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  #31  
Old 12-18-2013, 05:17 AM
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Smile sylvan

hey zip , is that the new candy cane wire worm for x-mas in the last pic that I,ve heard so much about on the news . lol. brown n white works good too
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  #32  
Old 12-18-2013, 01:45 PM
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Thanks Zip-in-Z for the pictorial update on Sylvan conditions and successes, along with other contributors' input. I'd still wait a bit longer for the drive up to Sylvan. Maybe see if I'll be fortunate enough to meet you on the ice in the new year. Tight lines and stay safe, everyone.
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  #33  
Old 12-18-2013, 02:24 PM
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I readjusted the contrast on one of the pics, to see what snow ruts will be out there,, with yeaterdays melty winds, and todays freeze and snow, it could be a day of digging and towing and more digging and less fishing.
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  #34  
Old 12-18-2013, 05:27 PM
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I readjusted the contrast on one of the pics, to see what snow ruts will be out there,, with yeaterdays melty winds, and todays freeze and snow, it could be a day of digging and towing and more digging and less fishing.
Hey Gust .... nice trick. Did the same with my favorite pic from the RR20 lake access road .... this is the right "Rut" the left was the same depth/width, you could of used them for shallow graves. Another A/O member reminded me that's there's a natural spring near this location so be careful.

Should also mention that the town or a contractor dropped off a very tiny Dozer (didn't think they made a D1) at the Main Beach lake access area across from the old A&W .... looks like someone will be busy moving snow & flood water over the next few days.



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  #35  
Old 12-21-2013, 08:28 PM
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Default Sylvan Lake News article - Take it Off

A/O has lots of followers ... the update made the local news.

http://issuu.com/blackpress/docs/i20...205826/6098930

The Sylvan "Take it Off" campaign/registration should be embraced across the province, it would be nice to see "0" shacks abandoned on Sylvan on April 01 2014! Great article Steve.



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  #36  
Old 12-21-2013, 09:22 PM
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Default Ice Report

I was out at the northwest end of the lake. I drilled holes about every 75 yards. It was 5 1/2 inches of clear hard ice and 5 1/2 of white ice. I stopped at 200 yards because it was 2 1/2 inches of clear hard ice and the rest was white ice. There was flood water and it looked like it had busted up and then froze again. I walked out to check this and don't recommend driving on that part of the lake.
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  #37  
Old 12-23-2013, 07:35 PM
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Default Monday, Dec 23rd.

Participated at the A/O Fish-off at Brownlow’s yesterday, today it was back to Sylvan, seen the C/O’s at the town site main beach area doing his thing. Drove over to Norglenwold boat launch could see a number of guys out on the ice but only one brave soul drove on. There were a number of vehicles parked at the road access on the lake shore you couldn’t get past these guys, it was worst that at the shopping mall, decide to go back to RR23.

Lots of activity for a Monday, it was above freezing, there were 12-15 vehicles on the ice, so I decided to drive on and join the crowd. Guys were putting up their shacks and we had a small plane land next to us for a visit, ice was approx 14“ thick ( 12“ dark/ 2-3“ white). Found a spot that looked promising and got set up around noon. There were a lot of Whites hunting but not all that aggressive they appeared interested but it was an hour of trying different presentations that finally produced my first fish. Caught 3 Whites kept the largest and released the others; all three were on the same wire worm. One of my creations a #14 small hook in brass with brown glass bead had a small Walleye clamp down on a yellow Wire Worm with a red bead. I was shallow next to a weed bed with tall tube weeds in 5 FOW, I could see the fish moving back & forth, I finally matched something that looked appealing, my guess the minnows they were chasing see the pic’s. The White also had a number of Caddis larva, don't they look yummy? Didn’t see any Pike, Perch or Burbs today.

Bought a new chair for the shack, this one is worth recommending, it’s called a Directors Chair got it at Cabella’s & you sit much higher and don’t bend over as much staring into the hole, also like the side table, the other gadget is the remote camera tripod, I set it up about 10 ft behind my hole, the fish aren’t camera shy and you can pan the entire area when your board. Only con is when it’s super cold, you need to go out to break the ice in the hole, or put a 5 gal pail over it to prevent the hole from freezing.

Here’s a few pic’s from today .... enjoy!



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  #38  
Old 12-23-2013, 07:36 PM
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Default More Pic's from Dec 23rd













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  #39  
Old 12-23-2013, 09:42 PM
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Wink Thanks Zip

Great to meet meet you today Zip. Your advice gave us the confidence(foolishness) to put the shack on the lake today. Keep the posts coming and stop by for a warm-up.

Jug
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  #40  
Old 12-23-2013, 11:40 PM
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Good stuff man great info and pics.
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  #41  
Old 12-24-2013, 12:45 AM
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Great information, and photos as well!

Would you be willing to educate what the stomach contents are there? Kinda looks like caterpillars, and possibly caterpillars still in their cocoon. I'm not sure they're those at all, just looks like. I didn't realize bugs still lived in the water during the winter, but I also don't know much.

Also some baby perch?

Thanks for posting.

Cheers,
Jay
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  #42  
Old 12-24-2013, 05:25 AM
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awesome report zip , thanks again . my plans went south so regrouping for a family trip on boxing day , hope to see you there . I,ll have the camo hunting tent set up .
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  #43  
Old 12-24-2013, 08:35 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wags View Post
Great information, and photos as well!

Would you be willing to educate what the stomach contents are there? Kinda looks like caterpillars, and possibly caterpillars still in their cocoon.
Those are the caddis larvae that he was referring to. They make a case out of reed stems or debris and poke their heads and legs out and crawl around in the weeds.

Quote:
I didn't realize bugs still lived in the water during the winter, but I also don't know much.
Insect larvae live in the water through the entire year. Dragonfly nymphs, damselfly nymphs, mayflies, caddis flies, mosquitos, chironomids... you name it.

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Also some baby perch?
I'm not a minnow expert but I'm assuming a fat-head minnow of some kind...

Cheers.
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  #44  
Old 12-24-2013, 08:48 AM
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Originally Posted by Bigtoad View Post
Those are the caddis larvae that he was referring to. They make a case out of reed stems or debris and poke their heads and legs out and crawl around in the weeds.


Insect larvae live in the water through the entire year. Dragonfly nymphs, damselfly nymphs, mayflies, caddis flies, mosquitos, chironomids... you name it.


I'm not a minnow expert but I'm assuming a fat-head minnow of some kind...

Cheers.
Thanks Bigtoad,

I missed the part where he mentioned the caddis. And interesting regarding all the bugs, thanks for the information!

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  #45  
Old 12-24-2013, 10:25 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigtoad View Post
Those are the caddis larvae that he was referring to. They make a case out of reed stems or debris and poke their heads and legs out and crawl around in the weeds.


Insect larvae live in the water through the entire year. Dragonfly nymphs, damselfly nymphs, mayflies, caddis flies, mosquitos, chironomids... you name it.


I'm not a minnow expert but I'm assuming a fat-head minnow of some kind...

Cheers.
Hey Bigtoad .... excellent explanation on the bugs, as well, I'm not sure about the minnows it had in it's gut ... Fat-head or perhaps Mud-minnow.

Pleased you enjoyed the pic's ....



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  #46  
Old 12-24-2013, 01:01 PM
mikebossy mikebossy is offline
 
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hey thats awesome, and great pics, guess i'll have to tie some up on inch long jigs, thanx for the text
not sure if you know this, so i'll add it, and hopefully it will be of help to many, the wireworm that has been THE whitefish bait of the last 40 years is an imitation designed to imitate chironomid larvae, otherwise known to flyfisherman as midge larvae, it was 'invented' by a young Edmontonian named Roger Sabourin, think around 1978(he invented it when he was a young adult, 18ish, and sadly died in a motorcycle accident a short time later, rip)(story acknowledgement to the late(?)Reg Denny here), to replicate easily the midges he found in wab lake whitefish stomachs from icefishing trips back then, brilliant simple imitation, the reason different colors can work so well is there are many different colors of midges in nature, more importantly though is because they are a midge imitation they should be fished on a horizontal plane, hook shank parallel to the bottom and the ice surface, thats when they look most natural and edible to fish , they rise and fall in the water column throughout the day, if a whitefish swims by/near your wireworm at a different level in the water column you can have a great chance of catching him by slowly dropping it to bottom then bringing it back up to the same level and/or higher than u saw the fish at, that still looks natural and i've caught many whitefish this way, have a Merry Christmas
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  #47  
Old 12-24-2013, 01:14 PM
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the fry kinda look like tiny burbot, but burbot fry should have occurred much earlier. Put the pic on a "What's this?" thread on General Discussion and maybe some of the bio's who don't look at fishing forums might give their two cents.
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  #48  
Old 12-24-2013, 01:24 PM
kinwahkly kinwahkly is offline
 
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Originally Posted by mikebossy View Post
hey thats awesome, and great pics, guess i'll have to tie some up on inch long jigs, thanx for the text
not sure if you know this, so i'll add it, and hopefully it will be of help to many, the wireworm that has been THE whitefish bait of the last 40 years is an imitation designed to imitate chironomid larvae, otherwise known to flyfisherman as midge larvae, it was 'invented' by a young Edmontonian named Roger Sabourin, think around 1978(he invented it when he was a young adult, 18ish, and sadly died in a motorcycle accident a short time later, rip)(story acknowledgement to the late(?)Reg Denny here), to replicate easily the midges he found in wab lake whitefish stomachs from icefishing trips back then, brilliant simple imitation, the reason different colors can work so well is there are many different colors of midges in nature, more importantly though is because they are a midge imitation they should be fished on a horizontal plane, hook shank parallel to the bottom and the ice surface, thats when they look most natural and edible to fish , they rise and fall in the water column throughout the day, if a whitefish swims by/near your wireworm at a different level in the water column you can have a great chance of catching him by slowly dropping it to bottom then bringing it back up to the same level and/or higher than u saw the fish at, that still looks natural and i've caught many whitefish this way, have a Merry Christmas

X2 so true, it took me a while also to figure this out, most of my fish with the help of a flasher start with the wire worm on the bottom then a slow or jig motion up the water column as to where the fish are cruising, sometimes they take it on the fly and some times you have to hold it still and they will take a stab at it.
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  #49  
Old 12-24-2013, 05:51 PM
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I've been at rr23 5 days since it opened . Fishing has been good. I'm finding the whites are aggressive in about 4-5 feet of water for the first and last hour of light . Catching them mostly on yellow with orange bead wire worm as well as black and green wrap. Do well on the eyes from 10-3. Averaging 16-25 a day in 18 ft of water , dead sticking a minnow on the bottom.
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  #50  
Old 12-25-2013, 02:27 PM
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Default Wed. Dec 25th

Most every business in town is closed today, however, the Norglenwold boat launch off Rustic Road is open, Santa must of been good to these guys/gals/kids ... Shanty Town has risen!

Merry X-Mass from Zip-Z



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  #51  
Old 12-25-2013, 03:23 PM
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Is that on thé main street where thé beach is?
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  #52  
Old 12-25-2013, 03:28 PM
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Is that on thé main street where thé beach is?
I'm gonna be fishin' Sylvan on Friday if you are around you are welcome to join and I can show you a few spots.
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  #53  
Old 12-25-2013, 06:24 PM
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Cool, i was thinking of going there friday
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  #54  
Old 12-25-2013, 06:26 PM
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Originally Posted by bwackwabbit View Post
I'm gonna be fishin' Sylvan on Friday if you are around you are welcome to join and I can show you a few spots.
I'm planning on getting out as well ... while Mr Tom was in the pot this afternoon, had to sample some X-Mass cheer and wired up a few new Christmas color creations ... it's fun making your W/W's, however, it's even more rewarding catching Whites, Eyes and if you can find them in Sylvan, Perch on your home grown presentations. Can hardly wait to get these wet.

Turkey sandwiches for lunch for the next few days .... yum-yum!



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  #55  
Old 12-26-2013, 07:54 PM
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Originally Posted by fish_fan View Post
So wayne christie one of the most respected fishermen on this site is basically saying. Only a nut job would popularize his fishing spot.

To truly love fishing means you have a concern for the impact of your presence and acts related to fishing.

Thumbs down to zip man for his NEEDLESS AND SELFISH promotion of a fishing location. Thumbs up to his love of the sport.
Just so we are clear he is posting about a location that on warm weekends in winter has a population that rivals the town that bears the name of said lake.
If you hadn't noticed they are landing small aircraft at this spot so hardly a secret by anyone's definition.

I understand Wayne's position and respect his right to have an opinion. He has worked hard not to follow the beaten path...

Zip took pics of that path for you! Not one in the same at all.
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  #56  
Old 12-26-2013, 08:13 PM
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Default Boxing Day - Dec 26th

I imagine the malls were just nuts today, that’s if you could find a parking spot, all those bargain hunters looking to wear out their C.C.’s.

Today I was out on the ice at the crack of light; there were already two other groups on RR23 drilling holes and getting set up. Put the shed up, camera down had my W/W’s all tied up, all I had to do is clean out the hole & I’m set. I was still dark out; hard to see the bottom, let some line out closed the bail & bang, hello Mr. White. Got my 5 in an hour or so, after that it was C/R, had lots playing with me & missed a number of them, perhaps 14-15 fish before 11:00. See the pic of what hooks worked today.

The first hour was the best, after that more people started coming out and then it started to get a bit nuts out there. The Whites were moving around a lot but showed little interest, after trying a number of different presentations I pulled out a tiny dimpled brass Wetaskiwan and got a few to come over for a closer look, but they wouldn’t take it until I dropped the hook on the weeds and let it sit, then the White makes a U-turn & inhaled it. Got a few more using the same technique, they wouldn’t touch it unless it was lying down!

Fishin is like real estate, location-location-location, after talking to a few other guys around me they said they didn’t see many and only caught one White. Another fellow said he caught a small walleye; we were all in 5-8 FOW over weeds.

I decided to move to deeper water & away from the crowd, got set up in 15 FOW, seen some big Whites roaming around and a few decent Pike came for a visit, I didn’t have my Pike equipment so they lost interest & moved on, caught 3 small walleye and seen a few more moving around. A word of caution, I dragged my shack out to this location, there was flood water on the ice and that's only 9" of ice in the last pic with no white ice, I wouldn't recommend driving past these shacks.

On my way home I met fellow member Broomstick & his family, they were having a fun day and enjoying a Barbie, nice people!

A few pic's from today ..... enjoy!



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  #57  
Old 12-26-2013, 08:47 PM
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Hey zip, I was out there today too. First one on the ice. Found the same as you lots of whites for the first hour in 4-5 ft. Did well on them. Once it got busy I moved deep 25 ft . Caught one pike, 13 walleye. Fun day. Thanks for your posts I enjoy them .
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  #58  
Old 12-26-2013, 08:48 PM
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Takin the fam out to the cabin tomorrow, probably won't hit the water till sat am but if she can get off work early enough and were out there soon enough might just give it a go. Not sure I'm brave enough to drive on yet. Hoping it ain't too cold nor too slushy so I can take my youngest for his first time. It will also be my brother in laws first time fishing the hard water. Hoping for an all around good trip.
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  #59  
Old 12-26-2013, 09:10 PM
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After seeing all those lime green grub from the guts of the other fish, I'm sure there's going to be a shortage of green wire and beads.

A bit off subject, but a pike we cleaned recently had a salads worth of weeds in its gut,, I'm sure they need roughage too.
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  #60  
Old 12-27-2013, 01:22 AM
kinwahkly kinwahkly is offline
 
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I also use the glass beads from Michael's.
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