Thanks So much. We stoppped by your shop on last Friday night and bought our ciscos. And I believe it was your daughter that helped us out. She was very helpful and showed us just what we needed and how to use it. She even made us a cisco rigger out of some papper clips that we used for the whole trip. We did really good with the ciscos the first three days, before they started getting a little on the rotten side. I think next time we will need some dry ice to keep them cold. We did have a lot of missed hook-ups, any tricks to remedy that? And our next trip is to the Q, do you think there is anyway to fish similarly with gulp or something like so we can have a line out while in camp?

Thanks for the nice PR.
I should have told you to bring a wire coat hanger, but didn't think of it until you were on the way, and I didn't have any at the shop.
Were you fishing for trout or northerns when you had the misses??
I have two theories about missing fish, need to know the type.

TGO what shop do you own?

The Great Outdoors.

BearDown,
I saw on another thread that you were on Knife Lake, so I assume you were fishing Lakers.
If this is correct, I am willing to bet you were trying to set the hook too quickly which made you miss several fish.
When a trout picks up a Cisco that you have set on the bottom, you have to let it run freely until it stops, at which time it swallows the Cisco. (It can reel off as much as 40-50 yards of line, or more after it picks up the bait)
When it begins to make a second run, you set the hook and start reeling it in.
You must let it make two runs.

Nice tip TGO.

So what is the philosophy w. Northers?

The only other explanation for missing fish (trout & northern), is a hook that doesn't extend out far enough from the Cisco's body.
As explained before, you need to give trout the second run.

Ok yeah that sounds about right. We had some really bad gut hooked fish and had to eat them, which we didn't mind cause they were about eating size. We were worried we would might catch a really big one and gut hook it, and that might have led to setting too early. We also had some hooks get fouled up in the ciscos. Is there a good way to fish these without gut hooking fish or should you only do this when you plan on eating Lake Trout that night? It was the most exiciting way I have fished for Lake Trout. It was so fun to be there sitting and watching and all of a sudden that birch bark starts slowly going out into the water and then bam it starts screming out. Wow it was a blast.

If you fish with Ciscos and let the trout run, all will be hooked in the throat or deeper.
Be prepared to eat them.

Can you explain the paper clip Cisco rig.

TGO plan on stopping by your place of business on June 5th to buy supplies.

Take paper clip and straiten, bend loop into one end. Shove through mouth and out the butt. clip leader or line (without hook) to loop in paper clip. Pull everything (paper clip and leader) through fish and out mouth. Attach hook and pull leader back into the mouth a little so just the hook is sticking out the mouth. Loop leader around tail to keep cisco strait on hook set. That loop around the tail is klinda hard to do and keep in the line tho. I need to improve that for next year as I think that when it is not there the hook can get fouled up in the cisco and not the fish.

quote wawasee: "TGO plan on stopping by your place of business on June 5th to buy supplies. "

Excellent, I'm here until noon most days.

quote BearDown: "Take paper clip and straiten, bend loop into one end. Shove through mouth and out the butt. clip leader or line (without hook) to loop in paper clip. Pull everything (paper clip and leader) through fish and out mouth. Attach hook and pull leader back into the mouth a little so just the hook is sticking out the mouth. Loop leader around tail to keep cisco strait on hook set. That loop around the tail is klinda hard to do and keep in the line tho. I need to improve that for next year as I think that when it is not there the hook can get fouled up in the cisco and not the fish."

You can use the thinest crochet you can find to do the same thing.

I'll see ya on the 3rd of July T.G.O. I'll probably need some tackle.

TGO: I'll bring you some business on the morning of June 5th as well. What time do you open?

Open at about 5:45, and there until noon.
Close about 7-8 pm, depending on the amount of traffic.
See you then, thanks!

2 lbs of leeches on the morning of June 16th Jim.

MOgirl and I will be there as early as we can tomorrow morning. We are leaving here at about 4pm this evening, driving as far as we can. We have about a 10 hour drive.

TGO, do you have those screw-top leech containers? I'll see you on 6/5 regardless...

quote Wooly Bugger: "TGO, do you have those screw-top leech containers? I'll see you on 6/5 regardless..."

No, they're very hard to find at times. Try going to KassWinns (SP?????) website and see if they have any on hand. Get the shorter one if they do.
They were out the last time I checked.

Does anyone use circle hooks with ciscoes. It might be a good way to prevent gut hooking trout.

It probably won't work.
The hook will stick into the Cisco's side or mouth, just like a Kahle will.
You have to resign yourself to the fact that you'll be keeping the trout fished in this manner.

KassWinns has discontinued manufacturing the bait king and leech king. Snap them up if you find them on a shelf somewhere.

I've had good luck using circle hooks w/ ciscoes. I use heavey mono 30lb plus. you will get a few bit offs, but I think you get more bites overall vs. using a leader. I tie the mono to a swivel with a egg sinker above the swivel to keep it on the bottom. Then run the mono throught the eye of a swivel hook and then tie the tag end to another. Hook one circle hook in the ciscoes back and the other through the soft part of the upper lip. Give them plenty of time to eat it and don't set the hook just reel. It pulls the bait and hooks out and usually hooks the fish in the corner of the mouth. I usually use this for tip up fishing.
Good Luck!!

Skitter,
Don't let a CO see you using 2 hooks on one bait in MN.
See pg. 9 of the 2010 regs for details. You need to add a spinner or something to turn it into a lure.
I apologize if you already knew this...

TGO dont know if you'll see this or not but, just wanted to say I'll be stopping by on June 11 around 6:00. Hope to meet you and get 1/2 lb leeches.

If that's 6 am, I'll be there:)

I was in TGO on last Thursday and got some bait and advice. Thanks for all your help Jim

Thanks for stopping.
Did you catch any fish???

Some pike, fishing was slow.

No bass or walleye fishing in shallow water??????
Should have slaughtered the bass, unless the lake was calm.
That screws up everything.

Between the rain fronts and the mayfly hatch it was tough sledding. We did catch a 3lb largemouth bass, a few smallmouth bass, one perch and a rock bass.

Savage - we were up there the week before you. Hot and sunny almost our entire trip. The fishing in Insula was spotty. We had a storm quickly pass through our second evening on Insula and it was like someone flipped the fish switch that last hour before dark. Next morning there was not much going on again. We headed up to Alice and absolutely hammered the walleyes for the next two days.

Our group did not have the time to go to Alice. Sounds like you did well on Alice. We fished all day in the rain, four guys, no fish. Better than at work, we had fun.

TGO: The crew and I will be up there bright and early this Wednesday morning for bait and Laker advice. Expect a couple of young city boys who are northwoods guys at heart strolling in around 6:30am :) See ya then!!!

TGO: Will be in Ely camping with the wife and kids from Friday to Monday. Hoping to see you but probably won't get up there until the afternoon on Friday. If you're not around when we get bait maybe we'll try again one of the mornings we're there. The kids always enjoy watching the minnows :)

See you guys then.
Where are you heading to fish lakers?
I'm there from about 5:45 until 9 or 10 am.
Finally getting a chance to escape earlier as of today, so the Burntside walleyes best beware starting Wednesday!! :)
Hope to get an 11 or 12 pounder this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See you 5:45am on Sunday Jim!

I'll see you then:)

TGO: I was bummed that I missed you when we were in town over Father's day weekend. The guy working was very helpful and gave us some ideas for shore fishing with the little ones. Your crawlers helped my 5 year old catch her first smallmouth and bwca fish. It was a great moment and will never forget it.

It's a lot of fun watching a youngster pulling in a fish, especially their 1st one.
They get so excited.
Hope you got some pics to record the moment:)

check out the look on her face :)

Ducks, is that pic on Hustler around site #70? If so, we loved that area and also caught lots of fish. Looks like your daughter is swallowing a memory!

Thanks Badgerboy, it's on an island on North Hegman not to far from the pictos. A great memory it definitely was.

Are the Cisco rigs/set up the same whether your fishing for Lakers or Northern?

I guess you sell fishing license's I hope. Be there on July 3rd. Need tackle.

quote blutofish1: "I guess you sell fishing license's I hope. Be there on July 3rd. Need tackle."

If this question is for me me, yes we have fishing licenses. See you on the 3rd, will be gone by 9 am or noon.

Jim, Will you be open on the morning of the 4th? we are heading in that morning and need to pick up our bait. Hope to see you early on Sunday.

Badgerboy

quote Badgerboy: "Jim, Will you be open on the morning of the 4th? we are heading in that morning and need to pick up our bait. Hope to see you early on Sunday.


Badgerboy"

Yes Sir, we open around 5:45,(or close to it).
The morning's a good time to pick up bait and get out of town before the parade crowd blocks off the entire parking lot, which will be by noon!

HEY TGO -

Do you get your leeches from a guy named Pat?

quote QueticoMike: "HEY TGO -


Do you get your leeches from a guy named Pat?


"

No, I get the majority of them from a trapper I've been dealing with for over 20 years.
Not familiar with any leech trappers named Pat. Shoot me an e mail with his full name, and I'll tell you if I know him.

quote The Great Outdoors: "

quote QueticoMike: "HEY TGO -



Do you get your leeches from a guy named Pat?



"

No, I get the majority of them from a trapper I've been dealing with for over 20 years.
Not familiar with any leech trappers named Pat. Shoot me an e mail with his full name, and I'll tell you if I know him."

I can't remember his last name, but I know he was always trapping leeches up there. Good quality jumbo leeches. I think when I lived up there he was also working for an outfit up on Big Lake. I think he might have owned Babe's Baitshop at one time. That's about all I know about Pat. Oh and he hates smallmouth bass :-)

Pat Holbakken, owned Babe's with Jeff Link about 4 years ago. Now sells real estate and owns a resort on Little Long Lake.

quote The Great Outdoors: "Pat Holbakken, owned Babe's with Jeff Link about 4 years ago. Now sells real estate and owns a resort on Little Long Lake."

That must be him, the last name sounds very familiar. I met a lot of people up there but only knew most of them by their first names. Thanks.