ice

[alanexpup]

Hi. I like to look at the flag island webcam and it looks like the ice is totally gone or is it? could the ice still be lurking just below the water on the surface? It seems the ice sure melts quick as thick as it gets.

[ChuckE]

Here's a link to some pictures for LOTW near Sioux Narrows. You can see the changes over the past few weeks....
http://www.tomahawkresort.ca/post/thread.cfm?threadid=6725

Yes, things move quickly!

Chuck

[DonC]

Alan and ChuckE,
Are you going back to Minaki this year? Our group will be up the first week of June at Birch Island.

My fishing partners are threatening to drag me up to Rough Rock for a day this year for smallmouth in the swirls just around the corner from the Dam area. Where does one find smallmouth in Rough Rock in early June?

Looking forward to another great year.

Hope you guys have a great trip wherever you end up,
Don

[wolverine fan]

Don, i have had very good luck anywhere below the rapids towards the dam for smallmouths. Its the only area i have had luck casting for walleyes also. A little treacherous going thru the rapids in high water but worth it usually. Im not attending this year due to business is slow here and cant really afford it this year but write when you get back so i know what i missed!! Good luck.

[ChuckE]

Don,
Yes, we'll be up there for 2+ weeks the day you leave, so we'll probably see you leaving as were going, on the 596, 17 or 71.... We'll be over at Sunset Point.

RoughRock can be good, we've done the rapids area a few times; but last year it wasn't as productive as it's been in the past. I doubt we'll give it a go this year. But here are some areas we frequent when we're up there:
- The east side of the lake over by Black Bear Portage usually holds some nice smallies in the rocks, outside of the weed line and the points that come off that shoreline (there are a couple nice long points) up off of that penisula. If you go shallow against that shoreline (inside the weed line), see if the crappie have moved in. The south shoreline in that area can be 'iffy'. It gets pretty shallow, but the water seems to warm a little faster over there in the weeds, and crappie and smallies will sometimes hold on the inner weed line and shore.
- The shoreline in the northeast corner (north of the previous location) is usually good. If the water is low you'll see some beaches, work the rocky sides of each beach for some topwater smallies. Work tubes before you get near the beeches, the water is a little deeper and smallies stage in that area before they move shallow.
- The big bay that leads up to Blueberry Lake usually has some nice smallies on its shorelines. Work the island that is up in that section of the lake; unfortunately the muskies were thick in there last year and the smallies were hard to find. The bay leading to the North Channel can be exceptional at times, or a total bust -- depending on the water temp.
- On the far west side of the main part of Rough Rock is a resort, work the narrows leading from the resort to the back side of the island in that area for nice smallies, musky and northern. In fact, you can work the entire back side of that island leading to the western part of the channel going to the dam. If the water isn't too fast, it will hold some decent pockets of smallies.
- On the way up to the previous spot, stop at the "G" on the big govt. map (in the word ROUGHROCK), and work the rock pile that's there. It comes up to about 4' or so on a normal year, and usually holds smallies; but we got into a good batch of walleye there last year on gulp leeches. If the smallies are there, you can usually find them on that side of the big island.

That ought to keep you busy for a while.

Wolverine, sorry to hear you won't be going this year....

Chuck

[DonC]

Chuck and Wolverine,

That is quite a list of spots to fish. I would like to get in to the crappie also. May be able to sneak my partners in to a crappie area. They give me a hard time about fishing for them. One partner has a dream about catching smallmouths in the rapids in Rough Rock. I love fishing any rapids.
So we can give that a go along with Chuck's list. May be up there more than one day.

I am not familiar with that lake, and always have my topo map out when up there. I think someone mentioned once that not all rocks are marked.

Shallow walleye is my preferred way to fish for walleye and would love catching them along with smallmouth.

Thanks for the great spots and tips. Hope you can get to Canada next year Wolverine. I will post our fishing results when we get back.

Don

PS: Fished Adamson Lake last year in a boat. What a great smallmouth lake.

[ChuckE]

Don,
Yes, Adamson is a nice lake with some big smallies. We'll usually get in the every 3rd year or so, when the season is just right.

The area around the narrow passage leading to the bay that adjoins the North Channel and Blueberry Lake is where I know a couple big rocks are not on the map. Combine that with the bouy that always seem to be taken out during the thaw, low water, and needing to navigate through that area and it can spell problems. We'll usually motor through the area where the bouy is (or supposed to be) on the trolling motor; to pound the rocks for smallies and get a good GPS track.

Chuck

[Aaron-IN]

When the water his high there are a lot of "hidden" rocks on Roughrock.....be carefull. You guys should run over to hidden lake for crappies, they stack in there pretty good. I"m talking about the hidden lake off of Big Sand. Good luck all, I'll be there with my kids this year 6/27-7/3, looks like a tad bit later ice out so I bumped my trip back a week. I like getting up there 45-50 days after ice-out for the smallies.

[ChuckE]

Hi Aaron,
Yes, it looks like ice-out at Minaki is going to be a week or so later than last year. Unless some southerly winds pick-up and break the ice on the big lakes, everything may be pushed back about a week.

Hidden has some crappie that get active and move shallow once the water begins to warm. It is a good place to try, since it gets sheltered from the spring northerly winds, and is essentially isolated. Sometimes the rock walls attract the crappie, as they'll quickly warm when exposed to the afternoon sun; they'll suspend against the wall and the best way to catch them is with a 3" minnow plastic set about 5' below a small bobber.

There are a couple large bays down south of Minaki that also fairly isolated, and will warm quickly:
- The back easterly end of Holst Bay, and shallow passage leading to Inn Lake is where we've found them before.
- Just south of Holst is a long finger bay that almost gets to the railroad tressel, the north shoreline way in the back gets shallow, and we've found them just on the inside weed line in a couple feet of water.
- Down at the entrance to the Black Sturgeon River there is a rock ledge by a cabin across the bay; we've caught some big crappie and fat pumpkin seed sunfish against the rock wall.
- Lastly, down by the Little Dalles there is a bay that wraps around the point to the east (on the Reservation side of the river). The north shoreline can be worked for crappie if the water is high enough to get back in there.

I don't know what the effects of later ice-out will be on the crappie; it's hit or miss anyway.

Chuck

[DonC]

Fellow Minaki Crappie Anglers,

Chuck and Aaron, another spot is in McFarland River around the large submerged rock in the back after the last point on the left before you get to the rapids, per reports last year. I caught a 14 incher just before you go under the railroad bridge last year.

My partners this year are difficult to deal with regarding crappie, so if you see 2 guys tied up in the woods, you know why.
Don