FishRapper Archived Ice Fishing Reports Section |
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Helping your fellow ice fishermen and women stay abreast of the ice conditions in your area is good for everybody and it's easier than you think! |
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Ice Fishing Report December 30, 2014 - Extensions Anyone?
During a phone conversation with my long lost pal Chad Benson on Monday, we talked about ice conditions on Upper Red Lake. In Benson’s own words; "I can already see that we're gonna be needing extensions (on our ice augers) this winter. With this cold weather, we're gonna have 2 feet of ice before this weekend".
I believe that Chad's observation will almost certainly be true for owners of permanent ice shelters and wheel houses; for the rest of us? We'll see; it does appear that we're heading in that direction, but nature has a strange way of balancing things out.
Benson was reluctant to go into very much detail in terms of a Walleye fishing report on Red Lake and I can understand why. Factors including ideal ice conditions, cooperative Walleyes and a slow start for ice fishermen on Lake of the Woods have put Red Lake in the cross hairs this winter. Under such intense pressure, it's unlikely that fishing on the state's "worst kept secret lake" needs much more promoting.
Luckily, there's relief in sight; cold temperatures are improving ice conditions all over the state. As anglers gain confidence about travel conditions on other lakes, some of the pressure will be diverted away from Red Lake.
For anglers in the Grand Rapids area, evening bite Walleye action has been fair to good. With a short window of opportunity, the trick is to have an educated guess about where to set up for the crepuscular feeding runs.
Ice fishermen often think about deep, mid-lake structure for Walleye. In fact many of them believe that it's the only game in town. Deep water is not the only place that Walleye live though and here's a tip that bears repeating.
In lakes with stocked populations, the overwhelming majority of Walleye take up residence in the weeds. These stocked fish want to stay in the weeds and wherever there are green, healthy weeds, there are liable to be Walleyes.
Pull out your maps and take a look at some of your favorite Walleye lakes. Select shallow water points and sunken structures that lay near large weed flats, especially shallow water weeds like Cabbage.
During winter, sunlight cannot reach as deeply into the water as it does during the open water season. Deep water weeds are good, but they are less likely to get the sunshine they need to stay green. Shallower areas get better light, especially when the snow cover is so sparse. That means you'll be able to find weedline habitat all winter long.
Some of my favorite ice fishing spots for Walleye are in 6 to 8 feet of water. Granted, daytime action is rare on most of these shallow spots. But they do produce reliably during the evening and early morning periods.
Ice Fishing Report December 29, 2014 - New Years Deep Freeze
After some of the weather we endured last winter, it hardly seems right to be calling this a "deep freeze". Still, compared to recent local conditions, it does qualify as a significant cold front.
With low temperatures dipping well below zero and no snow cover, we might be on a collision course with more ice than we know what to do with.
In fact, I spent some time tossing and turning; worrying about my plumbing just last night. I fear that without a nice warm blanket to cover up with, the pipes might get too exposed to frigid air, freeze up and become disabled.
I wonder if the fish worry about stuff like this; maybe that could explain why they seem to have hunkered down over the past few days?
In terms of convenience though, the lack of snow cover is definitely playing into the hands of ice fishermen. On Sunday I spotted vehicle traffic on almost every lake I passed, even in some areas where I've never seen vehicles before.
Easy access on the forestry roads, easy access at the public ramps and easy access on the ice has allowed anglers to go almost wherever they want.
The only impediment to complete freedom is the formation of numerous pressure ridges that detour anglers away from some areas. Eventually we'll have those all mapped out too and then, even the ice ridges will cause few problems for the folks who respect them. For now though, the challenge is to locate productive fishing spots in the areas that lay between the boundaries they’ve created.
(12/29) From Bowstring Lake, Erin at Trails End Resort said; "It has been a strange beginning for us here on Bowstring Lake. The warm temperatures and subsequent thaw that we enjoyed over the past couple of weeks was nice. But at the same time, we refrained from providing fishing reports because we were too concerned about safety, not knowing for sure where the “good ice” was.
However, we can now safely say that there is approximately 17" of ice out there. On most parts of the lake, the ice is clear and free of cracks, but please be careful of the natural springs on the North end. There are spots of thinner ice and for safety, we suggest not straying very far from establish roads.
We have an ice heave on the lake that begins about 1-1/2 miles out to the east from our landing. The pressure ridge stretches across the lake in a semi-circle, leading in the direction of Muskrat Bay. Essentially, the ridge separates the lake into 2 main sections; east and west. There are spots where we’ll be able to get around it and we’ll map that out for folks who use our access road at the resort.
The fishing has started off a bit slower than normal, but it's early! The deep community holes are showing good signs of fish, but anglers who pursue fresh territory are likely to enjoy more bountiful fishing.
Public accesses are open, but for the latest fishing reports, road advisories and a hot Pizza, come visit us and access the lake from right here at the resort.
We have winter lodging available, pizza delivery on the ice and provide plowing service on the ice too. Call for options!" >> Geiger's Trails End Reosrt .
(12/29) This Saturday on Lake Winnibigoshish I stopped to chat with John Seekon at The Pines Resort.
My timing was good because John was out in the yard; he'd already moved several of his ice houses onto the lake and he was hustling to get the rest of his shelters ready for the move.
Tamarack Bay, home to most of The Pines Resort rental houses is frozen solid and from shore, I could see traffic on the lake.
Current flow from the Mississippi River combined with warmer than usual air temperatures are encouraging a patches of open water to persist near the Corps of Engineers Dam.
For Seekon, the arrival of colder air is welcome and will help strengthen the ice for his road. Even though the road out from the resort hugs the shoreline to avoid trouble spots, Seekon has played it safe so far, avoiding driving onto the lake from the resort.
No matter what the conditions, there is already a backup plan in place, an alternative road that allows ice fishermen access to the bay. In fact, they're already using the alternate route when it's needed.
For the moment, very few fishing reports trickle in, but the ones that do, reflects a trend.
Seekon says that the action for every species has been occurring deeper than usual this winter.
Once he has the houses are out on the lake, Seekon will be out there every day, keeping tabs on locations and fishing trends.
The Pines Resort will be officially open for business starting December 31, 2014. In addition to more fishing reports, John and Doreen Seekon provide winter lodging, ice shelter rentals and access to Lake Winnibigoshish via plowed roads. Contact The Pines Resort on Lake Winnibigoshish .
(12/29) From Lake of the Woods, Mike Kinsela, Border View Lodge; "We are moving our houses further out and have spread them in a few different locations in hopes to find larger schools of fish. Fishing has had its ups and downs the last week but seems to be best for those who are continually active with their jigging. Our guides have been out scouting locations around the lake. It seems that 34 feet of water is where some fish have been found and we continue to be on the move!
We are without snow so bombers are parked at this time and road conditions have not changed.
Electronics are still improving chances! Anglers are not changing jigs or colors very often as we continue to have the typical Lake of the Woods styles and colors doing the job. Glow red, gold, plain hook and a rattle are Lake of the Woods staples for you tackle box.
No big chance of snow forecasted for the week ahead. Temperatures will be below 0 with a short warm up over New Years." - 1-800-776-3474 Border View Lodge .
Ice Fishing Report December 28, 2014 - It's Only the Beginning!
I KNOW ... We've been talking about ice fishing for a month and there are a lot of folks with stories from the ice already written into their journals.
That's because of the early ice that provided us with this 2014 "Ice Fishing Bonus Season". Most ice fishermen have rarely, probably even never seen a season begin this early though. Folks who took advantage of the early season could start feeling like ice fishing is getting to be old news. But don't be fooled by our early start, for many, the 2015 ice fishing season hasn't even begun, but it's going to; and soon.
With Christmas in the rear view mirror, colder air settling over the region and plenty of ice to work with, traffic on some Minnesota lakes is on the verge of picking up.
For ice fishermen who prefer driving to rental shelters on lakes like Winnibigoshish, Leech and Cass Lakes the 2015 ice fishing opener is finally about to begin.
(12/28) This Saturday on Lake Winnibigoshish I stopped to chat with John Seekon at The Pines Resort.
My timing was good because John was out in the yard; he'd already moved several of his ice houses onto the lake and he was hustling to get the rest of his shelters ready for the move.
Tamarack Bay, home to most of The Pines Resort rental houses is frozen solid and from shore, I could see traffic on the lake.
Current flow from the Mississippi River combined with warmer than usual air temperatures are encouraging a patches of open water to persist near the Corps of Engineers Dam.
For Seekon, the arrival of colder air is welcome and will help strengthen the ice for his road. Even though the road out from the resort hugs the shoreline to avoid trouble spots, Seekon has played it safe so far, avoiding driving onto the lake from the resort.
No matter what the conditions, there is already a backup plan in place, an alternative road that allows ice fishermen access to the bay. In fact, they're already using the alternate route when it's needed.
For the moment, very few fishing reports trickle in, but the ones that do, reflects a trend.
Seekon says that the action for every species has been occurring deeper than usual this winter.
Once he has the houses are out on the lake, Seekon will be out there every day, keeping tabs on locations and fishing trends.
The Pines Resort will be officially open for business starting December 31, 2014. In addition to more fishing reports, John and Doreen Seekon provide winter lodging, ice shelter rentals and access to Lake Winnibigoshish via plowed roads. Contact The Pines Resort on Lake Winnibigoshish .
(12/28) On Lake Winnibigoshish, Highbanks Resort; Will be opening for the season beginning on Jan 4th. For now, there are no roads or shelter rentals available at the resort.
(12/28) On Lake Winnibigoshish, at The Birches Landing, the ice ridge at the ramp is less dramatic than it was last week. Depending on your appetite for adventure, it's even possible to drive a truck over it to gain access to the ice.
On Saturday, there were a dozen rigs parked in the lot, ice fishermen making their way onto the lake using ATV's.
There were two rigs parked on the ice, where their drivers unloaded ATV's to make the trip out to their fishing territories.
There may also have been some vehicle traffic on the lake, but if there was, I could not see them from the landing.
Fishing reports from the east side of Winnie have been hard to come by, but for what it’s worth, shoreline breaks in water depths of 20 to 30 feet are apparently producing more fish than are the mid-lake bars and humps.
Ice Fishing Report December 27, 2014 - Leech Lake Ice Report
On Leech Lake's Sucker Bay, the ice conditions are very good. The public landing at the Northeast corner of the bay is open and useable. The first 3 feet of ice at the ramp features a crack and there was open water in it on Friday. But the ice is supported by the concrete ramp and we were able to drive onto the bay easily. Once we were out there, travel conditions were excellent; there's 40 CM (16 inches) of clear, hard ice with no snow cover. We travelled most the bay freely, but we were able to see a pressure ridge that appears to run from the north side of Second Duck Point westward to somewhere above Deadhead Bay. There was little temptation for us to see what was on the other side because we already had access to more structure than we could fish in a week.
A week, by the way seemed like about how much time it would take to find some active fish. That's because no matter where we stopped and no matter how we fished, the best we could drum up were small Perch and mysterious lurkers on our electronics. It's hard for me to imagine that there isn't a good bite going on somewhere in Sucker Bay, but our tolerance for exploration ran out before we found the fish we were looking for.
Lake Winnibigoshish, the scene of my Christmas afternoon fishing trip would be the spot where we'd stage our late afternoon rally; at least that's what we hoped. We packed up our gear and headed for the public landing at Richards Townsite.
On Winnie, travel conditions remained good, but we were limited to the confines of a pressure ridge that runs east-west and follows the depth contour of the deep water that lies south of Moses Bar.
We attempted to drive North toward Moses and toward a series of humps that lay between Moses and Sugar Bars. A small pressure ridge would have easily navigated with an ATV, but when we drilled a test hole near the crack, there was only 13 inches of ice. The combination of thinner ice and the small pressure ridge discouraged me from driving my truck any further. Instead, we returned to deep breakline adjacent to the southwest shoreline and checked as many points and inside corners as we could.
The fishing on Winnie was better than what we found earlier on Leech, but was still less than stellar. A Hodge-podge of Pike, Perch, Eelpout and small Walleyes kept us interested, but even at dark, the hot bite that we hoped for never developed.
According to a second report from friends who were fishing further west, access from the landing at Trappers Road, south of the Mississippi River allows anglers access to the west shoreline. The problem is that there's another pressure ridge that restricts vehicle travel from the west shoreline toward the main lake.
Ice fishermen using ATV's found a crossing neat the shoreline and then made their way toward the River Bar, where apparently the Perch fishing was fairly good. Key depths and presentations were not discussed, but if you're familiar with that region of the lake, you'll probably have some ideas of your own about how to approach the fishing.
Ironically, the lack of snow cover that's making it easy to travel by vehicle, is also encouraging the pressure ridges to crop up in a wider variety of locations than they typically would. So this year instead of fretting about deep snow and slush, we'll be focused on how to gain access to the more desirable fishing areas around the lake.
We’ll be doing our best to keep tabs on the navigation routes and we’ll take all of the advice we can get!
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Helping your fellow ice fishermen and women stay abreast of the ice conditions in your area is good for everybody and it's easier than you think! |
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Ice Fishing Report December 26, 2014 - West Side Walleye
When I left my house on Christmas afternoon, my intent was to take a quick tour of Lake Winnie's west side to check travel conditions on the lake. The project turned out to be easier than I expected.
When I arrived on the West side of Winnibigoshish, access to the ice and the travel conditions on it were as close to ideal as I can remember. There were already some pickup trucks on the ice and the road they used, if you want to call it that was flat as a pancake and completely snow-free. The surface of the ice was dry too; any water resulting from the recent meltdown had now been re-frozen.
I was ill prepared for a fishing trip; but luckily I had thrown a few essentials into the truck before leaving home. You know, just in case I stumbled into an opportunity to drop a lure into the water.
Since I’d cut myself short on time, there wasn’t going to be a lot of experimenting. After I fired up the GPS, I selected the nearest point that looked interesting on the chart and drove to that spot. I stopped at a little inside turn near the tip of a long, submerged point that drops into the deep water. I drilled 3 holes in that small corner and spent my entire time at that spot.
I measured the ice thickness with a yard stick and at that location it is currently 16 inches. The ice is looking very good; clear and solid.
From what I could see, the entire surface area of the ice between the Mississippi River mouth and the Bena Bar is in good condition. I did not cross any cracks or pressure ridges. The visibility was poor, but it looked like there might be a pressure ridge a couple of miles to the north.
With limited time, I decided that I’d rather fish a little bit instead of driving out there, so that project can wait until later today or maybe tomorrow. Besides, even staying within the boundaries of what I could see means that there are literally miles of mid lake structure within easy driving range of either of the west side landings.
So now it was time to wet a line and my one stop fishing trip was better than I expected too. During the time between 3:45 and 4:30 I caught about a half dozen Walleye and one Perch. The average size was small, but I did catch a couple of “keeper size” Walleyes and there were other heavy fish that I hooked, but for one reason or another, they escaped before I could get ‘em to the ice and provide evidence.
I only had 2 rods with me and they were both rigged with Foo Flyers from our trip to Red Lake last week. On Red, the fish liked them tipped with whole fathead minnows. The fish on Winnie liked ‘em rigged the same way too. That was good news for me, because I didn’t have anything else along to try. If I’d lost these baits or if the fish weren’t interested, my fishing day would have been over.
There is no mention of snowfall in the weekend forecast; so that means travel conditions will remain excellent for weekend ice fishermen. The air temperatures are expected to fall considerably though the weekend and colder temps are going to trigger some shifting in the ice. I expect that most of the movement will occur along the already existing ridges, but one can never be too sure.
Follow these rules of thumb for the weekend; if you see any crack that appears to be even slightly wet, stay away because it’s probably new.
If you arrive at a pressure ridge, don’t try to cross it, they are under stress and there’s little chance that you’ll find a spot of stable, solid ice.
Today we’ll be picking up where I left off yesterday and if we make some new discoveries, you’ll be the first to know!!
Ice Fishing Report December 25, 2014 - Merry Christmas!!
We'll be back soon with a report about ice conditions for the upcoming weekend. Until then,
By the way, if you didn't get your Christmas card, please double check your email!
OH and if you want to be sure that you're on the list, it's easy. Click >> Early Bird Fishing Guide Insiders List
Early ice on any Lake is usually a good time to find active fish everywhere. But sometimes when the timing is perfect, early winter Panfishing can be just too much fun. |
Ice Fishing Report December 24, 2014 - Lake Winnie and Cutfoot Sioux Travel Conditions
On the north end of Lake Winnibigoshish, anglers can find easy access to the lake on the Northeast shore near Bowens Flats. Light trucks are moving on and off of the ice at "poachers landing".
For a better look, I moved to high ground where it was easy to see two pressure ridges that divide the ice on the North side of the lake. The larger of the two appears to span the entire distance from Tamarack Point to just west of the Rock Pile along the north shore.
That means that anglers entering the lake in vehicles from this side probably won't be able to access the lion's share of the mid lake humps and bars on the north end. Ice fishermen travelling on ATVs can probably find a spot to wiggle around it, snowmobiles, for now, are just about useless on the wet, snow-free ice.
According the note I posted yesterday, Highbanks resort will be open on January 4th and barring complications, anglers
will be able to access that portion of the lake in vehicles. For now, fishermen using ATVs or snowmobiles can use the drop box at the lodge to pay the access fee and use the landing.
On Cutfoot Sioux, Little Cutfoot and several
other small lakes in the area, access to the ice is easier than ever right now. The lack of snow cover on access roads means that ice fishermen have nearly complete freedom to get on any lake with a public landing.
The wet weather has slowed down traffic for the moment, but on my tour this Tuesday, there was evidence of fishing traffic on every single lake checked.
On one of them, standing water covered their tracks, but mounds of shaved ice revealed the presence of anglers who had fished sometime shortly before I arrived.
I ran into a friend who told me that his son had been spear fishing on Cutfoot Tuesday morning. Pike remain active, he said and the fishing pressure has been fairly light on Cutfoot.
I KNOW that with Christmas festivities on the agenda, ice fishing is the last thing on your mind right now. But a cooling trend heading our way is liable to produce nearly ideal conditions for ice fishing this weekend.
We've learned in the past that the weather is capable of dishing out some harsh surprises. So if I were you, I'd be looking for a way to take advantage of this unusually generous Christmas gift!!
OH and by the way, Did I Remember To Mention? ... I got a couple of little gifts yesterday myself. One of them from a recent fishing project that turned out okay. Thankfully, I got a few giggles to share with you in this video.
Ice Fishing Report December 23, 2014 - Christmas Meltdown
In case you missed it, the snowmobiling season came and went a couple of weeks ago and it was wonderful. While there was still some snow on the ground, I rode mine all of the way from the shed to the garage.
After a full day of drizzle on Monday, Northern Minnesota is almost entirely snow free again. With an overnight temperature of 34 degrees, the lakes are going to be soupy again today and there are some danger spots developing.
Ice conditions in the Itasca Area remain good on most of the lakes that froze early and solid. I think that it's unlikely that this warm spell can cause enough deterioration to deter anyone from ice fishing on most of them.
Rivers, streams and current areas are opening up though and should be completely avoided. Deep water, late freezing lakes, spring fed lakes and lakes with bottlenecks where current can form are liable to have trouble spots developing. Use good common sense and be cautious about approaching any area on these waters.
Luckily, there's a post-Christmas cold snap in store for us and that's going to bring on another round of ice making weather.
For today, conditions are too good for me to pass up. I haven't decided where, but I'll be out and about somewhere to help gather information for a Christmas Eve update.
(12/23) On Lake Winnibigoshish, Highbanks Resort; "No ice roads yet. No vehicle access, only wheelers or snowmobiles. Pressure ridge is starting to heal. We will be opening for the season on Jan 4th."
(12/23) From The Iron Range, Greg Clusiau wrote; "Wow. The weather has been outstanding and so has the fishing. It just goes to show you that if you stick with proven hot bites you’ll usually end up doing pretty good. My downfall is the urge to abandon good fishing, opting to try something else “just to see.”
One of the better outings of the season was a recent trip with Sam Cook and ..." Learn More >> Read Greg Clusiau's Full Report . MC
(12/23) From Lake of the Woods, Mike Kinsela, Border View Lodge; "Anglers have to work their setups all day and electronics help improve success. We had a few Crappies caught yesterday, it usually happens once or twice in a winter but 3 in one day may be a record for us.
We are still working our way through some rough areas of ice. The weather has cooperated well enough to allow us to flood portions of our road and give us some smoother areas to travel. We are still without snow so the bombers have been parked. We have scouted and scouted fishing spots to try and improve the success rate to minimal avail. We have our houses starting off in about 24 feet of water and covered to about 28 feet of water. We have some houses further in and further out and the scouting has proved no change in fishing. The catch rate has had ups and downs and could mostly be contributed to weather changes.
There is no hot tip of the week, standard Lake of the Woods gold, glow red, plain hook and an active rattler seem to do the jobs just as good as anything so far this year. It looks like mild temps through Christmas. Forecasts are showing lows to the teens and highs around 30’s." - 1-800-776-3474 Border View Lodge .
Ice Fishing Report December 22, 2014 - Smooth Sailing on Bemidji Area Lakes
I'm not too sure how many folks really enjoy going it alone as they drive around the countryside, exploring new ice fishing spots; but I'm not one of them. I like having someone to pal around with while I'm searching for productive spots to fish.
Friends invited to tag along, exploring fresh territory don't always have as much fun as you'd imagine though. Following up on hot tips, or checking out waters that look good on paper aren't exactly the kind of fishing trips that come with guaranteed results.
Folks, who consider it a waste of time to go out ice fishing without filling their pail with fish, probably wouldn't like fishing with me on a "day off".
The way I figure it, 1 out of 3 lakes produce great results on a "cold call" during the ice fishing season. In other words, while there's about a 35% chance of having fantastic fishing, there's also a 35% chance that the fishing will just be so-so. Then there are those 1/3 of "cold calls" that end with us driving home, discussing theories and explanations about why the fish didn't show up.
What I like best about my fishing buddy Chad Haatvedt, besides that he's so darn smart, is his sense of adventure. He's a learner, the type of guy who sees value in just knowing something that he didn't already know. That's why we had a great time in Bemidji on Sunday, even if our modest catch didn't overload the springs on my pickup truck.
Prepared for a long day of moving from spot to spot with my 4 wheeler, we got our first pleasant surprise when we discovered that ice fishermen were driving freely on the lake. The ice was about 18 inches thick; it was, clear, smooth and free of ice ridges. The ice was covered with less than an inch of snow and that allowed us to go anywhere we wanted.
There were pickup trucks and/or ice shelters on just about every key structure that the lake had to offer. It wasn't over-saturated with traffic, but there weren't many spots that hadn't been fished either.
We tried shoreline points, sand flats, mid lake bars and weed lines. We looked for suspended fish in water depths of 22 to 40 feet and we consulted with local ice fishermen on the lake. The consensus was that there wasn’t too much going on out there. In my judgment, it sounded like we missed the hot bite by about 2 years. That according to a very friendly lakeshore owner who said; "Two years ago we were catching 'em like crazy! Walleye, Crappie, Sunfish; everybody that came out was catching fish and they all had their own favorite spots."
He expanded on the theme by giving us a virtual tour of the entire lake using his index finger and a memorized list of the lakes most frequent visitors. I believed that he was fairly accurate, especially in light of his prediction that we were sitting atop the Sunfish hole. A prediction that would prove to be true as darkness crept over the lake.
So we missed it, we showed up too late to get in on the hot bite. Unfortunately, that's just the way ice fishing works sometimes. Timing is as important as knowing how to find the right spot or how to come up with the perfect presentation. If you get there before the masses figure out that the fish are on the bite, lakes like this one can turn out to be the honey hole of the year.
But showing up a season too late, like we did, means that we'll have to wait for another chance, until the lakes fish and bait have time to return to a more favorable balance.
The trip was far from disastrous; we did catch that handful of really nice Sunfish and an eating size Northern Pike. But except for some small Perch, a couple of bite-offs and an array of "lookers", there wasn't much action.
We did learn that our best chance of catching anything came when we fished the shoreline break in 10 to 12 feet of water. The Sunfish had a particular sweet tooth for small ice jigs, in my case it was the #8 ice worm tipped with 3 Waxies.
The best way to avoid being plagued by small Perch was by holding the bait high above the bottom, 2 to 3 feet and waiting for active fish to come up. It was painstaking, perhaps there was one serious looker every 10 minutes, but the ones that rose to the bait could be converted into biters.
I think that there was some potential here and l will visit the lake again. But not until the open water season when there's a greater opportunity to learn the nuances of the lakes structure.
Ice Fishing Report December 21, 2014 - Leech Lake Ice Conditions
Prompted by questions from readers about ice conditions on Leech Lake, I headed West for for a look on Saturday.
The shallow waters of Sucker, Portage and Boy Bays froze early providing ice fishermen with good ice ranging in thickness from 14 to 17 inches.
The lack of snow cover means that road access to the lake is good too and until we get more snow, East Side Anglers are free to enjoy easy travel conditions.
At the Northeast corner of Portage Bay, the road leading out of the North Star Campground has been well used. Some folks are driving on the ice with light trucks, while others with heavier trucks are parking on shore and moving around with ATVs.
At a cost of only $6.00, this access is very attractive as long as snow cover remains minimal. The short term forecasts suggest more snow in our future though and this landing typically receives very low maintenance. If we receive a heavy snowfall, I will check this landing again and post an update.
At Battle Point, the public landing also remains open. Traffic on the lake is light, but there are a few fishermen scattered between Battle and Sugar Points. There wasn't any evidence of vehicle traffic on the lake, but ATV travel using portable fishing shelters was observed.
I spoke with a fisherman who told me that while he was sight fishing for Panfish, he watched a Walleye in the 20 inch range
attacked and devoured by a big Musky. Sunfish, he said were running small today and there were no other sightings of Perch or Crappie.
Sucker Bay, according to the obviously avid angler was a better destination for Crappie fishermen, providing that you are willing to spend the time prospecting.
The public access at Sucker Bay
remains open as well and there are still anglers driving light trucks onto the ice there as well.
The ice conditions in Walker Bay are less than ideal and vehicle travel is currently not advised. The ice cover over the deeper water is doing its best to catch up, but temperatures in the high 20s are producing ice very slowly.
A second hand report about ice conditions at the Trappers Landing
mentions that there will be "A Road System" leading out onto the South Bay humps. I will save the South side of the lake for my next tour.
By the way, I'm committed to doing my best; keeping you up to speed about ice conditions, fishing patterns and matters important to fishermen.
YOU KNOW that there's a lot of territory to cover in the Itasca Area. With limitations on both time and gasoline, I could sure use a helping hand.
Duly authorized Cub Reporters who frequently lend a hand have been known to get special considerations from time to time; it could be a win-win if you know what I'm sayin'.
Ice Fishing Report December 20, 2014 - Lake Winnibigoshish Ice Reports
For those of you who aren't already out on the lakes this morning, here's some red meat reporting about the ice conditions on Lake Winnie.
Questions about Leech Lake are rolling in too. So for today, an exploratory mission to Leech Lake will provide some answers about the ice conditions over there as well.
(12/19) On Lake Winnibigoshish John Seekon, The Pines Resort; "I finally managed to make my way out onto the big lake last friday. At that time, I measured the ice in several areas and found 16 inches everwhere I stopped.
Perch have been providing the best action in 13 to 17 feet, which is much deeper than normal for this time of the season.
After last weekends warmup, several cracks opened up and have since re-frozen. Lake travelers need to be careful crossing over theses areas because the ice shifts with temperature changes daily"
The Pines Resort will be oficially open for business starting december 31, 2014. In addition to more fishing reports, John and Doreen Seekon provide winter lodging, ice shelter rentals and access to Lake Winnibigosish via plowed roads. Contact The Pines Resort on Lake Winnibigoshish .
(12/19) On Cutfoot Sioux, Bryan Harris Eagle Nest Lodge says; " Our son, Gunnar was out on Cutfoot spearing last Sunday, but hasn't been on the big lake since the weekend before.
Prior to the warm up,
he fished off of the landing at the end of high banks road and caught a nice bunch of smaller, keeper walleyes along with a couple of nice perch. The ice will likely be moving a lot with the cold. Cutfoot Sioux is in great shape, with only an inch of snow on top of good ice.
A group that checked out this week said that they were fishing in front of the resort and caught a big walleye and several tullibees in 9' of water.
Since most of our guests focus on Cutfoot, bringing portables, 4-wheelers or snowmobiles.
I don't plow roads or rent fish houses.
But our big, beautiful log cabins are open and renting through the winter. Fish cleaning house is heated and the water is on. We do not keep open lodge hours during winter". - EMAIL Eagle Nest Lodge for availability.
(12/19) On Lake Winnibigoshish, from Becker's Resort from the west side near the Mississippi River; "We have been out as far as Sugar bar. There are two ice heaves to cross but we has good crossings. Lots of nice perch and Pike coming in also a few walleyes. We have about 8 of our houses out on the lake. We are busy this week and then again right after Christmas. Call for availability after New Years."
(12/19) On Lake Winnibigoshish, Dixon Lake Resort, Karen says; "We have great ice. It did get warm and there was a lot of water out there last weekend, but it's frozen back down and all is good. About 2 inches of nice white fluffy snow fell on the ice, but the breeze has already blown a lot of it off of the surface.
Fishing has been very good this year, not just the spearing, but angling too. The anglers using our rental spear houses have been very happy with the Panfish, Perch and sightings of big Walleye cruising through.
I know that the pressure ridge is high, about 3 feet and some of my fishermen were exploring that area last weekend. They said that there were 4 wheelers on the other side of the ridge and they must have come from somewhere else. Our guests said that they could not see a way around the ridge at this time."
(12/19) On Lake Winnibigoshish, Tyler at Nodak Lodge checked in with; "We have been out on Winnie quite a bit and we have 15 to 17 inches of ice, it runs at least 3 miles out from the resort.
There are a couple of cracks along the south side, but they don't seem to be moving so thats good. The only bad crack/heave that I know of is over on the west side by river bar.
We have had a few spearers out that have done really good on northerns in front of resort in 9 to 11 ft of water. Not many people for perch yet". Nodaks will be open for business after Christmas, on December 27, 2014, Hope this helps you Have a good day, Tyler at Nodak
Ice Fishing Report December 19, 2014 - Final
Test Results Are In
Well, we made it through crunch week; homework turned in, final exams complete and now with that behind us, it's time to relax.
What, first you want to see the report card? Hmm.. well okay then, let's see if I can ... okay here it is.
| Bluegill | A | Report |
| Crappie | A | Report |
| Northern Pike | A | Report |
| Perch | Incomplete | |
| Walleye | B | Report |
I KNOW! But with all of the homework that Professor Panfish gave us, then that long drive to write the paper for Dr. Walleye, then the unexpected interruptions by Dean Pike ... Well, we just couldn't find time to get over the Perch hole. I guess that we'll have to schedule a Do-Over for the winter semester.
I already wrote up the Bluegill report on December 17 and our as much as I'd like to improve on the Crappie report, outdoor writer, Dan Johnson nailed it already. You might just as well click here to >> read about our Crappie fishing experience.
The Walleye fishing exam was on yesterday's agenda and took place on Upper Red Lake where we arrived to find sunny blue skies and a light breeze. There was a weather change on the horizon, but it hadn't arrived yet.
Our transportation onto the lake was provided by Jonny Petrowske, owner of Red Lake Remote Ice Fishing. Petrowske delivered us to the door of a toasty warm 10 x 20 "sleeper house". The brand new shelter would serve as headquarters, allowing us to fish while enjoying all of the comforts of home.
The shelters that we used were set up on a shallow flat in about 8 feet of water near structures that Petrowske has comitted to memory. Walleyes
roaming the flat encounter small ledges and scattered piles of rock that lead them toward the fish houses.
Walleye fishing from a permanent shelter is comfortable, warm and best of all, anybody can do it. At the same time though, it presents ice fishermen with its own set of considerations about catching fish.
Realizing that the outfitter has already taken care to place the fishing shelter in the right spot, an angler's task is simply to attract the fish and catch them. Instead of focusing on the tools that we typically use to find fish, we spent our time experimenting with baits that provided the best balance of attracting vs triggering power.
Early in the day, while the sun was still shining, using pro-active baits like Rattlin' Flyer Spoons and Lindy Darters produced frequent sightings that ended happily. During the afternoon, clouds rolled in and the wind picked up. That triggered a change and the formerly active Walleye became persuadable, but finicky feeders.
I remembered how a similar day last year led me to discovering the triggering power of the Foo Flyer. I reached into the tackle box, tied one on and just like last winter, managed to convert a good percentage of lookers into biters.
The Foo Flyer can be fished aggressively to attract fish into the territory below your hole. But when the time comes, you can fish also fish it slowly, finessing the fish into making the final judgment to strike. Use it with a whole minnow, hooked inside the mouth and up through the center of the skull.
At sunset, there was a lull in the action but after about an hour, there was another run of fish, this time more aggressive. Now the pro-active baits like Darters and Rattlin' Flyers began producing better results again. From what I could see, an angler who wanted to stay awake, jigging all night long would likely experience these periodic runs throughout the night.
According to Petrowske, it was the weather change that caused the little hiccup on Thursday. That report was later confirmed by anglers who'd been on the lake over the past few days and reported very good Walleye action. It's still really early in the season and I'd tend to agree prospects are good that more action lies ahead.
(12/19) New treatment aims to eradicate Christmas Lake zebra mussels - On Friday, Dec. 19, a contractor working with the DNR injected 1,000 pounds of potassium chloride under the ice near the public boat access on the northwest corner of Christmas Lake. The chemical – also referred to as potash – kills zebra mussels by interfering with their ability to breathe, but it does not affect fish.
The potash application is the third treatment at the lake, where a small number of zebra mussels were found in August as part of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District’s early detection monitoring program. Because the mussels were found early and were confined to a small area, DNR staff thought it feasible that treatment might eliminate them. The DNR and the district have subsequently treated .... Read news release >> Christmas Lake Zebra Mussels .
Ice Fishing Report December 18, 2014 -
Angler Advisory Cold Front Causes "Crunch Week" Ice Cracks
Northern Minnesota's largest lakes are showing signs of stress caused by our recent cold snap. Ice thickness is not the problem; in fact the ice itself is really good. But shrinkage caused by the colder temperatures has forced the formation of cracks and ice ridges.
Ice ridges are not new news to Minnesota ice fishermen. But the problem is that ice conditions have been so good this year that many folks, having already travelled on the ice, may be lulled into a false sense of security by their past successes.
Once you've driven across the ice a few times and not had any trouble, it's easy to assume that you can do it again on your next visit.
That is a trap that even the most experienced ice fishermen can fall into; it's happened to me, it's happened to friends and sadly it's happened to folks that I will NEVER have a chance to meet.
So knowing that you've already heard "The Lecture" about ice safety, let me just ask you to indulge one small bit of advice. Consult with resorts and rental operators on the "big lakes" that you intend to fish and get their advice about the safe travel routes and about trouble spots on their home waters. They know what they're doing and they will help steer you in the right direction.
With lots of ice, very little snow and a heightened sense of freedom to move around the lakes, the temptation to save a couple of bucks on access fees could seem important. But believe me; you can buy a lot of security for a $10 bill.
It's predicted to be a great weekend for fishing, and I want it to be a great one for you. Take a couple of minutes to be sure that your Christmas break fishing trip isn't spoiled by a crack in the ice.
This week, questions about the ice conditions on Lake Winnibigoshish have been coming in. I am working on a comprehensive report about Winnie right now and it should be ready for you sometime late Friday morning.
In the meantime, crunch week continues and we're on the ice again today, this time in search of shallow water Walleyes.
Because of the remote location, I may be off the grid while I grade all of the final exams. But don't worry, you are in the loop and by Friday morning, test results will definitely be in!
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Ice Fishing Report December 17, 2014 -
Panfish Shrug Off "Crunch Week" Cold Front
Any fear that I had about Sunfish and Crappies failing to show up for their final exams was laid to rest early on Tuesday. School was in session and the class, well they'd become hungry, maybe from doing too much homework.
Within minutes after we drilled our first series of holes, my friend Jeff Samsel laid a slab Crappie alongside of his hole. From that moment forward, the fishing was steady. By the way, it wouldn't surprise me if Jeff has a few words of his own about the trip on his Blog, Jeff Samsel Fishing
For frequent visitors to this page, the pattern we were fishing is familiar by now. We fished the bottom edges of a hole, deep water that lay adjacent to a tapering shoreline point. The fish were holding over deeper water than I prefer, suspended in water depths of 35 to 40 feet. There were some schools of fish suspended higher in the water column too, using 25 feet as their "home territory".
Since we were on a mission to gather fish for a fish fry, our rule of thumb was to bag fish that we caught in deeper water and release the ones that were teased out of the shallower schools. The strategy worked well for us on this trip and I'm going to consider that to be my "Plan A" for days when I need to fish deep water for Panfish.
Ice fishing in deep water requires plenty of weight to help maintain contact with your lure. On Tuesday, #10 Tungsten Toads, tipped with 3 or 4 wax worms were the preferred bait. We loaded up the hooks with as much live bait as they would hold and that helped attract more of the larger size fish.
Holding our lures on a tight line, well above the schools of fish helped too. The larger, more aggressive fish move up to look at the bait. For me, it seems like once they move up, away from the pack, they are more likely to eat the bait. A good rule of thumb is to keep teasing the fish, gradually bring the bait higher and higher until the fish strikes.
Occasionally, a neutral fish will swim away to re-join its classmate. When that happens, I drop my lure back to the main pack of fish and repeat the process.
Ice Fishing Report December 16, 2014 -
School's In Session
Most students are eagerly awaiting a break from school for Christmas. Not me though, I AM hoping that "my school's" are offering extra credit for staying late. I'm doing my homework and I'll be bringing tasty treats, YES enough for the whole class!
On Monday, the changing weather caused all sorts of turmoil and a flight delayed by icy runways caused the cancellation of my fishing plans. That's too bad because up here in Northern Minnesota, the storm didn't raise all that much of a ruckus and I would love to have been on the ice.
Gusty winds, a falling barometer and colder air temperatures probably didn't enhance our prospects for having a banner day today. But the disruption wasn't too dramatic and I think we're gonna be okay.
There's a lot of fishing planned for this week, so I'll know soon and so will you, because you are in the loop.
(12/16) From The Iron Range, Greg Clusiau wrote; "There are the times when an about face is needed, switching from a dinky little presentation to something a lot larger. I’ve seen this strategy pay off time and time again. Just don’t get locked into using the larger bait all day long if it’s not producing.
After struggling to catch any decent size bluegills with the basic small jig offering, I upsized the lure to see if I could interest any crappie. Using a ..." Learn More >> Read Greg Clusiau's Full Report .
Ice Fishing Report December 15, 2014 - Expecting The Un-Expected
I'm not really too sure what to say about my solo mission to find a fresh Panfish hole on Sunday. You'd think that after 30 years as a professional fisherman, nothing would surprise me, but on this first time visit to a “new Lake”, I was, again.
The unusually warm weather encouraged conditions that are seldom seen in these parts until spring. It was like a scene from a movie, I was standing on a sheet of ice that lay below a foggy, almost creepy Grey sky; I was walking ankle deep in standing water and once I walked away from shore, there was no sign of anything or anyone, all I could see was the ice below me.
As I walked, I stumbled upon dozens of holes already opened by anglers who had come before me. It was obvious that this was gonna be a far cry from discovering an un-tapped hot spot for Panfish. But I was already there and the reports I'd read on the DNR website were encouraging, so I thought what the heck, I might as well give it a test.
Ironically, in spite of the holes already drilled everywhere, the transducer of my Humminbird required none of them to capture screen images of the water column. With all of the standing water, it was just like being in a boat; all I had to do was walk a few yards, set the transducer on the ice and voila, instant messaging.
I moved, watched, and occasionally dropped a lure into the water when I spied fish. Every single time I did, I either caught a Northern Pike or gave up one of my favorite ice jigs to the toothy critters. More than once, I dropped in a brand new, a freshly prepared ice fishing jig and had it snipped off before it found the bottom. I have never seen anything like it, never, nothing, nowhere, not ever.
Through the fog, I could hear fishing sounds; they were being made by a man and his son who I'd meet later, they were catching fish. There was water splashing, buckets clanging and other auditory commotion, generally ending with a question; is it a nice one? The action was all happening so fast that I thought they must be catching Panfish, they had to be, so I made my way toward them to have a chat.
They too were catching Pike upon Pike, not a Sunfish, no Crappies, never even a Perch.
For whatever reason, the Pike in this lake were eating like there was no tomorrow and even if any of us were close enough to attract the attention of a Panfish, they were being beaten to the lure by the hungry scissor bills.
I mentioned it later to the Admiral, who I'm sure, took my words with a grain of salt. But it's the truth, 4-1/2 hours of fishing without ever staying in one spot for more than 10 minutes, without ever drilling a single hole and without ever dropping my bait into the water without getting a pike, sometimes several of them in a single hole.
It must have been the gloomy, warm weather; conditions like this would have made it a perfect day for Pike during the open water season. Maybe that was all that happened, maybe the conditions were so ideal that the Pike just had to bite. I KNOW that I will find out!
I can hardly wait to re-visit that lake at a time when the Pike will be appreciated by my fishing partners. But for today, the experience didn’t move me any closer to accomplishing my short term goal of finding some fresh Panfish; so for now I'm going back to the drawing board.
OH and BY THE WAY; remembering that the surprises aren't over, not yet, they never are. I think that's what makes me keep trying, knowing that laying just around the next bend ... :)!!
(12/15) On Leech Lake, ice fishermen are enjoying easy access to the ice. The snow cover is virtually gone, roads leading to the access ramps are easily passible and the ramps themselves are open.
The public landing at Sucker Bay is open and on Saturday ... read full story >> Leech Lake Ice Report .
(12/15) From Lake of the Woods, Mike Kinsela, Border View Lodge; "Fish are biting although we have not reached the December peak as normal.
We are a mile out from Pine Island and are working hard on the private road. We are just finishing up a warm front that we’ve had the last few days and hope to have the road available in the near future for drive outs.
Be sure to check out our new winter menu on your next visit. We have added some great new options as well as nightly dinner specials.
Temperatures in the mid-teens Tuesday and Wednesday the rest of the week will hold in the low 20’s. Chance of showers Monday otherwise very little chance of snow Tuesday through the weekend." - 1-800-776-3474 Border View Lodge .
Ice Fishing Report December 14, 2014 - Pre-Winter Meltdown
Most years at this time, we would still be speculating about which lakes have fishable ice and which ones don't. On Saturday, the concern was whether or not we could find space among the crowds.
The warm temperatures made for gorgeous fishing weather and the lack of snow gave anglers easy access to almost any lake that they wanted to visit.
Typically, the Northeast side of Leech Lake is grossly under-reported about. It's because there aren't enough businesses that stay open in the winter and that usually makes for a general lack of information. It usually means that there are no roads plowed and that means that not many folks make it onto the lake. For me, that means if I wanna know, I gotta go; So I used some of my time on Saturday to take a tour around "my side" of the lake.
On Leech Lake, ice fishermen are enjoying easy access to the ice. The snow cover is virtually gone, roads leading to the access ramps are easily passible and the ramps themselves are open.
The public landing at Sucker Bay is open and on Saturday there was vehicle traffic on the ice. There is an ice ridge along the shoreline, but the concrete ramp has been cleared and is easily passable.
Fog caused by the warm temperature made it impossible to see more than a half mile, so I don't know if there was heavy traffic on Sucker Bay or not. But there were some vehicles visible on the ice.
The private landing at North Star Resort is passible too and provides the best access to Portage Bay. While it isn't a "public ramp", it doesn't cost that much to drive onto the lake there and it is a very handy location for fishing.
The smaller lakes around the North side of Leech Lake area received heavy fishing pressure on Saturday too. I counted 13 rigs at Lower Sucker Lake and as I drove away from the earthen landing, there were still more fishermen arriving.
The warm temperatures probably won't last long enough to cause problems with the ice on the lakes. But take note, the warm weather has caused small rivers and streams to open up. I would be extremely cautious about traveling in any area where current could exist.
Shoreline areas where feeder creeks enter a lake, narrows or channels between lakes, you know the drill; be careful.
It looks like today will end the warm spell and when cold air returns, any concerns about losing ice cover will be alleviated. Barring a major snowfall, travel conditions will steadily improve this week.
I doubt that I need to say this, but just in case it's slipped your mind; don't go out on the ice without wearing cleats. Standing water on the ice has created extremely slippery conditions everywhere in the region.
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Ice Fishing Report December 13, 2014 - Prescription For Early Ice Twin-Spin Panfish
Friday started out like one of those days, before I left the driveway, I had already made about 5 trips back into the house retrieving stuff that I almost forgot. Running my usual 15 minutes behind schedule, I finally gave up and got on the road, if there was still something missing, I'd just have to learn how to live without it.
It wasn't until I met up with my pal Arne Danielson that I realized that there was still one tiny detail that we had forgotten.
The whole story tracks back to last winter when I was on a mission to discover as many "new lakes" as I could. My chief ice fishing buddy had come up with an idea, it was a small Panfish lake that he'd learned about. It would be a blast, we could walk in to fresh territory and find a whole bunch of Panfish that were eagerly waiting to entertain us.
We put it on the agenda for this winter and since the conditions were ideal for a walk into a new lake, today was the day, we were Green Fo Go!! Except we made a startling discovery; somehow in all of the excitement, we had both both forgotten which lake it was that we intended to explore.
That's right, that Bluegill and Crappie paradise, the one that were chomping at the bit to go see, evaporated from our memories.
Well, that's okay, luckily there was a "Plan B" and even though we wouldn't be playing Amerigo Vespucci, we still had great conditions to see if we could drum up some action in familiar territory.
The Bluegills on the tiny, 100 acre lake didn't let us down. The fish were straddling the shoreline break in water depths of 17 to 19 feet. Typical of the small lake, the fish were of mixed sizes that ranged from 3 inches to about 9 inches; not monsters, but good enough for us guys.
On this trip, we didn't break much new ground in terms of the presentation either. There's always been something magic about the original Frostee Jig on this lake and as usual, it was the leading producer early in the morning. Later, the lead was taken over by another old reliable lure, the Glow Red Frostee Jigging Spoon.
In either case, liberally tipping the lures with healthy Wax Worms was the best way to ensure action. That's what Arne did and while I was experimenting, he was in full scale production mode.
At lunch time, we got some warm food, fresh supplies and headed for even more familiar territory.
Far from being small, the afternoon lake we'd fish on measures thousands of acres. Over the past 30 years it has provided me and my summer fishing customers with countless hours of great fishing. This afternoon, it wasn't the lake we wanted to check out, it was the spot. A small hole within shallow water flat where we'd caught Crappies during the open water season.
You may recall some of the reports from this fall, stories about my mission to find shallow water places to fish for fall and winter Crappies. The logic is that if we can find more Crappies in shallower spots, then we can have our cake and eat it too.
Catch and release fishing is simply not possible in deep water. So if I want to catch fish in deep water, I pretty much have to bag all of the fish I catch, within my limit and that's okay, sometimes.
I'm just like you, I love to eat fish and nothing makes me happier than fixing a fantastic fish fry. But at the same time, I don't want to lose sleep at night worrying about my impact on the fish. Especially when I know that those fish inhabiting deep water are so vulnerable to injury. So if I can catch fish in shallow water, then I can eat some and let some go, I can have my fish and eat them too.
There's more than one way to tackle the problem. I could do like I did the other day; just catch a few for a meal and then leave the lake. But if you're out with your favorite fishing pal on a mission to enjoy a full day of fishing, who wants to quit after just a couple of hours on the ice?
For me, the right answer is to find more places where the fish are forced to live in shallower water. It makes a lot of sense; any lake that has a maximum depth of less than 30 feet and contains a fishable population of any species is automatically qualified.
Well this lake fits the bill and today it worked out for us. We found a school of fish that were holding in that small hole. The depth was about 21 feet and it was surrounded by shallower water ranging in depth from 15 to 19 feet. The flat lays adjacent to an even shallower feeding area that ranges in depth from 5 to 10 feet of water.
The lion's share of the fish were holding in the deepest portion of the hole at 21 feet, but there were also small packs of fish scattered along the rim of the hole in water depths of 19 to 20 feet.
I used the #8 Ice Worm tipped with small artificial tails while Arne stuck with the Glow Red Frostee Jigging Spoon tipped with Wax worms; either bait was equally effective.
I use the Ice Worm primarily because of its weight, but also because of its horizontal position in the water. I re-discovered this bait during this fall when windy conditions made it critically important use heavy jigs, featuring small hooks. The hooks are small enough to use with tiny artificial tails or small grubs like Wax Worms. For me, this is the perfect jig for pairing up with a 1 inch plastic tail and that's how I used it today.
Luckily, the plan that wasn’t a plan came together and now that I KNOW that it can, I can work on finding more places where it will. Stay tuned, you’re in the loop!
Ice Fishing Report December 12, 2014 - Angling Pressure On The Rise
On Thursday, ice fishing traffic continued to build on Itasca area lakes. Reports about good fishing for Crappies and Suinfish are taking the place of the chatter from Red Lake.
For me, a twin spin is on the schedule for today. I'll be heading to one of the area's teeny tiny lakes for panfish and then moving toward larger water for Walleye, Perch and Pike.
We'll be walking into the small lake this morning, but it wouldn't surprise me
at all if we discover that driving the truck is feasible when we arrive at the big lake.
(12/12) On Bowstring Lake, I heard from my friend Jeff Anderes who said; "Thought I'd chime in about the Bowstring pressure ridge. We went out from the West access and hit a few of our favorite spots without much luck on a brutal Monday.
Did take a run at the pressure ridge and it looked pretty active, it pushed up 2-3 feet in many places. It appeared to run shore to shore from somewhere around the north landing due south- between the south access and cow bay.
(12/12) from David Green; "Why does my Strikemaster auger 6 inch grab just before breaking through ice?"
A) Dave, the blessing about Strikemaster's Lazer style blades is that they cut very fast. They are very sharp and the cutting angle is very aggressive. The curse about Strikemaster's Lazer style blades is that they cut very fast.
The problem is that under the momentum created by cutting the hole so quickly, the leading edge of the blades
breaks through the last inch or so of ice before the hole is completely cut. That allows the auger to "grab" and unless you pull backward to break the thin ice, the auger acts like a screw instead of a drill.
There are two things that will allow you to manage the problem fairly easily.
Avoid putting unnecessary down pressure on the auger as you drill. Those sharp blades are drilling fast enough already and by "backing off"
on the pressure, you'll reduce the risk of break the ice before the drill is allowed to finish cutting the hole.
Clearing the ice chips from the hole as you're drilling will help too. As the chip build up around the auger, they tend to put down pressure on the blades and encourage grabbing or binding in the hole. That in turn encourages you to put additional down pressure on the auger.
These days, Strikemaster also offers a chipper style blade
which reduces the problem. The trade off is that many of the chipper style blades are slower cutting. If you can make the adjustment, it might be worth switching the drill on your auger for the chipper version.
Otherwise, you can do like I did and learn how to "hold back" on the drill as it was about to punch through the ice. Slowing down the throttle and not forcing the blades with too much pressure will greatly reduce this auger's tendency to grab and break those last couple of inches.
(12/12) from Dave Pruin; Q)1 "I see by the latest crappie picture that your using a spring bobber now, that St Croix guy got to you last year. I still think you should do a piece on when to spring bobber when not to.
A) Dave, I agree and I will. But for now, the short answer is that the spring bobber has helped me catch more Crappies and Sunfish. The spring bobber is especially helpful in detecting strike from Panfish that come from below the bait and push upward. It is this "negative pressure" that's hard to feel, especially when your fingers get chilly. The spring bobber allows me to see it more quickly, allowing me to respond before the fish spits out the bait.
Q2) "Do use a camera at all. I am thinking to buying the phone size Agua View more to help with seeing brush piles and such that we fish in Iowa, I never see you or your buddies use them, to much trouble for the reward?" - Dave Pruin
A) Actually Dave I do carry the Aqua View Micro AV along on my ice fishing trips. The one I use has a built in DVR so I can save snippets of interesting video that I stumble into.
I use mine primarily as a tool to identify structure and to confirm that the fish I see on my Humminbird are really what I think they are.
The micro fits into my pocket, so I can have it on hand for those curious moments. You know, those times when you just gotta have a look at what's down there.
Ice Fishing Report December 11, 2014 - Anglers Finding Easy Access
Frankly, I'm surprised that it's taken this long to begin hearing reports about ice fishermen driving trucks to their "honey holes".
But on Wednesday, reports trickled in about vehicle traffic on Cutfoot Sioux, Lake Winnie and Bowstring. Now that they've started, I'm guessing that we'll be hearing a lot more about vehicle traffic on the lakes over the next 72 hours.
On Wednesday, I spoke with my friend Paul Fournier who mentioned that metro area lakes are frozen, but have much less ice. The average is somewhere around 8 inches, maybe up to 10 inches in isolated areas.
According to Fournier; "There's a lot of pent up demand in the metro region for places where ice fishermen can drive their vehicles". That means it could be a busy weekend up here if they decide to make a road trip into the Grand Rapids area.
(12/11) On Lake Winnibigoshish John Seekon, The Pines Resort; "15 inches of ice seems to be the average on Lake Winnie. Walleyes are being caught out on the humps out from the Birches Landing, in a mixture of sizes from too small to too large. Perch are being caught in 10 to 14 feet in tamarack bay. The pike spearers are reporting good success out in front or Bowens. Traffic is fairly light on the lake, I think alot of people must be at the shopping malls". Contact The Pines Resort for lodging and ice shelter rentals on Lake Winnibigoshish .
(12/11) Gus' Place Resort, Ball Club Lake; "We are finally closing in on a good 12 inches of clear ice on the lake in front of the resort.
There is thicker ice on the South end off the public access, with no snow and no slush.
Fishing is very good for Perch & Northerns and fair for Walleye. Walleye are 25 ft. deep along the drop offs and the Perch & Pike are 12-16 feet. The last time we were out the Perch were only interested in small jigs and minnow heads. They would come in for the whole minnows, but would take the minnow parts.
The previous day on the lake the pattern was opposite. The fish are always there you just need to find the right trigger to get the bite." - Gus Sheker, Gus' Place Resort .
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Humminbird Family Values Video Contest Do you have any great family fishing videos in the can? Or, maybe you've been waiting for an opportunity to use your smartphone or camcorder to take a family fishing video? Now's the time to show off your talent! You could win a trip for four to the Bassmaster Classic! It's easy: load your video onto your Youtube channel, paste the url into the entry form found here: and get your friends to vote for your video! #Bassmaster >> Click Humminbird Family Values Video Contest |
(12/11) On Bowstring Lake, I stopped to look at the South landing on Tuesday and found out that there has already been some light truck traffic from that location. There's a small, but manageable pressure ridge at the ramp, but no visible sign of any cracks or ridges on the South side of the lake.
Fishing reports about Bowstring have been mixed, indications are that Walleye fishing has been slow. There are a handful of folks giving Bowstring Crappie fishing the thumbs up.
There will definitely be more news coming from Bowstring this weekend as the ice fishermen begin exploring.
Note: There is a rumor about a big crack somewhere in the mid-section of the lake. These are the perfect conditions for developing pressure ridges, so if you do venture out there, keep your eyes peeled.
(12/11) From The Marcell Area, Frontier Sports' Paul Larson said; "Ice conditions in the Marcell area are generally good. Most lakes have at least 8 inches of ice or more with the exception being several of the large deep lakes. There is little vehicle traffic, only 4 wheelers and sleds are venturing out. Most fishermen are walking out. Pulling a small sled loaded with your equipment is a pleasure as there is very little snow on the ice. Crappie fishing has been fair and Walleye fishing about the same. It has been difficult to locate fish in any quantity. Spear houses have been out for a while now. With milder temperatures in the forecast for this weekend, there should be lots of folks out on the area lakes. The season is upon us and the tackle department is fully stocked for ice fishing with many new items for 2014. Reels, like the new 13 Fishing inline reels, the CGI and the Black Betty 6061, rods and combos, portables and pop-ups as well as electronics and augers. We also carry the Digger Auger Carrier along with many other ice accessories. A wide variety of jigs and plastics are in stock now along with a large selection of lipless rattle baits by LIVE TARGET, RAPALA and SALMO. This type of lure is becoming increasingly popular with Walleye anglers and they are very effective when teamed up with a jig and minnow on a dead stick set up close by. It’s like “CALLING ALL FISH”. The bait shop just got a fresh delivery of minnows, waxies and spearing decoys. We’re all set, are you? Be sure to drop by when you’re in the area. Have fun and be safe out there!".
Frontier Sports features a complete and fully stocked Sporting Goods department and Bait Shop, Gas, Grocery, Deli and Gift Shop. Frontier Sports is an authorized LIVE TARGET and SAVAGE GEAR dealer. Frontier Sports 219-832-3901 or Email .
(12/11) On Cutfoot Sioux, Bryan Harris Eagle Nest Lodge says; "We had a couple spearing groups stay over the weekend and they had good luck on Cutfoot Sioux, right in front of the resort! It was easy for them to haul their portables out and come and go. The water was pretty clear, and they got lots of nice northerns. The biggest was 9#, but they got several 4 and 5 pounders. The ice is over a foot thick and in great shape. We have cabins available throughout the winter...nice rates". - EMAIL Eagle Nest Lodge
(12/11) On Leech Lake, Ray at Big Rock Resort says; "Ice on leech is good, real good. The lake is covered in solid clear ice, averaging anywhere from 10-12 inches pretty much everywhere, we’re seeing plenty of 4 wheelers out on the ice already, I’ve even heard that some brave people are driving out, but I wouldn’t recommend that just yet. The one downside is there is very little snow on the lake, so banking houses can be a chore, but traveling is as easy as ever.
And Walleye are biting, on the big lake side area’s of water that are between 17-23 feet seem to be producing the best, humps and rock piles out in front of the resort have been doing well thus far, fatheads on spoons have been working best, just make sure to bang the lure around on the bottom, it will call in the big girls!
We have some really nice weather headed this way for the next 10 days or so, with highs into the mid to upper 30’s, it will make for some perfect fishing conditions, if you’re interested in coming up for some ice fishing give us a call, we have sleeper and non sleeper ice houses and spear houses available to rent, and plenty of warm cabins, we can even help you get to and from them". - Come see us at Big Rock Resort, Ray
Ice Fishing Report December 10, 2014 - Early Ice Showdown At The Crappie Hole
OH MAN, I love early ice! Especially when it's clear, perfect, thickerthanIthoughtitwas ice!
At first glance, the clear, dark ice appeared to be 8, maybe 10 inches thick. The clarity of the un-broken ice must make judging its thickness tricky though, because where I drilled the first hole, it was 15 inches thick.
It's too bad that I didn't drill the first couple of holes in a better spot. The GPS said that this was the exact spot where we found 'em before. But the fish didn't get the memo, the Crappie hole wasn't jam packed with fish. In fact, the area where I expected to find them produced only some sub-standard size Perch. The Crappies were nowhere to be seen.
I thought maybe I was fishing too deep, so I grabbed the Humminbird, a little water and started walking.
Checking the water column for fish was effortless, the clear ice allowed the transducer to provide accurate readings without drilling holes. The problem was that the graph was providing accurate readings of no fish, at least not yet.
I was just beginning to get concerned when I decided to try moving into deeper water. I tried 30 feet, nothing there. Then 32, 34, 36 ... nope, not there either. At 39 feet I saw my first school of fish, drilled a hole and teased my first Crappie of the season to the surface.
The news was good, but at the same time, it was bad too. I wanted to catch some fish for a meal, but I didn't want to spend the day injuring fish in that deep water. Since I was itching to break in my shiny new auger anyway, I decided to make a little game out of it.
After I walked the territory, drilling holes at random intervals, I grabbed my gear and started jumping from hole to hole. At each stop, I checked for a school of fish and if they were there, I tested their patience by allowing my bait to drop; but not all of the way to the fish.
It was a show down, if they wanted my offering, they'd have to come and get it.
Some of them did, some didn't, but usually there was an aggressive fish or two in each pack. The most aggressive ones would move up a few feet to snatch my lure and doing this, I literally caught one fish from each hole.
I caught my first fish using a Glow White Tungsten Toad tipped with a pink artificial tail. When I started playing my little game with the fish, I wanted a larger profile bait that the fish could see from a greater distance. I switched to the bright Pink/ Yellow Fat Boy and pinned on a couple of waxworms.
That's how I gathered my mixed bag of Crappies and Bluegills for dinner.
Yes, finding the Bluegill and Crappie all mixed up in the deep water together was a surprise. Usually, they would be segregated to some extent. At the moment, I'm not sure how to explain it, but as usual, I do have a theory. I think that it has something to do with the Oxygen levels in the deep water.
Since we rarely have this much ice so early in the season, it could be as simple as arriving on the scene too early. Looking for them where I've found them before, where they will arrive later this winter.
Last year, I never even fished this lake until January, after our slush problems began to clear up. What if these fish always inhabit this deepest water at first ice and I don't know it because we've never been there to see it? I'll work on the theory this winter, keeping you in loop every step of the way!
(12/10) In Grand Rapids, Cub Reporter, Brian Castellano wrote; "A buddy and I hit an oxbow off of the mighty Mississippi River, in the Grand Rapids area.
When we got to our spot, we saw the ice sheet had dropped 2 to 3 feet, since this past Sunday.
We wondered if there would be any gators left in this skinny water.
We got set up and found 3' of water along the middle of this oxbow and it was game on from the get go!
We iced a dozen or so gators, with the big fish of the day being twin 30 inch fish. Action was fast and furious right off the bat and fizzled out by 2:00 pm.
It was funny setting the tip ups with only 1.5' of line hanging down. Live suckers and dead suckers were the bait of choice and both seemed to work equally well. There looked to be about 8-10" of ice".
Ice Fishing Report December 9, 2014 - Ready - Set - Go
New ice auger assembled and tested 
Humminbird fully charged and ready for action Fresh ice line on the reels Cameras charged and ready
Prepared for a day full of Multi-Tasking? I AM and I'm on my way to the lake where I'll be observing the observable and reporting the reportable.
(12/9) Ice Auger Carrier for Snow machines? On Monday, I got an email asking about a rack for carrying an ice auger on snow machines.
A) My experience with auger carriers is limited, but as it happens, picking one up for myself was part of my mission at the ice
show this weekend.
I talked with everybody I know and the consensus among those experts was to go with the one manufactured by Digger. Following their advice, I stopped in at the Reeds Sporting Goods booth, they had one and I bought it.
I looked it up and this link will take you right to it. >> Digger Auger Carrier
(12/9) From The Iron Range, Greg Clusiau wrote; "I thought of the days when we didn’t have the luxury of ice fishing electronics. It makes one wonder how in the world we ever caught any fish, especially when they were suspended.
I remember fishing late ice crappie on Buck Lake, off of Anderson’s Point, when the depth to fish was considered to be ..." Learn More >> Read Greg Clusiau's Full Report .
Ice Fishing Report December 8, 2014 - Ice Show Recap, Staying Warm
Summarizing the 2014 St. Paul Ice Show is easy, and I think reflective of what was on everyone's mind after the brutally cold winter of 2012/2103; staying warm.
On display were ice shelters, snow suits, transport vehicles and thermal gadgets of every sort. Even "hot boxes" for keeping your ice hole warm and cozy while you fish.
In fact, it's fair to say that no matter what icy scenario your mind conjures up, there’s a solution for melting it into manageability.
If there's ice, there's a way to get there and when you do, there's a perfectly designed shelter to keep you roaster toasty warm.
For me, the focus was pitching in at the Lindy display to talk with folks about what to drop into the water to help them catch fish.
It was easy this year because thanks to the early ice, testimonials about the new Perch Talker, the lure we were featuring, were coming into the booth in real time. While we're on the tank doing demonstrations, ice fishermen are coming right into the booth and telling us about how they had already been catching fish on them this week.
My favorite quote of the weekend came from Jonny Petrowske. On Sunday he was fishing on Red Lake and sent us a text message that said; "Perch Talker should come with a bag of fish batter. (I am) Watching it on the camera and the Walleyes go Axe Murderer on it as soon as it clicks a few times". Needless to say, with testamonials like that, our work really wasn't all that hard.
So with a bait that was selling itself and a crew of seasoned pros who had the booth under control at all times, each of us had a bit of time to move around the show and gather supplies for the season.
For me, an auger rack for the snowmobile, a set of ice trekker cleats for the boots, some fresh ice line and a supply of Cold Snap Reel Wraps should pretty much take care of list.
Oh by the way, I mentioned that there were lots of ice ice shelters at the show. I even found one that suits me and that means that I'll have to clear out some space in the garage. If you're in the market for an older, but still serviceable Otter portable shelter, I may be able to help. Shoot me an email about the Otter Portable Shelter for sale.
With the 2014 St. Paul Ice Show behind us, it's time to catch up with all of the ice fishermen who sprung out of the starting gate without me this year. So today, I'll be assembling the assembleable and installing the installable. Put on your crash helmet, I'm coming in!
(12/8) From the Grand Rapids Area, Reed Ylitalo wrote; "On Friday I was out on a two different lakes in the deer River area fishing for walleyes.
First lake I showed up on had 11-1/2" of solid black iceand very minimal snow cover so you must have tracks or chains on it wheeler to get around.
Second lake we arrived with over 14 inches of ice in most all spots. Fishing was good finding Great variety of size of fish from 11" to 24" we were fishing structure anywhere from 19 to 25 feet of water.
A green glow jig seem to be the best on both lakes with a full minnow on a dead stick set up. - " Reed Ylitalo, - Wings and Walleyes Guide Service .
(12/8) From Lake of the Woods, Mike Kinsela, Border View Lodge; "The winter season is here! We have houses out and have started fishing. We plan to have a couple sleepers out today. Our houses are set in 25-28 feet of water and we have about 12 inches of ice. We had some people out fishing last week and this weekend and they did well.
The guides have been working hard to smooth out the trails. We have not opened our private road to vehicles yet, the ice is very rough.
We are excited about our new menu items for this winter! Some of the new items are Walleye Cakes and Prime Rib bite appetizers. We have also added Big Salads with your choice of chicken, steak or shrimp. But that’s not all we have added some tasty new sandwiches and burgers, try the Smokey Brisket sandwich or Spicy jack Burger!
Make sure to get your winter reservations booked, February is filling in fast so call to reserve you dates!
It looks as if we have a warm-up coming our way. Wednesday it will get into the mid 30’s and continue thru Monday. Temps seem to be mild with little to no chance of rain or snow." - 1-800-776-3474 Border View Lodge .
 The ICE 688 features a high-speed LCD with digital depth read-out to remove guesswork and Precision GPS to help you find and return to productive spots. |
Humminbird Hard Water Hero - EUFAULA, AL. (December 4, 2014) Across the Ice Belt, anglers are already banging up early-ice walleye, panfish and pike. And, as cold temperatures befall much of the Ice Belt, all indications point to a good, long ice fishing season. |
Ice Fishing Report December 5, 2014 - Fishing For Deals?
The St. Paul Ice Show starts today and along with friends, I'll be there to visit with you about your ice fishing plans for this season. I'll be doing my best to track down some cool new gadgets and You Know that I'm gonna share.
While I'm there, I'll be working on an answer to this question from a reader who's shopping for a gift;
(12/5) "Hello Jeff. I'm looking to buy a handheld GPS unit for Xmas for my dad. Once a year we go to big Winne, and fish open water. Whenever we can, we fish hard water here in Wisconsin.
I'm looking to get a unit that we can use to start marking spots where we find structure, catch fish, etc. I would assume if I wanted detailed lake maps of Minnesota and Wisconsin I would have to buy that after correct?
Don't need the most expensive on the market but I would like a decent unit that will help is ultimately catch more fish.
A) While I'm thinking this one over, I wish that you would weigh in with your ideas too. Do me a favor and check the post (12-5) on the Fishing Reports Minnesota page and then add your ideas to the discussion.
Ice Fishing Report December 4, 2014 - Studying The Studyable and Researching the Researcahble
Just lately, keeping up with questions has been keeping me hopping. Not because there are so many of them, but because giving a good answer means that I have to do my homework before I shoot off my mouth.
So, if you sent me a question and I said that I'd answer it, then I will. It just might take a little bit longer to research than I expected.
On Tuesday, I started answering a question from Craig Anderson and got part of the way through it. I've worked on that this morning, so without further ado;
(12/4) Upper Red Lake Walleye - Marcell Area Crappie from Craig Anderson; I won't be stopping by to say hi this weekend at the Ice Fishing Show, as I will be in Marcell with a good friend trying my luck on the ice.
I have been reading the reports of the bite on Red Lake, and may venture up that way. But I don't know if we will have a snow machine with us and may have to walk. Are there accessible spots on foot? near the Tamarack River?
Also wondering where you might suggest we could hoof it to a sunfish crappie hole. I've usually done well in the Marcell area buit wondering if you've got any other suggestions? If I pass you on Highway 169 I'll be sure to give a wave. - Craig
A) Craig, the easy answer comes first. By this weekend, most of the rental operators on Upper Red Lake will be allowing vehicle traffic onto the ice. One example is the report from Todd Mortenson at Mort's Dock who said that they began allowing vehicle traffic (no diesels) on their plowed roads yesterday (12/2). West Wind Resort is also allowing light trucks onto the ice via their plowed roads.
Email Contacts: Morts Dock • Westwind Resort .
Now for the tricky question; where are some good places for hoofing it to a Panfish hole.
Hmm ... What’s interesting about this is how fast the answer changes. What was the "hot bite" quickly dissolves on one lake, forcing ice fishermen to try and find another one.
Fishermen don't dilly dally when it comes to getting over the top of a hot biting school of Panfish and almost as soon as we know where there's a good bite, it becomes last winter's news.
Throughout the past few ice fishing seasons I've made a special project out of trying as many new lakes (new to me) as I could squeeze into the schedule.
Most of the time, Panfish are the target and I really do prefer walking, so if I can, I target small waters.
Part of the reason that I move around so much is that I want to learn about a lot lakes. But another reason, the most important one, is to help minimize my impact on these small waters. I want to avoid falling in to the trap of the familiar cycle; find fish, catch fish, then keep going back until they don't bite anymore.
Few anglers realize how effective we have become at degrading our own favorite fishing spots. We have become so efficient at finding them, so proficient at catching them, that we run the risk of leaving little behind except our tracks.
For you, the Marcel, MN area offers more opportunity to fish these "small waters" than most anglers can imagine. With 1000 lakes in Itasca County, the biggest problem you'll have is narrowing down the choices.
I have a few simple rules that help make my decisions easier to take. Here's a simple way of sorting through them and coming up with a short list of small lakes to experiment on.
First, I want the lake to be manageable for fishing on foot. That means that most of the time, I'm looking for lakes that are 100 acres or smaller. Next, I want to be able to fish most of the productive looking water. That means I don't want the structure to be too intricate. Ideally, my dream lake would have one point, one shallow flat and one deep hole. I know that sounds impossible to find, but you'd be surprised at how often you can come close.
Most folks already know about using the Minnesota DNR's Lake finder section for researching lakes and it's a great tool, but I don't go there first. Navigating the Lake finder section takes too long; the site structure assumes that you already know which lake you want to study.
I start here, at the >> Recreation Compass instead. That way I can look at the map and get ideas by checking every lake that looks interesting. Let's say you want to check every lake within a target territory, maybe a 20 mile radius of Marcel, this tool allows you to do that.
When you see a lake you like the looks of, click on it and voila, the interactive map offers a link to the Lake finder where you can now learn the learnable about the lake. When you spot one that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck, then that's the one to try!
Don't expect miracles from every one of your decisions, but I think you'll amaze yourself at how often you do find a gem. For me, there's nothing more fun than catching the first fish in a new pond.
Recently, there have been a few writers picking my brain about ice fishing for Panfish too. Instead of trying to re-write everything that we've talked about, here are a few links to articles that help expand on some of these ideas.
The In-Fisherman Ice Guide featured and article called "Panfish Potpourri". There are also two recent articles at Lindy Land; one by Dan Johnson, "Bull Blugills Now" and another by Jeff Samsel "Multi-Tasking For Perch and Panfish".
I'll probably think of more links later, but this ought to keep you busy for today. If you don’t find what you need, then let me know and we'll dig in even deeper.
(12/4) Gus' Place Resort, Ball Club Lake; "The ice cap is growing fast now and already good for ATV & Sleds with around 10 inches of great clear ice.
Perch are roaming in 12-14 feet of water on the drop offs, use whole minnows.
It took only 15 minutes to hook up this nice Perch snack.
Cabins & Day Houses; Angling & Spearing.". - Gus Sheker, Gus' Place Resort
(12/4) Upper Red Lake Walleye - Marcell Area Crappie from Craig Anderson; I won't be stopping by to say hi this weekend at the Ice Fishing Show, as I will be in Marcell with a good friend trying my luck on the ice.
I have been reading the reports of the bite on Red Lake, and may venture up that way. But I don't know if we will have a snow machine with us and may have to walk. Are there accessible spots on foot? near the Tamarack River?
Also wondering where you might suggest we could hoof it to a sunfish crappie hole. I've usually done well in the Marcell area buit wondering if you've got any other suggestions? If I pass you on Highway 169 I'll be sure to give a wave. - Craig
A) Craig, the easy answer comes first. By this weekend, most of the rental operators on Upper Red Lake will be ... read full story >> Upper Red Lake Walleye, Marcell Area Crappie .
(12/4) On Cutfoot Sioux, Cub Reporter, Bryan Harris Eagle Nest Lodge says; "Our first group of spearing guys just checked in and started cutting holes. They found a good foot of beautiful ice on Cutfoot Sioux and the visibility was good! Excellent conditions to start the season!!
We have 3 large (4 and 5 bedroom) log cabins for rent this winter. We don't rent fish houses or plow roads on the lake, but it is easy 4-wheeler or snowmobile access from our beach. Most of our guys bring their own portables up, but we can arrange house rentals from other resorters on Lake Winnie.
We also keep our fish cleaning house heated and water on so it works out great for our fishermen. Winter rates are $50/adult/night and $25/kid(K-12)/night (minimum $100/night)." - Eagle Nest Lodge Call (800) 356-3775
(12/3) Gus' Place Resort, Ball Club Lake; "I was out on the lake this afternoon and in one simple word the experience was Beautiful. >> View Video
Really impressive. Most of the lake has little or no snow on it and looking through crystal clear 8 inch ice you can watch the fish scatter in front of you in 4 to 6 feet of water. I could even see my own shadow on the bottom of the lake. It truly is walking on water and I wish everyone could have the experience I had today. There are so many years the snow covers the ice preventing one from the full visual experience of walking on clear ice on a sunny day.
I took off my gloves and rubbed my hand on the clear glass surface, it felt like my hand had grease on it and when I looked at my palm, it was completely dry and I couldn’t feel the cold.
Ball Club Lake is definitely fishable. Small spearing and angling houses are popping up along the shoreline and we have visible ATV traffic around the rim of the lake.
We are not ready for truck traffic yet, but soon, very soon. I wouldn’t trust the deep middle of the lake except on foot. Even on foot one should walk with a probe to test questionable ice thickness ahead of you. If we do not get ant heavy snows the ice should be thick enough in a couple of weeks to take out the resort day houses. Get out there, it’s beautiful". - Gus Sheker, Gus' Place Resort
(12/3) On Lake Winnibigoshish, The Pines Resort - John Seekon said; "We are starting to see a few anglers venturing out, but the cold windy days have slowed them down. We are hearing of perch being caught in tamarack bay in 13 to 14 feet, walleyes being caught out on the humps in 24 to 30 feet, out from the birches, and pike spearing has been going well in front of Bowens and also Third River. Ice depths are 10 to 13 inches with little snow cover. Bring your ice cleats". - Contact The Pines Resort for lodging and ice shelter rentals on Lake Winnibigoshish .
(12/3) Cub Reporter, Darv Oelke Bowstring Bowstring Shores Resort says; "Good Ice 10 to 12 inches. There is a pressure ridge across the lake so be a where of it. I did see one vehicle out on the ice on the west side. I do have my spear house out and getting a few northerns. Crappies are biting in that 20 to 26 feet on a crappie minnow and jig. A few walleyes on perch point in 16 to 22 feet. We have houses out and we do have openings for the winter season." Darv Oehlke, Bowstring Shores Resort >> Email
(12/3) Cub Reporter, Jacki LaValla Sportsman's Lodge - Baudette Lake of the Woods South Shore
"Ice update! The ice has come along nicely but we must stress safety an follow the resorts marked trails. If there isn't a resort trail, then it is A No Go Area.
Any place that there is current present is still likely to be have thin ice. Ice fishermen should be cautious about these remaining danger spots. With the new dusting of snow it is tough to see different areas of ice.
With all that said, we have a strong 11"-12" in the Four Mile Bay and 12"-13" on the lake. We have checked ice all the way out to 26' of water. Water clarity is good and there are have been quite a few small to nice eating fish being caught in 22' and some slot fish being caught in shallow in the morning and evening.
The ice is rough and we will be spending the beginning of the week grooming and making trails and the most important thing checking and rechecking the ice thicknesses.
We will be starting our season, Friday December 5! For reservations call 800-862-8602 and let the fun begin!
Sportsman's Oak Island Lodge - Oak Island/NW Angle Lake of the Woods
The ice is coming along nicely up north too at Sportsman's Oak Island Lodge and Sportsman's Eagle Ridge on Oak Island but due to the current it does take a little longer. We are looking at 10-12 days at this point. Stay tuned. For reservations at these locations call 800-772-8411".
(12/3) Mike Sivanich checked in asking; "Just a quick question about your ThermaCell heated insoles; what type of boots do you wear with them? Also do you still recommend them?
A) Mike, I guess that it's been 3 years now since I first tried the ThermaCells. Here's how I answered this same question from Rick Johnson in February 2013, almost 2 years ago.
"Rick, the ThermaCell heated insoles are working very well for me. If you were following reports last week, then you know that I fished almost every day that week and that temperatures dropped well into the frostbite range.
I never even thought about cold feet; just charge them up overnight, turn 'em on in the morning and forget 'em
The only open question is how long they will last. Only time will tell, but so far they have held up really well and they continue to get put through their paces".
Mike, I still have that original pair and they are still working, albeit now showing some signs that they are aging.
I wear mine inside of Arctic Weight Muck Boots, which do a nice job of keeping my feet dry. I've chosen these boots more for being water proof, than for being warm. If you wear the ThermaCells inside of an even "warmer boot", your results will be even better.
Ice Fishing Report December 2, 2014 - A Word To The Wise About Ice and Your Life!
I saw something yesterday that scared me; a pickup truck parked on the ice.
I know, you're thinking so what, we'll all be on the ice in pickup trucks before long, what's so scary about that?
It wasn't because I don't like driving on the ice, I do; but I'd prefer to drive out when its safety is less questionable than it is right now.
What scared me yesterday, was remembering what I saw on that same lake just last week. I wonder if the driver of that pickup saw it too. If he did, then he's probably smart enough to stay close to shallow water, where the "good ice" is and away from the deep spots that weren't even frozen a week ago.
I'm giving him credit; I'll say that he's got it completely under control. He watched the ice forming and kept track of where the lake has been frozen for a good long time. Then he drilled a bunch of test holes and assured himself that he was driving to a relatively safe place, using a travel path across solid ice. Whew, thank goodness that he took all of that into consideration!
DON'T LET IT MAKE YOU LAZY, DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK!
There are lakes where the ice is probably fairly safe to drive on. Many of them froze early and with little snow cover, ice is becoming thicker by the day. The problem is that all of the ice looks the same, even though it's really not.
Assuming that you want to come home alive, simply seeing a truck parked on the ice isn't enough to signal that you have a green light. Without a path or plowed road to guide you, there's no assurance that you're following the "safe" path. Without any snow to slow you down, it might appear that you could drive anywhere and everywhere.
I could see where it would be really easy to drive to a spot, drill a hole and find a foot of ice. Then believing that you were on thick, solid ice, hop back into the truck and drive just a little too far; crossing into territory that only froze up a few days ago.
Okay, enough lecturing; I'm all for getting out there and having a great day of ice fishing. Please don't be too anxious though, the reason we have feet is to provide transportation to the early ice fishing spots. If we were supposed to drive, we'd have been born with a Hemi 
(12/3) YOU KNOW that Multi-Tasking is my middle name. That's why I had to chuckle about the title that Jeff Samsel chose for this recent artlice about getting ready for early season, multi-species ice fishing.
“Crappies here,” Jeff Sundin told me as he began drilling holes 100 yards or so from where we’d just caught bluegills. From atop the ice, everything looked the same. I knew Sundin knew what was beneath us, though, so I upsized my offering and tipped it with a minnow head, and it wasn’t long before I was pulling a ..."
Read Article >> Multi-Tasking Perch Bluegill and Crappie .
(12/2) From Upper Red Lake, Greg Clusiau wrote; "Anglers new and old are flocking to this hot walleye producer like crazed shoppers to a big box store on Black Friday.
Even friends across the border, living in Ontario, have made a trip or two to Red Lake because their home waters, although further north, haven’t froze up to the point where one can safely enjoy the sport of ice fishing.
One of these anglers is Tom Batiuk, who resides in Ft. Frances. Tom, a pilot, recently flew over the fish rich waters of ..." Read More >> Read Greg Clusiau's Full Report
(12/2) From Bowstring Lake on Monday, Sean Casey says; "Out fishing on bowstring today, 13 inches of solid clear ice; no white ice".
Ice Fishing Report Decem-brrr-ONE, 2014 - There, Now That's More Like It!
We've been talking for a few weeks already about how early the ice is and about how long the winter is gonna be; but today it feels better.
Now when I mention that the temperature is -9, heading for a high of 4 degrees, at least I'm saying it during the correct month, the one in which winter is supposed to begin.
Even if the solstice is still 3 weeks away, at least now it feels like we're more in sync; on track. There, I feel warmer already, now I'm happy!
(12/1) From the Chisago area this Sunday, Thomas Malmgren said; "There are 10 inches on North Goose Lake in Chisago. I'll be driving on it next weekend".
(12/1) From the Duluth area this Sunday, Ryan Paulson; "Several permanent ice houses are out on our lake near Duluth. ATV & Snowmachines are on the lake. But there are no vehicles yet and there are about 8" of ice".
(12/1) I got a note from the folks
at the Dassel Cokato FFA. Remember them? They're the ones raffling off a pile of prizes including the custom made Wheel House to help pay for their agriculture trip to South Africa. The drawing is only a week away, December 8, 2014.
(11/26) Ice Augers - Dave Peterson wrote; Hey Jeff, I'm an on-air volunteer at KAXE, the radio station where I met you 2 or 3 years ago.
I'm looking for your opinion on buying a new ice auger. I'm 67, in pretty good shape, spear 60-70 % of my winter fishing and I'm due for a good new ice auger.
Gas vs Battery? 8" vs 10"? Good model and brand of each?
A) Well Dave, you are not the only one asking this question. In fact, I'm trying to make the same decision for myself right now and after already shelling out some hard earned cash on augers that have disappointed me, I'm trying to get it right this time too.
Tackling this one is tricky because I hate to denigrate a product by citing examples from sampling polls that are too small to provide solid scientific information.
But based solely on my own observations, ice augers on the market today are becoming generally less dependable, not more.
I can't see that it matters if they happen to be Red, Green, Yellow or Blue. Either me, or somebody that I know has had one of them and sooner or later they've been disappointed by too many of them.
I picked up a shiny Red 4-Stroke last winter and at first, it appeared to be the ideal machine. It was quiet, easy starting and absolutely smoke free. The honeymoon was short though because before winter's end, it failed me twice; The first time, it conked out half way through drilling a hole in the morning. The second time, it failed to start at all, leaving me stranded on Devils Lake for almost a week. I spent my entire trip without ever producing a single hole with that auger. Luckily, I had friends who were having better luck with their augers (at the time).
I'll admit that we are a demanding bunch, hard core anglers who ask the machines to perform no matter how rugged the conditions. But that said, I still think that we should be able to expect one season of relatively trouble free operation from ANY new auger.
From what I've seen, every manufacturer has some tried and true models, machines that have been around and have a proven track record. So I believe that there are still enough good ones out there to provide you with some good choices.
Consider this, you and I have ... read full story >> Auger Wars? NOPE, Just Drilling For Answers .
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Photo Gus' Place on Ball Club Lake; "Perch fishing has been excellent using Crappie minnows and Waxies. The best fishing depths have varied from 10-12 feet and also 20-22 feet of water".
Tuesday, I was reminded about how many fans of ice fishing Grand Rapids really has, provided that they have access to a lake.
Photo Reed Ylitalo; "Fishing here in the north country as been some of the best I have seen in a long time"
Shallow water weeds get better light, especially when the snow cover is so sparse. That means you'll be able to find productive weedline habitat all winter long.
Lack of snow cover plays into the hands of ice fishermen. On Sunday There was vehicle traffic on almost every lake I passed, even areas where I've never seen vehicles before.
Video Courtesy Gus Sheker on Ball Club Lake. The Perch are on the move.
contact >> Gus' Place Resort
Photo Bowstring Lake, Trails End Resort; "Vehicle access to the lake is good. There's 17" of clear ice, mostly crack free and uncovered by snow.
This week on Fish ED guest host Jeff Sundin takes you on a trip to Northern Minnesota where the ice conditions are ideal and the Panfish are more than cooperative!
Rental shelters at the Pines Resort on Lake Winnie are on deck and ready to be moved onto the lake for their O-Fish-Al opening on December 31, 2014 Contact >> The Pines Resort .
On Saturday, there were a dozen rigs parked in the lot, ice fishermen making their way onto the lake using ATV's.
Depending on your appetite for adventure, it's even possible to drive a truck over the ice ridge at the birches landing to gain access to the ice.
On Leech Lake's Sucker Bay,
travel conditions were excellent; there's 40 CM (16 inches) of clear, hard ice with no snow cover.
On Leech Lake, travel conditions will improve thoughout the week as temperatures move well Souith of the freezing mark.
On Lake Winnibigoshish, Christmas Day Walleyes were cooperative on the west side. With 16 inches of good ice and easy travel conditions, there might just be a Walleye weekend ahead for ice fishermen on "the big lake".
Pickup trucks on the ice at Winnie's west side on Christmas Day. The road they used was flat as a pancake and completely snow-free. The surface of the ice was dry and it's thickness measured 16 inches.
This week on Fish ED guest host Jeff Sundin takes you on a trip to Northern Minnesota where the ice conditions are ideal and the Panfish are more than cooperative!
Ice fishermen using light trucks now have easy access to lake Winnibigoshish at the "Poachers Landing"
near Bowens Flats.
It was easy to see two pressure ridges that divide the ice on the North side of Winnibigoshish. The larger of the two appears to span the entire distance from Tamarack Point to just west of the Rock Pile along the north shore.
Easy access and excellent driving conditions are producing scenes like this on small lakes all over the Itasca
area.
Photo Greg Clusiau: Amanda Buer with a monster northern Minnesota crappie. Read >> Greg Clusiau Article
On Sunday, the nearly snow free, clear ice made for smooth sailing on Bemidji area lakes.
Photo courtesy Zach Dagel: Ironically, the photo was not taken by me, but it could have been! The image on the screen of Dagel's Humminbird was nearly identical to the screen image I was seeing 70 miles away.
Photo courtesy Zach Dagel: Jill Osse showing off a Bluegill caught as she allowed Dagel to tag along to her favorite Panfish spot.
At the Northeast corner of Portage Bay, the road leading out of the North Star Campground has been well used. Some folks are driving on the ice with light trucks, while others with heavier trucks are parking on shore and moving around with ATVs.
From The Official Royal Order of the 21sters;
"In acknowledgement, be it remembered that we have surrendered our membership in the world of the so-called Normal People, and that among our other quirks and foibles is the realization that ... Click to learn about >> The Royal Order Of The 21sters .
Tune in today at 10:30 AM, Fox Sports North. Fish ED TV host Jon Thelen takes you ice fishing for Crappies in Northern Minnesota.
Crappie fishing in the Deer River area has been good. Focus on Shallow water lakes for consistent daytime action.
Photo Lindy Blogger Dan Johnson: The idea of catching Walleyes like this while you're Ice fishing in your tennis shoes could grow on you!
The Foo Flyer is designed to be fished with either a whole minnow or with artificial tails. Be sure
that you have the minnow or plastic tail rigged nice and straight. That will allow you to get the maximum triggering power. (view larger)
Lindy Blogger Dan Johnson showing off what happens when you up-size your presentation for Crappies. This one fell for a 1/16 ounce slick jig dressed with a Whatsit tail. Read >> Crappies in the Great Depression
Ten lucky readers will receive a $50 gift card to Tackle Warehouse. This card is good for any and everything you can think of. Fishing lures, soft plastic baits, fishing line, rods; anything Santa might forget this year. Click >> Tackle Warehouse Gift card Giveaway
December 17, 2014
Within minutes after we drilled our first series of holes, my friend Jeff Samsel laid a slab Crappie alongside of his hole. I'll bet that Jeff has a few words about the trip on his blog >> Jeff Samsel Fishing
Ice fishing in deep water requires plenty of weight to help maintain contact with your lure. On Tuesday, #10 Tungsten Toads, tipped with 3 or 4 wax worms were the preferred bait.
Early ice on Lake of the Woods is the time for fast action and great eating. Join Fish ED host Jon Thelen for this weeks episode >> Lake of the Wood Early Ice Walleye
Photo courtesy Greg Clusiau: The scene was a wet one for most ice fishermen this weekend.
Water standing on the ice is seldom seen until late spring. Read >> Greg Clusiau's Fishing Column
Once I walked away from shore, there was no sign of anything or anyone, all I could see was the ice below me. The Fish Liked It That Way! read >> ice fishing report december 15
December 14, 2014
At the Sucker Bay
landing on Leech Lake, the concrete ramp is open and there was vehile traffic on Sucker Bay this Saturday.
Popular Public Access ramps for Leech Lake are accessible this season. Barring a major snowfall, anglers will enjoy better access to the lake this winter.
Small lakes around the North side of Leech Lake received heavy fishing pressure on Saturday. I counted 13 rigs at Lower Sucker Lake, with more arriving as I drove away.
Warm weather and easy access combined to provide anglers with an opportunity to fish even the most remote lakes.
December 13, 2013
Arne Danielson shown entering full-scale production
mode for the 2014 Early Ice Twin Spin Panfish Expedition.
Using the Glow Red Frostee Jigging Spoon tipped with Wax Worms was equally productive at the Bluegill hole (above) and later, at the Crappie hole.
The Crappie hole was about 21 feet deep, surrounded by a mid-depth flat ranging in depth from 15 to 19 feet. The flat lays adjacent to an even shallower feeding area that features depths from 5 to 10 feet of water.
December 12, 2014
Photo Reed Ylitalo; "The crappie fishing here in Northern Mn has been great we have been fishing 24 to 28 fow and seeing fish suspended 4 to 6 off bottom.
December 11, 2014
Photo Gus' Place Resort: "We are finally closing in on a good 12 inches of clear ice on the lake in front of the resort.
Making a game out of picking off panfish one by one is how I beat the system on Tuesday. Plenty for a meal and plenty of fun with minimum impact on the fish.
Photo Brian Castellano:
Early, the action was fast and furious usning tip-ups along the middle of an oxbow adjacent to the Missiissippi River near Grand Rapids.
Fish ED guest host Jason Feldner was on Devils Lake using the perch Talker last week. In this weeks episode of Fish ED, Jason shows you how to find and catch >> Devils Lake Jumbo Perch
Photo Greg Clusiau; "A super fussy bite last weekend had me reducing down to 2 pound test, a spring bobber, and this little hair jig tipped with a wax worm". Read Greg's Report
December 8, 2014
Jon Thelen reveals the secret about how he got into such fantastic Perch fishing during the 2013 ice fishing season. The Perch Talker is on the shelves now, watch this video and see why you need some.
If you're in the market for an older, but still serviceable Otter portable shelter, I may be able to help. Shoot me an EMAIL about the Otter Portable Shelters for sale.
December 5, 2014
Photo Gus' Place Resort: Ball Club Lake ice cap is growing fast, with around 10 inches of great clear ice.
Most anglers already know about using the Minnesota DNR's Lake finder section for researching lakes and it's a great tool, but I don't go there first. Learn why >> Small Water Panfish .
Jon Thelen reveals the secret about how he got into such fantastic Perch fishing during the 2013 ice fishing season. The Perch Talker is on the shelves now, watch this video and see why you need some.
December 3, 2014
Video Gus' Place Resort on Ball Club Lake: "I was out on the lake this afternoon and in one simple word the experience was Beautiful". - Gus Sheker
There's a special treat for Panfish anglers today. Read >> Lindy's Ice Fishing Blog .
Photo courtersy Greg Clusiau: Like most of the ice fishermen visiting Red Lake, Dylan Kukkonen iced several walleye like this one over the weekend. Read >> Greg Clusiau's Report
December 1, 2014
Photo courtesy Zach Dagel: Who's been sneaking around catching big Bluegills with Frank Weeda in secret sunfish territory.
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And Do You Know that you can even post your own helpful hints to my fishing reports page on facebook? YES! You Can! You don't have to tell us your secrets, just go ahead and brag a little when you get a whopper! >>> Click Here >>> Fishing Reports Minnesota . |
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