Perching, Twice the Fun?!?!

Mississippi River Perch

Hopefully this post keeps me back on schedule but unfortunately the older I get the busier I seem to be, especially this year.  The last 2 weekends have been focused on perch fishing, the first time on October 3rd on Mille Lacs and the second trip was last Sunday with my friend Kevin.  My reasons for going to Mille Lacs were two fold, obviously catching some fish would be nice and I needed to try my reprogramming that I discussed last week.  The unfortunate part of that trip was at the end of the day we were in Vineland Bay and with 4 foot rollers coming in I hit a small rock reef that is tucked back in the bay which did a number on my stainless steel prop and did some minor damage to the edge of my skeg.  I'm really careful but this time I was concentrating on my trolling motor accuracy and had left the GPS scale zoomed in way too much and was on the reef before I even realized it.  It never helps that I was in the tough of the wave as well.  We limped back to the landing and I dropped the prop off at the repair shop to be fixed.  All of this and we didn't catch a single fish.  Looking back at this year, Mille Lacs has been a total disaster in regards to fishing.  I never caught a keeper walleye in fact I never caught a respectable walleye for that matter.  Usually it isn't too hard to find perch in the fall, even if they are in the 6 to 7 inch range, they are still there.  We are waiting for the DNR to determine what the fishing regulations for ice fishing will be for this winter.  The official fishing season for the sake of walleye harvest quotas starts on December 1st and rumors are indicating that there could be a limited harvest for ice fishing, one can only hope. Red lake has turned into my go to walleye spot but it sure would be nice to not drive so far to fish! My next opportunity was last Sunday with my great friend Kevin Aiona.  My wife had a girl's event in Eau Claire and when talking to Kevin about it he suggested I meet him in the morning and we head to Alma to fish above the dam.

Back Channel of the Mississippi Above Alma, WI

That is an offer I simply couldn't refuse and although it would be difficult to launch the boat early in the morning, he accommodated my schedule and by noon we were trolling shad raps on the first wing dam.  It is interesting as it's been about 6 years since I have been fishing in the river above the dam and the river has definitely changed over the years yet there was no doubt I was in good hands.  Our plan was to work our way up to the perch hole by fishing the wing dams along the river.  It was almost like fishing Mille Lacs in the old days, there was a plan and we simply continued to fish spots until we found active fish.  After catching a number of smaller walleyes under 12 inches and losing a couple nicer ones we headed into the calmer water to try for perch.  If you've read my previous report you can see a picture of Kevin with a 14 inch perch, respectable for anywhere and we were ready to catch a few.  The perch were definitely biting however the average size was about 7 inches and there was a lot of them.  A simple small jig under a slip bobber set about 5 feet and it was nonstop action. We did manage to get 4 very nice perch in the 11 - 13 inch range but it took a lot of sorting.  I estimate we probably caught well over 200, along with one mooneye and a number of 5 inch largemouth bass.  Getting tired of the constant action of small fish we headed back out to the wing dams to see if the walleyes were going again. The wind was blowing pretty good up river and Kevin claims this isn't the best for walleyes which proved to be correct.  Surprisingly Kevin caught 2 nice sunfish trolling one of the wing dams with a #4 Salmo crankbait, go figure.  I did take a few pictures of some of the channels that we boated through, it's simply beautiful.

Loaded with Apples

It's definitely apple picking time and I am having a bumper crop of fruit this year.  The McIntosh apples were done a month ago but the Firesides, Harrelson's, and Honeygolds are in their prime right now. Saturday was spent trying to get everything harvested before we get our first hard frost, which looks to be this weekend. The Harrelson tree has always been the most prolific of the 10 or so that I have and there had to be over 8 bushels of nice apples that were picked.  Considering that I probably threw away another 2 bushels that had dropped to the ground over the last month, it's pretty incredible.  They are nice and crisp with few blemishes or worms to worry about.  My plans are to press some fresh cider this weekend while it's still nice out as the apple press is out and ready to go. My neighbor Lory pressed cider last week with it as we have made a few adjustments to the press to make it easier and faster.  He makes wine out of the cider, I simply like drinking it straight however it would be fun to try and make some hard cider out of it, hopefully it doesn't turn to vinegar.  We'll see how much time is left before deer hunting.  I need to get the boat out one more time to test the trolling motor and having added Sea Foam to the gas for storage, it would be good to get it distributed through the system.  My other issue is getting the boat into the dealer and have the few things left that needs to be fixed before storing it for the winter.  As well, I have been putting the finishing touches on the Salem Ice Cabin anticipating another great winter of ice fishing.

Perchapalooza

 Thursday was a good day to take off work and get a number of things accomplished before the weather turns its head towards winter. The two things on the agenda were getting the new scope on my deer rifle sighted then heading north and catching the front end of the full moon bite on Mille Lacs. As stated my neighbor Lory volunteered his time to accompany me this day. The rifle sight proved more challenging than I had first assumed. The Burris scope on my rifle was over 25 years old and had started acting up. My first concern was with the ammunition a friend of mine at work had loaded up for me. Although the shells were about 10 years old, I had successfully grouped my sight in each year. 2 years ago I was all over the place, making adjustment, eventually settling back to my original settings. The last deer I had shot was a wounded buck which came by which took me 6 shells to finally dispatch it. Sensing an issue I sent it back to Burris, confirming that the springs were weak and my lifetime guarantee was applicable. The model was obsolete so they gave me 75% off any scope in their catalog. This was a great deal! Using a few older shells to do the initial sight in, I was close and grouped nice. Switching to Federal Premium’s and 100 yards, things didn’t work so well. I finally got an acceptable group however I will have my friend, Brett Jelkin reload me some shells close to what Rodney did for my years ago. Hopefully that will straighten things out.

Having accomplished the first agenda item we headed north to check off our second item. Arriving at Lundeen’s, Bill was already on a different lake looking for crappies. He agreed to meet us later at the super secret perch hole. After loading up a few dozen fatheads and twister tails we headed out. I had gotten pretty good instructions of our meeting place and understanding the fall perch bite, we quickly zeroed in on their location. I have to admit it was a bonified Perchapolooza!!! From 2:00 to 6:00 we totally annihilated them using everything from our Powerbait Twister Tails to scavenging every chunk of minnow leftover from the massacre. Our boat limit was 40 perch and after the first 10, decided that a minimum size was in order. Estimating at least a perch every 2 minutes for each of us I would bet we caught over 400 fish total. If you go to my Thursday, October 14th post (http://davidjanderson.blogspot.com/2010/10/workin-for-man.html) you can compare the 2 livewell shots, then and now. Certainly a significant difference.   Bill showed up in time to partake in the success.  The top picture is my fishing partner Lory with a beautiful 12 inch perch.

Leaving the perch hole with our limit, we head to Indian Point for the evening shallow walleye troll.  The moon was well positioned to give us all the light we needed to set up a trolling pattern.  Within the first 15 minutes I nailed this nice 24 inch walleye that hit my #5 Hot Steel Shad Rap in 10 feet of water.  With the sunlight still peeking out from the horizon, it made for a memorable picture.  Unfortunately this was the only fish we were able to scrape up and left at 8:30.  There was a lot of traffic on the point and having exhausted our efforts on the perch, we decided to leave.  It took an hour to clean our fish and vacuum pack them and we were in bed by midnight.  It certainly was a day to remember.  Next week it's home to see my dad who is struggling with some medical issues and offer some help.  I can always fish later.

A Two Gloved Day

I have traded the cold weather for a little reprive and am writing from Los Angeles, California. It has been interesting as it is a balmy 65 degrees and everyone here is complaining about the cold. These people have no idea what cold is.....................like our trip to Mille Lacs on Saturday afternoon. The weather was predicted to be 48 for a high, perfect for that last fling before the ice freezes. This last time outing also gives me a chance to make sure everything works before I put the boat away, dump a can of Seafoam into the gas for storage, and maybe catch a few fish as a bonus.

Arriving on the lake I was surprised to see the surface temperature at the Cove Landing at a blustery 39.3 degrees, burrrrrrrrr. Water is an interesting substance. It is at its greatest density at this temperature, meaning that is sinks to the bottom. This causes the phenomenon called turnover as the denser water displaces the warmer water on the bottom, stirring the lake up. At around 39 degrees the water is pretty even from top to bottom. As water cools below 39 it starts getting less dense and stays on the surface. When water reaches 32 degrees it freezes, expands and floats. Ice is a very good insulator, protecting the water on the bottom which will essentially stay at 39 degrees all winter long. This allows life in the lake to enjoy an environment that is quite a bit warmer than freezing.

One nice thing that occurs in the fall when the water temperature in higher than the air temperature, the time on the lake can be warmer than that on the water. When it is colder than the air temp, it will feel much colder on the lake. Well Saturday my partner Tom proclaimed it a Two Gloved Day and offered the above pose. Our plan was to start in Wakon Bay for perch before heading to Anderson's Reef to pull some cranks for walleye. There were a few guys fishing perch and actually catching a few. They were all pretty small. Tom had the most unique method of catching these perch. We were in 4 feet of water, he had his bobber stop at 5 feet allowing his jig to sit on the bottom. Pulling it gently off the bottom he could actually sit and hold a fish on his minnow for minutes at a time as they played tug of war with Tom watching his bobber sit suspended 2 feet under the surface. This technique rewarded him with 3 nice perch including this nice 12 incher. Although we didn't kill them, tom was able to go home with a nice meal. About 15 minutes before sunset we headed to Anderson's. The water on the lake was a little warmer, 41 degrees. At this temperature the tullibees should be spawning on the reef. When tullibees spawn they essentially chase all the fish off the reef. It must have been the case as we did not get a single walleye. Based on the current water temp this did not surprise me. It was a so so year but I have a feeling that ice fishing could be excellent this year. At 39 degrees in cove my prediction of ice by mid November may be right on.

Finally I decided to model a favorite hat of mine, the Stormy Kromer. I sort of collect hats and this is my favorite cold weather hat. Previous post of me ice fishing will almost always feature this hat. So what is a Stormy Kromer? Well Stormy was a ball player in the early 1900's before he became a railroad engineer. Apparently he would wear his baseball hat while running the locomotive and it would often blow off his head by wind gusts through the cab. He became frustrated with this so he asked his wife, a pretty good seamstress, to modify his hat so it would stay on. The idea worked so good that it became a legend. You can tell a Stormy Kromer by the string tie in the front. Although most people think that the pull down flaps are for your ears, the real reason is to give extra grip to your head. It really works well and for a hat, it's pretty warm. They are still made in the good old USA in Ironwood Michigan. You can check out their website at http://www.stormykromer.com/ . And of course, my friends state that I look good in a hat..........as it covers up more of my face! Off to make more cider this weekend (we made over 17 gallons last Sunday) and I really do need to get my deer stand up.

Harvest Moon Harvesting

Last Sunday's full moon is known as the Harvest Moon. This bright moon is defined as the full moon closest to the autumn equinox which occurs around September 22th each year. It's name derives from the fact that the bright full moon would help farmers continue to harvest their crops well into the evening with the additional light it provides. Harvest Moons occur in October once every four years with the latest being October 13th. Well, the 2009 Harvest Moon did not let me down. My neighbor Tom loves the full moon bite and asked weeks in advance to reserve a seat in the boat. He is as crazy as I and with the ability to put up with my nuances, makes a fine fishing partner.

Our strategy was to launch out of the east side and fish our favorite perch hole first, checking to see if they have moved in shallow before heading out to our evening destination. Checking the wind forecast showed a predicted 5 - 7 mph blow from the NW. Not enough to change our plans we first stopped at Cedar Creek Public Landing. Well, the forecast lied. As one suggested, you are suppose to add the 5 and the 7 to get the real number. It was a strong 15 mph wind out of the NW and the rollers were a pushing 3 feet plus as they had the whole lake to work themselves up. Deciding that it would be too much work to land the boat at the access we headed to Mac's Twin Bay. They have a nice deep protected harbor and the $10 to launch is cheap insurance. Heading east to the perch hole wasn't too bad and we arrived fighting the wind for position. Not wanting to anchor, we drifted around a few boats and caught a number of small 6 - 7 inch perch. Not enough to keep our interest and understanding the pounding ride ahead of us, we decided to head straight to the reef. From our position it was straight into the wind for 7 miles. Nasty ride!! Arriving at our final destination 35 minutes later, the waves were literally breaking over the shallow rocks as if an angry ocean. Of course the good news was the wind guaranteed a perfect drift over the reef. The other interesting thing was the water temperature. Last Sunday it was a balmy 65 degrees as opposed to this Sunday's reading of 52. It had dropped a whooping 13 degrees in 7 days. Looking at the forecast for the next week, it could be in the low 40's soon. At 52 degrees the walleyes should be literally jumping in the boat!

Well, 2 hours of casting shad raps and rouges produced 1 - 13 inch walleye and a 14" smallie. Pretty paltry if you ask me. Standing on the bow, running the trolling motor in the big swells takes it's toll on an old man. At 7:30 I decided to start trolling, a less stressful endeavor. The wind had started to relent for the evening which set us up for what was to come. In the next 90 minutes we caught 14 walleye or 1 about every 6 minutes. They ranged from 12 inches on the short side to the fattest 27.50 incher I have ever seen. What ever it was the old favorite bait, the Rattlin' Rouge proved deadly. Tom's fished the fire tiger pattern and I stuck with my all time favorite, the tiger minnow. My 115 Suzuki trolls down like a dream and with a subtle pumping action, really triggered these fish. The fish were all caught in the 5 to 10 foot range with a surprisingly good number at 7 feet and deeper. We put 8 in the box, the first time I have completed a full boat limit this year. The keepers were very nice ranging from 14 to 17.75 inches, perfect eating size.

What I found very interesting was the amount of minnows that were present in the stomachs of the fish as we cleaned them. Each fish had at least 1 large minnow and most had 2 with some as high as 4. These fish were stuffed like a Norwegian at Thanksgiving! It is no wonder the bite has been tough of late. Certainly the cooler weather has triggered the fish to put on the feedbag. I am not sure where they could have fit anymore fish in their already stuffed stomachs but what the heck, they were biting. My last picture is one of the minnows we extracted from a fish. It was at least 5 inches long and looks like a young tullibee, which is reported in the lake at record numbers. They are predicting a high of 39 with occasional snow showers this weekend. I had better bring the winter gear as I sure could have used it on Sunday. At least we are catching fish!