Berkley Flicker Shad Crankbait – 2” – Slick Firetiger
Fisherman: This is the lure to use. It has rarely let me down. Click on the link or the pic and buy from Bass Pro. Available in different colors.
Just off the left side of the entrance into the long arm is a group of small islands. We fished those. |
Across to the opposite shore was a point sticking out surrounded by a good stand of weeds out into the water. That looked like good northern pike water and we motored over to give it a try by working the weed lines pulling the spinners. If there was a northern lurking along the weed line, it did not come out and hit on our baits. Musky are also in this lake, but in all the years I have fished northern waters or waters with musky, I have never had the good fortune to catch one.
The weeds are next to the shoreline, and we worked back and forth, but no luck. |
With the temps rising and the lack of wind, this day was well on the way to giving us a skunking. Decades ago when my son was young, we fished on Lac Lacroix in Ontario with a good friend from northern Minnesota. The lake is in the northern part of the BWCA. (Boundary Waters Canoe America). On days like this one, he would not fish, but went to the tent, read, and generally relaxed. He loved it when the weather was windy with a good overcast making it a dark day. We caught a lot of fish in that kind of weather.
There are no fish here. However, look at the beautiful lilac bush along the shoreline. This particular area was full of these beautiful bushes. |
Not giving up, we shifted gears considering that the fish may be a little deeper. This was an opportunity to use my true and well tested method of pulling plugs. The plug is the Berkley Flicker Shad. It is a sinking lure that has a steady wobble and a little rattle. A close friend and old walleye killer said this lure made the fish mad. That was what we wanted, a mad walleye smacking the daylights out of the lure. I might also add, when using this bait, have a good set of pliers on board with a wire cutter. My wife said this lure should be called “finger shad” because those little hooks are really sharp. On two occasions I have had to push the hook through and clip it off after I got it into my finger. With a little neosporin and a band aid, you can continue fishing.
Back to the dam we went and started pulling plugs in 10 to 15 feet of water. We did not have one hit. This is the first time I have ever had this happen with this plug.
It was time to find Hidden Lake on Merritt Reservoir. This was the last location the local fisherman told us to hit. He said it was full of Northern Pike and there would also be some walleye if the pike had not cleaned them all out. Refer on your map to the Powder Horn Area on the north side of the lake just to the left of the dam. There is an unimproved boat ramp there and opposite is an arm off the lake. Getting into it is a little daunting as all of a sudden the bottom comes up to about three feet of water. Motor slowly for about five yards and it goes back down and opens up into a long narrow channel. I would recommend stopping at the bait shop in Valentine and getting their free map.
The entrance to hidden lake. The bait shop in town will give you directions to this arm off the lake. The waters really looked good. |
Once in, we worked our spinners and plugs along each side of the arm all the way down to the end of the arm. This was great looking water with plenty of standing weeds and timber with logs into the water. It was a really fine opportunity to catch a nice fish and also get snagged. At the end of the lake we followed the recommendation and dropped a single small jig with a leech and hooked up a bobber. We were in about 5 feet of water and the bait was down about 3.5 feet. At this location there was no wind and we just drifted slowly to the shore.
The shoreline goes from timber along the side to open banks and underground weeds. This was a really rough day. |
We were running out of time and we were being cooked off the lake. We went back to the Flicker Shad and slowly working our way out of the finger. We each had some luck. Pam hit a keeper walleye and we were in business.
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Not bad and it is a legal fish. Pam caught another one on a Flicker Shad or Finger Shad as she like to call the lure. |
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Not a big northern, but one we can get some excellent eating out of once the Y bones are removed. |
- 1 or more walleye or northern fillet
- ½ cup almond meal (ground almonds
- panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
- salt and pepper
- 1 egg, beaten
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided)
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 fresh peach or pear, sliced
- splash of dry white wine ( chardonnay, etc.)
Mix the almond meal with a little panko and the salt and pepper. Place fish fillet in egg wash then roll in almond meal/panko mixture. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons canola oil in a pan over medium low heat, then add fish and sauté about 4 minutes per side (depending on thickness). Remove the fish to paper towels, turn heat to medium high and add the sliced fruit. Stir and fry for a minute then add 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and cook until butter browns. Add wine & reduce. Place fish fillet on plate surrounded by fruit and drizzled with sauce. Drink the wine and if available have yourself a couple of bottles of Tusker Beer. Makes 2 servings.
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