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do it yourself vs outfitted

coxy
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coxy Apprentice

coxy

Posted
Posted

I have fished multiple times out of Adrians and Borderview

and have nothing negative to say about their operations

however the fishing has been average at best. THis includes

trips at first drivable ice, feb and march. My question is

how does one find great spots to fish living six hours away?

Is there a benefit to fishing long point area or arnesons

versus the pine island area. any insight would be great.

I own all the needed equipment except a lake master chip

to outfit myself

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curt quesnell Grand Master

curt quesnell

Posted
Posted

If you are ready to invest several trips exploring, looking for

fish and sacrificing time and effort go out on your own and find

some spots of your own you will have much pride in your accomplishment.

Thank goodness for the outfitters who put in the time and effort

to get you into the best spots they know on any given day.

There is alot more to LOW than Pine Island but there is a reason

it is so busy. Morris Point, Zippel Bay, Long Point & Rocky

Point are also great places for a chance of scenery. The fishing

is no better or worse than Pine Island but if you start looking

around for yourself you may find something special of your

own

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NAMASafetyDirector Proficient

NAMASafetyDirector

Posted
Posted

Another option for you is to look into a fully guided day or weekend of fishing (for eg. a SnoBear trip) through either Sportsmans Lodge or Hardwater adventures. These kinds of trips will fish you anywhere on the lake and put you on your best chance to have a memorable weekend. If the fishing is slow in one spot you can be up and off in a matter of minutes to the next spot. It's about as close to speed trolling as you can get on the ice and you can cover alot of ground and alot of different structure. If your going to make the investment of coming all the way over here and your set on catching fish this is the only way to go....

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J_D Enthusiast

J_D

Posted
Posted

I would also suggest fishing the reefs, more often then not you will be among the resort shacks, and fishing will be good. I picked up the lakemaster chip about a month ago and the coverage of the reefs out there is amazing. In my opinion, you don't need a guide/outfitter to catch fish on LOW.

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Swanny2 Enthusiast

Swanny2

Posted
Posted

In my opinion, you don't need a guide/outfitter to catch fish on LOW.

I totally agree. . made multiple trips with the porty and always found enough for a meal and memories at various locations thoughout the big pond. Although, I have now, however, acclimated myself to the pure joy of a hassel-free trip with my boys through an outfitter. Either way you go, you can't go wrong.

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stubby161 Newbie

stubby161

Posted
Posted

ARNENSENS IS THE PLACE TO GO, GREAT FISHING AND GREAT GUIDES.

LAST YEAR WE CAUGHT 155 FISH AND 82 KEEPERS THERE WERE 4 PEOPLE IN YOUR GROUP.

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InTheNorthwoods Proficient

InTheNorthwoods

Posted
Posted

I have fished multiple times out of Adrians and Borderview

and have nothing negative to say about their operations

however the fishing has been average at best. THis includes

trips at first drivable ice, feb and march. My question is

how does one find great spots to fish living six hours away?

Is there a benefit to fishing long point area or arnesons

versus the pine island area. any insight would be great.

I own all the needed equipment except a lake master chip

to outfit myself

What are your expectations? When you say fishing has been "average at best" what do you mean? Do you mean you haven't hit the lights out bite that LOW can sometimes provide? Or do you mean you have caught a walleye or two (average bite for most lakes in the state)?

I worry your expectations might be unreasonable and no matter what route you go you might be disappointed. So when making your decision, I'd look at it from the effort point of view, if you want less effort and don't want to worry about anything - go outfitted. If you want some adventure and the freedom to move around, go DIY. Either way you can catch fish, but limits are never guaranteed, even on LOW.

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Beaver15 Enthusiast

Beaver15

Posted
Posted

ARNENSENS IS THE PLACE TO GO, GREAT FISHING AND GREAT GUIDES.

LAST YEAR WE CAUGHT 155 FISH AND 82 KEEPERS THERE WERE 4 PEOPLE IN YOUR GROUP.

How many days did you guys stay on the ice??

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goosehunter Contributor

goosehunter

Posted
Posted

my brother and my self were just over pine island in 27' feet of water from dec 26 to jan 1 6 days and we caught 330 eye's and sauger in our own wheel house, i think the key is to try to get a little distance between you and other people.

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FISHINGURU Grand Master

FISHINGURU

Posted
Posted

DIY all day baby, I'd find a super cheap motel thats just nice enough to sleep in. Run the sleds, heaters, and augers a bit right before bed if it's super cold. If all else fails you can see all the resorts fishing shacks and you can set up in the same general area if need be, I've never had to resort to that move because normally you can find way better spots on your own with just a sled in port IMO.

Now if you have woman with or friends that remind you of women then your better off going the resort way.

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bottom-bouncer Proficient

bottom-bouncer

Posted
Posted

I have always gone with the DIY approach but after talking to some people I realised there are people who can show you spots on the big lake that you would probably otherwise never see. so I booked a trip with fords guide service at the end of march I have never used a guide for any of my adventures before but after the conversations I have had with captain chris I am really excited for this trip.

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coxy Apprentice

coxy

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my expectations are more than 8 in saugers and one 14 in walleye. fishing all day long the last 3 trips two days at

a time with that in the bucket is pretty low expectations.

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mnhunter 3815 Mentor

mnhunter 3815

Posted
Posted

well im not a guide but my gps with the lake of the woods chip helps me out.we always catch fish at zipple bay some weeks are better than others some evenins we cam only fish with 1 rod.i guess it all depends which area the fish are in that time.i always ask around or make a few calls to see which area has been best.

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slammer Experienced

slammer

Posted
Posted

Where do you guys access the lake if you fish the west side when on your own? Do the resorts allow access for the DIY'ers? What do they charge to let you on?

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oboyoboyoboy Enthusiast

oboyoboyoboy

Posted
Posted

There is Zippel Bay and Long Point Resorts. Zippel charges $8. I assume Long Point is similar.

Next place west is Rocky Point. Next to Arnesen's resort is Babler's lake road. There is a big sign just before you get to the resort. I think he's charging around $7 and the road now is good past gull rock, arnesen's reef and 16 mile reef.

You can go out of Warroad and Springsteel too.

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