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Getting prepared!!!


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Although I am by no means done ice fishing.... Who is getting ready for open water season now? I don't waste too much time because we usually have already been to the river in the boat by now, but with a slow start to our preperation, I don't know that I will make it there this year.

I am going to the sportsmans show in SF tomorrow to get some more stuff. Look at some new toys and build a wish list for my birthday to give the wife and kids. Lucky me my birthday falls the night before opener!!!!!

I need some more jig heads, and I always make a point when I spot my favorite cranks, to pick up one or two. That way by only spending a ten spot here or there doesn't hurt so much.

I am really excited this year as I am going to build a few new rods for open water.

What are your plans for open water, are you getting ready? Or is it still too cold for you to think about???????

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Dude, I love drilling holes in the water and I'm not ready to give it up quite yet.

However, I'll admit that eventually, Minnesota warms up and the water gets softer. I'm so far from ready for that I could puke. My boat needs soooooooooooooo much work I don't know where to start. Last fall, when I put it away I had the greatest of intentions of working on it. Like all my other winter projects, it's sat behind my garage until I realize I need it. I'll get it going, no doubt, but it's March, and the perch are biting.

I was going to hit the sports show with the wife, but other stuff came up. I hate to miss it, but I think I have to. Bummer.

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Although the late ice bite is a blast and i will be the one using planks or a step ladder to get on the ice, i cant wait for open water! I usually start fishing Silver Lake right after ice out. Then the honey hole for big blugills and crappies on Okaboji. Hope to get a new butt seat for my boat, probably another drift sock and maybe a new graph\gps combo and i'll be ready to roll.

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I'll be at the Sports show today looking at the new Gadets myself.

Just need the snow drift to melt so I can put the boat in the garage. Put some new line on the reels and I will be ready. Stocked this winter on lures. Looks like mid April before open water around here?

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Well I got some more goodies yesterday at the Sportsmans Show in Sioux Falls. Ran into quite a few FM'ers there, good to see you Marv, Brian, John. Picked up a few new plugs, bought some close out ice fishing lures and jigs. Just about pulled the trigger on a catfish pole...(something I am going to do some more of this summer). I did get sucked in on some of the gimmick stuff too. While I found out last year in my week in Canada on Lac Seul, tieing and retieing all day long for 7 days you fingers start to bleed and really becomes tough, especially if it is raining and windy. So I bought one of those knot tieing jobbies.... looks simple enough and if it makes my fingers hurt less, BONUS.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
    • leech~~
      As I get older it's really not just about sending bullets down range.  Some of it's just the workmanship of the gun and the wow factor. The other two guns I have really wanted which I'll never have now because of their price, is a 8mm Jap Nambu and 9mm German Luger.   Just thought they always looked cool!  
    • jim curlee
      I had a guy hit me with a lightly used 1969 BAR, he wanted $1650 with an older Leupold scope. More than I think they are worth, I made an offer, he declined end of story.   You know if you look at the old brochures, a grade II BAR sold for $250 in the late 60s, $1650 would be a good return on your investment.    Why would anybody want a 50 year old gun, they are heavy, have wood stocks, and blued metal.  I guess mainly to keep their gun safes glued to the floor. lol   You can probably buy a stainless rifle that you never have to clean, with a synthetic stock you never have to refinish, is as light as a feather, and for half as much money, perfect.   I'm too old for a youth gun, although I've shrunk enough that it would probably fit. lol   No Ruger 10/44s.   Jim      
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