It seems that we all patiently awaited winter’s arrival this year and now it feels like it is coming to an end. The sun has been setting later each day while producing warmer temperatures as well. This is a perfect time to get the kids outside sledding and making snowmen in the wet and heavy snow.
I have been fishing some lakes in my own back yard lately that I normally do not fish. Ice fishing is not very consistent, nor is it convenient, so I am constantly researching to improve the experience for myself and the clients who fish with me. It is not always easy to provide an action-packed, comfortable fishing experience in four hours, but that is my goal.
“You will never know unless you go” is an angler’s credo that speaks volumes. I spent seven hours fishing Loon Lake on Saturday with a bubbly old guy named Emery who has spent many days on the ice. Emery likes to fish Lake Superior in the Ashland area for trophy lake trout. His technique of fishing a beetle jig with a strip of filleted herring was very effective for him on Lake Superior for big lakers up to 50 pounds.
The beetle jig is a heavy lead-head with multiple hooks and keeper springs to help secure the herring fillet. According to Emery, a properly rigged beetle jig will swim in a circular pattern with a 20-foot circumference. He rigged the beetle on a hand spool filled with a wire line that does not stretch. The thin diameter allows the bait to be fished effectively in deep water.
Serious anglers like to experiment and this guy wanted to take what he knows about Great Lakes fishing and incorporate it to an inland lake. Emery requested to fish Loon Lake in 180 feet of water to try his beetle jig. Loon was chosen for its depth of 215 feet and because it is reputed to have some homegrown trophies swimming around.
I have never fished inland lake trout this deep before and my reels barely had enough line to reach the bottom. I don’t even know if there is enough dissolved oxygen for anything to survive in this depth, but we gave it a try. I put my two baits in the upper 60 feet of water with hopes of picking off some suspended fish that were cruising by and let Emery fish the abyss.
The experiment did not produce any fish but I would not call it a failure. Unsuccessful days on the water often teach us as much about fishing as the productive days. You cannot succeed without also failing, that is how we learn.
Cory Christianson has worked as a fishing guide on the Gunflint Trail since 2000. If you have any fishing or wildlife reports or stories to share, send an email to: christiansoncory@hotmail.com or call 218- 388-0315. You can also visit Cory’s website at Gunflintfishingguide.com.
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