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C-c-c-cold weather for trout opener


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Right on schedule, here come the frigid temps.

Lows of -25 to -30 on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights in Ely, with highs in the single digits below zero. What else should we expect the three days before opener? Winter trout in the Minnesota Arrowhead ain't for sissies! crycry

Although I'm recalling an opener three years ago when Chunkytrout and I limited in about two hours. When the sun came up over the pines along the south shore of Burntside Lake, it was -38 with a 15 mph wind. I've had some of my best trout outings on those sunny, brutally cold days, when the lakers are snapping even harder and faster than the tree trunks.

Heck, maybe it'll be calm Thursday morning at least. Not to mention it'll help firm up that slush a bit so the folks who can't open for trout until next weekend will be happier. smilesmile

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  • Steve Foss

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i would agree that some of the better laker fishing i have had is on those clear sunny COLD days. i think that the sun might have even more of an effect on fishing this winter with all the snow and slush. you would think that those days when the sun is shinning, that under all that snow slush and ice that it lights up down there and gets those lakers going.

iv got lakers on the brain and cant wait for thursday. ill be fishing off the van vac. if you see two stocky fellows with red beards stop by and say hello.

there is just nothing like watching the sunrise over the tress when its 30 below...nothing

mike

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if you see two stocky fellows with red beards stop by and say hello.

If I do, that will make three stocky fellows with red beards in one place. gringrin

That opener with Chunytrout I referred to was right off Van Vac. We just angled off to the right a bit and walked out until we hit 50FOW and it was all over but the filletin' and the grillin'. smile

I've got a hankerin' for some fresh lake trout in the pan!

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If I do, that will make three stocky fellows with red beards in one place. gringrin ...

Sounds like a bunch of pirates will be fishing out there. laughgrin

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this sounds like quite the event. i toss around the idea back and forth whether to take up ice fishing or not. something like this may be a motivator. i dont get any lake trout till i can launch my boat into superior so i go several months without enjoying laker. withdrawls

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no reason to go through withdrawls....winter laker fishing is some of the best laker fishing.

and i have been called a pirate before grin

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Cannot wait to ice my first laker ever. It won't be thursday because i'm seeing visions of rainbows.....maybe friday....

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Well, here's the latest forecast from the NWS. Brrrrrrrr! shockedshocked

Today: Snow likely, mainly before noon. Mostly cloudy and cold, with a high near 3. North wind between 5 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around -29. Wind chill values as low as -48. North wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near -14. Wind chill values as low as -48. West wind between 5 and 10 mph.

Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around -30. Wind chill values as low as -51. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northeast.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near -10. North wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around -31.

Thursday: Sunny and cold, with a high near -14.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around -32.

Friday: Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near -4.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around -24.

Saturday: Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near 3.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around -7.

Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 15.

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i might set up a canvas wall tent on wed and sleep out wed night and possibly thursday night as well......its going to be a cold one......you cant miss the wall tent its a big one. it will be set up off the van vac. heck i might stay out friday night too. ill see how much of that cold i can take.

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Wall tent sounds like a lot of fun. I hope those wind forecasts drop in time for Thursday/weekend. Minus 30 degrees is no big deal if it's calm. Toss in a little or a lot of wind and things turn brutal in a hurry.

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yeah....its tough when its windy...thats when it gets dangerous

you have to really watch your skin when the windchill is 50 below. you can freeze your finger tips in no time and thats no fun.

steve stop by if you see smoke coming out the stove pipe. hopefully there will be some fresh laker frying up inside.

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We'll see how it goes, Mike. Three stocky red-haired pirates all standing in one place might make those Burntside residents a little nervous. J/K. smilesmile

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Those three stocky, red-haired pirates would be standing in one spot until the ice let go. gringringrin

A loaded pulp truck would have a better chance of staying on top than you three!! gringringringrin

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

Whooooooooooooeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, what a knee slapper! gringrin

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Whooooooooooooeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, what a knee slapper! gringrin

Careful. With those surgically rebuilt knees of yours you might damage something. smilesmile

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Then you'll break your hands on them and have to have titanium hand replacement. Pretty soon you'll have so much space-age material inside you it'll be "Great Outdoors in Terminator XIV: The Ely Chronicles." Or maybe "The Six Million Dollar Finn." gringrin

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No, if you can use titanium leaders/spinnerbaits in the BWCAW, you can use titanium knees. A spinnerbait is about as complex a machine as a knee joint. smilesmile

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Steve,

Gee, I don't know about that.

Keep in mind, they banned Andy Hill's sailboat from Basswood because of the mechanical hinges on the masts. shocked

("They" would of course be, the Forest Service, Casey's people!) gringringringrin

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36 below in Cook with some of the lower spots -39. However, even on the smaller slower moving streams, there is steam coming out of them. Tells me that things are still taking some time to freeze.

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im starting to think i might just fish out of the wall tent on thursday....right of the van vac...its goin be COLD COLD COLD...might wait till it warms up to venture too far

it didnt seem like the wind picked up today....right?

maybe it will be calm........i sure hope so

ill still be out there but you might not see me out and about too much

i dont think ill be doing much hole hoppin

a warm wall tent and a bottle of crown will have to do cool

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Our thermometer already says -30. I just plugged in the truck and the car and it hurt to touch anything metal. This has got to be firming up some of that slush out on the lakes. I am remaining optimistic that it won't be a huge mess on the lakes.

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I was looking at the Ely NOAA report and I think the thermometer is frozen cause the last reading was -38 and then it went to null grin

If that doesn't freeze some of that slush nothing will.

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