Help me with this lake.

[IceTim]

My parents have a cabin accross the street from this lake and we have really never been able to produce much on it. SO, this year I intend on changing that. I posted in the Wisconsin forum as well, but am posting here as a general lake to see if anyone can look at it or may have some pointers. The topo map of it is free from wdnr at http://dnr.wi.gov/lakes/maps/DNR/0394400a.pdf . As you can see, it's a pretty large lake that gets to 79 feet deep in one area, and has a mean depth of 25 ft. According to a few different people that have posted on lake-link, they are currently catching thier limits in 11"+ Perch easily in 25-35 feet of water, one guy even said off of sand bars. (but no exact locations). They also said they are catching them with waxies. Since they also have walleye in the lake, my plan is to uses tip ups for walleye and jig for Perch in depths of 25-35 fow off of sandbars. Looking at that map, I would first look at that NE corner off that 5 foot sandbar, then try the SE corner off those small 20 ft twin humps, then the SSW little 20ft hump. They said they are biting at this depth up to an hour after sunrise, and again 2 hours before sunset until it's dark. Looking at this map, is there any other areas you would look for. It is an extremely clear lake, with very little vegetaion due to invasive species. But there is sand along the south and East, rock beds along the north, and a mix along the West. Some weed beds along the SW and NW corners as well as in the shallow inlet in the SE corner. My plan is for my walleye tip ups to have 20lb ice fishing braided line with 4 feet of 8 lb flourocarbon and try one with a jigging rappela, one with a spoon, and a couple with a simple #6 teble hook set up. On our two perch rods, (both ugly stick, mine light, hers medium) I'm using 4lb red ice line with small 1/32 to 1/8 horizontal jigs with waxies. We will be staggering the depths of the tip ups between 1-6 feet of the bottom. Am I doing something wrong? Any other suggestions that have worked on similar lakes? Plan on going up next week Mon-Fri to slay some perch, any comments appriciated!

[Jim111]

Every lake is different, even from town to town, as to where fish are, what and when they'll hit. Trial & error and a good fish finder is all that really works. There's no magic potion or surefire methods which work anywhere, each and every time. Like many I know would say.... Don't try to get too technical,....."just fish it". -Jim

[T~bag]

Like Jim111 said, you cant catch em if you dont try. Just dont become stationary unless your catching them. Drill, Drill, Drill and then Drill a few more holes (stay mobile). Its alot of work but when you find em its fun. Most of all even if you dont get into em, remeber a bad day fishing is better than any day working.

[IceTim]

"bad day of fishing beats a good day of working"- my motto! I still use a hand auger that could probably use new blades.. and I don't have a fish finder (but santa did get me a camera).. SO being mobile isn't easy.. Drilling basically 6 holes anywhere I want to set up can be quite a work out if I'm moving around all day.. And believe me, I experiment. I was just wondering if anyone, by looking at that topo map would suggest any other areas OR based on my set-ups I listed would suggest anything else... But thanks for the quick responses!

[Jim111]

Any submerged "humps" near deep water will be good locations for both walleye and perch. Perch will also be found on the edges of any weed beds you can locate. Bigger perch will be in deeper water as mid-morning approaches. On a dark or stormy day, the walleyes could be anywhere at all, even shallow. At night, after dark, we catch walleyes in shallow, often in five feet or less and sometimes right in the weed beds. We set-up for walleyes no deeper than 8-10 feet after dark and most always do well. Bigger perch will be shallower at daybreak and deeper as the day progresses. Late afternoon is a good bet for both big perch and walleyes as they both move in shallow to begin feeding at dusk. Can't really tell much at all from that map, to be honest. -Jim

[IceTim]

That shallow! Are you fishing a smaller lake? This lake is quite large..(You can zoom in on the pdf to read depths etc)..

[T~bag]

After looking at the map I would guess you could find some panfish on the northeast point that comes out to 30ft of water. or around the little island that goes from 35 to 25 ft. Other than that, i would just try to fish the breaks from shallow to deep... Good luck and report back...

[Jim111]

It doesn't really matter the waterbody size. The fish still follow the bait. In winter, walleyes only go deep during the day to avoid the sunlight, in most cases, from what I can tell. They come in shallower, by dusk each day to feed, as that's normally where the thicker cover is, hence the baitfish. The walleyes hereabouts are even in the larger river systems and are fished in the setbacks and coves at night and during low light conditions, again usually quite shallow. Our first fish of the evening (or late afternoon) are often in 12-15 feet of water. By the time it's actually dark out they are seldom in more than 8-10 feet. By midnight each evening, the fish are often in three feet of water or so. We cut several sets of holes for our tip-ups each afternoon when setting up, to avoid having to cut holes (and make noise) in shallower, after dark, as the evening progresses. The tip-ups get moved in shallower, as the evening progresses. Walleyes can be very spooky, when it comes to noise and bright lights. They see quite well in what we consider complete darkness, and we avoid bright lights or anything that makes excess noise too, when fishing the shallows at night. The best fishing for them (perch too) is often just before or even during a winter storm. We often catch big perch and even some nice northern pike well after dark too on tip-ups and live bait. We use medium to large shiners on our tip-ups.After or during a nighttime storm I always dread the drive home in the wee hours, on often unplowed roads, but the fishing is almost always worth it. As nasty as it might be to endure, try ice fishing a rainy day sometime, for some real action! If you ice fish for long, you'll eventually want to invest in some sort of a gas auger, I'm sure. I usually own two, one strictly as a back-up machine and those ten-inch holes can make all the difference, when trying to land a truly big fish. I have 8, 9 and 10-inch blades, for use on different days and different times of the winter. But these days, I mostly stick to the ten-inch blade.
-Jim

[IceTim]

I've been ice fishing for about 11 years. I did actually just by a clam Summit shelter yesterday, as I will be bringing my gf next week and want to make it more enjoyable for her.. I know I should get a gas auger, but they're just so damn expensive that whenever I go to purchase one, I decide to put it off. ON the brighter side, I'm getting bigger arms!? lol Thanks for the advice Jim and T-bag. may have to set a couple tip ups a bit shallower and see what happens.. Just from reading reports on lake-link, everyone seems to be catching them in 25-40 fow. But we shall experiment and report back next wknd.

[Woodsman]

then try the SE corner off those small 20 ft twin humps,

First spot I'd try. Drill a series of holes from the top westward to deeper water & east to shallower water. Also north & south between the humps. Fish or search with electronics different depths until you find them.

Good Luck: Rick

[IceTim]

Thanks for the help. Headin up now.. Will report back friday night or Sat morn!