Splake Sunday, Live Entertainment included

Took a trip Sunday evening with the wife and the little guy to try for some splake. We arrived to find the lake partially iced over. Still able to launch a canoe and out we went. Trolled around looking for a bite or two, and then we’d zero in on them and jig/finesse them if they weren’t smashing trolled spoons. Paddled up near a beaver that didn’t freak out and do the tail splash and disappear. We got maybe 10-12 feet away from it with a log in between, my son managed to stay quiet and still while we watched for a minute.


After an hour or so with no hits, I paddled over to a spot I’ve had some luck before, and here the ice was still from shore to about 50 feet out, whiter near shore and fading to almost black/floating slush out closer to where we were. Cast in a jig head/gulp minnow into the slush, sinks through no problem, and bite, bite …. Fish ON. Small splake. Again, same cast through the slush, and a follow - fish On…. I see another bigger one down there with it when it’s getting near the canoe. More drops, more bites, more misses, a few more caught fish. I keep throwing them up onto the bottom of the canoe where my son is sitting. He’s playing with them. Picking them up, they’re flopping around out of his hands. He’s giggling and laughing. Inspecting them. I’m pretty sure he’s going to lose one overboard but that never happened. Comedy show in the canoe - I’m laughing my butt off. He’s trying to pick them up “this one’s greasy” I tell him to give it a kiss - he does.

Later he picks one up and licks its tail …. “That tastes stinky”…. Licks it again….”ewwww that’s stinky”, laughs…. Picks up a different fish, licks the tail…. “That’s stinky!” Then he’s crawling around on the floor of the canoe where the fish have been laying, slipping and sliding in the slime, laughing, “slippery daddy. That fish have sharp teeth”

Quite the entertainment, sitting in the stern, catching more. Think I got 7, let three smallest ones go. Little guy managed to sit/stand/tumble around in the canoe for 2 hours or more, so I consider that a success in itself. The fish and comedy show were a bonus.

Kissin ‘em

Play time

Inspecting the teeth

Biggest - 17”

Dinner

Everybody at our place thinks your little guy is the star of the show.

Awesome time with the young one. Splake are fantastic.

Sure looks like the next gen is going to be ready for action.
Congrats on both the fish and your young partner.

great report. Got to love taking little ones out fishing. I took my oldest out with his granddad at bout that age. was so much fun, he cried when we ran out of bait and had to paddle back to shore. Keep it up those memories will last a long time

That's nice, you started him early which is the way to go.

One set of our grand kids is good to go the other set are city and ow my god is that a bug RUN!!!

Great family trip fillets have great colors enjoy

Great story and pictures. I would love to hear what Mom says when she gets a whiff of the little guy!!

Good on you for putting in the effort to get him out. Thats going to pay off for you in the long run with a lifelong fishing partner.

It better pay off - I’m not going to be able to carry a canoe into those specky lakes forever.
Mom was up front in the canoe just shaking her head and laughing. Funniest part was on the drive home, he asks “we going hunting now?”

It better pay off - I’m not going to be able to carry a canoe into those specky lakes forever.
Mom was up front in the canoe just shaking her head and laughing. Funniest part was on the drive home, he asks “we going hunting now?”

Thats a great woman !
I love the way your son thinks.