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Great looking fish, getting me pumped up to get up there. I am heading up to the area the next two weekends (old scenic highway area) and was just wondering if I should be expected the crappies to be bedded up yet or am I still too early on that? Any little bit can help!

Thanks in advance,

Tim

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You might hit it right on the head, as they aren't on beds yet but getting pretty darn close. Old Scenic Highway area.....hmmmm....that's "my" turf! smile

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I should have been more specific earlier on this thread, the area specifically is the taconite area (Shamrock/Reilly/Island chain). I hope we hit it right on the head, sure would be a blast to get the family on a nice crappie bite. A heck of a way to start cabin season!

Thanks for the reply Greg

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JigNPlastic ~ I used to fish the local bass club tournies on this water, a fun lake. Yes, things are warming up very nice and you should be able to get into some action. Good luck and have a great opener!

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  • 1 month later...

Finally got back up to God's country last weekend and found some very good multi species fishing. Didn't have any luck with the crappies in mid may but found them in some typical summer spots this weekend. Oddly enough most fish were deeper but the biggest (13 inches or so) were caught in 2 ft of water fishing for gills with my daughters. Bass and pike were going too. Be back up for 10 days in about a week to try it again!

I knew I became a teacher for three wonderful reasons: June, July, and August!!

Tim

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello,

Ill be back up in the Land of Sky Blue Waters starting Sunday for a trip to let my kids visit their grandparents. Any reccomendations on locateting some eyes? I was thinking maybe bottom bouncer/spinners in say, 18-20 fow, but what do I know, Ive been in Florida the last 15 years!

Also, crawler or minnow? And if I go at night?

Thanks so much!

Craig

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So far your plan sounds pretty good. I prefer crawlers when pulling spinners with at least 2 hooks. At night I would try 12-16' along weed edges with either a shad rap or a husky jerk in a perch or silver pattern. As far as what lake that is a good question. With the strange spring we had the fish still are not in a good set pattern on lakes like Winni. Looks like you could be in for a nice stretch of weather. Good luck and have fun.

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Thanks Jim,

I've been frustrated in my other trips to their lake, lots of 15' then 2' then backtrack to 8' then 18'...I know one spot that goes from 5' to 55 in about 15'. None are marked on topo map, I finally got fed up enough that I ordered an aqua vu micro so I can at least see what i'm fishing. Sharp breaks sound like great cover, but if yoy don't really know them, you can't troll them well. Ive trolled jig/minnow, but end up with largemouth during the day. Trolling crankbaits at night i'm 10' deep at 20 then instantly at 3, only reversindg helps, but results in no control...

Craig

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Some of the best spots are more tapered and will be close to deep water but need to have some sort of weed growth. When trolling at night I try to avoid the sharp drops and look for more longer flat areas. The sharp breaks can be good but it might take a few passes to get it down.

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Hey Everyone-

I'm thinking about taking the family to a resort on Sand Lake. I'm a bit gun shy about the $$ without knowing how the fishing is on this body of water. Any thoughts would be awesome. Thanks!

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There's a few sand lakes up that way. If you're talking about the one on the bowstring river you'll have fun. Plenty of eyes, billions of little like and lots of nice perch. If the kids are coming with make sure to in the channel between big and little sand. There's always a ton of suckers in the chanel and I always loved watching em swim away from the boat smile

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Sand lake is a great kid lake . northen walleye perch all in one so you can usually keep the kids interested in that and if you just want to put a bobber on there is some great panfish action also and it is a beautiful lake on top of that

Jason

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  • 3 months later...

I haven't heard many reports lately on either of those 2 lakes.

Gonna be a beautiful weekend, definitely too nice to be at work, which is where I will be. LOL

Brian

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  • 1 month later...

No, we don't have any yet, that I have walked on personally, but with this mini-blizzard we are receiving, it won't be long. I've heard reports of ice fishing on URL last week but I'm sure these strong NW winds have that east shoreline looking awful, and dangerous. Around the Grand Rapids area, many of the small lakes had a skim on them before these winds came along. I'm thinking by next weekend, there will be some smaller lakes that offer typical first ice fishing, meaning it's not good ice and you better be careful. Take a buddy and be safe! I'll keep all up-to-date on ice conditions.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Anybody have a report about how much ice is on the smaller(60-200 acre) lakes on the Range? Just curious if there is a decent base on those lakes before we get some snow here.

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3-4 inches in the narrows on whiteface it was good clear hard ice fishing was on the slow side for first ice but the weather may have something to do with that but people were catching fish just happy to finally able to get on the ice can't say how the ice will be if this storm dumps a bunch of only time will tell

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Thanks for the info trumy, I can't wait to get on the ice. I'm coming up next weekend, just hoping the lakes aren't a slush pile by then. Would've been nice to get a solid 8 inches before a big storm, but we'll see how it goes!

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My dad was on one of our little crappie holes (under 200 acres) and only found 3-4" in the deeper water. The lake is mostly shallow, with one hole that goes to 30'. I thought there'd be a lot more. He did really good though. Limited out on nice suspended crappies in 20 mins. Small jigging spoon & minner head

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I was up on my little lake this last weekend. 120 acres. Had between 5 and 6 inches of good ice. Sure was popping Friday night after dark with no snow on it yet. Not too far from Bigfork...

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I've been out checking ice around the grand rapids area, found 5-6" on split hand last night, ice is still in great shape even with the snow, but all other lakes I checked were less than 4". Even the very small ones, still use alot of caution out there! walked out on pokeg and the ice went from 4" to less than 2" in about 20 yds, be very careful!

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Fished small lake by Rapids Saturday night 3-5" nice solid ice, same spot Sunday night had 2"-3" solid ice and 1-2" water on top. In addition several holes opened up with water obviously flowing up onto the ice. Be careful!

lakevet

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I will be heading up to the area xmas night for a few days. I was wondering how the ice is, can we ride wheelers? Do any of you guys have any panfish reports from the spider lake area? We will be staying at my buddies cabin on Spider lake, but we would like to try a few new lakes if you guys have any recommendations.

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Any truck travel starting on small lakes? Hoping to drive out Friday night for the sake of my dad, he's getting too old for much walking.

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I would sure keep the trucks off the ice right now. I just got back from a up there and we only found 7-9" of ice on all 4 lakes we made it to with one only being about 40 acres. The fishing was very good though with strong crappie bites going on all the lakes we tried. We even managed 6 fish over 14 inches and I put my friends dad on a wall hanger at 16 3/4" while teaching him how to use a flasher. The depths varied lake to lake but all fish were found on the edges of the basins. Moving around was key and we never even fished a hole unless the flasher showed fish.

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16 3/4"?????!!!!! DANG!!!! What a pig, where are the pics? I was on splithand the other day and we had a good 8" of ice. A few eaters over 10" nothing over 12".

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My friends dad has the pics so i'm waiting for them to show up in an email. you know you did your work when you put a gallon and a half of gas through your auger in 3 days plus what ever else the other guys did with thiers. We drilled out huge areas ( well over a hundred holes a day for me)and checked hole after hole after hole till you found fish off the bottom on the vex.

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Went to Pug Hole Lake we were in 23 ft. Lots of fish on the vex. But not one bit 4 of us grubs and fat heads. Slow going. Would not drive on it yet just walk or 4 wheeler.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • mulefarm
      With the early ice out, how is the curlyleaf pondweed doing?
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   The big basin, otherwise known as Big Traverse Bay, is ice free.  Zippel Bay and Four Mile Bay are ice free as well.  Everything is shaping up nicely for the MN Fishing Opener on May 11th. With the walleye / sauger season currently closed, most anglers are targeting sturgeon and pike.  Some sturgeon anglers are fishing at the mouth of the Rainy River, but most sturgeon are targeted in Four Mile Bay or the Rainy River.  Hence, pike are the targeted species on the south shore and various bays currently.   Pike fishing this time of year is a unique opportunity, as LOW is border water with Canada, the pike season is open year round. The limit is 3 pike per day with one being able to be more than 40 inches. All fish 30 - 40 inches must be released. Back bays hold pike as they go through the various stages of the spawn.  Deadbait under a bobber, spinners, spoons and shallow diving crankbaits are all viable options.   Four Mile Bay, Bostic Bay and Zippel Bay are all small water and boats of various sizes work well. On the Rainy River...  Great news this week as we learned sturgeon will not be placed on the endangered species list by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.     The organization had to make a decision by June 30 and listing sturgeon could have ended sturgeon fishing.  Thankfully, after looking at the many success stories across the nation, including LOW and the Rainy River, sturgeon fishing and successful sturgeon management continues.   A good week sturgeon fishing on the Rainy River.  Speaking to some sturgeon aficionados, fishing will actually get even better as water temps rise.     Four Mile Bay at the mouth of the Rainy River near the Wheeler's Point Boat Ramp is still producing good numbers of fish, as are various holes along the 42 miles of navigable Rainy River from the mouth to Birchdale.   The sturgeon season continues through May 15th and resumes again July 1st.   Oct 1 - April 23, Catch and Release April 24 - May 7, Harvest Season May 8 - May 15, Catch and Release May 16 - June 30, Sturgeon Fishing Closed July 1 - Sep 30, Harvest Season If you fish during the sturgeon harvest season and you want to keep a sturgeon, you must purchase a sturgeon tag for $5 prior to fishing.    One sturgeon per calendar year (45 - 50" inclusive, or over 75"). Most sturgeon anglers are either a glob of crawlers or a combo of crawlers and frozen emerald shiners on a sturgeon rig, which is an 18" leader with a 4/0 circle hook combined with a no roll sinker.  Local bait shops have all of the gear and bait. Up at the NW Angle...  A few spots with rotten ice, but as a rule, most of the Angle is showing off open water.  In these parts, most are looking ahead to the MN Fishing Opener.  Based on late ice fishing success, it should be a good one.  
    • leech~~
      Nice fish. I moved to the Sartell area last summer and just thought it was windy like this everyday up here? 🤭
    • Rick G
      Crazy windy again today.... This is has been the norm this spring. Between the wind and the cold fronts, fishing has been more challenging for me than most years.  Panfish have been moving in and out of the shallows quite a bit. One day they are up in the slop, the next they are out relating to cabbage or the newly sprouting lilly pads.  Today eye guy and I found them in 4-5 ft of water, hanging close to any tree branches that happened to be laying in the water.  Bigger fish were liking a 1/32 head and a Bobby Garland baby shad.   Highlight of the day way this healthy 15incher
    • monstermoose78
    • monstermoose78
      As I typed that here came a hen.  IMG_7032.mov   IMG_7032.mov
    • monstermoose78
      So far this morning nothing but non turkeys. 
    • monstermoose78
      Well yesterday I got a little excited and let a turkey get to close and I hit the blind!!
    • smurfy
      good......you?? living the dream..in my basement playing internet thug right now!!!!!! 🤣 working on getting the boat ready.......bought a new cheatmaster locator for the boat so working on that.   waiting for warmer weather to start my garden!!!
    • monstermoose78
      How is everyone doing? Holy moly it’s chilly this morning I stayed in bed and will hunt later today when it warms up.
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