advice on conditions

[nocsious]

I've got a fishing trip planned with about 8 other guys the weekend of January 22nd on Rush. Are we going to be able to get out in a truck with our portables?

I've done plenty of ice fishing in Iowa and some in Minnesota but have never experienced the flooding you all talk about. Is this just a problem with permanent houses or does it make fishing all together impossible?

[OTCBigBass]

today there isn't a chance to get a truck on the lake, it's even tough to find a place to stop a sled. If we get alot of cold weather in the next 3 weeks it my freeze but only time will tell.

[TylerS]

Sounds to me like portables and a good pair of snowshoes are in order

[C10]

With 2.5 weeks to go there is a pretty good chance a road will appear somewhere out there, or we could get lucky and the snow/slush will firm up. I would keep an eye on the boards or call your favorite baitshop for a report before you leave.

It all varies by lake. If Rush is unfishable there are so many other good lakes within 10 miles that you should be able to find access somewhere.

[ttttedttt]

I've done plenty of ice fishing in Iowa and some in Minnesota but have never experienced the flooding you all talk about. Is this just a problem with permanent houses or does it make fishing all together impossible?

The flooding and slush can freeze perm houses to the lake if they are not blocked up high enough. The slush also makes trying to get around on the lake miserable especially when the top inch or two is frozen sitting on a couple inches of water before getting back to the main lake ice.

I know there is a decent trail going out on the lake from the north east access. If you guys plan on sunfishing you should be able to get within 100 yards of the main area... as for walleyes, not sure how far you will be able to get into the lake.

[nocsious]

We normally go out from the north access because it's just a few houses down from the house. I do know where the northeast access is but I know it is relatively shallow back in that bay.

You don't have to worry about us taking your spots. We hardly catch anything.

[ttttedttt]

I'm on Ottertail so unless you plan on fishing there... which is a much bigger lake, I'm not too worried about you taking my spot -

We did drive out on Rush because we were debating setting our house on the sunfish spot in that shallow bay but we've decided to put it back on ottertail and try a new spot today (much closer to an access).

I've heard decent sunfishing reports earlier in the season but haven't heard much as of lately. For walleye reports I've heard that Ottertail is the place to be and has been producing the most fish in the area.

As for my fishing experience on Ottertail, the night/morning before the big storm I caught 6 walleyes 15-18" and threw one 26" walleye back, but that was the hottest night I had out there (storm def helped, low pressure, yadda yadda ya)... prolly averaged 2-4 keepers between 1-3 ppl the other nights we went out.

Good luck

[nocsious]

The only time we ever catch an eye is around dusk. I'd like to get into some keeper gills and crappie, but I've always had trouble finding more than 1 crappie on Rush in a day. Does anyone catch any crappie at night? I never catch anything after dark.

I've caught some gills our in front of the river near the the main ramp off 78. We have to walk out there as we don't have a snowmobile.

[buschwhacker]

Anyone have any reports on the conditions on Dead Lake? Going up in two weeks and wondering if we can get the truck out there. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks -

[McGurk]

When I was on Dead 2 weeks ago, it was snowmobile only, unless you had a plow. Even then, it was a fight to get around. It may have changed since then (I hope so) but I would say snowshoes, snowmobiles, or its "snow-deal."

[Maverick1951]

I was up there last weekend. Stopped by Sunset resort and the report was that there is still a lot of slush/water under the snow and getting around is nearly impossible with out a snowmobile. Things might improve some, but sometimes that slush will stick around a long time. I really don't think anyone will be driving out there the rest of the year. No one was driving off the public landing by Pochahantes.

[buschwhacker]

Thanks McGurk, that's what I was afraid of. I will post the conditions and how we did after the trip.

[buschwhacker]

Thanks Maverick. I hope the conditions improve a little bit over the next two weeks. I haven't ice fished Dead Lake in about 20 years since my grandparents starting shutting down the cabin in the winter. Any surrounding lakes have driveable roads? I would assume Ottertail should have some, wondering about Marion or Star.

[McGurk]

Hey Mav, sounds like you were in the same boat we were, so to say. I got out on a sled by myself and was fine as long as you didn't stop. I don't have a lot of sled experience, but had a thought about firming up a path for a 4-wheeler. Could a guy take a sled and repeatedly run the same path back and forth a few times to expose some of the slush in an effort to freeze it up? If you did it side by side, I would think it might be able to hold up a 4 wheeler where the track exposed the slush (which it did, I saw it with my own eyes).

bw; Troje's had a path plowed out from their resort, and there was another group north of the road that may have since been plowed. If you stopped by Troje's and dropped a few bucks they may let you use their road. They have a couple of houses out for rent, too, if you are interested. Good Luck, and please update us!

[Maverick1951]

I didn't see a road at Troje's. There was one out of Sunset, but the owner said it didn't make it out to the group of houses that you can see from the road. He said the big snowfall slushed it up and he is still trying to get to the houses to get them off. The Sunset folks seemed real nice so they may be a good resource another year.

Your idea of the snowmobile is pretty good with the one possible problem of running a sled into a deep slush hole. Then you are pretty well screwed.

I tried to plow a road on our little bay with an ATV and sunk it into a slush pocket. It took us an hour to dig it out. It was a pain. It seems like the slush is in the middle of the lake, which makes sense since the snow sags the ice and like anything els the middle would sag the most.

If you have a sled, I think the best bet is to stay on old tracks. I will be up there on Superbowl weekend and plan to call Sunset and see what the slush conditions are. We will have sleds, but will want to be careful.

[McGurk]

Maybe they opened it up just to yank their houses; as they had 2 out on their own, away from the other group. It could have covered up. Is the Sunset you mention the one just south of Woodland? We always call it sunset bay, and we say a guy on a 4 wheeler (2 weeks ago) trying to get somewhere with a plow, but quit after about 200 yards. The owner of the place we stayed said it was the new owner of the big house betwenn Sunset Bay and Woodland, though.

[Maverick1951]

That's right, it's Sunset Bay. It is next to Woodland. He has a tractor with a big blower and was still having trouble rescuing those houses. One of these years we will have conditions that will allow more exploration of the lake.