UPSmallie

Thanks! Happy Easter

Splake are pretty rare, but if you can find where they are concentrated you have a good shot at catching one. Was able to go and fish one of the few places in Michigan where you can catch splake from a public dock. You can only catch these guys from shore in the spring or fall since that's when water temperatures are cool enough for the fish to cooperate. Went 1/3 using fresh, uncleaned smelt on a homemade fluorocarbon quickstrike rig under a bobber. It was the coolest thing because when they would hit, they wouldn't pull your bobber down a few feet, but would rather just suck the bobber barely beneath the water's surface. You'd then reel in and if the fish was still there, try and set the hook on the hybrid of a brook and lake trout. Heck of a fun time. This one was 22 inches and 4.27 lbs. The crazy thing is I lost one much bigger than this before I could get it to the net. Fish On!

Bingo. Thanks man.

I've been getting suckers and scuplins in my minnow traps lately. Pulled up one of my traps today and found these two mystery fish inside. They look like a mix between a bowfin/sucker. They are not bowfin, burbot, or snakehead though because the dorsal fin on top of their back is short and doesn't connect the whole length of their upper back. The caudal (tail) fin is interesting because it's not forked, but more of a rounded shape. I don't know. They're sitting in my baitfish storage at the moment. I'll update this thread if I can find out more details. Thanks for any help or information. Oh just a heads up, these were pulled from the northern Upper Peninsula in Michigan. *Edit* It looks like it's a Central Mudminnow. Thanks Turtle135.

Nice healthy looking fish. Congrats

It depends, but sometimes you can catch 'Springer' salmon that develop loose eggs in the Spring. I'm not sure if they deposit them during this time, but for some reason they can develop eggs. If they're big enough, I'd scrape off the eggs and tie them into spawn sacs. Congrats. Salmon are definitely fun to catch.

Caught my first Brown Trout today. 15.5 inches. Rainbow trout was 15 inches. Inside the Brown's stomach was four spawn sacs and 3/4 had hooks in them!

Lots of good stories here. I can't relate much, but some of my bass club buddies probably can. They were driving back up from a tournament late at night with there fishing tackle in the back bed of there truck. Somehow the truck hatch opened as they hit a bump in the road and all their fishing lures got thrown out the back. They pulled off to the side of the road and started walking back to try and find their lures when another big truck came thundering down the road and ran over half of their fishing lures, getting the trebles from the lures stuck in its tires during the process. Apparently the truck never stopped. I bet he had a fun time when he parked his car later that night. This happened roughly two years ago, but every time we have a bass club meeting, we all get a big laugh out of that.

Heck of a smallmouth. Nice catch!

Heck yeah! Nice fish

I've bought cheap $20 polarized before and they work great, up until the point where they become too scratched up to see out of. Bought the Costa 580G Green Lenses last Christmas and haven't looked back. It's really clear polarization and you get a great in-depth view of the water with tremendous clarity. When not wearing them, I keep them in their lens case. While wearing them, I don't have to worry about them falling off because they have a great grip on my head. I would definitely recommend saving up for them.

Lol! Haven't had this bad of a problem, but whenever I go ice-fishing and set up my portable there will be a handful scattered around it in a few hours. Usually whenever I'm shore fishing and nail a big one I either quickly release it or quickly leave to go home and fillet it. Caught a nice steelhead once off a public bridge and started for my car which was 10 feet away, when two passerby's came out of nowhere and instantly starting asking me questions. I usually just find it's best to lay low on the fishing if possible.

Nice. I've picked up some of those Cotton Cordell's for $2. They may be cheap, but they'll be fun baits to throw since you won't have to worry about the cost of losing them.

Haven't bit the bullet yet, but this one looks fantastic https://www.hukgear.com/collections/gaiters/products/huk-kscott-gaitor-trout?variant=9470945283

Wow! Not bad. I too am itching to hook into a bronzeback. Probably won't be until mid-May before that happens though since ice-out is late April up here. Should be some non-stop action when it finally happens. Best of luck this season.

Wow! Way to go! That takes finesse fishing to a whole new level.

That's pretty awesome. If you find that many lures on the banks, just imagine how many are down there to be picked up snorkeling. Most are probably hung up deep, but I'm sure there'd be a few snagged up shallow.

Yes. Rummage those bargain bins. Every now and then a gem shows up.

Well done.

I've always done well in the twilight span that occurs just after sunset until darkness completely falls, on topwaters. Spook style baits or topwaters that churn a lot of water, click-clack, or just make a lot of commotion seem to anger the bass into striking. Can't say I have much experience during the night, as the mosquitoes will eat you alive up here, thermacell and mosquito spray or not. I have heard that pure black musky jitterbugs will get some big strikes, especially around full moons. Digging back a few years I think Rhode Island's Largemouth Record was caught this way. Good luck and keep at it. I think you'll get it down.

Like others have said, I would just stick with it and keep fishing. The more you fish particular areas, the more familiar you will become with what will and what won't work. After a little while of picking up on what to throw and where to throw your presentation, I think you will start seeing results. With bigger fish usually bigger lures are the standard. If you're catching decent sized fish on one type of lure, try and upsize it one or two sizes and see if it will produce. Good luck and keep at it.

Very nice picture

Made the last ice fishing trip of the year yesterday. Set up in my hot spot and waited. The morning bite never came. Most likely because all of the walleye were stacked up at the river mouth (7 miles away) gearing for the spawn. Stuck with it, and was rewarded by my bobber getting sucked down. Set the hook and pulled up my PB Walleye at 20.5 inches 2.68 lb. Literally one of the only bites I got all day. This must have been a straggler male who most likely was starting to move towards spawning grounds. Note the tail area. Packed up shortly after and called it a day. Happy to end the season on a high note. Tight lines everyone.

Emerald shiners are the life source up here. If you can find where they are schooling, the pike, perch, walleye, and smallmouth won't be too far behind.

I think if you pull them from cold water and bake them they'd be alright. Smaller ones would probably taste better and have less Mercury than the bigger ones. Do NOT pan-fry them whatever you do. Arguably the worst taste I've had in my mouth. Nice fish regardless @Bluebasser86