Southerner going for an ice fishing trip

[grizzly1654]

Me and a friend are tossing up the idea of taking an ice fishing  trip this year.  I would like to target walleye or perch but not dead set on just those 2 species of fish. I am open to pike, trout or anything else not real common to the south.

 

Most likely will have the wives with us but not fishing so would need shopping close by.

 

I'm thinking Michigan or Wisconsin area but I don't know anything about ice fishing. Lake Okeechobee was always a bucket list lake for me bass fishing, what is the Okeechobee lake of ice fishing?

 

 

[MN Fisher]

11 minutes ago, grizzly1654 said:

Me and a friend are tossing up the idea of taking an ice fishing  trip this year.  I would like to target walleye or perch but not dead set on just those 2 species of fish. I am open to pike, trout or anything else not real common to the south.

Walleye, Pike, Perch and Crappie are the big draws for ice fishing around here. Further north is where you start running into the Lake Trout areas. Tonka has rental ice-shacks available...usually from the marinas and guide services - way for them to make money when boats can't be used.

 

11 minutes ago, grizzly1654 said:

Most likely will have the wives with us but not fishing so would need shopping close by.

Mall of America, Nicollet Ave downtown, 50th and France in Edina (upscale) - we got shopping galore up here.

 

11 minutes ago, grizzly1654 said:

I'm thinking Michigan or Wisconsin area but I don't know anything about ice fishing.

Just a few of the fish caught though the ice on Minnetonka

 

We got good crappie too

 

[grizzly1654]

Thanks MN fisher! Those are some great pics.

 

In that first pic of the crappie, is that a camper on the ice? How thick is the ice there?

[redmeansdistortion]

Lake St Clair is where you want to go.  It's also the Lake Okeechobee of smallmouth fishing.  Our limit is 25 perch per person, and when you're on top of a school of them you can limit out very, very quickly.  Some years back it was 50 but the numbers went down due to the abundance of walleye which prey on them.  Speaking of walleye, the limit on those is 5 fish with a minimum size of 15".  Lots of bull gills and crappies about as well.  There's nothing like peering through a hole in the ice watching the action and seeing a big musky cruise through and disperse the crowd for a few minutes.  I can direct you to some good spots, been fishing the lake for 35 years.  Unfortunately, we don't have any viable ice at the moment.  The cold snap we had around Christmas gave us good ice for about a week, but the warm-up soon after got rid of most of it.  I can keep you posted of the ice conditions if it's something you want to do.

[Vilas15]

Southern half of Wisconsin ice is bad as well. Forecast for the next 2 weeks doesnt show any improvement. I don't know if I'll be able to go out locally at all this year.

[gim]

2 hours ago, Vilas15 said:

ice is bad

Its bad here too.  Its very likely that some lakes in the southern half of MN may not have vehicles on them all winter.  There really isn't a lot of ice, there's slush, and now there's about 3 feet of snow on top.  Makes it extremely difficult to get around unless you have a snow mobile or plowed roads.

 

@grizzly1654 are you looking to hole hop and stay mobile or are you intending to just plant in one spot for a weekend in an ice castle?  If you want to stay on active fish you will need to stay mobile.  Planting in one spot for a period of time in an ice castle and waiting over dead water while drinking beer is not a recipe for catching fish.

 

Devil's Lake, ND is really good right now for both walleye and perch.  Plus they have thicker, safer ice and not nearly as much snow.  The problem is that it's kind of in the middle of nowhere.  Not really near any decent sized city.

[gim]

Just in the past week:

A truck has gone through on Leech Lake

A bobcat has gone through on Lake Nokomis

Two snowmobiles and an ATV have gone through on Otter Tail Lake

 

The operator of one of the snowmobiles died.

 

All three of these lakes are in different parts of the state here.  I think its safe to say that the ice formed on lakes this winter varies greatly.  And now that there's over 2 feet of snow on top of it, its very likely not getting any stronger with all that insulation.  Stay safe out there, and be smart.  No perch is worth dying for.

[Susky River Rat]

On 1/9/2023 at 11:56 AM, gimruis said:

Just in the past week:

A truck has gone through on Leech Lake

A bobcat has gone through on Lake Nokomis

Two snowmobiles and an ATV have gone through on Otter Tail Lake

 

The operator of one of the snowmobiles died.

 

All three of these lakes are in different parts of the state here.  I think it’s safe to say that the ice formed on lakes this winter varies greatly.  And now that there's over 2 feet of snow on top of it, it’s very likely not getting any stronger with all that insulation.  Stay safe out there, and be smart.  No perch is worth dying for.

That’s insane! We are not permitted to drive on ice or have permanent shanty’s. I truly never feel safe on ice. Snow scares me the most. I always hope if we get ice here it’s clear and hard before any amount of snow. 

[MN Fisher]

On 1/6/2023 at 9:04 AM, grizzly1654 said:

Thanks MN fisher! Those are some great pics.

 

In that first pic of the crappie, is that a camper on the ice? How thick is the ice there?

Ya - once the ice is thick enough, they'll haul campers that have been modified into wheeled ice-houses out and park them. DNR recommends 20" minimum for wheeled ice-houses hauled by heavy duty trucks.

 

The snow we got has slowed the ice development, though I have see one wheeled shanty on Cooks Bay - but right now I wouldn't put something that heavy on it.

 

Some years back they did this particular graphic for 'safe ice conditions'.

[gim]

2 hours ago, Darnold335 said:

That’s insane! We are not permitted to drive on ice or have permanent shanty’s. I truly never feel safe on ice. Snow scares me the most. I always hope if we get ice here it’s clear and hard before any amount of snow. 

A lot of people just assume it’s thick and safe now since it’s the middle of January. Definitely not the case. Do not assume.

 

Quite honestly, the days of putting a big heavy ice castle on the ice for 1-2 months could be coming to and end here more often. Most people that own one use it as a weekend camper in the non-winter months though.

[redmeansdistortion]

2 hours ago, gimruis said:

A lot of people just assume it’s thick and safe now since it’s the middle of January. Definitely not the case. Do not assume.

 

Quite honestly, the days of putting a big heavy ice castle on the ice for 1-2 months could be coming to and end here more often. Most people that own one use it as a weekend camper in the non-winter months though.

Many years ago myself and a friend used to drive his Bronco some miles out on Lake St Clair, punch holes, drop the tailgate, and jig perch all night.  We haven't had ice thick enough to do such a thing in over 20 years.  Some people have tried since, but they usually wind up in the news.  Last time I personally witnessed it was a guy with a new at the time Avalanche still with the paper license plate from the dealer.  He drove it out on to Anchor Bay and down she went.  I was sitting in my shanty and heard a loud crack.  I looked out the peep hole and saw the bed of the truck bobbing around.  Luckily the owner made it out unscathed but insurance here doesn't cover your vehicle if it leaves ground.  He was on the hook for the truck plus whatever cleanup the EPA fined him.

[gim]

9 hours ago, redmeansdistortion said:

Luckily the owner made it out unscathed but insurance here doesn't cover your vehicle if it leaves ground.  He was on the hook for the truck plus whatever cleanup the EPA fined him.

Most auto or recreational vehicle insurance doesn't cover if you go through the ice here either.  Its possible that snowmobile insurance for such a thing may exist.

 

And yes, even if you escape with your life, you have to pay someone to pull that rig back up.  That is not a cheap bill.