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| This year was encouraging in the Kenora/Bigstone area, saw cabbage starting to pop up in areas I haven't seen it in 10 plus years. It could be a cycle with the Rustys up there, but it was interesting to run into cabbage again in some of those areas. I also noticed more crayfish in pike and walleye stomachs than normal. One of locals suggested that the increase in cabbage up there is largely due to the fact that nearly all species have focused on crayfish as primary forage and are putting a noticeable dent in the population.Just a theory though. Whether it is one musky a day or 10, LOTW is a piece of heaven on earth....... |
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| I'm no biologist, but I've observed a similar phenomenon with the Zebra Mussels on Lake Minnetonka. The first few years they run rampant and dominate, but then things stabilize as the ecosystem adjusts towards it's new equilibrium. I've long felt that the rusty menace would at some point reach critical mass and the predators in the system would start capitalizing on the new food source. Nature moves at her own pace...
Edited by Brad P 8/2/2018 9:17 AM
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Location: Minneconia | Brad P - 8/2/2018 9:14 AM
I'm no biologist, but I've observed a similar phenomenon with the Zebra Mussels on Lake Minnetonka. The first few years they run rampant and dominate, but then things stabilize as the ecosystem adjusts towards it's new equilibrium. I've long felt that the rusty menace would at some point reach critical mass and the predators in the system would start capitalizing on the new food source. Nature moves at her own pace...
You could say the same with the milfoil on Tonka, that seems to have crashed hard two years ago. Let's hope the rusties crash on LOTW. |
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Location: SE, WI. | Grinding bottom almost assures U boat 3-5 rusties daily :(. The Mrs. Shutters at the thought of removing a crab from her bait;).
Almost all of the pike we clean have 3-12 crabs in their stomachs....pike are doing their part. Interesting how the pike meat from LOTW, has a slight orange/ pink Hue to them, compare to other lakes without crayfish.
Ski's probably also chewing on Rusties.
JD
Edited by jdsplasher 8/2/2018 1:17 PM
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| When I was there last week I caught a 39” pike with the fullest belly I have ever seen. It looked like a football.
I hope he was chewing on rusties! |
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Posts: 425
Location: Roseau | 40" fatty, hopfully rusties
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Location: indiana | We have caught a lot of pike lately that were full of crayfish and the skin wore off their mouths I assume from the rocks they are inhabiting.
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Location: The desert | Heard a former poster got 24 with his wife last week. Maybe he's still reading, good work! |
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Location: oswego, il | Pointerpride102 - 8/5/2018 2:09 PM
Heard a former poster got 24 with his wife last week. Maybe he's still reading, good work!
Tell us it's Sponge!  |
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Location: Lake Country, Wisconsin | Pointerpride102 - 8/5/2018 2:09 PM
Heard a former poster got 24 with his wife last week. Maybe he's still reading, good work!
Be curious what the magic potion was as I’ve heard pretty emphatically it was a tough week |
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Posts: 261
| MuskyTime - 7/30/2018 10:18 AM
Would be interesting to hear from the folks that fish in the Kenora area as to whether they have noticed a drop off in reproduction success in the last 30 years?
Howdy,
I can't speak to Kenora but I do fish out of Witch Bay and the Andrews Bay area. While I've not been there for 30 years, I have spoken to people who have been.
From a spawning standpoint, the key bays remain unchanged. Still as weedy as ever, largely from the fact they are more of a muck bottom as opposed to a hard bottom. This, I hope, bodes well for reproduction as these key areas are still in prime spawning condition.
Beaches that once had cabbage are totally bare and the weeds have been gone for close to 15 years. Teacup bays still have the occasional weeds but not nearly as many as before.
Fish numbers on this part of the lake are much lower but they always have been so its hard to compare them to the Angle. Water clarity seems to be improving, as it the size of the fish. The pressure there, while not a bad as the Angle, is still very much present.
I could go on but a lot of what I would say has already been stated.
Take care,
Ruddiger |
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| Deleted.
Edited by dickP 8/5/2018 7:02 PM
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Location: Contrarian Island | just got back. had a very tough week weather wise to get fish to bite. Saw more fish than any other trip. (some of course were the same fish). I had some terrible luck to the point I felt I was cursed... we could/should have boated 18-20.... my boat got 12 in 8 days, with 1 over 50 and a 49.5. I'm a numbers guy so I look at data which is interesting.... on avg our other 6 trips we got about 30% of the fish we moved to hit the bait... this trip 13% hit the bait...
Personally I chalk our week up to absolutely bad weather...lots of other guys I heard had similar experiences with fish having lock jaw.. fairly confident it os more out of them having lock jaw than us sucking at triggering strikes when every other year we have gotten them to eat.. now was it due to more pressure year after year? maybe, I did notice some of the fish we caught were clearly caught before and even some of the fish we raised showed signs of being caught before.... it's still a fun lake, if a guy wants to wack 10 a day every day. go to LSC
I saw a guide post he got 48 in 21.5 days..which is interesting as he also posted he had like 30 or 32 in the 1st week of that 21.5 days...so the 2nd half he put 16 or 18 in the other 14 days... yah, water temps going from 81/82, to 71/72 didn't help matters I guess.... weather trumps all...
Edited by BNelson 8/5/2018 10:28 PM
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Location: MN | Now I don't feel so bad with 10 up to 51.5 on our trip last weekend for 3.5 days. Sunday the 29th was a pretty poor day for us and for the other 3 groups I talked to that were up there. We saw 7 and caught one that day. Slowest day on LOTW we've ever experienced. So the other 2.5 days were halfway decent relatively speaking. |
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| Dang BNelson... you are human, after-all. Glad you were still able to have a decent trip.
Did the majority of your fish go into the figure 8 and go around more than once? Or... was it follow and turn away... or follow and go around once - most of the time?
Thanks for sharing. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | most would not engage in the 8. I looked at my trip totals... it bums me out. we had 34 hits, only getting 12 into the net.. I lost 8. some very big ones too. saw lots of big fish....
wish I was there when they decided to eat … 
Edited by BNelson 8/6/2018 7:30 AM
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Location: The desert | I sense and IAJustin post coming soon.... |
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Location: Contrarian Island | anyone who was there last week knows it was tough weather to deal with... we had 34 hits.. which is actually about our normal trip tally... but the dice didn't roll our way.... |
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| Leaving Thursday for 7 day trip looks like some decent weather in the forecast. Will be my first trip looking forward to it, hope a few decide to eat! |
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| Don't worry, Brad, Brian and I will go clean up those big ones for you. You sent him coordinates, right? |
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Location: oswego, il | Leaving this friday, stable weather through Tuesday then the temps drop and the north winds blow. The forecast keeps changing the cold front was starting saturday, hopefully it keeps delaying as the week progresses. |
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Location: minocqua, wi. | ToddM - 8/6/2018 9:20 AM
Leaving this friday, stable weather through Tuesday then the temps drop and the north winds blow. The forecast keeps changing the cold front was starting saturday, hopefully it keeps delaying as the week progresses.
no excuses ToddM ... |
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Location: Contrarian Island | well, we had our "best" day the day after the cold front went thru with 7 hits... muskies don't read musky hunter mag found fish in 1 foot of water to 20... |
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Posts: 425
Location: Roseau | best fishing so far this year has been during cooling periods and easterly winds, doesn't make sense? |
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Location: Minneconia | Pointerpride102 - 8/6/2018 8:01 AM
I sense and IAJustin post coming soon....
Hahaha I'm sure it's coming soon.... |
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| Todd... green Dannybait. |
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Location: oswego, il | Reelwise - 8/6/2018 8:23 PM
Todd... green Dannybait.
Got a white one. Interesting bait. |
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| Dirt Esox - 8/6/2018 5:46 PM
Pointerpride102 - 8/6/2018 8:01 AM
I sense and IAJustin post coming soon....
Hahaha I'm sure it's coming soon....
For my fan club
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Location: Contrarian Island | wait, did you leave lotw for dryberry 3 or 4 yrs ago? and since it's not saltwater fishing it must be lame
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Posts: 1636
| The only people with relevant info. are 60 and up... who have a buddy in fisheries biology. Thought you guys knew that already? Our opinions don't matter. We have not been alive long enough to know what we are talking about. Just ask Rich R.
Edited by Reelwise 8/7/2018 3:55 PM
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