The Lake 

Fishing Report

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01/31/2012

The yo-yo syndrome…

Hello sportsfans…  And specifically those of the winter nature who prefer to peer through eight inch holes.  Welcome as always to the weekly burrrrrrr here at Ballard’s Resort on Minnesota’s Lake of the Woods.

What’s the down-low??  Well.  Let’s just say that this past week has left us feeling a bit like a yo-yo on the end of a jerk cord.

How so??  As stated in last week’s report we were on a decent pod of walleye activity and the saugers were being their normal cooperative frienzied bottom feeders.  And then whammo!!!  The bite practically came to a screatching holt.  Nick called me on the Bat-Phone, from the lake, and told me: “Hey, the bite’s off, don’t tell people we’re hammering ‘em”.  And so I followed suit.

This was at about 10:30 in the morning, and I’m thinking: “Great, the weekend is here, and now the bite is going to take a dive.  Go figure”.

By 5:30 that afternoon I was in the lodge listening to HAPPY anlgers telling me of their SUCCESS.  What’s this I say??  I thought we hit the mat??

As it turns out…  We did.  And we didn’t.

Yes, the morning bite went into a swirl, but by afternoon the guides had jockied shacks, moved fishermen, and rebounded to save the day.  I’m thinking it was somewhere in the neighborhood of (17)-shacks that the guides moved in ONE day!!!  That’s pretty damn good hustle.  Thanks boys!

To bring us to date…  We are still seeing some of the yo-yo effect.  Some huts are doing well, others are so-so, and some are just plain slow.  Kinda the luck of the draw right now.

The bright spot is that we are getting decent walleyes (a real bonus for flats fishing) and the saugers are filling limits.  So all in all I’d have to rate it as “OK” fishing.

Walleyes suspended?  Yes.  I am hearing that report.  Anywhere from 2-15 feet off the bottom.  Those electronics are priceless when it comes to catching suspended fish.  The saugers remain tight to the bottom…  The walleyes??  Keep your eyes open!

We coninue to drift north as the chase in the mud-flats continues.  About 6.5 miles off-shore.  33ft of water in the main basin of Big Traverse Bay.

Bring your “A” game.  And a bit of luck.  You should still be able to get fresh fish for supper, and have a few to take home to share with the friends and family.

Til next time…

Set the hook!

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