should be a great day and I have to leave late afternoon for out Meet & Eat in South Bend...figures.

 

[mom45]

Hubby just left for a little lake in Marshall county where we like to fish. We'll see what he brings home. I have other plans today or I would have gone too.

 

[bwframe]

Cmon folks, lets see some pics. Don't forget to include the ruler.

 

[Hardscrable]

Cmon folks, lets see some pics. Don't forget to include the ruler.

No ruler necessary. I will flat out tell you a ton of bluegills last couple days but only about 2 large enough for me to normally keep. I have kept enough to make cleaning worthwhile but over all really disappointing size wise . Last year the size was down considerably from a ten year average. Now this year is starting small. Concerns me as to possible changes that may be taking place. Today 4 of us were in a 75 ft long "spot". All had same results...a lot of fish but no size.

 

[bwframe]

No ruler necessary. I will flat out tell you a ton of bluegills last couple days but only about 2 large enough for me to normally keep. I have kept enough to make cleaning worthwhile but over all really disappointing size wise . Last year the size was down considerably from a ten year average. Now this year is starting small. Concerns me as to possible changes that may be taking place. Today 4 of us were in a 75 ft long "spot". All had same results...a lot of fish but no size.

Down here, most of my favorite "hand sized" bluegill lakes have had their dams rebuilt over the last 7-8 years or so. Years into their stocked recovery the result is so far the same as you are seeing. Lots and lots of 6-7" fish.

 

[Cynical]

If I can get rid of the gout in my right foot I'm going to try and launch the flat bottom in the Mississinewa reservoir Saturday and try to get a head start on the crappies. I got to ice fish one time this year and cabin fever is about to get the best of me.

 

[patience0830]

No ruler necessary. I will flat out tell you a ton of bluegills last couple days but only about 2 large enough for me to normally keep. I have kept enough to make cleaning worthwhile but over all really disappointing size wise . Last year the size was down considerably from a ten year average. Now this year is starting small. Concerns me as to possible changes that may be taking place. Today 4 of us were in a 75 ft long "spot". All had same results...a lot of fish but no size.

If I can get ahold of it, it's worth filleting. I never throw any back. Problem where I fish is too many gills in the pond. Not enough food. Keep all you catch and soon they'll be bigger.

 

[Hardscrable]

If I can get ahold of it, it's worth filleting. I never throw any back. Problem where I fish is too many gills in the pond. Not enough food. Keep all you catch and soon they'll be bigger.[/QUOTE

To each his own. There was a time I kept and cleaned most everything. Those days are long gone. I enjoy fishing ( OK, truthfully I enjoy catching fish ). I do not enjoy cleaning fish. It is only my wife and myself eating them ( plus what I give away ). So if I kept everything and only in amounts that we consume, I would have to severely curtail my fishing...not going to happen. I throw back small ones, the largest ones ( genetics...read recent studies showing genetics of larger growing fish contribute to larger growing offspring ) or anything I catch after I have all I want to clean for that day ( and some days I want to clean zero ).

An an overpopulated pond does require thinning the herd so to speak. Are there predictor fish also or simply stocked with panfish ? A pond requires proper management...correct and balanced species, adequate food ( possibly including supplemental ), vegetation, oxygen, water quality, etc. Our lake just completed a 5 year study by DNR. Confirms same things as past studies. Average to slightly below growth rates for pan fish due to food supply, etc. population of panfish is within accepted parameters. Large population of predictors - large mouth ( high ), small mouth ( stocked, not natural ), northern ( natural & DNR stockings in past ), walleye ( stocked ). We had a larger than normal fish kill last winter ( 2014 - 15) and it appeared to be mainly bigger gills & redears. Thinking this may be partly responsible.

All that said, yesterday had much better results. Wouldn't even guess how many I caught but sure was 100+. Kept 24 to clean. Still more small ones that would like to see but almost zero really small ones. Much better overall size & some slab sized. Aggressiveness of bites is was also more noticeable...really smack it sometimes. No crappies yet but caught several large mouth on crappie minnows. Neighbor kid was tossing an artificial night crawler and lost a super nice large mouth at the shoreline.

Other side of channel the owner does not post it as no trespassing. Had 6 guys lined up in 50 - 75 ft fishing & me on my side. Makes it interesting at times...agrivating also. Will continue drawing more people as time goes by.

 

[bwframe]

Half dozen just big enough to clean. Between the rain clouds last hour of the day. Headed for the oil.

 

[mom45]

Yum!! Hubby went fishing again today but isn't getting any bites. Fish finder is showing fish, but they just aren't biting.

I asked him if he still had that new fish finder on simulator mode, but he assures me he is figuring it out and had it on the real deal. I customized his screen for him so the options he uses most are at the top. He is computer challenged so I find it funny that he bought a fish finder that has all of the computerized features.

 

[Zoub]

Asked him if he knows how to use his depth finder..........that's like asking if he remembered to turn off the propane grill. Yes I turned off the grill. No I don't understand why a new tank is empty and the grates are so clean.

 

[mom45]

Asked him if he knows how to use his depth finder..........that's like asking if he remembered to turn off the propane grill. Yes I turned off the grill. No I don't understand why a new tank is empty and the grates are so clean.

I think he has the depth finder part figured out. He just wasn't sure how to get the split screen configured the way he wanted it. He got a Garmin Striker 7 with CHIRP. It is far more modern than the old fish finder I bought him at Walmart 20 years ago.

 

[bwframe]

Yum!! Hubby went fishing again today but isn't getting any bites. Fish finder is showing fish, but they just aren't biting...

I caught only 3 fish in an hour and half at dusk yesterday. Water just isn't quite warm enough to really get them encouraged to spawn yet here. Only one small productive spot and it's most always pretty heavily occupied.

 

[mom45]

He finally found a spot yesterday where it was shallow enough the water was warmer. Brought home 10 bluegill...just enough for dinner for us.