Where monster's lurk~

snow

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2015
Posts
4,839
Likes
587
Points
358
Off another site we have chatter this winter about large pike grabbing flasher transducer's just under the ice on lake of the woods...Not just one or two but several happenings,you guyz have this going on in your pike infested waters?Devils? We suspect these critters are roaming just under the ice picking off free meals of smaller fish put back down the hole that died,whatever the case kinda odd but worth setting a tipup out to check for takers.
 


Captain Ahab

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2015
Posts
10,538
Likes
467
Points
428
Location
Timbuktu
I had one that bumped my 'ducer several times on Irvine. The thing hung around for about 10 minutes just hanging out right under the ice. I had a tri-beam with the red band and white lettering. I saw my float bouncing and was wondering WTH? Looked down and it was about a 5-6 lb pike. I've never mentioned it before because I thought nobody would believe me.
 

Lungdeflator

★★★★★ Legendary Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2017
Posts
1,372
Likes
5
Points
196
Location
Berthold, ND
We have caught several very large pike on LOTW hanging big dead baits right below the ice. Caught some big walleyes that way too, the walleyes more at night on rattle reels. When we first heard of that, people said the big pike cruise right under the ice around groups of houses. They say some of the dead minnows and some dead or foundering walleye/sauger/tullibee are right up under the ice and the pike know that.
 

guywhofishes

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2015
Posts
30,197
Likes
8,848
Points
1,133
Location
Faaargo, ND
struggling fish lose neutral density in winter I suppose - just like in summer when they bob to the surface

so it makes sense that the ice bottom becomes a good focusing point for predators to prowl

also - I'm pretty sure Ahab is lying
 

lunkerslayer

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Posts
23,428
Likes
7,961
Points
1,008
Location
Cavalier, ND
I also had the same thing happen up on chain lake with northerns bumping my ducer.
Also had a muskrat swim up the hole where the ducer was in scared the crap out of me, I was jigging in a differnt hole so I kind of had my head turned but still had enough to see the little bugger out of the corner of my eye. I turned towards him and he jumped towards me then plopped down hole with the ducer in it. I didn't got back to that area again becuase didn't want to go through that again. Wish I had recorded it to put it on you tube becuase when I jumped on the chair i was sitting on it would have been a classic. True story
 
Last edited:


Retired Educator

★★★★★ Legendary Member
Joined
May 4, 2016
Posts
3,290
Likes
276
Points
313
Location
North Dakota
Have had muskrats come up the hole. Scares the hell out of you the first time. Amazing how much water they push up ahead of them when they're coming up.
 

Davy Crockett

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2015
Posts
15,412
Likes
2,722
Points
783
Location
Boondocks
Haha I have a muskrat story. When I was pre-school we had a big old fish house with a wood stove and went fishing almost every day after morning chores and cooked dinner on the wood stove , Life was good. My Dad loved to cover the windows and watch fish down the holes so I had to be totally silent . He was sitting on a big cob of wood and you could hear a pin drop when all of a sudden the old man hollered like he had been shot and fell over backwards and flopped around on the floor trying to roll over and get up , Scared the crap out of me more than it scared him. Then, To top it off, He looked outside at a tip up and a mink that was chasing the muskrat had just came out that hole and was running across the ice headed for shore . Dad grabbed the 22 and chased the mink to shore and came back with it. true story
 

sl1000794

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
May 10, 2015
Posts
4,730
Likes
162
Points
298
Haha I have a muskrat story. When I was pre-school we had a big old fish house with a wood stove and went fishing almost every day after morning chores and cooked dinner on the wood stove , Life was good. My Dad loved to cover the windows and watch fish down the holes so I had to be totally silent . He was sitting on a big cob of wood and you could hear a pin drop when all of a sudden the old man hollered like he had been shot and fell over backwards and flopped around on the floor trying to roll over and get up , Scared the crap out of me more than it scared him. Then, To top it off, He looked outside at a tip up and a mink that was chasing the muskrat had just came out that hole and was running across the ice headed for shore . Dad grabbed the 22 and chased the mink to shore and came back with it. true story

Pictures or it ain't true Davy. You know the rules - we need pics for proof!
 

Davy Crockett

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2015
Posts
15,412
Likes
2,722
Points
783
Location
Boondocks
It wasn't till 5 years later or so that I ordered a square box camera, I still have the only picture that turned out with the first roll of film I sent in, It's a picture of a horse. That's the best I can do. :D
 

KDM

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2015
Posts
9,981
Likes
3,056
Points
798
Location
Valley City
Speared many a pike cruising into a decoy right below the ice. Biggest so far has been a 14 lber. Surprises the heck out of a guy when your leaning over your spear hole and a pike rolls right in at 2 ft below your shoes. Really gets your heart going when it looks like the Red October coming in. Very cool to see though.
 


sl1000794

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
May 10, 2015
Posts
4,730
Likes
162
Points
298
It wasn't till 5 years later or so that I ordered a square box camera, I still have the only picture that turned out with the first roll of film I sent in, It's a picture of a horse. That's the best I can do. :D

I figured if you were a preschooler the pic would have to be a daguerreotype!
 

sl1000794

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
May 10, 2015
Posts
4,730
Likes
162
Points
298
I figured if you were a preschooler the pic would have to be a daguerreotype!

It took me a couple of times trying to spell daguerreotype before spell check or Merriam-Webster could help me get it right.

My biggest water monster was a leather back turtle that we came across crabbing off of Half Moon Bay in November 2008 about 8 miles offshore. It was probably 6' long and 3-4' across it's back.

PB170059_2.jpg

Saw this the same day, SS Capella, 942' 2" in length and a 105' 6" beam. It was impressive when we went by her. The seas were calm that morning and we were probably doing 20+ knots and she was screaming past us heading into SFO Bay. The deck had to be 30' above the water line. You can see that she is a cargo ship with 4 huge cranes to offload her cargo.

PB170056.jpg
 

Davy Crockett

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2015
Posts
15,412
Likes
2,722
Points
783
Location
Boondocks
Looks like fun SL, Do you ever get on the website that shows real time location of ocean vessels and their cargo? Someone got a Mountain Lion just west of the lake yesterday.
 

sl1000794

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
May 10, 2015
Posts
4,730
Likes
162
Points
298
I've seen the ocean vessel website and Bonnie (back in Minot visiting her Mom) sent me a pic of the cat. HUGE. Here is what she sent:

FullSizeRender.jpg

There used to be a website like the vessel website for airliners and a lot of airports used to have their air traffic info available online. Maps showing airliners coming into airports; tail numbers, elevations, airspeed, direction of travel etc., etc. All went away after 9/11/2001.

We're going to Vegas and Phoenix last week of Feb/first week of March and expect to be back to Metigoshe around May 1. Need to get together fishing this summer.
 


sl1000794

Founding Member
Founding Member
Joined
May 10, 2015
Posts
4,730
Likes
162
Points
298
Late for you back there and getting late for me out here. Went back to work for my brother last winter. They had too much work and couldn't find competent people. Worked getting a 41 unit apartment project out of the ground before returning to Metigoshe on Memorial Day weekend. Came back this fall and low and behold they snookered me again for the winter. Working on the front end of a 55 unit apartment project that we are going to tear back to framing inside and out and rebuild. Should start in late March and there are others that will be available then to take over, so I still plan to be in ND in early May.

Wait - are you saying that TJ shot the cat, not Bob Leonard that was in my wife's post?
 
Last edited by a moderator:


Recent Posts

Friends of NDA

Top Posters of the Month

  • This month: 386
  • This month: 135
  • This month: 86
  • This month: 72
  • This month: 69
  • This month: 67
  • This month: 65
  • This month: 49
  • This month: 46
  • This month: 39
Top Bottom