Winter has finally arrived here at home on Salmon River and we are getting a good dump of the white stuff as I write this. For a while there, I thought we might be getting off easy but Mother Nature soon shows you who is boss! I don't mind a little snow but when we start getting storms that leave behind over a foot of the white stuff with blowing wind, that's just getting nasty. Everything slows to a crawl and folks just buck up and dig their way out and get ready for the next one.
It makes getting to ice shacks and good fishing spots a lot harder in many cases. Fortunately, we have access to some very good fishing right handy to home on Salmon River. Most coves between Chipman and the mouth of the river where it flows into Grand Lake at Salmon Harbour can provide good fishing for several species like pickerel, burbot, perch and smelt. It helps to have a snowmobile if you really want to get to the best spots when the snow pac starts to get deep.
So far this month there are some reports of large pickerel being caught at French and Maquapit Lakes. There has been a couple of 10-12 inch brook trout caught on Grand Lake. Smelt catching is off to a slow start with just a few being caught so far. There have been a few burbot caught in some of the coves but things are just getting started on the hard water in our area. We just got some good ice and then we were hit with a big storm that slowed the fishing down a bit. I'll have more to report next month when the fishing gets a bit better and the tournaments start.
I do have a photo of a nice ice fishing print I picked up recently. I get these prints whenever I can because there aren't many of them around. This print is from the 1930's or thereabouts.
I was also checking my tackle box after reading an article on antique tackle and remembered a box of old tackle I bought in Lakeville Corner many years ago and thought I would dig some out. Here are some photos of those lures. This first one is a wooden floater with a shallow running lip dressed in red and white. This lure has glass eyes and is in fished condition. Still pretty good shape for a lure over 60 years old.
This next lure is a jointed "pikie" lure made by a lure manufacturer in Ontario many years ago. This one also has glass eyes.
The next lure pictured is a very unusual one made of hard plastic with attached metal wings with a yellow and red body. The name of this lure is a Heddon"Crazy Crawler".
Finally, this last lure is the oldest and most valuable lure in my small collection. This lure is called a "Tin Lizzy" and was actually made as a casting lure but would really be a great jigging lure for perch, smelt etc. when ice fishing. I was tempted to use it a couple of times but thought better when I realized I would be using a lure that sells in the range of $150. This lure was manufactured around 1929 in the U.S.
I will have a more detailed report next month on the ice fishing around Grand Lake as conditions improve.
So far this month there are some reports of large pickerel being caught at French and Maquapit Lakes. There has been a couple of 10-12 inch brook trout caught on Grand Lake. Smelt catching is off to a slow start with just a few being caught so far. There have been a few burbot caught in some of the coves but things are just getting started on the hard water in our area. We just got some good ice and then we were hit with a big storm that slowed the fishing down a bit. I'll have more to report next month when the fishing gets a bit better and the tournaments start.
I do have a photo of a nice ice fishing print I picked up recently. I get these prints whenever I can because there aren't many of them around. This print is from the 1930's or thereabouts.
I was also checking my tackle box after reading an article on antique tackle and remembered a box of old tackle I bought in Lakeville Corner many years ago and thought I would dig some out. Here are some photos of those lures. This first one is a wooden floater with a shallow running lip dressed in red and white. This lure has glass eyes and is in fished condition. Still pretty good shape for a lure over 60 years old. This next lure is a jointed "pikie" lure made by a lure manufacturer in Ontario many years ago. This one also has glass eyes. The next lure pictured is a very unusual one made of hard plastic with attached metal wings with a yellow and red body. The name of this lure is a Heddon"Crazy Crawler". Finally, this last lure is the oldest and most valuable lure in my small collection. This lure is called a "Tin Lizzy" and was actually made as a casting lure but would really be a great jigging lure for perch, smelt etc. when ice fishing. I was tempted to use it a couple of times but thought better when I realized I would be using a lure that sells in the range of $150. This lure was manufactured around 1929 in the U.S. I will have a more detailed report next month on the ice fishing around Grand Lake as conditions improve.
Until next time, this is Dale Bauer saying "Happy Trails to You....Until we Meet Again"
