Crappie time on Sabaskong Bay

With the ice-fishing season running full tilt, communities literally have popped up on area lakes–including the annual influx on Gordie’s Road at Sabaskong Bay (Lake of the Woods).
“Crappie fishing has been good for the guys that fish. Of course, last week we had the cold spell and they weren’t really biting,” said Phil Haggberg, co-owner of the Angler’s Pro Shop in Nestor Falls.
The Pro Shop, located across Highway 71 from the entrance to Gordie’s Road, has seen high minnow sales to date but Haggberg noted not a lot of crappie are being caught yet.
“They’re still slow,” agreed Ida Eastwood of Nestor Falls Bait & Tackle. “Some are getting them, some are not.
“It should pick up pretty soon, I hope,” she added.
Both novice anglers and seasoned veterans were out on the ice last weekend–with mixed results.
Some had reeled up a collection of crappie while others had caught a higher number of perch. And an unlucky few hooked almost nothing at all.
“We just need one more and we’ll have enough for a meal,” noted Nestor Falls resident Marlie Hampe as she waited for a bite.
As always, some of those out on the ice were fishing from the comfort of heated huts while others sat on buckets or even piles of snow by their holes. But everyone was cheerful despite the lack of fish.
“It could be better, my partners are just bad luck,” laughed Kenora resident Deane Demers as he tried to persuade a small perch to swim back down the hole.
Gordie Shrumm has plowed about 75 percent of the roughly 38 km of ice road he clears every year. He clears the road to several sites, and visitors pay a fee per vehicle to use it.
“Fishing right now is about mediocre,” admitted Shrumm, who has been building the ice road for the last 15 years. “We just had a high pressure ridge so they haven’t been biting.
“They’ll show up, they always do.”
Shrumm also rents out huts for groups of two, four, or six people.
But while the crappie may be off to a slow start, some other fish have been biting in the area.
“The lake trout fishing has been fantastic up in Whitefish Bay and Crow Lake,” noted Haggberg.