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Posted

Thinking of going out there tomorrow. I've seen a few portables but how's the ice?

I've never fished this lake in the winter. Where do folks usually walk out from? I see cars parked by the stocking pond, but not sure if that's legit or not.

Dan

Posted

Boat dock on the north side. Kinda long hike from there, but there are fish right in that first bay too!

Posted

That state landing is off of Mushtown rd. I assume the reason people park off the pond is to shorten the walk out onto the lake...........

Posted

I fish there some.

Hope to see you guys out there this Winter.

Posted

Was out on Carl's today. Solid 6" of clear strong ice everywhere. A guy was hauling a big camper/perm out with a 4-wheeler. I wouldn't quite do that yet, but he seemed to make it fine.

Covered about a 1/4 of the lake, drilled lots of holes. Fished 6', 12' and everywhere in-between. Barely marked a fish all day, and only got one good bite near the end of the day but did not hook him.

Saw a few small pike come up on tip-ups for some guys next to me. Great afternoon to be out, cant wait to try again.

Posted

which side of the lake were you on?

Posted

Was walking out from the landing so I stayed roughly in the 1/4 of the lake just outside the shallow bay where the access is. Was in a Gray Arctic Shield Pop-up that I was dragging all over the place smile

Posted

Nice nice, what you guys got for ice out there now? Should be good to go with wheelers im hoping.

Posted

I was out this AM at 5;30 and only managed two blue gills and one pike. I expected it to be better but o well stayed till 8 and left..... 9 inches of ice

Posted

Anyone know how far down into the water a guy can see his lure this year on Carls/McMahon?

Posted

I would say maybe 6 feet. Got out with the boy today form 2:00 to 7:00 caught two snakes and some nice gills all C&R

  • 5 years later...
Posted

Was out to McMahon lake for the first time last Friday afternoon from about 3 - 6 pm.  Headed to the shanty town on the east side of the lake since I'm not familiar with the lake and was short on time.  Also my guide book mentioned submerged timber on that side being good.  I didn't see any submerged timber in my spot, but I did have some nice schools of panfish move through.  About 4:30 had 3 nice sized panfish up through my hole and one come off at the hole in about a 10 minute span.  One of them was an 11" perch which is probably my personal best, what a beast!  Saw a few other big fish on my camera that didn't want to bite, include a nice sized LMB.  

Overall a good first visit and I will try to get back sometime and give it a try again either on the ice or open water.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • smurfy
      I don't need no livescope to catch fish....🤔🤪  It's all in how ya wiggle the worm!😜 Just sayin  🤣
    • Kettle
      Obviously this is more of a hot topic due to forward facing sonar. With that being said, I know people who have pulled crappies out of basins 40+ deep since the fl-8 and zercom flashers came out. That's over 30 years ago. I do think there's a push to ban these in MN and I could see them doing it here. They'll have to pay my livescope from my cold dead hands 😆 on days I can't catch a walleye jigging or rigging it's nice to turn it on and throw corks at individual fish
    • Kettle
      It wasn't just you, I was fishing west of you about an hour on Monday. Fished 8am-4pm, no fish, two keeper walleye and one small one from 4pm-630pm. Marked a lot of fish, they would come up to a jig and swim away. They were skittish to the dead stick too
    • leech~~
      I wonder like divers, if we let them decompress every 10' for 1/2hr. If that would help?  🤔  It would slow the bite down a bit!  🤭
    • carlsonmn
      That was a better study compared to last winter when they setup the vertical tube nets and tried to release exhausted fish from being studied and expected them to be able to swim straight down a 3' hoop net.     That lake's crappie population from this latest video was pretty deep at 40-50', and no doubt from those depths that is barotrauma for most.  That is deeper than most crappie holes but certainly how some are. However from helping give fish a good release from the 35' and less range and tracking them with live sonar most of them swim at a shallow angle back to the depths and I watch them rejoin the school and be active.  Uncut Angling's video helped counter some of the initial narrow findings.  
    • SkunkedAgain
      If you fished with me more often, you'd never have to make this statement...   38" of ice - love it. I'm really going to have to dig around for my auger extension. I don't think that I've needed it in over a decade.   Too bad nobody has a locomotive chugging across the ice to do some logging, like the good old days.
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore...  Ice fishing remains strong across the south shore of Lake of the Woods out on Big Traverse Bay.  Resorts and outfitters on some parts of the lake have ice roads extending over 16 miles staying on nice schools of walleyes and saugers.  Many fish houses are over deep mud.  Some are on structure.  It is always fishing of course, but overall, February has been very productive for most anglers.   Extensions are being used on ice augers as the ice continues to thicken.  The thick ice this year will be good for the extended ice fishing season Lake of the Woods enjoys with fish houses out through March 31st, walleyes and saugers open through April 14th and a pike season that never closes. Most fishing activity is taking place in 26-32 feet of water.  Anglers are finding a healthy mix of walleyes and saugers, with a good number of jumbo perch in the mix this year.  Some big eelpout are also showing up.  Anglers are reporting plenty of fish for fresh fish frys and usually extra fish to bring home.   The one-two punch of a jigging line and deadstick is the way to go.  On the jigging line, jigging spoons with rattles tipped with a minnow head have been consistent.  Lipless crankbaits and jigging rap style lures also doing well.     Lures with a light have been working well in the stained water.  Please remember, in MN, lures with a light or water activated light can be used as long as the battery is mercury free and the hook is attached directly to the lure and not as a dropper line.     On the deadstick, a plain hook or a small jig with a live minnow 6 inches to a foot off of the bottom.    Some days, mornings are better, other days, it's the afternoons.  There is no distinct pattern, they could come through at any time. On the Rainy River...  The start of the day and end of the day have been best for those targeting walleyes on the river. A jig and minnow or a jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head is also producing some fish. Some big sturgeon being iced by ice anglers targeting them.  It is a catch-and-release sturgeon season currently.   Although ice conditions on the river are good, they can vary significantly due to the current, so anglers should always consult local resorts or outfitters for the most up-to-date safety information and fishing advice. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing has been strong in the islands area of Lake of the Woods. Resorts continue to move their fish houses around, staying on the best schools of walleyes.     Anglers are catching a nice mix of walleyes, saugers, and jumbo perch with an occasional pike or tullibee as well.     Big crappies are still being caught just over the border.  Fish houses are available, check with a NW Angle resort for info on crappie fishing.   Lake of the Woods enjoys an extended ice fishing season with fish houses on the ice through March 31st and walleye and sauger seasons open through April 14th. Perch, crappie, and pike seasons remain open year-round.    
    • leech~~
      Maybe you should put rattle wheels down, if your going to sleep for 6hrs! 🤭 😆
    • JerkinLips
      Monday was my worst day of winter fishing on Vermilion in the last 4 years.  Caught only one 14" walleye in nearly 8 hours of fishing.  Missed two other bites and was marking very few fish.  Maybe the fish were taking Monday off after a big weekend.   No more water came up on the ice under my house.  Think it was because I haven't banked snow around it for a couple of weeks so the bare ice around the house is getting very thick.  I measured 38" of ice under my house and the Ion barely made it through even with the extension installed.  Needless to say I banked around the house this time.  Another lesson I learned today is don't drill holes if ice is frozen on your blades.  I did that on one hole and it didn't center properly and drilled at an angle on the edge of the opening.  Hope I can correct the location and angle on my next trip up.   Not much change in the surface lake surface conditions.  The drifts may be a little higher and are definitely harder.  There are still a few bare ice spots on the lake.  Very little activity on the lake today.  There are about 3 dozen houses from McKinley Park out to Birch Island.  Another person pulled there house off today, and I am sure many more will pull theirs off this coming weekend.  Only 13 days left of walleye season.    
    • leech~~
      A good start for never picking up a bow!   IMG_1910.mp4
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