Whos Thinking ICE

[croixeyes]

With this weeks forecast in,It sounds like we will be making some ice in the Bayport area.The water temps in this area are right there,and if the wind ever stops things may lock up in a hurry.Thursday morning I took a drive down to Bayport,there was ice covering alot of the area from the Stillwater bridge to the highline point.That ice is now gone but the temps remain ripe for freezing.Hopefully the Crappie bite that was so hot this fall will continue once we start drilling and jiggin.I know!I know!there is still open water south to fish but I gotta think towards ice now.Im breaking out my winter boat,gettin my auger tuned up and checkin out what I need to buy this weekend at the St Paul icefishing show Anyone else getting the fever????

[Stratosman]

You know what, I absolutely love ice fishng but I havn't been on the river during hard water for about a decade. Spend all my open water on the river, and all my ice fishing on lakes. Looking forward to that as soon as hunting season is over.

[b1gf1sh1]

i see people out near the edge of that open water by the exel plant when i'm bored and want to cast. are they nuts or is that safe? did see one guy in a thermal wet suit climb in his float tube and flippers and fish the edge. he was getting some pretty nice crappies and sunnies. i like to fish but, sheesh . have'nt ice fished anywhere in like 30 years or so. won't probly do it this year either. but who knows? mabe i'll see you guys from shore testing lures i made. good luck. brrrr

[TRZ]

Glad to see someone else is thinking ice like i have been for a month! I put my boat away once hunting season starts. I'll be somewhere in bayport sat. morning hitting them hogs. ice near the power plant is for sure not safe till late in the year and then it is more of as rough fish spot. crappies bite best right in the middle of the bayport colony spot early ice.

[blueroof]

Croixeyes, setup my trap in the garage last night, toyed with the lights and heater. Even scrubbed out a bit of the residue and funk from last ice season. I'm pretty much ready to hit the ice anytime. I didn't want to seem too eager so I kept them cased up, but I brought a couple longer ice rods out in the boat Sunday too, just in case we found a good jigging bite. Sadly they weren't needed.

B1g1, I have tons of extra ice gear; flashers, rods and such. If you ever want to get out and give it another try, shoot an email. I fish White Bear quite a bit, Big Marine and Chisago often too. Kinda like Stratos, haven't ice fished the river, all lakes. My wife thinks it is complete crazy talk, especially after a few early ice folks go swimming. Regardless, I am planning to fish the river at least a few times this winter.

TRZ, your not talking hiting the ice out of Bayport this weekend are you?? I'll have to drive down (without my wife) and check that out. Too bad we don't have the popcorn munching icon..

LB

[Turk]

I'll be ready soon, looking forward to it. I use

Custom Lures "glow demons" single hooks, they are excellent lures for both crappie and walleye. Jimmy's in Stillwater should have some. Also single hook, split shot w/slip bobbers catch tons o'crappie.

Keep catchin'

Turk

[OakdaleFMR]

Blueroof,

Do you have any hints on White Bear Lake. I fish it several times a week in winter, and last winter you could drive anywhere on the lake so I tried many-many spots. All I could find was small perch, super small walleyes, and an occasional snot-rocket. I have been all over using all baits so my question is the lake really a winter lake or is there very small windows of activity. Spent 3 whole days moving around the lake and no one I met was doing anything other than small perch????? I would gladly give it another try, but not until I hear that someone can catch fish there........

[TRZ]

I never claimed to be sane, just one H**L of an ice fisherman. plain hooks are VERY good especially red and orange colored ones. for those croix vets i finally retired my old pink permenent shack with the huge window, it is now a wood shed on my hunting property, just not enough ice anymore to even get much use out of it, and the crappies on the croix in the winter have been down for about 4 years. But maybe it will be a good year!

[blueroof]

I generally fish near Mahtomedi, my buddy has access that I use on the far SE corner off of Grove St. I've had decent luck with eyes and decent perch. I was pretty surprised last year at the size of the perch I was getting, got quite a few 9-10".

There are quite a few holes and humps along that shore that hold fish. The eyes are best worked after dark.

LB

[JBMasterAngler]

There's a couple spots by beanie's I had success on this fall, would like to hit them up in late winter...does the ice get good and solid from the beanie's launch down to about 1/2 mile downstream? Would prefer to drive on it, but won't pass on it if I have to stick with walking.

[croixeyes]

JB....the answer to that question is NO!!!!!The ice down that way can be here one day and gone the next.If you cross the 94bridge when the ice is forming you will notice how the current runs down there.Its probably safe a mile or so down but I havent been down that way to say for sure.Wish I knew someone that lived about halfway down lake St Croix,Id love to fish that area.You do see some folk fishing down around Beanies from time to time,Its all theirs Im not interested in swimming that time of year.Blueroof,I was using my ice rods on Sunday you get a better hookset with those longer rods,the downside is that I have to drill holes outside my shack to jigem.Keep me up to date on that crappie bite you told me about on lake @##$^%$%^^&.

[JBMasterAngler]

Thanks for the heads up! I haven't ice fished the croix in years, and that was in the bayport area.

[blueroof]

Croixeyes, sweet, the new 8'3" ice rods! You really need to watch the tips loading them onto the back of the snowmobile... I'm hoping Friday evening to give it a go, didn't think it would be this soon, but it is! LB

[john.wells]

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i see people out near the edge of that open water by the exel plant when i'm bored and want to cast. are they nuts or is that safe?

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Yes and yes. Depending on the quality of the ice, it is "safe" almost to the edge. The picture in my avatar is me about 20 feet from the open water, and there was 2 feet of ice at the time, and my pickup was parked about 100 feet from the edge with the same ice thickness. When I released the sturgeon I brought it to the edge of the ice and eased it in. That said, anyone venturing out there should pay heed that you should not just blindly trust the area. Check condition of the ice as you go and never assume it's good.

[b1gf1sh1]

thanks for the invite mr. blue. we'll see but i gotta tell you that since i'm a highrise window cleaner working 50 plus stories for the next month minimmum out in this cold. the last thing on my mind will be anything with the word ''ice'' in it . but we'll see. i'll keep looking in here to see how your doin' and mabe i'll get the itch. tell your wife you'll wear a life jacket on the river, mabe she'll be a little less ''mother henny'' . good luck out there. for everyone. if you are useing anything other than jokkta or eskimo rubber gloves your missing the boat. we use them for windows in the winter and theres no better glove/mitten for keeping hands warm and dry in the winter when hands touch water alot.

[croixeyes]

With the snow that they are predicting for Sat-Sun,could put a damper on early ice building.Im thinking if the wind dies down tonight the Croix will lock up.This may be a nasty turn of events for building quality ice.Im sure hoping the weather predictions are wrong and this stuff stays south.Anyone on the Croix forum going to the ice fishing show this weekend?Ive got my auger in the shop for a tuneup and just got a new 9inch auger shaft to hook up to it this winter.I have several small nicnacs to pickup at the show so Ill be down there Saturday morning around 10ish...Good luck out there.......

[blueroof]

Quote:

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tell your wife you'll wear a life jacket on the river, mabe she'll be a little less ''mother henny''

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B1G1 - more great tips! I used the ol' I'll be wearing a lifejacket. Had some success. I'll check out those gloves for sure. LB

[blueroof]

Croixeyes - I'm a bit worried about the ice conditions too. I'd prefer to see the ice I'm standing on for the first few times out. Sounds like we could get some slush if this blows too far north. I'm hoping it dumps south.

I'm planning to head down to the show after lunch today. I want to pickup a camera and some fake structure. Hopefully I can pickup my mom's new portable too, might need to wait until the show closes on Sunday. Two trips, just like the state fair. Oh well, don't think I'm taking the boat out anytime soon!

LB

[b1gf1sh1]

glad to help mr. blue. my advice is get the mittens not the gloves as they are much easier to turn inside out to dry them out. sweat and any water that might get inside will really bring new meaning to ''that stinks'' in those gloves/mittens if not turned inside out. mittens take mabe 30 seconds to turn. i don't bother with the gloves so i don't know. mittens are warmer anyway. buy two, in case one set gets wet. i'm still thinking about emailin' ya.