Whenever I fish a new lake and or a new specie I like to refer to it as “Fishing Blind”. Now obviously the term “blind” might be an overstatement, especially with all the tools available to us a fishermen these days, but nonetheless you don’t really know what to expect going in. Just recently I had another chance to experience this blind fishing while targeting Tulibee on Lake Mille Lacs. Now catching Tulibee to most hard core ice fisherman might be old news and something they might turn their nose up at, it is something I’ve never done and thought it would be a fun change of pace, and as it turns out, boy was I right!
After finalizing plans with my partner, I then went to work trying to find out anything and everything I could to help us ice some fish. The very first thing I did was contact a few friends who might have some inside info for me on the bite. Just basic information like what depth to try and even vague things such as what end of the lake to find them on. After gathering a little info there, I went straight to the internet. Sure enough right here at HSO, I was able to find a very helpful topic in the Mille Lacs Forum discussing exactly what I was wanting to do. It was a Eureka moment!
After gaining a little more knowledge there, I then started to dig through my box of jigs and tackle to pick out a few likely candidates for our trip. What I ended up pulling out was a Nils-Master Hali dropper spoon, and an Outdoor Pro Store flutter jig. From everything I read, those 2 jigs would be a great starting point. Next Brian and I pulled up our Navionics app on our phone and discussed what our gameplan would be. Based upon the info we both read, we would be targeting the edges and bottoms of mudflats in approx 30-35FOW.
We now had a solid plan, but again, neither of us knew exactly what to expect. We knew the bite had been consistent, but you know how fishing goes….
Morning arrived early the day of our trip. We had a solid 2 hour drive and we wanted to get there before first light. As with all our trips we opted to wait to and get our bait, supplies, and snacks until we arrived. It’s always nice to spend some money locally and also talk to the bait shop owners to get even more info…especially when “fishing blind”. We arrived at our entry point of choice and purchased our road pass. We spoke with the resort owner and he asked what our plan was and he provided all the info on which roads to follow, what spots to watch for bad ice and some baits to try. After many years of fishing, you start to understand how to read between the lines and takes a few things with a grain of salt when talking to resort owners, but we were very appreciative of any info we received.
We started on our journey out to the mud flat. About halfway out I decided that the $10 road pass was a real bargain. The road we were driving on was in better shape an wider than Interstate 35. It’s really amazing what these folks can do with a snowplow! We eagerly watched our arrow on our phone maps get closer and closer to our destination of choice. Once we arrived it was then another decision as to what break or inside turn we wanted to try, and then it was time to get to work.
Augers in hand and fired up we turned the south side of that small mud flat into swiss cheese before even wetting a line. Would all our research pay off? Were we even close to any fish? Would we need to keep looking? It took about 10 minutes to answer all those questions as the first Tulibee hit the ice! Then another, then another, then another. A thought raced through my head, “yo dummy, why is this the first time you’ve done this?” Well I can tell you it won’t be the last. These fish are not only aggressive, but they put up a great fight for their size. I’ve never seen fish chase a lure like this. Nope, not even the famous Lake Trout. It was crazy. Up down, up down, from the side, from the top, round and round. Then a tiny little bite and the fight was on. I don’t understand why some folks consider the Tulibee as a nuisance? I found them to be anything but. We spoke to one gentleman who claimed to have caught 75 by himself in the prior few hours and he was actually upset about it. “I’m here for perch, not these stupid things”, he said to us. I had to just shake my head. How can anyone be disappointed in catching 75 of ANYTHING?
One suggestion here. Try different lures and baits. That resort owner I mentioned earlier came right out as said, “Don’t use anything other than waxworms, you will just be wasting your time.” , and in fact we were laughed at when we told him we brought along some freshwater shrimp. Well guess what? The shrimp not only worked, it worked well. Also DO NOT leave your sonar/flasher at home. This is one fish you will need it for. My Humminbird was the tool that brought everything altogether for me that day, and I don’t even think I would even try to fish for Tulibees without it.
At the end of the day our backs were sore from drilling, our feet sore from standing, our stomachs begging for some food, and best of all, our cheeks were sore from smiling. We discovered some things that worked, and some that didn’t. That is what fishing is about, learning and having some fun in the process. It is always a bonus when you can ice some fish in the process as well.
So if you are suffering from the winter blues and tired of staring down that same old hole and pulling cookie cutter crappies out of it, take some time and try something new. While fishing blind can be scary or intimidating it can also be very rewarding. I highly recommend it. All the info is there, you just need to do a little reading and ask lots of questions.
Good luck and thanks for reading!