Sylvan Lake - 2019/2020 Report

[Zip-in-Z]

Dec 11th …. Got out really early, we were the first group on ice, excited & hopeful, got set up & fished for over 1 hour, it was still dark & nothing! Finally, just after 8:00 got a small Walleye then seen a couple of Whites that showed little interest, then had a few come in and hit my W/W but no hook-ups, after that we caught a few more small Walleye but still no Whites. Finally Skantty caught our first White around 11:00ish, we only seen a few more moving around after lunch. We started seeing people leaving in the early afternoon, most likely disappointed, we packed it in at 3:00 with only the 1 White in the pail between 4 of us. It was a bit tough dragging your stuff on the lake, there’s at least 4-5” of powder snow, we could see a group of guys further out catching a few Whites in the morning, they were standing or sitting in chairs & looked cold covered in snow, a few of them were wearing a PFD’s, playing it safe. Couldn’t believe there were at least 3 vehicles that drove out from the Norglenwold lake access road, they were out quite a distance from shore most likely on 10” or less ice, crazy! Not a great start to the Whitefish hard water season, but tomorrow’s another day, going back out.

The only White was caught on a Brass W/W with a red bead, this is the Brass W/W with a Glow Bead that I had a few Whites interested in, including a few Walleye.

Hope your opening day was better than ours.

EDIT: ... the best part of the day was the A/O company, we at least had a good time visiting & catching up since last year.

D.

[skawtty]

Yes it was a great day to be out with A/O friends. Seen alot but they just didn't want to bite. Pressure system that moved in? I don't know. But tomorrow is another day. Whites be very afraid, Zip the white slayer will be back!

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[Hunter guy]

Well others were out today and seemed to limit out, good luck

[pikeman06]

X2. Hot bite from 9 till 11 took longer to drive to the lake than it did for 2 guys to catch a limit of whites. Kinda thin lookin fish but they brine faster that way. Good luck fellas. 7 to 9 inches of ice. Good hard ice.

[SNAPFisher]

Thanks for the update Zip. Hopefully your next outing yields more fish landed.

I think this weekend after opening, I might try out Gull.

[MooseRiverTrapper]

Is pigeon still good for whites? Used to go there lots haven’t went in years.

[Zip-in-Z]

Originally Posted by Hunter guy

Well others were out today and seemed to limit out, good luck

Originally Posted by pikeman06

X2. Hot bite from 9 till 11 took longer to drive to the lake than it did for 2 guys to catch a limit of whites. Kinda thin lookin fish but they brine faster that way. Good luck fellas. 7 to 9 inches of ice. Good hard ice.

Good to read you guys limited out on Whites, you must of been at the right spot, our honey-hole at the Lighthouse area didn't produce.

Cheers

D.

[Zip-in-Z]

Dec 12th ..... Fishin buddies all had work & do other stuff, went back out solo to the Lighthouse area, was the first one on the ice just before 8:00 am and set up close to shore in 4 FOW. Moved 3 times, ended up 100 yds or more out on a gravel sand bar that produced lots of Whites last year.

Watched a number of people come out with all there gear/tents and then pack up & start leaving at 11:00ish by 2:30 there was me and 2 tents remaining, I packed it up at 3:00 had enough.

Another brutal day, seen 7 fish all day & caught 4 of them, 2 Walleye, 1 Pike & 1 White. That was better than most out today, everyone I spoke to didn't catch one & most didn't even see a fish. I keep a fishin diary, last year in these same spots I was fortunate to catch 29 whites over 7 days before my season ended on Dec. 20th, got a long ways to go to achieve that goal, but that's fishin, there are a lot of factors involved for a successful day.

Walleye & Pike went for the 4 gr small Sebile Vibrato (Cdn Tire sell them), yesterday had a few Whites hit the chartreuse yellow W/W that's tied 10" above my Vibro, but no hook-ups. I swapped out the 2 treble's with smaller hooks, that the Whites can inhale, vibro calls them in for a look & the aggressive one's will hit it when it's lying down on the bottom & you twitch it. As well, I downsized my W/W today, was using a Daiichi Style 1530 #10 Wet/Nymph hook in Brass with gold glass bead, tipped with a Pink Mag.

One improvement today that I really noticed was I had my 10" Jiffy and fishin 2-10" holes vs 2-8" holes the other day, I could see fish coming into my field of view earlier and was prepared for them. Fishin in shallow water you only have a split second to see them when their gill plates flare open ready to inhale your W/W, you have to be ready to set the hook. Having larger holes does make a difference when sight fishing.

Last night we got another 3-4" of snow, it's snowing out now, that will make it more difficult hauling out your gear & don't forget to bring a shovel. Were off to Sunbreaker tomorrow with Scott & Scott, have a few spots to try, hopefully the forecast of some sun tomorrow. Good luck this weekend!

A few pic's ..... cheers


EDIT: In my first post I typed "Skantty" which s/b "Skawtty" .... sorry Scott, got it right, now.

D.


Nice Bottom in 4 FOW - See the W/W's





Rock/sand Bar Bottom in 6-7 FOW





4 gr Vibro & Chartreuse W/W





Brass W/W #1530 Sz 10 hook with gold glass bead.

[RACKER]

Thanks for the great updates Zip. Always look forward to your posts as they are so informative. Hope ya have a lot better outing next time.

[skawtty]

Thanks for the update Zip, thought for sure you would nail em. See you tomorrow morning.

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[3blade]

I know this is probably a silly question but: Is there any way at all to catch whites on a tip-up? Anything that would make them swallow a tiny treble hook and move off?

I get one hell of a tension headache staring down a hole, to the point that I’ve basically give up any ice fishing that requires it. As a result there has been a conspicuous lack of candied whitefish in my house. Gonna have to try the old smack the little kastmaster into the bottom routine soon I guess

[Zip-in-Z]

Originally Posted by 3blade

I know this is probably a silly question but: Is there any way at all to catch whites on a tip-up? Anything that would make them swallow a tiny treble hook and move off?

I get one hell of a tension headache staring down a hole, to the point that I’ve basically give up any ice fishing that requires it. As a result there has been a conspicuous lack of candied whitefish in my house. Gonna have to try the old smack the little kastmaster into the bottom routine soon I guess

3blade, never a silly Q here, unfortunately, I can't share any personal experience because I don't use tip-ups or Jawjackers, etc. Scott, uses them but it's set up with a large minnow or smelt for monster Pike, but all he caught Wednesday was a bunch of Walleyes, he's never got a White when I've fished with him. I recall others here may have had some limited success using a Jawjacker, perhaps the new one's that automatically jig your presentation would work, don't know.

I'm sure someone here will be able to share something ... stay tuned.


D.

[Zip-in-Z]

Dec 13th …. Drove by the Lighthouse Park this afternoon only 1 guy in red tent, he was gone by 3:00 pm. Decided to see what was happening in Norglenwold, drove down Sylvan Lane, the lake access road, it’s beat down like Hwy #2, drove on to the ice & took these pic’s. The Town Fire Chief, drove up & we had a chat, he confirmed the guys with the Holiday trailers are parked over 14-15 FOW on perhaps 10” ice, if you don’t feel like dragging your stuff out, this area may be an option this weekend. The smart guys are those who parked by shore, hope everyone parks far enough apart on the weekend so we don’t have a Lake Winnipeg, Balsam Bay repeat here.

A few pic’s taken after 3:00 pm today … is that you out there?

D.


















Lake WPG, Balsam Bay - 12" ice 3 Trucks went in & this Trailer on Dec 7th, fortunately everyone got out.

[Hunter guy]

Went out today caught 3 seen lots, game wardens were out in full force

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by 3blade

I know this is probably a silly question but: Is there any way at all to catch whites on a tip-up? Anything that would make them swallow a tiny treble hook and move off?

I get one hell of a tension headache staring down a hole, to the point that I’ve basically give up any ice fishing that requires it. As a result there has been a conspicuous lack of candied whitefish in my house. Gonna have to try the old smack the little kastmaster into the bottom routine soon I guess

JawJacker would be the way. It is common practice now. And, if you want to give it some action, you can also by the jigging base. But the JJ alone is just fine. You can have that setup and still have a 2nd hole nearby to do sight fishing. Take a break when you need it and the JJ keeps working for you

[TimboLefty]

Yes I catch whites with jawjacker small tungsten jig tipped with Maggie

[Zip-in-Z]

3blade ... looks like you got your answer, invest in a couple JawJackers a few w/W & some bait and head out this week, sun will be out with above 0 temps, no better place to enjoy a sandwich & thermos of coffee or tea with some flavored X-Mass cheer out on the ice.

D.

[wbaj]

I also have caught whites on a jawjacker.
Some tips that may help.
Do not let your line freeze or even partially freeze in, they are usually lite biters. Any resistance and the hook is usually dropped. I often use mine inside a heated tent or use it in later March.
Use the lightest trip tension setting possible and also use the lowest rod angle. They have soft mouths, you don't want to rip any bites out. And I always use maggots with the jawjacker. It seems to seal the deal on a stationary hook.
As for hooks, most of my production comes from wireworms but have gotten a few on very small spoons like the very smallest Williams wobbler, gold or silver are favorite colors. Whatever you use keep them SHARP!
Hope some of this helps you out.

Good luck

[kaleh01]

Originally Posted by 3blade

I know this is probably a silly question but: Is there any way at all to catch whites on a tip-up? Anything that would make them swallow a tiny treble hook and move off?

I get one hell of a tension headache staring down a hole, to the point that I’ve basically give up any ice fishing that requires it. As a result there has been a conspicuous lack of candied whitefish in my house. Gonna have to try the old smack the little kastmaster into the bottom routine soon I guess

I find whitefish camera shy but in shallow water all I do is use my camera but don’t drop it below the ice. Have it in down view and then fish upright with the screen placed wherever is comfortable for you. Works great, just need to be mindful and pull the camera before the fish gets to the hole.

[Hartly]

Out at Sunbreaker today in about 7.5 feet of water. Been her since sunrise. Haven t seen a white or any species of fish yet.

[Zip-in-Z]

Originally Posted by Hartly

Out at Sunbreaker today in about 7.5 feet of water. Been her since sunrise. Haven t seen a white or any species of fish yet.

Hope things improved for you, when we were out at Sunbreaker we headed West of the boat launch we did see some Whites with tail up on the camera when we were drilling test holes then after we got set up in 5-6 FOW we didn't see any Whites only a beige colored Burb. Once we moved down the drop to 12 - 13 FOW we started seeing Whites & Walleye. We found it hard to move around, the snow was powder & deep it was tough dragging all our gear/shacks around. If I had the chance I would go back and with downsized W/W's I believe you could do well moving shallow then deeper & back shallow in the late afternoon to evening out at Sunbreaker.

D.

[Poppa]

Originally Posted by Hartly

Out at Sunbreaker today in about 7.5 feet of water. Been her since sunrise. Haven t seen a white or any species of fish yet.

How thick was the ice? Heading out there on Friday to catch the prime time supper bite...

[35 whelen]

I just don't understand why people have to drive on the ice in December with their half ton trucks walk or take a quad

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[sns2]

Stupid knows no bounds

[bwackwabbit]

First solo trip of the year. Beautiful day that was full of humbling fishin'.

Landed several walleye (standard issue Sylvan style). Whites were pretty neutral where I fished today. They were all up high, just below the ice and not interested.

Might have been due to a later start for me. I hit the lake around 11am and fished until 4pm.

Drilled a bunch of holes and moved from 4 fow out to 12 fow but similar results.

The Strikemaster Lite Flite/ Makita LXT combo was like a hot knife through Buttah! Couldn't be happier with this setup.

This guy was fun on a wire worm and 4lb test!

Cheers,

Scott.





Cheers,

Scott.

[happyfisher]

bwack....that pic was taken by Zip 3 years ago that he caught....anyway i caught a bigger one yesterday....like way bigger...

happy

[bwackwabbit]

Not possible bud as I took that pic on Saturday but thanks for playing along.

I've attached a screenshot of the exif data for the pic incase you want to polish up your detective skills, Matlock.


And you know the rules... Pics or it didn't happen.

Cheers,

Scott.

[happyfisher]

pufft your good at photoshoping.....thats all that proved...
were you humming duran duran again?

[skawtty]

Originally Posted by happyfisher

pufft your good at photoshoping.....thats all that proved...
were you humming duran duran again?

Haha I was thinking same thing.

[bwackwabbit]

Or perhaps it proves you've had one too many drinks.



Cheers,

Scott.