Nipissing hardwater closer and season recap

[Species8472]

Plan was to fish the 14th (Friday) and 15th (Saturday). Friday was beautiful weather and great snowmobiling conditions. Setup without the shelter and fished open air all day. Bite was average through the course of the day:

Landed 9 walleye - 7 under and 2 over - no slot eyes. This guy was 18.25 inches - so close:



Setup in the sun:



Also managed 10 perch in the 10 to 12 inch range and some smaller guys that were put back:



Got checked by big brother twice and one of the gents seemed very social and hung around chatting for 20 minutes and was picking my brain about tackle and locations. Caught 2 perch while he was there.

Later in the day another gent named John stopped by on an ATV. He introduced himself and said that he recognized my sled and toboggan from past trip reports posted here. Apparently i had given him some good advice earlier this year in response to a query he posted and he wanted to thank me. We chatted for about 20 mintes during which time i landed a 14.75 inch walleye.

On Saturday morning i looked at the forecast and it looked very wet. So decided to take the day off and call it a season. Really didn't need anymore fish anyways as it has been a great season.

Recapping the 2025 Nip hardwater season i typically try to get 12 to 15 days on the ice. This year i did 8. The reduction was not because of lack of opportunity but because the fishing was so good this year that i just didn't need to go out with so many in the freezer.

Numbers for the year were this:

- 311 fish landed
- about 50 of those were walleye with 12 slot keepers
- 6 burbot landed including two beasts at 34.5 inches and 35.5 inches
- 6 pike landed all about 18 to 24 inches
- one 4lb smallmouth
- one lonely cisco
- balance were perch with about 180 of them ranging from 10 to 13 and 1/8th inches. We have been eating perch non-stop to keep under our possession limits

Few select pics from the season:

Burb:



Slot eye:



Over slot eye:



One of multiple 2025 fish frys:



First outing of 2025:



Perhaps my favorite shot of 2025 when i got some family out:



So until next January signing off the Nip hardwater reports. One trip to Abitibi planned for April and report will get posted in Northern Lakes section.

[sabmgb]

does sound like you had a good year, my favourite fish is the one with the fried fish.

[kenster]

I found Thursday the bite was slower and light probably because the weather was so nice.We got a visit from the fish police as well,guessing because the travel was easy and weather was gorgeous.
Usually I get some under wallys but only managed some perch which wife landed on a gold spoon. Cheers til next hardwater season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMav1zBTV6Q

[smalleye99]

Thursday was an average day but Friday was nuts. 2 of us caught 25-30 walleye, had our 4 slot fish by 4 pm then attempted to fish perch but the walleye were having none of it. Left with our 4 walleye and only 3 perch. Most walleye just 1/2" under the slot, one 23". Greatest ender ever.

[fisherman2280]

I agree it was a great year.

January started off really hot with some of the best days I've ever had on the ice.

I changed groups from being a walker to having rides, One which made me learn a lot about engines. Once you switch you can never go back.

In previous years I had my spot just down the street (Close and decent fishing all year) but this year because I was mobile I explored far and wide and didn't do any better than if I stayed in my go to spot.

Exploring new areas and going super fast was a new part of the game I really enjoyed.
Going as fast as I could until I was hanging on and ready to fly off was what I enjoyed most, yes I got the safety lectures but I did get it up to 90MPH at one point.

My favorite trip was Temagami which I plan to spend a lot more time on next year even if it is a short season. There are monsters in those waters.

My gear pile went from what I could pull on my Smitty to living the glamping life with a full pelican sled worth of comforts.

Got lost once, caught lots, explored new areas, got saved once, went out and helped save someone, tried a few new lures but in the end the same things that worked before still crushed it this year.

Until next year.

[crappeeeman]

Great company. Great fishing. Great eats. Good luck on Abitibi.

[greeneyes]

Great meeting you on Friday Species, Friday was definitely the better weather day to be out there. Four of us headed out Saturday around noon from the government dock as you suggested, much easier access but it was wet travelling. Headed to the Manitous and had steady action pretty much all afternoon.
What a great first experience for me fishing Nippissing. Our group caught dozens of walleye and perch, 4 burbot, 1 white bass, 2 small mouth bass, 2 pike and 1 herring.
Anytime you want to fish whitefish on simcoe, just message me and I'd be happy to get you out.

[grivertim]

Really enjoy your reports Species8472 (and everyone else's too), great gear, so informative!