Muskie Bay Resort & FishingMinnesota.com present the Crow Lake Ice Classic. January 28-31, 2016.
Want a REAL winter adventure? Come join us in Nestor Falls, Ontario at Muskie Bay Resort and fish the famous waters of Lake of the Woods, Crow Lake and surrounding lakes for lake trout, crappies, perch and everything else this area has to offer.This American Plan trip leaves nobody hungry and the local guides will be bringing us to all the hot spots.
As a group we will decide what we want to do but the basic plan will be as follows:
Show up on Thursday and fish or get your gear ready. Supper will be provided. Friday and Saturday we will get up and have a quick breakfast and hit the water early. Lake Trout will be the primary target early in the day on Crow Lake or it’s surrounding lakes. Conditions will dictate how far we will be able to travel. We will come in for a hot lunch and then head to Lake of the Woods for an afternoon of Crappie fishing. At dark we will come in and have a hot supper. Saturday we will enjoy some of what we have caught and will have fish for supper. Sunday morning we will fish and then head home.
You will need a snowmobile or 4-wheeler (depending on snow/ice/slush conditions—snowmobile is preferred), a portable fish house (like a Fish Trap or similar), electronics (flasher like a Vexilar or Hummingbird), heater/propane, ice scoop, warm clothes with waterproof boots (temps can get to less than –40F and have very slushy conditions) and the following recommended fishing tackle:
Lake Trout: Clam Outdoors Dave Genz Split Handle Rods in 40” Heavy or 36“ Medium Heavy or similar, Shimano 2000 to 3000 size spinning reel, P-line FluoroIce 10#, ice rod case, #10 barrel swivels, 3/8oz tube jigs and 3”to 4“ tubes in white-ish or glow colors, blade baits like Heddon Sonars and a pliers.
Crappies/Perch: Bring your favorite ultra-light set up but also bring a lighter walleye combo as you can target the larger fish by upsizing to baits like Hali 25mm, #2 Jigging Rapalas, smaller Northland Buck-Shot Rattle Spoons, etc. Tipping baits with plastics like Little Atom or other small plastics works well.
The price for the Crow Lake Ice Classic is $450 USD. Taxes not included. To book your trip, contact Paul & Chris Trinkner at Muskie Bay Resort at 1-807-484-2332. A $100 deposit is required.
I've been up there and the Muskies are huge. The real draw are plenty of rod-bending trophy Lakers on Crow Lake. You can head over to Whitefish Bay on Lake of the Woods, which has outstanding crappie and jumbo perch opportunities. Walleye too, but I would focus on the Crappies or Perch if you go there.