Lake fish already in hole

[Mike Wallace]

So I go to open the holes back up that my buddy left in his house. I clean out the slush and there are two minnows in there and I think, "What are they doing there and how did they not freeze in?"

Turns out when I scooped them out, they were baby sunfish. One was about 3/4" long and the other was about 1 1/4" long.

What were they doing in that hole? Any ideas? Is the lake having oxygen problems? This happen to anyone else?

[slipperybob]

Sunfish are strange in that way.

[FishLocker]

A buddy was telling me about his spearing trip on a local metro lake, and after they cut the hole and cleared it out they could hardly see through the baby sunnies to spear. He even sent me a picture of of one he scooped out with his bare hands and set on top of a Ritz cracker...not much bigger than the cracker.

Mitchell lake in Eden Prairie.

[TooTallTom]

Hors d'ouvres, anyone? Just pretend that the crunch is all cracker...

[CAMAN]

A buddy was telling me about his spearing trip on a local metro lake, and after they cut the hole and cleared it out they could hardly see through the baby sunnies to spear. He even sent me a picture of of one he scooped out with his bare hands and set on top of a Ritz cracker...not much bigger than the cracker.

Mitchell lake in Eden Prairie.

Isn't Mitchell expected to freeze out this winter? That would explain it.

[FishLocker]

CAMAN, I do not know the answer to that, but it certainly will be a bummer for those that spear Pike on it.

[MJ1657]

A buddy was telling me about his spearing trip on a local metro lake, and after they cut the hole and cleared it out they could hardly see through the baby sunnies to spear. He even sent me a picture of of one he scooped out with his bare hands and set on top of a Ritz cracker...not much bigger than the cracker.

Mitchell lake in Eden Prairie.

The same thing happened to a friend of mine spearing there.

[Zelmsdawg]

Maybe its just small prey trying to find somewhere to hide?

Zelmsdawg

[MJ1657]

The only time I have ever heard of this happening in a spear hole is from lack of oxygen in a lake. I have seen a few videos of it on you t.

[Walleye Guy]

Mitchell has an aerator running in it right now. Big open hole in the middle of the lake.

[ANYFISH2]

I believe Mitchell was listed for liberalised fishing back in Feburary on the DNR web site.

[Mike Wallace]

This was on Whaletail. Had about 5 of them over a two day period. I would come in the house to fish and under the skim ice would be 1 or 2 baby sunnies. Low O2 in Whaletail?

[pulleye16]

I saw this on a lake near Aitkin that is 40' deep and 80 acres. I wouldn't think it would have winter kills.

Every time we drilled a hole we would have baby sunfish swiming around in them and you could scoup them up in your hand....

[trappingaddiction]

I saw this on a lake near Aitkin that is 40' deep and 80 acres. I wouldn't think it would have winter kills.

Every time we drilled a hole we would have baby sunfish swiming around in them and you could scoup them up in your hand....

You would be surprised what lakes can, and do, winterkill. There is a lake not too far from me that winterkilled in the 2009-2010 winter that is 43 feet deep and 90 acres or so. This was one of the first, if not the first, winterkill documented on this lake. These lakes usually do not have annual winterkills and winterkills or somewhat rare on many of these lakes.

[Northlander]

I think in areas the pannies will actually eat bugs off the bottom of the ice and I have caught many pannies just a foot or so under the ice. I remember 1 Red lake Trip guys were catching fish right in the pressure ridges.

[FishLocker]

I think in areas the pannies will actually eat bugs off the bottom of the ice and I have caught many pannies just a foot or so under the ice. I remember 1 Red lake Trip guys were catching fish right in the pressure ridges.

Oh man, fishing in the pressure ridges, that's hot! Almost tempts a guy to get out the fly rod for some mid-winter fly fishing =)