Lwapo
01-23-2006, 12:13 PM
So I got out to Crystal Lake in Montcalm county this weekend and was able to fish on Sunday pretty much from sun up to sun down. Caught some 'gill, perch, pike and even a nice largemouth bass!
The weather was great as well. Chilly in the morning and evening, but well above freezing with very little wind during the day. Plenty of ice as the quads and snow mobiles were racing around almost all day long. I have to point out that they were respectful of the fishermen out there and stayed quite a ways away, which was nice of them to not scare all the fish away!
I also had a chance to meet a fellow M-S.Com member! There were a few guys fishing near us and one landed a small pike on a tip-up, and the friend I was with and I hadn't had a flag for a while so we headed over to say hi and see what he had gotten. After striking up a conversation, the guy asked if we were members of this forum! Imagine my surpize! Just thought I would share that as it was kind neat to meet someone from here.
Fishing Report: Caught a couple gills and perch. You could look down the hole and see fish half the time you were out there but getting them to bite was another matter! Lots of people marking fish but not catching anything, tip-ups were landing lots of 16-22" pike, but nothing really big. We ended up landing 7 small pike (I caught my first pike ever, and my 2nd, 3rd, 4th...)and 1 18" largemouth Bass that took more line out than I've ever seen before! I've never fished for much besides panfish until this year (with the help from some people at this forum) and I was very excited to be able to have some luck!
That brings me to my question... We were tip-up fishing with small minnows with a treble hook in the back, just behind the dorsal fin. It's my understanding that this is normal for fishing on tip-ups. We caught a few pike that swallowed the hook pretty badly, as well as saw a few that did the same thing. We cut the leader as far down as we could but I REALLY hate to do that to a fish?
We would let them run the first time they took the bait (when they set off the flag) then they'd stop, and when they started moving again, we'd set the hook. I don't know for sure, but I think this is how you are supposed to run a tip-up.
Is it normal for a pike to swallow the hook? If not, what can I do to prevent that?
Thanks for the info in advance and thanks to mother nature for a great day out on the ice!
The weather was great as well. Chilly in the morning and evening, but well above freezing with very little wind during the day. Plenty of ice as the quads and snow mobiles were racing around almost all day long. I have to point out that they were respectful of the fishermen out there and stayed quite a ways away, which was nice of them to not scare all the fish away!
I also had a chance to meet a fellow M-S.Com member! There were a few guys fishing near us and one landed a small pike on a tip-up, and the friend I was with and I hadn't had a flag for a while so we headed over to say hi and see what he had gotten. After striking up a conversation, the guy asked if we were members of this forum! Imagine my surpize! Just thought I would share that as it was kind neat to meet someone from here.
Fishing Report: Caught a couple gills and perch. You could look down the hole and see fish half the time you were out there but getting them to bite was another matter! Lots of people marking fish but not catching anything, tip-ups were landing lots of 16-22" pike, but nothing really big. We ended up landing 7 small pike (I caught my first pike ever, and my 2nd, 3rd, 4th...)and 1 18" largemouth Bass that took more line out than I've ever seen before! I've never fished for much besides panfish until this year (with the help from some people at this forum) and I was very excited to be able to have some luck!
That brings me to my question... We were tip-up fishing with small minnows with a treble hook in the back, just behind the dorsal fin. It's my understanding that this is normal for fishing on tip-ups. We caught a few pike that swallowed the hook pretty badly, as well as saw a few that did the same thing. We cut the leader as far down as we could but I REALLY hate to do that to a fish?
We would let them run the first time they took the bait (when they set off the flag) then they'd stop, and when they started moving again, we'd set the hook. I don't know for sure, but I think this is how you are supposed to run a tip-up.
Is it normal for a pike to swallow the hook? If not, what can I do to prevent that?
Thanks for the info in advance and thanks to mother nature for a great day out on the ice!