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Anyone know how thick the ice is on gunflint or loon lake? We were supposed to go up this weekend, but now will have to wait for presidents day weekend. Am hoping the lakes will be truck accessible (snow permitting of course).

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left Gunflint last Saturday, there was at the minimum 20inchs and very little snow. It took a alot of auger, and with the cold now, who knows but it will be alot.

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Thanks for the ice report wink Wow, I went from worrying if I can drive on the ice to wondering if I'll need an extension. eek

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This is great Information for a new Guy that has never done a trip Like this before and really wants to. Very helpfull info you guys have provided. I just put in for vacation for the 1st weekend in march because this thread has inspired me to try somthing Ive never done before.Im really intersted in the longer Rods I see some of you guys have in your Pics . Are they just ultra light Panfish rods ? Id love to know more about them

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Panfish rods are too light for lakers. Lakers are the strongest and fastest fish you are likely to catch through the ice. All my rods are either MH or a lightish H (as opposed to the pool cue like heavy H rods), and I use my open water reels on them for line capacity, and spool with 12 lb XL mono.

I never know from one day to the next whether clients want to be in shacks or out in the open, and mono is by far the more versatile regarding weather conditions compared with braid.

Among the Jason Mitchell Mackinaws, Polar HT Polar Lites series spinning rods and a few others, I have five custom rods ranging from 40 to 50 inches. The short rods are great for small shacks, but if you have a big shack or will be fishing in the open, the long rods are best. More rod there to absorb the shock of a heavy fish.

If you prefer spinning over baitcasting and want to set up for lakers on the cheap, spool your summer walleye spinning reel with 12 mono and buy one of the HT Polar Lites series spinning rods in MH or H. They are 34 inches long, a good length of which most is rod (short butts), and only cost a bit over $15. I have three of them, and they work great.

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Thank you very much Steve for the response -Very Interesting stuff and Completely Foreign to me . I never would Have guessed that the rods you guys use were just Longer Ice Rods. We make a trip to the gunflint every year in the summer and camp, fish and partake in the Fishermans Picnic activities so Im really looking forward to do this trip and see what things are Like there in March. Thanks again for the response

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I've never fished Gunflint and am not familiar with it's structure but what I do is look for deep water 60 to 80 feet and than look for adjacent rises climbing steeply up to 15 feet or so. I set up on the drop off and fish 30 to 40 feet. I especially look for a turn in the structure, whether it's an inside or outside turn both seem to produce well. My setup is to jig a large Macho minnow tipped with a minnow head and next to it dead stick a live minnow on a plain red hook. 9 times out of 10 the dead stick gets hit. Unlike other folks I pick a spot and sit it all day. Trout move a lot so patience pays off for me. Best of luck!

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I'm with KO in that I don't run and gun either for lakers, unless I'm exploring for new spots. On proven locations, I fish one or, at most two, spots during the day, and for the same reason he mentioned.

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So if you guys are moving onto a new Lake Trout lake, and you have a good topo map in hand, what would be your first "go to" structure at this time of the year?

What would be your second?

I'm fishing a lake I've never fished before this coming weekend. Lots of deep water, a couple deep water humps that come up 20-40 feet from the deepest basin, some shallow gradually deepening points adjacent to very deep water, and a few extremely fast deep dropping breaklines.

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So if you guys are moving onto a new Lake Trout lake, and you have a good topo map in hand, what would be your first "go to" structure at this time of the year?

What would be your second?

I'm fishing a lake I've never fished before this coming weekend. Lots of deep water, a couple deep water humps that come up 20-40 feet from the deepest basin, some shallow gradually deepening points adjacent to very deep water, and a few extremely fast deep dropping breaklines.

All those spots you mentioned are good places to start. I would plan on fishing multiple spots. Some days they might be on the steep walls and the next they are on the gradual points. Lake trout are pretty much always cruising around in search of food.

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Well I promised a report from my trip up to Gunflint. Plenty of ice up there, took most of the auger to get through. Saturday morning was COLD, about -26 when I got on the ice just before sunrise. I fished the point right out from the resort where it seemed quite a few guys were fishing. Found a good break on the point and set up in 40 FOW. Per the advice I got off this thread, I had a tip up with a cisco sitting on the bottom. I started with a glow and yellow #7 jigging rap and got quite a few fish to chase it but no takers. Decided to change things up and went with a white tube jig, less chasers and no takers. Buckshot, lindy flyer and swedish pimple, even tried tipping them with a cisco. Still no takers. Seemed that they would chase me 10-15 ft and then just give up and go away.

Unfortunately I only got to fish Saturday as I had the girlfriend with and had to fulfill other obligations for the weekend. Talked to the bartender that night at the lodge and he let me know I was doing things right, suggested next time just taking the tail of a cisco and putting it on the Lindy flyer if they are a little tentative. Regardless, it was a good time and I was happy to at least get some fish to chase and know I was in the right spot. Some days they just don't bite I guess! I'll have to give it another try I suppose and hopefully I can get up somewhere yet this winter.

Thanks to everyone for the advice!!

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DooWap come to the Bash March 9th for more laker thrills. Who knows you may even catch one. smile

I have spent a good amount of time laker fishing without so much as a follow so you can feel good that you had that.

Thanks for posting your results.

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That's how lakers can go, DW. When all you have is a single day, it can easily be the wrong day. Not much different than fishing muskies. Sometimes they are lip locked, sometimes in between, sometimes on fire.

That's just part of the addiction. smile

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Im heading up to the BWCA in 2 weeks and we will be on Seagull Lake. Wondering if anyone knows what the ice thickness is up there? Hoping I wont have to use an extension because hand augering through 40+ inches would not be fun!!

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Im heading up to the BWCA in 2 weeks and we will be on Seagull Lake. Wondering if anyone knows what the ice thickness is up there? Hoping I wont have to use an extension because hand augering through 40+ inches would not be fun!!

I don't know what the thickness is right now, but it won't be close to 40". Closer to 24". Can I assume you are coming up with the high school group? Do you know which weekends school groups from the Anoka system will be on Sea Gull? Every March weekend? I just want to be prepared in case I want to fish sea gull.

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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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