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For all non ice fisherman

tacklejunkie

By tacklejunkie
in Fishing Minnesota - (Spring, Summer & Fall)

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tacklejunkie Veteran

tacklejunkie

Posted
Posted

What do you do till open water? I do not ice fish myself so i go into a type of hibernation state till spring. What else do all the non ice fisherman do to keep busy till spring

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BobT Grand Master

BobT

Posted
Posted

You could try fishing the hard water. Who knows? You might just become an icefishingjunkie. grin.gif

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Bob

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BigWadeS Mentor

BigWadeS

Posted
Posted

I was in the same boat, no pun intended, up until last year I started to ice fish. I haven't caught anything yet, but it's still fun, fishing, and outdoors, I am hoping to learn ice pike fishing this winter. Good luck,

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Fisher_Johnson Rookie

Fisher_Johnson

Posted
Posted

I icefish, but I wouldn't call myself an icefisherman. Icefishing is more of an excuse to get out of the house than anything else, for me. I attend or watch a lot of hockey during the hard water season. You could clean and lubricate your reels. I like to have a lot of outdoor fires to help speed up global warming so I can boat all year. grin.gif

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DinkADunk Rising Star

DinkADunk

Posted
Posted

I ice fish but only when I'm very confident in the state of the ice. In the meantime there's flies to tie, lures to make, and rods to build.

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Bobby Bass Grand Master

Bobby Bass

Posted
Posted

I seem to write a lot more- play fantasy football and basketball. Hardly ever read during the summer but find time in the winter. Just because you don't ice fish don't mean you are alone. I just saw an article that estimates only 25% of fishermen ice fish, But boy are they vocal and active! I have and will fish on the ice from time to time but I am a Bass fishermen and I like to be on the move. Hard for me to freeze in one place. Well it's not hard but I would rather be in my boat under the sun with a warm breeze in my face!

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delmuts Veteran

delmuts

Posted
Posted

i just started my winter chores on my fishing equip. pulled all the line off reels that need to be replaced. will go over all my lures to repair and sharpen hooks. clean reels and check all the rods. clean and gease reels, then start in on the WISH books! grin.gifdel

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Daze Off Experienced

Daze Off

Posted
Posted

I'm with delmuts on this one - work on getting everything organized, cleaned, sharpened, lubricated, and replaced 9as necessary) for next year and then devour all the open water fishing magazines and catalogs that show up in the mailbox until I wear the print off the pages planning for next season.

Only other thing I do is start to plan the fishing trip to Table Rock in late March/early April which gets me out on the water and bass fishing nearly two months before open season here. If anyone is interested I'll be posting more info here shortly in some form.

Daze Off

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hanson Grand Master

hanson

Posted
Posted

My question would be, "Why not take up ice fishing?"

If you are that much of an open water fisherman, why not give ice fishing a shot?

Seriously... there has not been a single person yet that I've introduced to ice fishing who has not been hooked hook, line, and sinker. Hook up with someone who knows what they are doing, has good quality gear and knows how to use it, and you will have one darn good time on the lake!

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Jim Almquist Grand Master

Jim Almquist

Posted
Posted

I fish year round and there is no way I would give up my ice fishing.I fish for panfish more on the ice and I go on a lot more trips to places like LOW and Red lake. Plus I think the fish tastes better grin.gif Minnesota winters are to long not to ice fish.

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only ice Experienced

only ice

Posted
Posted

Slow down guys!! do we realy need another guy out there drilling a bunch of holes one hour before dark two feet away from your house, when you been there for 5 hours!! Just kidding, If you dont go south for the winter, You better take it up. It makes the winters go by soo FAST!! laugh.gif

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delmuts Veteran

delmuts

Posted
Posted

i used to! now my hands can't handle cold.( expl. in order to shovel snow, i have to wear liners inside lined mittens.) tried to set up my ice house but the mittens were a BIG pain. tried to get by with gloves, but hands were very stiff, snow white,had no feelings after a few minutes.no good water around here that would justify a wheel house, so i hibernate! del

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Huntin&Fishin Experienced

Huntin&Fishin

Posted
Posted

I'm with Hanson and jimalm, Why not? I like ice fishing 3x better. Don't get me wrong I love open water too, but ice fishing is a blast!

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Dark Cloud Proficient

Dark Cloud

Posted
Posted

You could get into rod building, tacklecraft, flytying, jig tying, etc...

I do all that plus pound the ice and we have a few almost year round open water options. Mix in small game hunting, raquetball, they gym, archery, a girlfriend, and work and there are not enough hours in the day...

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DTro Grand Master

DTro

Posted
Posted

I was in the same boat as you a few years ago. In fact I think I made a post nearly identical to this one.

I ice fished when I was younger, but I wasn't introduced very well. Substandard gear, lakes with no fishgrin.gif, and questionable ethics.

I lost interest fast.

Fast forward to the first time Hanson took me out with all his "goodies".

I knew I was in trouble......

Next thing I know my garage is stacked with gear and my weekends for the entire winter are almost already planned.

When you go out with the right people and the right gear, it's tough to beat.

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tacklejunkie Veteran

tacklejunkie

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Too cold. I have a son who is in hockey and that ties up my winter. I spend too much money during the open water season , also. Just no interest in it. Love the open water, though. troll big water and rivers for walleye, salmon, lake trout, and all i can think of now is I hope spring is early

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Bassboy1645 Proficient

Bassboy1645

Posted
Posted

Hey...I love ice fishing and wacthing that red line rise up to the jigging rap and thump it is like crack!!! I fish just about everytime of the yr hard or soft water and i love them both....but in the deep freezes of winter starting about now I long for what i love better open water... its really close but nothing beats an orange sunrise and a warm breeze after a hot day and listening to the laping of the waves on the hull and wearign nothing but shorts and sunglasses and a fishing pole grin.gif

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DARK30 Veteran

DARK30

Posted
Posted

I'm already looking forward to the big fat brown trout and the little yellow shrooms of April...Oh well, this is my Wife's chance to spend some time with me smirk.gif

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primetime49 Experienced

primetime49

Posted
Posted

I think it would be great for the DNR to ask a simple question when we apply for next years liscanse[DO YOU PLAN ON ICE FISHING THIS SEASON/?]

WE POLLED PERSONS ATSEVERAL SPORTS SHOWS SOME YEARS AGO ABOUT THE FISHING THEY DO IN mINNEAOTS,AND ONE QUESTION WE ASKED WAS ARE YOU GOING TO ICE FISH THIS YEAR ?wE WERE SURPRISED THAT ONLY 15% SAID THEY HAD ICE FISHED IN THE PAST 5 YEARS.

i THINK THAT MIGHT BE HIGHER NOW BUT IT WILL BE MY PLANS TO HAVE IT ON QUESTIONS ASKED FOR NEXT YEAR 2009.

iTS FUN SO IF YOU ARE SKIPPING IT TRY A COUPLE TRIPS OUT ,YOU MIGHT LIKE IT.

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Farmboy1 Enthusiast

Farmboy1

Posted
Posted

I used to love ice fishing, then I found this thing called Pool 4 of the Mighty Mississippi. Boat gets in the water all year, and I can normally catch more fish then the ice guys. Until the season closes in the rest of the state, you will see about 2-3 boats max, and the river is beautiful.

I say road trip to Red Wing grin.gif

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primetime49 Experienced

primetime49

Posted
Posted

In the Mpls Star it quoted a DNR office as reporting that only 10 to 15% of fish caught in Minnesota are from ice fishing .

Yet all we ever hear around home is that ice fishermen are taking all the fish

go wonder smirk.gif

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  • 3 weeks later...
Sandmannd Grand Master

Sandmannd

Posted
Posted

I would try it and at least get out a couple of times a year. I prefer open water, but this is going on my third year on the ice and the more I get into it the more fun I have. Do a get together, they are a blast on the ice and it's always great to meet new FMrs. If you absolutly don't like the ice, you can always get a fishing game for your PC or game system. :-)

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Matt C Grand Master

Matt C

Posted
Posted

WII - has 3 fishing games. That keeps me somewhat satisfied until open water. That and buying new gadgets for the boat, new tackle. Winter is a great time to buy open water stuff. Its alot cheaper.

I may ice fish once or twice a year, but I guess you can call me a sally. Im not big on walking on ice, even if its 24" thick.

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metrojoe Mentor

metrojoe

Posted
Posted

 Originally Posted By: only ice
It makes the winters go by soo FAST!!

Ain't that the truth.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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