St. Mary's Lake in the snow, 1/17

[ictalurus]

Kevin and I hit St. Mary's Lake today in search of pickerel and maybe crappie. I felt like I was fishing in a Ridley Scott movie with all the flakes swirling around dramatically:







We hit some of my usual spots, but the pickerel were out deeper in 12-15ft. Kevin found the first one:



Later, he found a 19-incher while trolling:



It seemed like we were seeing a lot of marks in 12-15ft of water, so we started trolling. I only had one deep diver with me, but it was good enough to catch a 13-inch yellow perch (personal best!) and several bass in the 12-14" range:





Most of the bass I usually catch there are only in the 8-10" range, so this was a nice improvement. We never found the crappie, but I was pretty stoked by the big perch.

I caught all my fish on a deep diving Bass Pro Crappie Maxx crankbait in chartreuse and white. I'm not sure what Kevin got his fish on.

Fishing in the snow was a lot of fun, and it was warm enough that our stuff wasn't freezing to our yaks. It was a nice way to catch my first fish of the year.

[Big Mike]

That's a sweet perch. I'd caught some decent bass in the spring/summer so maybe the size is improving since they've stopped doing the winter drawdowns. Really surprised you couldn't crappie, but that's fishing. Great mid winter report.

[kevinfry]

I was happy to be on the water regardless of the weather...but especially happy we decided to forgo the long trip to Weems we had planned. With the weather, staying close to home felt good

I caught the first fish (pickerel) on a Havoc paddletail vertically jigging. I had other hits but only got the one to stick. i had been piggy backing on Ictalarus Bill because i forgot to hook up mine (I beached and did so eventually....but no battery. grrrr). He was a tiny bugger but happy to have my first fish of 2016! First time in years my fist fish wasn't a blue catfish.
Then Bill trolled the monster perch and off we went trolling which was fine by me as it was getting really cold sitting and vertically jigging. I missed a couple more fish while watching Bill land bass after bass, but eventually something nice hit my little perch colored shad rap. It turned out to be the worlds skinniest 19" pickerel.My shivering hands made for poor picture taking so you'll have to take my word...lol.


In all a fun day and great to have the Jan. skunk off the boat. I may be changing my mind about StMary's lake. One last pic.....that is Bill in the distance releasing a bass

[Capt C-Hawk]

Love reading a Jan. catching report. I was wondering.... what the hell is that on Bill's head?

[Yak67]

Great pics in the snow, and you guys are TRUE fisherman. Don't let a few flakes deter you

I hope we can hook-up in the spring for some SoMo fishing.

Yak67
2015 Hobie PA 14
2016 Hobie Outback LE

[kevinfry]

Great pics in the snow, and you guys are TRUE fisherman. Don't let a few flakes deter you

I hope we can hook-up in the spring for some SoMo fishing.

Yak67
2015 Hobie PA 14
2016 Hobie Outback LE

We'll be catfishing in Feb i'm sure. I'll let you know .....if we plan ahead that is.

[ictalurus]

Thanks, gents.

I was wondering.... what the hell is that on Bill's head?

Ha! I needed a warm and waterproof hat today. Kept the same color though.

Mike--I definitely don't have your knack for finding the nice bass there, but I have scared up a couple big perch in the late winter/early spring. This was the first one I actually landed. I've lost a frustrating number of them at the boat.

Yak67--The more the merrier, but planning can be tough for me sometimes. I've got a daughter that throws a mean veto sometimes.

[sparky1423]

Way to battle the elements Gentlemen! That's a nice perch, citation if it was white as snow

[J.A. Veil]

Good job catching a variety of species yesterday. Given the weather you made a wise choice not to drive to the Severn yesterday. I hope to fish with you guys later in the winter.

[EMSer]

Great report and congrats on your catches! I was also out, but only managed one. Glad you all fared better

[Mark]

Nobody trolls for pickerels...except you guys! Congratulations. Great report.

[Big Mike]

Trolling for pickerel in SML is a very effective way to catch them. I'd say 75% of pickerel I've caught from there were trolling grubs along edges with a nearby flat. Just like fishing for stripers it lets you cover a lot of water with the lure at the right depth.

[kevinfry]

Nobody trolls for pickerels...except you guys! Congratulations. Great report.

We do like to troll.....but today it was more self preservation than tactics

Thanks, gents.



Ha! I needed a warm and waterproof hat today. [emoji14] Kept the same color though.

Mike--I definitely don't have your knack for finding the nice bass there, but I have scared up a couple big perch in the late winter/early spring. This was the first one I actually landed. I've lost a frustrating number of them at the boat.

Yak67--The more the merrier, but planning can be tough for me sometimes. I've got a daughter that throws a mean veto sometimes.

Sent from my SM-G360V using Tapatalk

[ictalurus]

Nobody trolls for pickerels...except you guys! Congratulations. Great report.

Don't tell anyone, but I've been known to troll for catfish, too. Rattletrap + Smelly Jelly = blue cat candy.

John--I'm long overdue for a Severn trip. I really want to get up there for my Severn pickerel fix. They're consistently a nicer grade than the ones I get in St. Mary's Lake.

[Shady]

Nice catching! and glad to see you back on here with a report Bill!