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Ice conditions/fishing report - 12/15


computerboy

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Out of the South we found 8" of ice under areas with snow pack, and 12" under areas with little or no snow. As usual, you'll have to cross a few cracks on the main lake if you're coming from the South. None of them were really bad or had obvious open water, but use your best judgment when crossing them. Wheeler traffic is definitely possible on the main lake now as the snow is packed down or blown off, but it will still be slow going in some areas. There are houses and cars all over Cove, so I would imagine Isle and Wahkon look the same. Wheel houses are starting to show up on Sloppys, 4-Mile, etc.

Overall I would say the bite was fair. We had LOTS of sniffers, and even the perch were difficult to coax into biting. You will definitely need to be mobile to catch fish, but you should be able to catch enough for shore lunch. Mud produced the most consistent daytime action, and gravel only seemed to be good for a small window during prime time. Just make sure you're set up and ready to go about an hour before sunset or you might miss it. We caught more walleyes in 20 minutes during prime time than we did all day long.

If you're looking for peace and quiet out on prime structure, I would recommend getting out there ASAP. Besides the Boot, we had very little company on most of the main lake honey holes. That will soon change.

Good luck and be safe!

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    • mulefarm
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    • LakeofthewoodsMN
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