Looking to redeem ourselves following a few unproductive outings, Michael Kerwin and I decided we would try (try being the key word here) to get out one last time. We set our sights on a lake stocked with splake, a species I've had my fair share of struggles with. Fortunately, Michael has had some past success targeting splake which helped renew my confidence heading into this trip.
We arrived at the launch point only to discover that the shoreline had mostly deteriorated. Several meltwater creeks had rendered the area unsafe to access. Determined to find a way onto the lake, we decided to bushwhack our way over to another section of the lake in hopes that the shoreline would be in better condition there.
After slowly navigating our fully-packed sled through the woods, we identified a potential entry point and slowly spudded our way out from there. Once we got 6’ or so from shore, the ice was fairly consistent and we made our way over to a prominent point with a series of rock outcrops scattered across from it.
Our main jigging lines were set up over deeper water while my set line (tip-up) I generally ran a few feet shallower. We fished between 10'-30' throughout the day.
Around 11:30am I marked a fish 8' under the ice, I reeled up from 25' down and just as I had passed it, my rod loaded up. After one short run, I was able to land my first decent-sized splake (19.5”).
I noticed the head colouration was very dark, almost black:
Caught on an EGB spoon tipped with an emerald shiner head:
Over the next few hours, we caught a few largemouth bass, perch and one more yearling splake (released, see you in a few years) on the tip-up.
Michael with his 2nd perch:
We packed it up around 3:30pm and made our way back, glad to have been able to get out one last time.
Last Chance Splake, March 26th
