Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

2020 Brainerd, Aitkin, McGregor Area ice fishing reports


Recommended Posts

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

comments got zapped. why make any more. lol 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/25/2018 at 8:20 PM, Wanderer said:

South Long, I believe.  Not ready for truck travel yet... ?‍♂️

3EE587B5-71C5-4E45-923F-DEF4D825FE9E.thumb.jpeg.959475a36fe147389a0a01b2693289f7.jpeg

I know this isn’t funny but it still kinda is.... Don’t let the ice outsmart you!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well we all needed to know if lakes are ready to drive out yet. Well.... some guy learned the hard way 5”-6” isn’t enough to hold a half ton yet?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/27/2018 at 12:57 AM, Wanderer said:

Maybe they’re just new to ice fishing?  Looking for some advice... ?‍♂️

That reminds me of the time I was fishing on Pelican and we hear the ice making tons of noise. I peep my head out the door because I could not believe there would be anyone driving out. The guy drive up to my portable and asks me " Is the ice safe to drive on?" I just told him " can you please get your truck away from my house" I think there was only 8 inches or so

  • Confused 1
  • Yayyyy 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...

give this a bump, lets here about ice out. looking forward to some open water.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 6 months later...

lakes are locked up in my area, I did not test it, but I would think next weekend should be a go on some lakes.

  • Thumbs Up 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most of the lakes south and east of Aitken are locked up. Dam, Clear, Hanging Kettle, Rabbit, Sisabagamah, and I would imagine many others.  Please be careful, use your ice pics, a good spud, and proceed cautiously. I saw on last nights news some poor guy took a quick swim in Skogman lake near Cambridge. Not good, could have had a very sad outcome. 

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Couldn’t decide the best way to play today so I hit the woods this morning with the muzzle loader for deer and then headed to the lake for some crappies.  
 

Well, the lake conditions sucked.  Dragging out through 10 inches of snow with slush pockets over about 5 inches of ice.  Drill hole and fish in slush.  My buddies claimed they had 3 inches of ice in a few of their holes and the ice did crack a few times between us.  Making or breaking, I don’t know but 5 degrees with a 5-10 mph NW wind kinda warranted a shelter, which I didn’t bring out.

 

Frozen sled iced up instantly on the bottom when I pulled it through the slush.  Stopped 5 times to turn it over and smack it all off so it didn’t feel like a tractor pull.

 

Caught a pike and few of each of crappies and sunnies.

 

I drove home wondering how long it will be before, and even if we’ll get our wheel house out on anything other then the big lakes with resort roads.  Bummer.  I told my wife when I got home some people will go through this weekend.  Sure enough, she shows me a pic from Hole in the Day on Gull.

B25E25BD-D688-4A39-BA18-CBC2E2711D98.jpeg.a9a807b0d91fc2736a676293177816cd.jpeg


I wouldn’t even take a wheeler or sled out this weekend.  A friend in the Emily area said the same thing.

 

Be careful, walk with waterproof boots and check regularly.  If you see uneven snow in untouched areas, steer clear of it.  That’s where thinner ice is and more slush.

 

Im going back to the deer woods while my 10 lb Ice fishing bibs melt and dry.

C35A8B5E-F469-4DFE-9D3B-88970DBF3715.thumb.jpeg.cd35b2c85be8376889cbeb1df5deacae.jpeg

  • Thumbs Up 1
  • Wow, ❤ 1
  • l Love It 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators
35 minutes ago, Wanderer said:

Couldn’t decide the best way to play today so I hit the woods this morning with the muzzle loader for deer and then headed to the lake for some crappies.  
 

Well, the lake conditions sucked.  Dragging out through 10 inches of snow with slush pockets over about 5 inches of ice.  Drill hole and fish in slush.  My buddies claimed they had 3 inches of ice in a few of their holes and the ice did crack a few times between us.  Making or breaking, I don’t know but 5 degrees with a 5-10 mph NW wind kinda warranted a shelter, which I didn’t bring out.

 

Frozen sled iced up instantly on the bottom when I pulled it through the slush.  Stopped 5 times to turn it over and smack it all off so it didn’t feel like a tractor pull.

 

Caught a pike and few of each of crappies and sunnies.

 

I drove home wondering how long it will be before, and even if we’ll get our wheel house out on anything other then the big lakes with resort roads.  Bummer.  I told my wife when I got home some people will go through this weekend.  Sure enough, she shows me a pic from Hole in the Day on Gull.

B25E25BD-D688-4A39-BA18-CBC2E2711D98.jpeg.a9a807b0d91fc2736a676293177816cd.jpeg


I wouldn’t even take a wheeler or sled out this weekend.  A friend in the Emily area said the same thing.

 

Be careful, walk with waterproof boots and check regularly.  If you see uneven snow in untouched areas, steer clear of it.  That’s where thinner ice is and more slush.

 

Im going back to the deer woods while my 10 lb Ice fishing bibs melt and dry.

C35A8B5E-F469-4DFE-9D3B-88970DBF3715.thumb.jpeg.cd35b2c85be8376889cbeb1df5deacae.jpeg

Thank you for the most excellent adventure!

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got out this afternoon for a few hours and found the landing parking lot to be a drifted rutted up mess. Was able to throttle my way in and barely not getting stuck. Found 6-7” of good hard clear ice. Fish were not lacking today that’s for sure.  I caught between 100-200 gills and crappies and a few perch mixed in. Gills ranged from tiny to 8” and crappies were all 8-9”. 4-6” of snow and no flooding going on. Fish were stacked and I was able to sit and catch one after other while staying nice and toasty in the otter. Fun afternoon and got to put the clam drill plate to use and all I can say is wow! That thing is the best auger I’ve used and definitely will change the way I fish. Should be able to use it all season besides drilling spear holes which I’ll leave to the solo. Fun trip! Tentatively planning on skipping next Friday and heading up north to do some spearing. Lake I’m gonna try has for sure 4” so good for walking but was hoping to take the new snowmobile up with me and use that for transportation so we will have to see if I’ll be able to or not. Back down to -20 tonight and barely above 0 tomorrow. 

88A71C05-B950-4869-8759-FE0985313946.jpeg

  • Thumbs Up 3
  • l Love It 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

was planning on heading up to the cabin this weekend to do some snowmobiling, but since I had to ride across my lake I decided to wait. they had some good ice early, but then the warm weather, then 18 inches of snow, I would guess the lake is a mess. last report I had from a week ago, was no snowmobile or wheelers have been out on the ice.

  • Thumbs Up 1
  • I Like it 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • The title was changed to Brainerd, Aitkin, McGregor Area ice fishing reports

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




  • Similar Content

  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • mulefarm
      With the early ice out, how is the curlyleaf pondweed doing?
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   The big basin, otherwise known as Big Traverse Bay, is ice free.  Zippel Bay and Four Mile Bay are ice free as well.  Everything is shaping up nicely for the MN Fishing Opener on May 11th. With the walleye / sauger season currently closed, most anglers are targeting sturgeon and pike.  Some sturgeon anglers are fishing at the mouth of the Rainy River, but most sturgeon are targeted in Four Mile Bay or the Rainy River.  Hence, pike are the targeted species on the south shore and various bays currently.   Pike fishing this time of year is a unique opportunity, as LOW is border water with Canada, the pike season is open year round. 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. Back bays hold pike as they go through the various stages of the spawn.  Deadbait under a bobber, spinners, spoons and shallow diving crankbaits are all viable options.   Four Mile Bay, Bostic Bay and Zippel Bay are all small water and boats of various sizes work well. On the Rainy River...  Great news this week as we learned sturgeon will not be placed on the endangered species list by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.     The organization had to make a decision by June 30 and listing sturgeon could have ended sturgeon fishing.  Thankfully, after looking at the many success stories across the nation, including LOW and the Rainy River, sturgeon fishing and successful sturgeon management continues.   A good week sturgeon fishing on the Rainy River.  Speaking to some sturgeon aficionados, fishing will actually get even better as water temps rise.     Four Mile Bay at the mouth of the Rainy River near the Wheeler's Point Boat Ramp is still producing good numbers of fish, as are various holes along the 42 miles of navigable Rainy River from the mouth to Birchdale.   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...  A few spots with rotten ice, but as a rule, most of the Angle is showing off open water.  In these parts, most are looking ahead to the MN Fishing Opener.  Based on late ice fishing success, it should be a good one.  
    • leech~~
      Nice fish. I moved to the Sartell area last summer and just thought it was windy like this everyday up here? 🤭
    • Rick G
      Crazy windy again today.... This is has been the norm this spring. Between the wind and the cold fronts, fishing has been more challenging for me than most years.  Panfish have been moving in and out of the shallows quite a bit. One day they are up in the slop, the next they are out relating to cabbage or the newly sprouting lilly pads.  Today eye guy and I found them in 4-5 ft of water, hanging close to any tree branches that happened to be laying in the water.  Bigger fish were liking a 1/32 head and a Bobby Garland baby shad.   Highlight of the day way this healthy 15incher
    • monstermoose78
    • monstermoose78
      As I typed that here came a hen.  IMG_7032.mov   IMG_7032.mov
    • monstermoose78
      So far this morning nothing but non turkeys. 
    • monstermoose78
      Well yesterday I got a little excited and let a turkey get to close and I hit the blind!!
    • smurfy
      good......you?? living the dream..in my basement playing internet thug right now!!!!!! 🤣 working on getting the boat ready.......bought a new cheatmaster locator for the boat so working on that.   waiting for warmer weather to start my garden!!!
    • monstermoose78
      How is everyone doing? Holy moly it’s chilly this morning I stayed in bed and will hunt later today when it warms up.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.