Crappies

[hamrej23]

Hey i am goona be heading up there the 26th. first off= will there be enought ice to drive out there,and second= is there any chance that time of year that we can find crappies?

thanks

[Grant Pearson]

there is NOT enough ice to drive a vehicle on yet. Sleds and 4 wheelers, yes, but otherwise nope.

[ozzie]

Only time will tell as to what the ice will look like come the 26th of Dec.......crappies on the other hand are probably the hardest fish to find on the Pond......they are catchable but it is usually late ice and ice off/early spring when they are caught.....

[walleyeJoe]

14 days from no i will bet you be able to drive out on the roads in certain resorts.... the next fourteen days is supposed to be cold, but next week the only down fall is its supposed to get in the high 20's during the day...

[calli4120]

The current conditions are not good. Yes we have been having cold weather but the snow it not helping. I'll admit that I did not beleive what people were saying about the snow insulating but I seen it with my own eyes last week end.

I was in a bay in about 14 feet of water and there was 6" of ice. The temps had been really low and the ice had not gotten any thinker even with night temps below 0. What I found is that under the 6" of ice was a 3' layer of slush that was inpossible to clear completely out of the hole. (I had to use heavy spoons and jigs to even get to the bottom of the slush) I beleive that the slush is the result of the water temp being low enough to freeze but the snow is just not letting it freeze completely.

Maybe the spot I ran into is a fluke but it was bad. In my opinion, the only way there will be driveable ice is if the resort owners can get some of the snow cleared off and let the roads firm up for a day or 2. Once the ice has gotten better, plow out a little more and repeat. This will only help the ice on the roads and I would not venture off of them in a car since you might find a spot that is still weak.

I haven't been ice fishing long so I haven't seen everything but in my opinion, this year is gonna be tough for anyone that doesn't have a snowmobile or 4 wheeler.

[Roosterslayer05]

If you want crappies go to another lake. Crappies are the hardest fish to find on Mille Lacs.... besides sunfish perhaps. There have been guys that fished the lake their whole life and never caught one. Even if you do somehow stumble on some fish it doesent meen they will be there the next weekend or the next year for that matter. Dont waste your time dude.

[polarsusd81]

I found them on my first time fishing for them on the pond. But it was open water and easy pickins. Huge too. But I am not telling where. My buddy and I could of had our limit in 15 minutes that day, but we decided to each take 5 and meet up with his dad to go out. But yes, I can imagine they would not be the easiest to find with any regularity.