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whats the ice like with these cold temps?


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just curious what the ice is doing around the area with these cold temps weve been having, i am going to be fishing goodner a good chunk of the day friday and would like to drive out if the ice is willing i was out on friday and saturday last week and there was around thirteen. any info on area lake ice conditions apreciated grin.gif

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

I'm sure it's making ice big time this week. When I left the lake Saturday and Sunday nights the ice was booming that making ice boom. \:D

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where I was west of st. cloud on sunday the ice was THICK...like auger extension thick if we get some long snaps of prolonged cold weather. I've never seen auger extensions needed in this part of the state but wow there is a lot of ice.

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bearbait. I fished Goodner this past weekend. I was out from the public access and to the east a little bit. Was about 13" in 17' of water on Sat where I was at and Sunday, the ice was 16 1/2" in about 13' of water. Didn't catch much. A dogfish and a small bass. About it.

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i was out on friday and saturday too, kept 8 crappies and 6 bluegills between both days. caught a bunch more little fish on top of it and had a good sized northern eye up my jig. by the sounds of it i may get enough ice by friday to drive out to my spot across the lake, i hope so at least, i don't want to walk all that way in the fridgid temps. if anybody is out there on friday i drive a white and tan f350 and fish in a fish trap yukon, stop and say hi \:\)

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anyone got any reasons on why I can't get a nothern to hit anything i am presenting. i have yet to have a tip-up go off. Yet to even hook a northern!! I have a cam and i see TONS of northerns, but they won't hit. Any suggestions??

I am on Goodners a lot, this weekend i am going to South Dakota fishing, so i won't be on Goodners, but when i get back I am going right back out there. I drive a goldish Grand Prix and am in a Clam 5600. Please someone stop by and give me some pointers!!

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the northern i saw on saturday came in a lot higher than i thought it would, like 5 or 6 feet off the bottom, but it did surprise me that it didn't take my waxie or my crappie minnow. But i have learned that pike have a harder time comiting to a bait that isn't in the right depth zone unless they are really hungry, they don't like to move down for baits but they will move up if they are hungry. if you have been puting your minnow a foot off the bottom move it up to 3, if at 3 move it up to 5 etc.. or if your really high move it down. down size minnows, if using shiners try suckers, if suckers try shiners. if you try all this and still nothing you sure got me? eek.gif

anybody been out to goodner during this cold spell yet, i'm sure there is plenty of ice now with all of this below zero weather but just want to hear what the ice is like.

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 Quote:
anybody been out to goodner during this cold spell yet, i'm sure there is plenty of ice now with all of this below zero weather but just want to hear what the ice is like.

I was out there last weekend, there was 17 inches of ice.

Trucks driving all over.

Pretty slow out there , lots of small fish, pretty typical for Goodners. \:D

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Cableguy, What have you been using on you tipups? I've been have MUCH better luck for tipup pike using shinners this year compared to suckers. The difference for me has been substantial. Just a idea, might want to some different types of minnows if you aren't already.

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bearbait I have had better luck upsizing baits in the winter for pike, something like a 10-12 inch sucker, 12+ inch ciscoes. even a small 5 pound pike will take these baits down.

just something else to try

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Folks, just because we have bitter cold air temps. and windchills does not mean you should throw caution out the window. I was on the chain a few days back driving my atv in an area where the river current was running through.I hugged the far shoreline between both shores because there was open water with snow on top in that particular spot.I had enough ice underneath to drive the atv, but a regular sized truck would have been screwed in that spot.If you don't know where you are going on the chain, and don't know the ice conditions, use extreme caution when driving a vehicle out there.

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Driving near a river is always dangerous because of current no matter what time of year and no matter what your driving, walking near some of those spots can be dangerous also.

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I will agree with the assessment that shiners outperform sucker minnows...that goes for pike, walleye, etc. A lot more flash on those babies for the pike to see from a long way off. Keep the minnow 5 feet off the bottom and experiment with depths and you should get flags. If your tip up has been sitting idle for a substantial length of time you might as well move it!

Sometime the pike just aren't aggressive and it is real hard getting them to bite...have seen this on the aqua cam and there isn't much to do about it other than wait a few days / weeks and try er again.

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Yes, you are correct.An atv can get a guy into trouble on thin ice in current areas as fast as a guy who is driving a vehicle, and goes in.A guy walking in the thin ice area I drove by would have been in deep you know what. I did know the risks as I went to this fishing spot.I am not advocating that anyone do what I had done previously, but I was given good,solid information as to where I could go to be safer traveling through this area.I did check ice thickness with a chisel as I went slowly along,and the lake area I crossed to get to this spot had 12 inches plus of ice.I am not going to divulge the area because the adjacent fishing area is a spot I am choosing not to divulge either.Just know it is hazardous near current areas, on the ice.Know what you are doing, or stay out of those spots/areas.

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well back from goodner, ice was thick, the spot we fished was about 17 feet of water and had about 17 to 18 inches of ice, ended up with about 10 o.k. sized bluegills and 5 to 6 o.k. crappies, missed a nice pike and had a tiny one on a tip up, we had fish under us all the time but we just couldn't get them to bite anything. o-well it was [PoorWordUsage] cold out there and i am double thinking going out tomarrow.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
      Nope not me.  May want to go nextdoor and ask around?  
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    • CigarGuy
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