Super User FryDog62 Posted January 5, 2018 Super User Posted January 5, 2018 Exactly 100 days from today - I will take the boat out of storage and head to South Dakota for ice out smallmouth!!! Gotta look forward to something when it’s -12 degrees and windchill of -30... 2 Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted January 5, 2018 Super User Posted January 5, 2018 Awesome ~ You know I can relate. btw - your ability to predict the exact date of soft water is admirable. Especially 3 months out . . . . A-Jay 2 Quote
Super User FryDog62 Posted January 5, 2018 Author Super User Posted January 5, 2018 5 hours ago, A-Jay said: Awesome ~ You know I can relate. btw - your ability to predict the exact date of soft water is admirable. Especially 3 months out . . . . A-Jay Well, if there is a little ice left on the lakes then, it’s good to be back in an aluminum boat again to push through without chipping the fiberglass as with boats in my past. It was was a great first year with the Lund PVB, looking forward to year 2!! 1 Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted January 5, 2018 Super User Posted January 5, 2018 2 minutes ago, FryDog62 said: Well, if there is a little ice left on the lakes then, it’s good to be back in an aluminum boat again to push through without chipping the fiberglass as with boats in my past. It was was a great first year with the Lund PVB, looking forward to year 2!! I'm with ya ! And "PVB" ~ I really like that one. A-Jay Quote
punch Posted January 5, 2018 Posted January 5, 2018 I'm embracing the ice season this year... even got a proper thermal 8x8 hub. I've dabbled in the past but I'm all-in this year. It's a heck of a lot harder than open water fishing that's for sure! We hit medicine lake last night and drilled probably 50+ holes, then when we finally found fish they weren't active. It's like asking 50 women out on a date, and one finally says yes.. then she doesn't like you. 2 Quote
rascalP Posted January 11, 2018 Posted January 11, 2018 Frydog, SD has been on my bucket list for a number of years now. For better or worse, I'm caught up in trout fishing in april and early may, making at least one trip to SE MN. Been scouting out a few lakes to hit if we ever do get out there. Got out for some ice fishing today and got 4 bass to the hand, broke off 2 more - biggest went about 17 inches. Panfishing was surprisingly tough, but good enough to keep 5 each for a meal. Quote
punch Posted January 12, 2018 Posted January 12, 2018 On 1/10/2018 at 9:19 PM, rascalP said: Frydog, SD has been on my bucket list for a number of years now. For better or worse, I'm caught up in trout fishing in april and early may, making at least one trip to SE MN. Been scouting out a few lakes to hit if we ever do get out there. Got out for some ice fishing today and got 4 bass to the hand, broke off 2 more - biggest went about 17 inches. Panfishing was surprisingly tough, but good enough to keep 5 each for a meal. How did you get the bass? Tip ups? Quote
rascalP Posted January 13, 2018 Posted January 13, 2018 On 1/12/2018 at 9:12 AM, punch said: How did you get the bass? Tip ups? I wish I could tell you it was a real technical method, but truth is just fish for panfish. I use various types of lures -- horizontal and vertical hanging, usually tungsten cause they are heavy for their size and I want my line pulled tight as possible. No bobber, just watching the tip or line. If fish are real aggressive you can just use various plastics on the lure, but usually I tip everything with eurolarvae (maggots). Bass are hanging with the sunnies 8 to 12 fow. I've been using 3lb test, but 4 would be better. Make sure your drag works and use your backreel. Quote
punch Posted January 13, 2018 Posted January 13, 2018 5 hours ago, rascalP said: I wish I could tell you it was a real technical method, but truth is just fish for panfish. I use various types of lures -- horizontal and vertical hanging, usually tungsten cause they are heavy for their size and I want my line pulled tight as possible. No bobber, just watching the tip or line. If fish are real aggressive you can just use various plastics on the lure, but usually I tip everything with eurolarvae (maggots). Bass are hanging with the sunnies 8 to 12 fow. I've been using 3lb test, but 4 would be better. Make sure your drag works and use your backreel. Yeah I hear ya! I do the same for panfish. Tungsten jigs or small spoons with spikes. I just never seem to luck into a largie when i'm targeting crappies/bluegills. I only seem to get bass/pike on minnows with deadsticks & tip ups. Quote
JackKlassen Posted January 18, 2018 Posted January 18, 2018 Anyone fished Monticello recently? Thinking about heading up this weekend. Quote
punch Posted January 22, 2018 Posted January 22, 2018 On 1/18/2018 at 12:54 PM, JackKlassen said: Anyone fished Monticello recently? Thinking about heading up this weekend. It's REALLY busy on the weekends. It's gotten quite popular if the temps over 25-30. I'd go during the week if you don't want to be shoulder to shoulder with people. Quote
NathanDLTH Posted January 26, 2018 Posted January 26, 2018 Well the bait monkey hit hard today lol! Stomached the purchase of a Daiwa Steez A TW, the price was $90 less than asking price at any local shop, top it off I've ordered one more rod and all my tackle purchases are done. The bill for all this. Wow! I've been fishing once thanks to this warmer weather and there are bass to be had. I'd say a jerk bait or finesse jig if you're looking for open water. Quote
drscholl14 Posted January 26, 2018 Posted January 26, 2018 On 1/22/2018 at 12:08 PM, punch said: It's REALLY busy on the weekends. It's gotten quite popular if the temps over 25-30. I'd go during the week if you don't want to be shoulder to shoulder with people. Good to know, was also thinking about going up there this weekend. Now that Major League Fishing has started up again ice fishing just isn't cutting it right now. 1 Quote
Super User FryDog62 Posted January 26, 2018 Author Super User Posted January 26, 2018 8 hours ago, NathanDLTH said: Well the bait monkey hit hard today lol! Stomached the purchase of a Daiwa Steez A TW, the price was $90 less than asking price at any local shop, top it off I've ordered one more rod and all my tackle purchases are done. The bill for all this. Wow! I've been fishing once thanks to this warmer weather and there are bass to be had. I'd say a jerk bait or finesse jig if you're looking for open water. Good to know someone else is bordering on insane. Am close to purchasing a Steez as well. Ordering the SV to skip weightless plastics. May hold off and purchase at the NW Sportshow in March. Usually someone running a deal then (I hope anyway)... Quote
punch Posted January 26, 2018 Posted January 26, 2018 5 hours ago, FryDog62 said: Good to know someone else is bordering on insane. Am close to purchasing a Steez as well. Ordering the SV to skip weightless plastics. May hold off and purchase at the NW Sportshow in March. Usually someone running a deal then (I hope anyway)... The NW sports show is basically 20% off rods/reels/tackle at all the dealers. It's all MSRP with a 20% haircut. You can get bigger discounts on more expensive stuff like electronics but rods/reels are pretty much 20% off across the board. One nice thing about the NW sports show is most of the vendors are on-site with their promo's.. and you can double dip! Like last year Daiwa had a "free jersey with the purchase of a tatula product" and they had jerseys there on-site. If you walked over to a vendor, bought a rod, then walked back to the Daiwa booth and showed them your rod & receipt they gave you a jersey. Then you could go home and mail in the same promo rebate, and get another jersey in the mail. I did this and flipped the 2nd Huk jersey on ebay for like 45 bucks haha. So if you buy rods/reels/tackle with the 20% off discount, and take advantage of in-show promotions (some of which can be replicated online when you get home)... you can snag some good stuff from the NW sports show. Quote
NathanDLTH Posted January 27, 2018 Posted January 27, 2018 On 1/26/2018 at 7:29 AM, FryDog62 said: Good to know someone else is bordering on insane. Am close to purchasing a Steez as well. Ordering the SV to skip weightless plastics. May hold off and purchase at the NW Sportshow in March. Usually someone running a deal then (I hope anyway)... Ive never thought about the Steez SV, to rich for me, but wanted the deeper spoil that comes with the Steez A. Check out eBay as that’s how I found mine. I don’t ice fish so I keep planning around the summer and my shooting hobby. Quote
punch Posted January 29, 2018 Posted January 29, 2018 I had one of those epic ice fishing days on Saturday. I've been chasing a school of crappies around all week after work and on lunch breaks on a smaller north metro lake.. I kinda had a good idea where they were roaming around. Once I got on them I could blast crappies for a good chunk of time. I went out Saturday morning with my kid and I found the school within about 20 holes.. we setup the hub and drilled them for like 2-3 hours (catch & release of course). I had to go back home at lunch, but I talked my wife into letting me go back out solo later in the afternoon.. sure enough the school was still in the same area and I kept catching them for another couple of hours. I'll admit next to bass, crappies are probably my 2nd favorite species to fish. I manged a few largemouth, a pike and like 40+ panfish all day jigging tungsten. It was so much fun. It's funny how some days on the ice you drill dozens of holes and can't find a single bite.. and other days you're just on the juice and can wack them. I'm getting more confident as an ice angler this year, but man it's a hard sport. I've learned that mobility and not sticking to dead water is key. Lotta folks drill, setup, and sit there for hours expecting fish to magicly appear. You gotta be willing to dump a spot and fish the fish, not the location on a map. 2 Quote
Super User gim Posted February 7, 2018 Super User Posted February 7, 2018 On 1/29/2018 at 9:29 AM, punch said: I've learned that mobility and not sticking to dead water is key. Lotta folks drill, setup, and sit there for hours expecting fish to magicly appear. Totally. Think about it, would you sit in one spot for hours over dead water without a bite if you were in your boat? Hell no, so why do so many people do that when they're ice fishing?! Quote
punch Posted February 7, 2018 Posted February 7, 2018 13 hours ago, gimruis said: Totally. Think about it, would you sit in one spot for hours over dead water without a bite if you were in your boat? Hell no, so why do so many people do that when they're ice fishing?! I think because its a pain in the ass to take down/setup your shack AND people want to hang out and drink... catching fish is kinda a bonus. 1 Quote
rascalP Posted February 8, 2018 Posted February 8, 2018 23 hours ago, gimruis said: Hell no, so why do so many people do that when they're ice fishing?! Me and the fish are glad they do! Quote
punch Posted February 21, 2018 Posted February 21, 2018 Anyone planning trips to new water this year? Last year I was able to check Kabetogama off my bucket list, this year we're going to Vermilion. They opened a new state park campground on Vermillion and I'm going to take the family/RV/boat for a long weekend. Northern Minnesota has so many amazing places. I'm trying to expand my horizons and get out of the metro. Quote
Tlauz Posted February 25, 2018 Posted February 25, 2018 Every year I try to fish at least 1 or 2 new lakes. There are so many lakes near the Bemidji area I haven't tried, my goal this summer is to fish a couple new ones and go back to a couple I haven't been to in a few years. A friend has a canoe, and I would like to take a few river trips. Quote
Super User FryDog62 Posted February 25, 2018 Author Super User Posted February 25, 2018 I have two places I want to try - a Largemouth lake near Alexandria that a guide friend of mine said has huge fish in it. Second is Lake McBride in Iowa - yes IOWA!! My daughter has a fellowship in Iowa City and heard they have big wipers in McBride. Would be an excuse to get down and see her and catch a species I haven’t caught yet... c’mon Spring get here !! Quote
punch Posted February 26, 2018 Posted February 26, 2018 We're now officially into panfish season. Boo. Minnesota needs to get wise like Michigan and open bass year round to catch & release. I do like catching me some crappies though. Quote
Super User FryDog62 Posted February 26, 2018 Author Super User Posted February 26, 2018 50 minutes ago, punch said: Minnesota needs to get wise like Michigan and open bass year round to catch & release. South Dakota does too... just make it all C&R in Minn 1 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.