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bad winter:(


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Did anyone else have bad luck on the ice this year or is it just me? The biggest crappie on Owasso was about 12 inches and on WBL only the usual small perch. I did see a guy pull out a large northeern on WBL early in the season but that's about it. How has lake Jane been? Haven't seen many reports.

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A 12" crappie on Owasso is quite the accomplishment. WBL has decent fishing but is a tough one to crack. Never fished Jane. There are a lot of lakes to try if your not doing well on one or another. We still havnt hit the best part of the ice season.

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This winter has been great for me, lots of pannies including a few nice sized crappies. But I got ZERO northerns on the tip up, which was a disappointment.

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The Walleyes were pretty slow for me this year...pan fish were average

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I did pretty good on pannies and perch this year. Caught the biggest sunny of my life a couple of weeks ago. Only managed a few small eyes though and not one pike on a tipup. Still looking for my first fish on a tipup, but there is always next year. Pannies are good, just gotta look for them and step out of the metro a few feet.

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I had a pretty average winter but Ive got one more trip planned and its to LOW

We'll have to see it that trip puts my season above average

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Tonka early season was very good to me for the walleye. After new years the bite slowed down for me. all in all a pretty good year. Cant wait to get the boat out

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It's been a good winter for me. Plenty of nice sized crappies with a few bonus pike and bass mixed in. I've hit a lot of new lakes and learned a lot in the process.

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I'm the opposite of everyone here. Plenty of Northerns, quite a few on tipups. A few late-season Walleyes, and for us, panfish season is still in full swing \:\)

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i thought the year has been going pretty well.. this is the first year i have probably put out a tippy' every time i went out... had a few flags and only landed one big pike on spring... crappie bite was amazing this year but hard to find the size for me... but did squeeze away with a few nicer crappies in middle of winter... the crappies are soon to go crazy and i cant wait!

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I may not have iced as many large fish as other years (particularly eyes on Mille Lacs) but this was maybe one of my most enjoyable winters on the ice. I got out on early ice with my dad a couple times, got the kids out a couple times, brought the gas grill to Mille Lacs and had steak and potato for dinner, got the portable out quite a bit, and got a few new toys (gps, vex upgrade, lures, rods, etc). For me a great winter. No wall hangers, but an all around fun year of ice fishing. With the warm temps coming this week, the season is going to wrap up in a few weeks, but I hope to get out this weekend on Waconia (Probably walking out after forcasted rain for this week) \:\(

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ah yes - late ice is quickly approaching...looking forward to getting out a couple more times on the season.

The winter has not been too shabby for me. Not much for massive sizes but have caught a quite a bit of fish. Could not get the tip ups to work at all though.

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Not a bad year for me as I have been out more times this year than all of the years combined. Caught lots of panfish and bonus walleye and perch in the mix. What made it really nice was my friend has a portable with a gas heater so we were toasty warm while we caught fish. \:\)

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Didnt have a bad winter myself. Not too many fish of large size, but decent to say the least. Had fair luck on tipups too, biggest being a 34inch pike out of medicine

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Bad winter... say what. This has been my best ice fishing season in about 8 years. I got out more and cought many more fish. I didn't even have drive more than 12 miles form home. You gotta love that. Eye's and crappies have treated me well this year. Good numbers and size. I'm ready for the boat now.

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I gotta say it's one of the best winters fishing ive had,it goes down in my top ten. A guy just needs to expand his horizons. Theres Lots of Lakes out there.

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ide have to say my winter is going amazing went by kinda fast though. dint get to do much walleye fishing as i liked to but got in alot of crappie time. crapies were great this year for me caught over 50 10 in crappies and most over 11 and a cluple 12 and 13s... great winter

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • jparrucci
      Very low, probably 2 feet lower than last year at ice out.
    • mbeyer
      what do they look like this spring?
    • SkunkedAgain
      I might have missed a guess, but here are the ones that I noted:   JerkinLips – March 27th, then April 7th Brianf. – March 28th Bobberwatcher – April…. MikeG3Boat – April 10th SkunkedAgain – early April, then April 21st   Definitely a tough year for guesses, as it seemed to be a no-brainer early ice out. Then it got cold and snowed again.
    • mbeyer
      MN DNR posted April 13 as Ice out date for Vermilion
    • Brianf.
      ^^^45 in the morning and 47 in the evening
    • CigarGuy
      👍. What was the water temp in Black Bay? Thanks....
    • Brianf.
      No, that wasn't me.  I drive a 621 Ranger. 
    • CigarGuy
      So, that was you in the camo lund? I'm bummed, I have to head back to the cities tomorrow for a few days, then back up for at least a few weeks. Got the dock in and fired up to get out chasing some crappies till opener!
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Lots of ice on the main basin, but it is definitely deteriorating.  Some anglers have been fishing the open water at the mouth of the Rainy River in front of the Lighthouse Gap.  The rest of the basin is still iced over. Pike enthusiasts caught some big pike earlier last week tip up fishing in pre-spawn areas adjacent to traditional spawning areas.  8 - 14' of water using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring has been the ticket.  Ice fishing for all practical purposes is done for the year. The focus for the basin moving forward will be pike transitioning into back bays to spawn,  This is open water fishing and an opportunity available as the pike season is open year round on Lake of the Woods. The limit is 3 pike per day with one being able to be more than 40 inches. All fish 30 - 40 inches must be released. With both the ice fishing and spring fishing on the Rainy River being so good, many are looking forward to the MN Fishing Opener on Saturday, May 11th.  It should be epic. On the Rainy River...  An absolutely incredible week of walleye and sturgeon fishing on the Rain Rainy River.     Walleye anglers, as a rule, caught good numbers of fish and lots of big fish.  This spring was one for the books.   To follow that up, the sturgeon season is currently underway and although every day can be different, many boats have caught 30 - 40 sturgeon in a day!  We have heard of fish measuring into the low 70 inch range.  Lots in the 60 - 70 inch range as well.   The sturgeon season continues through May 15th and resumes again July 1st.   Oct 1 - April 23, Catch and Release April 24 - May 7, Harvest Season May 8 - May 15, Catch and Release May 16 - June 30, Sturgeon Fishing Closed July 1 - Sep 30, Harvest Season If you fish during the sturgeon harvest season and you want to keep a sturgeon, you must purchase a sturgeon tag for $5 prior to fishing.    One sturgeon per calendar year (45 - 50" inclusive, or over 75"). Most sturgeon anglers are either a glob of crawlers or a combo of crawlers and frozen emerald shiners on a sturgeon rig, which is an 18" leader with a 4/0 circle hook combined with a no roll sinker.  Local bait shops have all of the gear and bait. Up at the NW Angle...  Open water is continuing to expand in areas with current.  The sight of open water simply is wetting the pallet of those eager for the MN Fishing Opener on May 11th.   A few locals were on the ice this week, targeting pike.  Some big slimers were iced along with some muskies as well.  If you like fishing for predators, LOW is healthy!  
    • Brianf.
      Early bird gets the worm some say...   I have it on good authority that this very special angler caught no walleyes or muskies and that any panfish caught were released unharmed.        
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