Question (Poll) On The Famous Bell

[Frank Walsh]

Looking at Dick's post regarding the bell I realize there have been over 10,000 views. The sad part is that it will now sit idle for over 6 months.

Would it be sacrilegious to switch it's duty to ringing in big walleye for the winter season? Where to draw the line? The coveted 30" goal would be nice, but would ring far less than the 50" musky target.

What does everybody think? Should we do it? And if so, at what level?

[Gissert]

I think 25-27 is too small - dont want to cheapen the bell experience. One of our group usually will hit a 25 at least once during a day of fishing.

28, now were getting close. This would be an 8 plus pound fish, and is a legit possibilty to get one during a trip. 28 is also where the fish is legal to keep, if someone chooses to. 29, even better, but less likely to happen.

30 - I've seen that happen once in 10 plus years of winter fishing the angle.

I vote for 28, or endorse whatever would be an equivalent length that would equate to the frequency of a 50 inch 'ski.

Winter pike, if included, should be 40 or better to keep it in the slot.

[fishwizard]

If a tree falls in the forest, and no one... does it still make a sound? I'd say that it could be implemented as a 30" walleye bell as long as there is hard water. I'm not saying that catching a 30" walleye is not a feat in the summer, but that when there are muskies to be caught, once again not that there aren't in the winter time, it could get confusing. I don't know I usually feel that if you have to start adding contengencies, then it should left alone. But back to my first comment if you ring the bell for a 30" walleye in the winter time what are the odds that anyone other than you and your buddies will hear it? I guess the decision should probably be left to those who were kind enough to provide it. Flatlanders? Jeff, what do you think? It's a none political issue, so you won't hear any ranting and raving from me, maybe a little rambling, but certainly no ranting?

[dpear]

What are walleyes?

[Frank Walsh]

Forage. For muskies and farmers alike.

Or the famous Normanism....."It Will hold flour".

[Muskie Junkie]

As a member of the Flatlanders I voted for a 30" walleye, but I think the person who should have a major vote is Sully. It was his idea to provide Baystore Camp with the bell. So yes DP, Sully does have a good idea now and again.

Steve Ruhmann

[Illinois Dennis]

Think the 28" for winter walleyes would be nice; maybe 40" for northerns.

Gotta come up with something for ellpouts- maybe a loosers log.

[Frank Walsh]

Eelpout????? You have to jump in the lake naked. Same for burbot, lawyers. etc.

[DSmith]

I vote for a 30" Walleye and a 40" Pike. The reason being, that is the size that determines a true trophy. None of my group has ever caught a 30" Walleye ice fishing. Our best is 29 1/2" two years ago. Best northern, although not measured, was near 40". Frank cut it loose to untangle the lines.

[Frank Walsh]

You sure the Vlatch boys did not have one?

[DSmith]

Harrolds fish never was measured but it might have exceeded 30". Bob caught one that measured 29 1/2". Even with all the sticks in the houses, some people forget to measure.

[BWold]

As my granddaddy used to say, "Dance with the girl you brought to the prom". Being a biased person, I say the bell stands silent til June! If you are worried about it being cold, send it to Pearson, he will probably sleep with it.

As the Tshirt says........."My small Muskie just ate your Trophy Walleye"!!!!!

[T-Bone]

Right off the top, I vote for 28" to be a bell ringer. There are good reasons for that too. I have ice fished for over 50 years now and have only iced three walleyes 28" or over. Most recently, in March of 2007 out of one of Frank's fish houses, I iced a 30", a 28" and a 24" all in the same day from the same hole. Yep-it was a great placement for that particular house and mighty lucky but I was using fresh 4# test line, tied good knots, had the perfect reel with the drag set right, was using the best possible deadstick holder and had changed presentations at least six times to get the game started that day. They only wanted a "snack" that day. So if you sit there with a chub on a 1/2 oz. jig all day and wait, you lose. My buddy Dave iced a 40" pike out of the opposite corner of that same house on the same day using the same tactics. Frank has pictures. Can we ring the bell on credit for past caught fish?

That, folks, is bell ringing worthiness in my book. If you hard core muskie guys really don't want us ringing your bell, then we could possibly come up with our own walleye/pike bell. And "our ding-a-ling" could be bigger, shinier and louder than "your ding-a-ling". Heh, heh!

You haven't lived until you jump on a sled and head out of "The Camp" to ice fish for the day when it's -28F and windy. We did that last March with portables and the fishing was sloooooooowwww. (Put the best Minnesota accent on that too).
T

[Twocanchew]

I have come to believe that the 30 inch walleye is even more elusive than the 50 inch muskie. So yes, ring the bell for that 30 inch walleye!

[dpear]

Why not get another one about half the size?

[Illinois Dennis]

Now see, someone is making some sense here..... a smaller bell, deticated to trophy walleye; size to be determined. Since it seems like the 50" muskie bell was gratiously donated by the prominent Rockford muskie club, The Flatlanders (thanks guys!), possibly we can solicite prominent walleye clubs for a similiar tribute (and free bell to enjoy).

Great idea Dick

[Illinois Dennis]

Hey, I know where there is a perfect bell for trophy (aka 30 inch) walleye; needs some parts but looks to be in good order. Might need an extra hand though.

[dpear]

Or,if a 30 inch walleye is caught on a muskie bait,that works.I caught a 30 incher on a red/white suick once.

[Frank Walsh]

Think I've caught more big walleyes on muskie baits than jigs.
Certainly more than the muskies I've caught on jigs.

[musky1969]

Walleye,Walleye,Walleye, they scare the muskies off from spot. On Vermillion one day we seen about 15 skie's and about 7 where around 50" so we decide to hit the water at 4 am and after about 15 cast on a blind figure 8 an a depth raider I had this hog eat me It was around 29" so I vote for 30" for the bell.
Darren

[CitySlicker]

Yes, the bell should be reserved for those 30 inches, that way Frank won't bother the neighbors so often. I don't think that it would be necessary to ring the bell at all for those 40 inch Northerns: when I caught my 39 incher a couple years ago I yelled so loud that I'm sure that they heard me in Baudett!

[Stretch]

29"
a fish of this size is rare but not impossible.

[IowejianDave]

Great fun reading Winter Walleye guys ideas on this. My take is based on 54 winters worth of hands on data gathering, and probably ten thousand + sightings of the green fish coming through the hole. No bragging here, just realization of becoming an angling gray-beard. It makes sense to me to try to make the achievement roughly equivalent to the 50" Muskie, and that sure isn't a 30" Eye. I'v cracked 28 only three times (twice in Frank's shacks) but never a 30. I've seen maybe five of them caught by others, including an extraordinary 33, which was of course taken by an inebriated lad from N. Dakota on his first ever winter fishing experience. I'd opt for a 28"+ rule otherwise it will probably be seldom heard. At the conclusion of the vote, I'd like to hear Frank's assessment of how many honest 30+ are seen in the typical winter. I realize that "typical winter" is somewhat oxymoronic.

[Frank Walsh]

I would think 1-3 per winter. Sometimes a few more, sometimes zero.

Dave, don't forget to vote on the above poll.

[Jerryandshani]

I would say the 28 inch mark. That is a big walleye and would allow the bell to be wrang more often than once every couple of years for walleye's. Ive been ice fishing LOTW for 8 years and my best walleye is 26''. I would vote 40 inch for a pike.

[tedu]

Bell goes off, you run down there to find out it is a pike or walleye does'nt seem right. But I would love to catch either one!

[Frank Walsh]

I can assure you there won't be any bell for a slimer. I'd rather catch a burbot than one of those creatures.

[kdc]

musky only

[Frank Walsh]

Be sure you guys vote. If you don't get the voting box, I assume you have to register.

[IowejianDave]

After further consideration of this, several new thoughts have occurred: I can see where the Muskie Guys, who initiated the bell tradition (I assume) might want to maintain it as their exclusive gig. Although not a Muskie addict, I would reason that in terms of personal achievement, the big 'Ski is the greater event, requiring more knowledge, effort, and execution than icing a big winter Walleye. After all, location is always the major factor, and who does all the site selection in the winter? Frank: try to stay humble! (Except for a few snow machine/portable types). What we do is basically sit over the hole, think over past sins, embellish past fishing trips, (some even drink liquor at the same time) and try to draw fish to our bait from about a 15 foot diameter cylinder of water. Then feed them a jiggling hardware/scent combo or a live minnow impaled on a hook. Then set the hook, don't break the line, and slide the critter onto the show floor. Compare this to the blast and cast or long hours of cold water trolling, wrestling with an animal that can jump and eat your arm, and its just not an equivalent situation. Still, if it rings for my upcoming 28 1/2 incher this winter, most of the summer guys will never know...

[Frank Walsh]

I beg to differ, Mr. Bauer. As I said earlier, I have seen far more 50" muskies caught, than 30" walleyes. I don't think the reason is the talent difference, or number of people targeting the species, as I know a number of great fishermen and guides that have not cracked the 30" mark. Lots of 28" & 29", but not a genuine 30"

I also have to argue the credit issue. I think house placement plays a part of it, but not the big part of it you think. I have said before that there is a big difference between fishermen. Some days you can do no wrong, but those days are special, and few and far between. Not to get on a long soapbox, but with the numbers of fisherman I see, I can tell you there is a vast difference. Guys (and Ladies) that make it happen when others around them are sucking. And worse, guys (no ladies) that can't catch a fish no matter where you put them.

Structure helps, but talent is hard to beat.

[jimmyb]

I too have mixed feelings on this one guys. While a 30" walleye (in my experiance) is more difficult to get than a 50" musky as none of my groups has ever gotten one, I do feel the bell should remain for that which it was originally intended.
Maybe we can recognize this accomplishment by putting up some kind of secondary device.... Like an ahh-oooo-gaa horn

[Frank Walsh]

In accordance with the will of the masses, I am foreseeing a different noise device, to be used in the event of a 30" walleye. Not cast in stone yet, but that's the way the trend is going.

With this in mind, just what do we want?

Another bell to physically replace the musky one for the winter. Or some new and inventive device. I say get the best minds on this conundrum.

This is a personal challenge to Dennis, Tim, Jimmy, Scott, Gissert, and the rest of you geniuses to come up with something.....

[Tim Kelly]

A box of fireworks. Fire a rocket for each monster eye.

Who doesn't like fireworks?

Save the bell from shattering in the frigid wintertime too!

[BWold]

If a second device is the ticket, I think an old hand cranked siren would be a very good and viable device. Loud enough to get everyone's attention and might even get a 2'fer, with Scarlet howling along with the siren!