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15th Annual Extravaganza -Official Tips


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The 15th Annual Jaycees ice fishing Extravaganza is here again. Every year it is one of the highlights of the winter here in the Nisswa area. Here are a few tips from the experts on how to make the most out of the event and maybe even go home with a great prize!

1. Dress Warm-It's much easier just to shed a layer if it unseasonally warm. It is tough to have fun if you are freezing your toes off. Some years it has been 40 degrees others it has been sub zero. So watch the weather report and be prepared. Stocking hats, a good pair of gloves/mittens, and a scarf are all necessities. Handwarmer heat packs always come in handy too.

2. Travel Light- I can always tell who the first timers are. They carry everything but the kitchen sink. I recommend just sticking to the basics. A five gallon pail, a couple of jigging rods/drop lines, small amount of tackle if you like to change, and your flasher unit. A spud bar is nice to have for opening holes that froze over but I've always just borrowed from other anglers when I'm out there. If you don't want to carry your gear bring a small sled.

3. Bring a small amount of Bait- I know I'm probably shooting myself in the foot, but you only need a few minnows and maybe some wax worms or maggots. It's only three hours of fishing. Here at Sportland we have a contest mix that is pre-packaged the morning of the contest. It has pretty much everything you'll need to win the Truck. Plus you will be in and out the doors in no time, it's a real time saver.

4. Support the Charities- Thats what this contest is all about. Eat the food and snacks that are sold out on the ice, there are numerous vendors selling different items. Most of the proceeds go to some really great causes.

5. Use the Parking and Shuttles- Use the parking areas provided. The shuttles run non stop back and forth all day so you can come and go as you wish. It is the easiest way to get to and from the contest area. One parking area is right accross the road from our shop, we are less than 2 miles north of the contest. Another area is at the BIR raceway which is about 4 miles south of the contest area. The shuttles start running at 8:00 am.

6. Just Have Fun- Many anglers take it pretty serious but as we all know after a few years, it really is a game of chance. Anyone can win, even a rookie. If you catch a fish be sure to register, even small fish have won huge prizes. That's what is great about this event. Anyone can win.

7. Fishing Tips- Everyone has their own strategies so I'll leave that one alone. My biggest advice is pay attention to your line. Ask any guide or avid angler and they will probably say that if you pay attention to your line and concentrate on working your bait correctly you will catch more fish. It only takes one bite to take home a prize, you would hate to miss it. Fish where you are comfortable. Contest winners have caught fish anywhere from 6 feet out to 60 feet. I have always just set up somewhere in between.

8. Bait- Some of the best rigs for Gull lake are just the standards. Jigging spoons or bigger tear drop style jigs work well as do bobber set ups with a minnow. Typically the best minnows for the contest will be Golden Shiners, Rainbow Chubs, Fatheads, and Crappie Minnows. As always some guys will catch a few fish using Sucker Minnows, Wax Worms, or Maggots.

9. Gamefish Targets- Anything you catch you can register. Any other day of the year you would hate to see a big ugly eelpout on the end of your line, not today. The fish that are caught every year are Walleyes, Perch, Rock Bass, Eelpout, Tulibees, and the occasional Northern Pike. This year you should see plenty of Walleyes.

I hope this helps out some of the new anglers to the contest. From myself and everyone here at Dave's Sportland Bait and Tackle we wish every angler the best of luck in this years contest.

Jason Erlandson

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One item that I forgot to include was an ice scoop. It's much nicer to use instead of using your hands.

Jason Erlandson

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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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