It's Raining

[Joe271828]

Just thought I'd post the good news about rain !!! Been raining all morning and it's still raining.

Gotta nother question too.
I went to TFF tuesday and wednesday and got NOTHING.. couple rockbass and a small pike, couple small smallies. Then I look here and there's Don posting about walleyes and tons of panfish. Just amazing. He's coming to the shore with a livewell full of fish. I'm hitting the shore looking like a lobster. I did see another bright red guy at fishermans landing wednesday too.
The worst part is that he had said something like "panfish were easy if ya like that sorta thing." I love that sorta thing and all I caught were some rays. Guess the best thing is that even though I didn't get nothing, was still enjoyable fishin. Think I have like 6 days trying to find em so far and still aint found em.
Seems everyone posts about the "good" days, this aint one of those. Maybe everyone only has good days and I'm still completely clueless. TFF is an excellent game of hide and seek though.

[esox1]

Just a thought---I did the same as you at 1 time--Then I hired different guides on different fishing trips up to the TFF---Also used the guides in spring summer and fall trips. The knowledge they provided me has lasted me for the last 20 years. I now can come up almost any time of the year--use the tips/tricks/spots that they taught me 20 years ago---And I always catch fish. the money I invested many,many years ago has provided me with a LIFETIME OF FISHING KNOWLEDGE AND ENJOYMENT. Hire a guide and learn the ways of the flowage--YOU WILL NEVER REGRETT IT--THERE IS A REASON DON PEMBLE catchs fish---Let him show you how!!!! or at least let someone show you how. It will change your fishing for the rest of your life.

[St Croix Kid]

that's great advice. Don and Doc have really helped me on the learning curve of the flowage. Plus they are both a blast to fish with.

[Joe271828]

There's no question about em being worth it, but if you aint got the money, you aint got the money. So I'll just have to settle with not doing bad with smallies and walleyes, but panfish seem to be the most difficult game.
I look at it this way. The harder you have to work for something, the sweeter the prize.

[DonH]

Hi Joe,

I feel your pain. When you add everything up, the average walleye meal is more $$$ per pound than I want to admit. Since you feel a guide is too expensive, here's a couple of tips that might help and not set you back too much.

Most of our fishing is done on the lower or southern part of the TFF. From the dam southeast to the Beaver Flats, or south to the Lake Ten or Rat Lake areas, so the advice I'm giving is regarding fishing those areas.

My favorite bait is a #7 perch Shad Rap, but they are getting close to $8 each. This may not work within your budget, but it is an awesome bait, and for all species of fish.

My second favorite bait is either an 1/8 or 1/4 oz jig with a 4" twister tail. The 4" tail is important. They work much better than a 3" tail. Favorite colors are white, chartreuse, or silver fleck. I have my jigs specially made with an extra long shank hook and I paint them myself. Total cost with the twister tail if I lose one is about 15 or 20 cents. The beauty of this bait is you can fish it at virtually any depth.

You could also buy some Gulp 3" or 4" minnows instead of the twister tails. A tad more expensive, but they worked this spring.

If it's windy, tie a 2 hook nightcrawler harness, add some split shot to get it down a bit (depending on the water depth), put on a fixed bobber and drift. This method works surprisingly well and if you contact fish, toss a marker. Then anchor and fan cast with the jig/twister combination or toss out a slip bobber. I also advise picking up the marker before you leave if you hope to see it again.

Lastly for the frugal fisherman are those Shad body thumper tails I'm sure you've read about. My favorite are the 3" and 4" Storm Wildeye Shad in the Perch pattern with the additional treble hook. A 3 pack is around $4 or $5, which is a far cry from an $8 Shad Rap, although I will always have the Shad Rap handy.

Hope this helps.

Whatever you do, good luck

[beelzebob]

Any trip to the northwoods costs me a minimum $100 when gas, food, etc. considered. $200 with beer. I used to rent a cabin for a family vacation - $700 for the week, that figure easily doubles with expenses for my family considered. On the TFF, you can burn up a lot more money in gas if you're running around trying to figure it out on your own, which you may eventually do. Years ago, I hired Don Pemble, and explained that my goal wasn't a bag limit of fish, but an education on fishing the TFF. With that knowledge, I was able to take my family out and have an enjoyable time catching a great mixed bag of fish, plus starting out a milk run of spots that I use to this day. That was a week long trip, and I had to stop keeping fish after Wed. because the freezer at the cabin was full. The value of the fish, the enjoyment with my family, the safety factor on the TFF, the time, gas, and tackle I save....... there are very few, if any services you will spend money on that will pay off like a top guide. Whatever you do, good luck and keep at it, I fried myself to a crisp plenty of days out there too, it always turns around.

[LundAngler]

Beelzebob,
I've also fished with both Don and Doc, and agree that it was worth every penny. I have easily recouped my initial investment in time/gas saved alone, and the fishing knowledge is a bonus.

To put the cost in perspective:
1.) Used Lund Boat.....................................$9,000
2.) Fishing gear..........................................$2,5 00
3.) Guide............................................. ......$300
4.) 10 Years of many successful fishing trips....priceless

In addition to the knowledge gained, I can add to that some fond memories fishing with my dad and my brother.

I think we've all had those "fried" days. I believe it only makes the good days more memorable.

Heading up tomorrow for a 4 day weekend. I'll be trying out a new digital camera and hopefully should have some pictures to share next week. See ya on the water & have a happy and safe Fourth!

[Joe271828]

There's no question about em being worth it, but if you aint got the money, you aint got the money.
I'm actually glad to see others have analyzed the payoff from investment of a guide and I do apologize if my previous post was somehow misleading. If someone was selling an envelope with $1000 for only 100, I couldn't afford that either. I used to have money and no time, and now I have time and no money.
Beezlebob had it brokedown quite nicely, but my situation is more like a budget of 200 per year. 7 bucks for gas for a TFF trip (including boat), and it gets down to 5 bucks a day if overnighting. Heck, when I had no time, I couldn't have even imagined not getting a guide for the first night of a vacation. Weather patterns change yearly, then there's mayfly hatches... a guide every year is worth it.
Heck, this is actually a good thread to show how worthwhile guides are.

[esox1]

I have posted my comments earlier about my feelings on hiring a guide---It is money well spent. - I have also taken the techniques and fish finding information taught to me by these guides and applied it to all waters I have fished in the midwest--while the Flowage fishing can be somewhat different than a natural lake --You can still apply many of the methods--- but the knowledge will also give you the confidence to know you are doing things right and lets you explore unfamiliar waters with a whole new confidence. I can now fish new water and in a matter of a day locate and begin to catch almost any specie of fish I want. The information/knowledge a good guide can provide a fisherman is truley PRICELESS. I hope everyone who has the opportunity will hire a guide for whatever lake they want to learn and watch their success rate soar. When I first started out as a young fisherman who wanted to learn more I found a few friends with similar interests and we SPLIT THE COSTS of our fist guided trips---made it more affordable and also 2 of us could pick up on things from the guide. Worked for me and maybe you could find a friend to help cut down the cost. Good Luck and keep at it---It is still a great place to spend your free time--no matter what the fishing outcome is.

[DonH]

esox1 has some great points. In an earlier part of this string, I gave some tips to catch fish using less expensive methods. The fact is, if you love fishing and are having limited success, or no success, hiring a guide for even 1/2 day is a great idea.

Assuming you will be actively fishing for years and years to come, why not improve your success ratio now? I've been fishing the TFF since 1960, yet this spring our group hired Don Pemble for an entire day. Sure, we were able to split the cost 7 ways, but we also learned a ton of new water. We split our group into 3 small groups and each group spent 2.5 hours with Don. Each group was taken to a different area and one that we haven't fished before.

Being 62, and only getting to the TFF for a limitied number of days each year, it just made sense to me to hire Don and shorten the learning curve rather than spending precious time doing that myself.

Plus, as esox1 says, success often breeds more success. Remember, you can be using the best lure in the world, but if you aren't where the fish are???

[mikesgotone]

guide didnt help us, "he" caught "our" limit, then took us in. saw him back out there later in the day recatching a limit in the same spot. I dont remember his name. but all in all not a good expierience. do great every time up there with basic fishing knowledge. we all have those rough days though...