Lake Minnewaska Fishing Reports - Ice Conditions

[First Ice-Mike]

It's been slow for me too.

FI

[LandDr]

Got out for about a half hour yesterday to check the landings and the ice...and drop a line down..had to be home by 6pm.

Gills were really biting well...between two of us we had 17 really nice ones in the pail within a half hour...and then I had to go. So I took 10 and headed home. I hated leaving but family was calling. Used a #14 Marmooska with a shrimp. Just as soon as it got down there it pretty much went down. Most of the sunnies were around 8". I have been catching fish in 7 fow and in 18 fow...nothing really inbetween.

Accesses are good and the ice is great...no problem driving all around the center and east side of the lake.

Fish On!

[BLACKJACK]

Landdr, Are you going to be in your shop on Sat?? Making another run up to Minnewaska on Sat with the wife, would like to stop by.

Dumb question, any particular way thats best to hook those shrimp?? Tried some last time and I ended up just sticking the hook thru the main part of their body...

[LandDr]

I will be in early but then I am in the Ice Golf thing in front of Lakeside...always a fun event.

I find it best to use a #14 Marmooska because the hook diameter is a lot narrower. This is less damaging to the shrimp versus a big hook...I feel the panfish like smaller hooks anyway. Put one shrimp in your right hand and then use your left thumb to put a little headlock on the shrimp picking it up between your thumb and pointer finger...with the head down and tail sticking up. Then hook the very back of the tail with the Marmooska hook. The shrimp will be stunned for a short time but then start swimming around. When the legs get going, that is what the panfish can't resist. If you hook it in the middle of the body or the head, you will kill it and it won't move around near as much. It takes a couple times to get used to hooking them up, but you will get the hang of it and eventually throwing them down pretty fast. It's a lot of fun fishing with them and they sure seem to get the panfish going. I think there is more smell released and parts of the shrimp start floating around from bites...them seem to get more aggressive as they really like the invertebrate bait.

Fish On!

[BLACKJACK]

That makes sense to hook them in a way where it doesn't kill them!!! I also like the Marmooska hooks, heavy enough to go down the hole, yet small hooks.

Thanks!

[LandDr]

I used a mudbug the other day...only thing I had along. It was a little heavier than the Marmooska so it did drop down faster but the hook was a little bigger than I like. Still did very well with 10 nice sunnies around 8 inches in about a half hour.

Fish On!

[BLACKJACK]

So what kind of camera do you have? Would you buy another one?

[LandDr]

Got out for an hour or so yesterday to move a rental house...didn't take long to find a good spot. Went out to 18 fow with this one and was instantly on fish. Got the camera down and there were gills...and they loved the shrimp. Got several 9 to 9.5 gills but most were in the 8 to 8.5. Pike kept moving them around so there would be a short wait some times before the school would come thru again. Seen some crappies on the camera as well but the gills were faster to get to the shrimp. I had to leave by 5:30 but I am sure the crappies would have picked up later.

I gave up on Aqua Vue and went with the Angler's Choice. Yes, I liked it so much I bought three of them. To me they have a better picture and hold the picture longer into sunset...a lot of cameras do work once you start losing light at the end of the day. I have heard the Fish TV is good but I have not tried it to compare...I think that is made by Aqua Vue. Aqua Vue might have come out with a new camera also so that may have made the unit better...but I have not tried anything from Aqua Vue in a couple of years.

Fish On!

[FF_205]

hey landdr, thanks for the tip on getting those shrimp on the marmooska this morning, I was the one that was going to amelia with my son, the shrimp worked just as good maybe better that the wax worms, come home with a nice load of fish, one more time this winter in two weeks, see ya then

[BLACKJACK]

Landdr, made it up to Minnewaska for Sat afternoon and Sunday. Had luck, the third spot we tried we started hitting the crappies and sunfish, had to sort thru a few small ones but had nice steady action, even up until we left Sunday at 10:30. Caught and released some nice bass too!!

Used some of the shrimp, they worked, took a while to get the hang of your hooking method, crushed a few, but the sunfish liked them. Actually caught some of the bigger sunfish on small crappie minnows.

Overall it was fun!!! Stayed nice and warm in the Ice Castle, even with the big wind Sunday morning, the kind of trip that will keep us coming back!! Kind of curious to see what will happen with the big snow thats forecasted and travel conditions on the lake, would like to make one more trip up this winter. Only time will tell.

[LandDr]

Got out with the boys yesterday afternoon since there was no school. Got into some great gills...some pushing 10 inches. They were pretty aggressive on the shrimp... occasional lulls between pike coming in and keeping the gills away but as soon as the pike would leave the action would pike up again. Kids had a blast and it was a nice day on the lake.

I plowed a road off the Lakeside Landing and the access is in great shape. We did get snow but the wind kept a lot of the lake blown off...so what we have are drifts within open areas. The drifts are not too big and can either be driven thru or driven around. You can still drive just about anywhere you want and can easily put a house out off the Lakeside Landing.

"The Main Event" Vintage snowmobile races and show is on Minnewaska this weekend right out from the Lakeside landing. You can bring the family for some great fishing and vintage snowmobile action!

Fish On!

[Selmer]

Does Fish On still have the freshwater shrimp in? I want to go after bluegills on Monday, where should I head on the lake? I've fished it a couple times in the summer, but I'm still relatively new to the area and not terribly familiar with the lake. Can I safely drive a Suburban on, or am I better off walking? Thanks!

[sunniewally]

as of sat morn he had shrimp, and yes you can drive a suburban on. ice is good

[Selmer]

Well, I made it up today for the first ice fishing of the year. Thanks to Landdr for the tips and the freshwater shrimp! Nice shop, nice people! I limited out on nice bluegills and picked up 4 bonus crappie, one 14"! I got on the ice at 10 a.m. and was set up fast. I was on fish right away and started culling. I had 6 gills over 7" in the bucket by 11:30, then the crappie school moved in. I picked off 4 of them in about 3 minutes before they moved out. Then it shut down. Period. Noon to 3 p.m. I had zero bites, marked two fish on the flasher. At 3:15 they moved back off the bottom and started biting. I had my other 14 gills in the bucket by 3:45 and was off the ice by 4. 4wd was necessary to get off with the nasty wind we have. Overall, another great trip to Minnewaska, my third so far total in a year, always end up with a limit of gills, which always makes me happy!

[3GreenHornet3]

Where is your shop? We are coming up in the morning and was lookin g to try some of the freshwater shrimp?

[Selmer]

It's just a couple of blocks off the lake. If you're on Hwy. 28, turn south on 104 at the stoplight - Franklin St. S and keep going until you see a wooden building on the east side of the road. Great shop, I spent $3 on shrimp and didn't use even half of them. Pain to get on the hook, but totally worth it!

[BLACKJACK]

Made it up to fish on Tuesday when it was so nice out, got fish and a sunburn! Was fishing by 7 AM a couple hundred yards away from the main group out of Lakeside, caught a crappie right away, then some sunfish, they were practically attacking the lure on the way down, it was great!! Problem is that by 8:30 it shut off, the fish disapeared, wasn't even marking them on the Vexilar.

Started drilling a few more holes in the same area, caught a couple more fish, but it was pretty slow. After lunch I packed up and headed west, drilled 7-8 holes, nothing on Vex, nothing came to my jigging. Did that 3 more times, move, drill, fish, move, drill, fish. Finally found one hole with some action on the Vex but couldn't get them to bite. Finally had to leave by 4. Nice day on the ice and ended up with a dozen sunfish.

The question I have is: I plan on coming back this Sat, looks like the same conditions, sunny and warm in the afternoon, do the sunfish bite on a sunny afternoon? Do you need to just keep drilling holes until you find some active fish? Or is a person just better off fishing the 3 hours in the early morning or late afternoon? And if you're not finding fish in the afternoon, where should a person set up for a late afternoon/evening bite?

Need to ask also while I'm here, how are the accesses holding up?

[Chad Peterson]

BlackJack,

Either morning or afternoon, they will bite. But if I were you, drill out an area and work it for active fish. Then drill out another area. That is what I do until I find a school of fish. Good luck on Saturday.

Sniffer

[BLACKJACK]

BlackJack,

Either morning or afternoon, they will bite. But if I were you, drill out an area and work it for active fish. Then drill out another area. That is what I do until I find a school of fish. Good luck on Saturday.

Sniffer

Sniffer, thanks for the advice, I know from your other posts, that you have it figured out, good to hear from the master.

How many holes will you drill in an area and how close together to consider it 'drilled out'? When you move onto another spot, how far do you move? And on a sunny day like Sat., would you stay in shallower at 12-13 feet or go out deeper to 18-20 feet? And lastly, once you find 'active fish', will they stay active in that area thru the rest of the afternoon and evening or do you just need to catch a few and then move on??

Thanks in advace for the advice!! Kind of new to this search and fish routine for sunfish!!!

[Chad Peterson]

When you are working an area, I will drill 6-8ft apart and spread out about 20-25 holes. As far as depths, work both until you find the pattern. This time of the year they will be moving, so you will either two things;

1-Stay in the area and wait them out. They will pass through.

2-Keep drilling and follow the school. That what I like to do.It's fun!

Good luck BlackJack!

Sniffer

[crothmeier]

Ice going to be driveable this coming sunday??? heading up early from southern mn. we have open water down here.

[3GreenHornet3]

stopped in at in and out bait last wednesday around 730, and they were closed... Does anyone know what time they open? I'm assuming 8. would like to try some freshwater shrimp.

[Selmer]

How are the ice conditions? Still driveable - safely?!?

[LandDr]

Ice conditions on Waska are still really good...no problem with walking out or ATV. There was a car going out today as well. I don't think there would be a problem with a small vehicle but safer to walk or ATV. I have my ARGO parked at Lakeside Landing offering taxi rides out and back in.

Still a really good bite in the morning and evening on Waska for gills...most are in the 8 to 9 inch size with a few bigger. Shrimp or Red Uro seem to be the bait of choice. On days where they are really biting, anything would probably work...but on lite bite days the shrimp are the way to go. I have found the bigger fish are more aggressive on the shrimp as well.

As of this morning, the DNR Landing is probably the best for parking and getting onto the lake. The Lakeside Landing has pushed up and is a difficult ATV ride over it...walking is no problem but the best gill bite right now is about 2 miles out.

Fish On!

[basssmasher*]

2 miles out?? thats a LONG walk!!! I have a plan for a different spot Kyle, pm me and I will run it by you and I want your honest opinion!

[LandDr]

It is a long walk...bring the ATV or call the taxi.

I will look for the PM.

Fish On!

[josh_c]

Had a blast today on the lake. Nice to meet you kyle and thanks for the ride. Well worth the money. I did enough walking to catch the fish. I fished away from the crowd and came. home with 16 nice gills and 4 crappies. Prob gonna be back tomorrow since these ones tasted so good for supper. Prob be alone again too.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

Keep the updates coming on the ice conditions! Headed up to the lake saturday morning for one last trip.

[Rookie13]

What's the ice condition on Minnewaska?

[goose89]

You mean water temps? Ice out yesterday.