2026 Nipissing Season Closer and Recap

My oldest son and i headed up to the cottage on the 12th to fish the 13th and 14th. Normally we would fish the 15th as well but the forecast was calling for an epic snowstorm today so we bailed at 7 am before the weather rolled in and headed home. We had a great 2 days to close off the season with 118 fish that included a limit of slot eyes, 23 eyes total, 94 perch with 74 kept, 5 cisco and 1 hammer handle pike.

Pics from the last 2 days:

The setup:



The haul:



Got checked by Big Brother twice including once by the canine unit - we were all good:



The view from my front porch and down the driveway at twilight yesterday:





Shared our bounty with the locals. This is a pine marten that has taken up residence under the porch. Quite happy to have him as he puts a beating on the mouse population. Rewarded him with a perch both days for his efforts. He is on the ball and appears within minutes of us pulling up on the snowmobile. Sits about 6 feet away until we give him a fish.



The Recap - We fished a total of 11 days this year with results as follows:

531 fish plus one clam broken down as follows:

- 98 Walleye including 9 slot and 4 over slot
- 418 perch, 328 kept and 90 returned - fish fry for 6 to 8 people every Friday to keep us under our limits.
- 6 pike including a 27 inch and a 34 inch
- 7 cisco
- 2 burbot both 23.5 inches
- 1 clam

A few pics of earlier trips this year (have a ton of pics so will try to just post one or two photos from each trip to reduce the post size):

The first January trip:

Over slot eye:



The haul:



Second January trip:



First February trip (me vs tree trip):

cousins (burbs and the humans):



The haul:



Second February trip - my youngest son flew out from Edmonton for the weekend for his first ever Nip Trip:



The 34 inch pike:



The closer - see the start of the post.

Nice pics. I’m sure the dog could get the smell of fish in that sled lol. When I get fish slime on anything it sticks around for a while…. It’s a blizzard afternoon out now but the morning could have been doable.

It’s a shame the season is wrapping up. Felt like it went way too fast this year!!!!

Sounds like a very nice season and the Martin is very cool.

Your lucky to have to have so many people who will go out with you Joe.

nice last couple of days and recap of the season. You seem to have left out the tree picture, but did mention it.

i busted up two hubs on my 949i eskimo.
Got them replaced on aili express, 11mm 4 bucks and 14.99 shipping.
Eskimo doesnt ship to Canada anymore and only two places in Canada
that might order them.
Cheers til next year

p.s. Beauty catch , i'm jealous as i had an off year for perch.

Thanks Yawn.

I seem to have no shortage of family members that want to go out with the old man. Sons, SILs, nephews mostly. They like my gear LOL - that being said it is getting easier for me as they do most of the work now. I am mostly just the driver these days and the bank LOL.

Thanks Ken.

Guess that was that time it got away from you in the wind.

Good to know about the hubs. Both my 450 and 650 are still in decent shape but the hubs do seem a little looser and tend to pop in the wind more than they used to.

Great pictures and season. Love seeing the wildlife when I'm out fishing at night.

Love pine martens....seen a few around here too (much more attractive looking member of the weasel family than fishers that's for sure I use to do the same with a mink...i.e., give it a small perch and watch it take it away to store somewhere and then return for more. Great catch and looks like a pretty decent season of ice fishing.

That is a great recap on a successful ice season.The marten under tour porch is a cool story.
Im glad you have lots of family that will fish with you. Being the supplier of gear and funding the operation probably diesnt hurt but it is so worth it. Looks like great times and adventure.

Right on, great season you had with lots of success