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Ice out precautions!


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Ice is leaving a lot of lakes around the metro right now and I just wanted to say, "be careful out there." You have a lot of floating debris on area lakes from fishhouse blocking and I'd hate to see someone wreck a boat or lower unit due to hitting something floating.

That being said, the water temps are running probably the coldest that they have for an opener in these parts in years. Make sure your boat is fit and ready to hit the water, batteries are charged and ready to go. Make sure your trailer lights are working and you have all the needed safety equipment in your rig for the open water season. A quick splash right now by anyone in the boat puts them at risk for drowning so make sure you have the proper PFD's and wear them while on the water. Try to do all the necessary maintenance on the boat while you have it home. Check wheel bearings and grease or repack if necessary, check trailer lights and connections. Check to have all the equipment you will need for a day on the water. Does your bilgepump work properly? Are your battery terminals free of gunk, full of water and fully charged? Is the fire extinguisher charged and ready to rock if needed? Do you have the required throwable device attached to a rope for bigger boats? Do you have current registration on the boat and trailer? Is your insurance coverage adequate for the boat and the equipment you are hauling? Does the motor run at idle and above or does it need that tuneup you have put off?

Can you drive to the launch and put in in short order or do you need a second person to assist. Do you have all the equipment you need for a day on the water? I know a lot of you have checklists and go through your boats before you ever get close to a landing but make sure your ready to rock when the time comes to drop in. Do you have adequate PFD's and do you know where they are stored? Are they in good condition and if you have an auto inflate PFD does the c02 cartridge need to be replaced? Tires on the trailer pumped up and a spare readily available with lug wrench in case of failure? Anchors in the boat with anchor line that is not frayed or weak? Trailer lights and connections all working? Lots of questions and prep time involved before you hit the landing if you want things to go smoothly on the water. How about the winch strap and winch in good working order or frayed and in need of replacement? Extra fuses for the boat electronics and trolling motor? Just a friendly reminder to be safe, check your equipment well and hopefully, you will have the best season ever! Anyone want to add to the list, help out the rest of us! Have a safe and happy open water season!

Tunrevir~

p.s. Oh yeah one last item, remember to put the plug in and take it out when you leave and don't neglect to unhook the transom straps when you drop in.(Yes, I have done that:)

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Opener morning is going to be considerably worse than a "normal" year because no one has had their boat out yet or at least very few.

Those that have are not the ones who clog up the landing.

Please made sure your motor starts before even going to the landing. Put your gear IN your boat and remove your cover BEFORE you are next in line to launch.

I may take a few days off midweek to have my opener to avoid all the headaches.

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If only everyone took the time to do these simple things. It is for your safety and the consideration of others. History tells me that I will see several of these things at the landing next Saturday.

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If only everyone took the time to do these simple things. It is for your safety and the consideration of others. History tells me that I will see several of these things at the landing next Saturday.

Come one now guys! Don't give away all of the secrets! Some of us like going to lake landings on opening morning JUST TO WATCH the circus/rookie day take place! It's a great time!

If that's the fist time someone has had their boat out or backed up a trailer for that matter. They deserve a good air horn/heckling/and video camera in their face. :-)

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Electronics, GPS in working order. Not cool when it is foggy or you can't see. That's when the gPS is crucial! Also lines restrung, hate to loose a fish because of old line. How about tools on the boat in case engine problems occur or tow rope in case? Cell phone charged in case need a emergency call. And sunscreen, warm cloths, sun glasses, hat and towels? Plenty more items to think about.. Good luck all!!!

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So you're the joker that is augering down the lake in the fog?

I had a gps when they first came out. I thought this would be the cat's meow for those foggy mornings duck hunting. After one close call with another boat that didn't have ANY lights on their boat, we re-thought that whole process. Don't EVER drive faster than you can see ahead of you and have time to react.

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So you're the joker that is augering down the lake in the fog?

I had a gps when they first came out. I thought this would be the cat's meow for those foggy mornings duck hunting. After one close call with another boat that didn't have ANY lights on their boat, we re-thought that whole process. Don't EVER drive faster than you can see ahead of you and have time to react.

A couple years ago up in Alex, I was in a 14' at the time and the fog started rolling in real thick. I couldn't see a few yards around me. There were boats around and I could hear them but couldn't see them. This one guy comes flying through the fog about 10 yards from my boat...had my lights on and everything but he didn't see me until the last second. I about jumped out when i saw those bow lights heading right at me. Luckily had my handheld with and found my way back to the cabin after that...fish weren't biting anyways wink

Man that was something else and you're right, never travel faster than you can see in front of you!

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • SkunkedAgain
      It doesn't look like the lake level has gone up at all. I was up a week ago and struggled to get my boat in and out of the public landing on the west end of Head O Lakes. I used my paddle to push the boat further out to deeper water. I could hear the hull moving over the sandy/muddy bottom near the launch.
    • JerkinLips
      Pretty tough.  Was catching about 2 walleyes per hour and the biggest was only 13".  Back up Thursday so I hope I have better success.
    • smurfy
      the kid and I always check our stands prior.......i'll go back to check the conditions of said stands before he gets there to see what we need. while i'm at it if i can i shoot at grouse with shells that appear to not have bb,s in them!!!!🙄
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore...  With unseasonably warm weather, there are still some anglers hitting the water and most have been rewarded.  Limits of walleyes and saugers being caught, and the forecast looking ahead is favorable. The best bite on the south end of LOW has been in 22-28 feet of water. Water temperatures are dropping and as the temps cool further, the bite has been excellent.     Vertical jigging with frozen emerald shiners has been the program for most anglers.  Bring plenty of bait, as you’ll need to sort through some smaller fish and short biters.  Plenty of eater fish to be had, just have to do a bit of sorting.  Anglers are also reporting very good numbers of jumbo perch and occasional pike mixed in with the walleyes.     For those fishing structure, if you slide up on top of a rock pile, don't be surprised to catch a big smallmouth bass, there are plenty around.   This week’s hot colors have been gold, gold/glow white, gold/chartreuse, gold/orange, and gold/glow white/pink.     One tip, a stinger hook on your jig will catch you more fish if you start missing too many fish. On the Rainy River...  Bait dealers are reporting good numbers of shiners in the river this past week.  Interesting, each night is different.  Some areas have the small shiners called pinheads.  Other areas have the larger minnows.     The river is producing some nice walleyes in various spots from Four Mile Bay to Wheeler's Point, to Baudette all the way to Birchdale.  There are 42 miles of navigable Rainy River from the mouth to Birchdale with plenty of public boat ramps along the way.     Walleyes are being caught in various depths, but 15-25 feet of water has been good.   Jigging with live or frozen emerald shiners has been highly effective. Some anglers are also trolling crankbaits to cover more ground and find fish. Both methods are producing solid results. Sturgeon fishing has been strong.  The catch-and-release sturgeon fishing is open into the spring when it changes to the "keep season" on April 24th. Up at the NW Angle...  Fall fishing continues to be excellent. Points, neck-down areas with current, shoreline breaks, and transition zones from rock to mud are all productive locations for walleye right now.   It is traditionally a mixed bag up around the many islands in this part of the lake and this fall is no different.  In addition to walleyes, pike, jumbo perch, and crappies are in the mix.  A jig and minnow has been the most effective presentation. Good muskie fishing is the norm during the fall of the year and area reports have been good.  In addition to casting, trolling shorelines, points and neckdown areas has been effective.  Muskies are often targeting schooling tullibees this time of year. The weather forecast for the next couple of weeks is conducive for fall fishing.  If you don't deer hunt, or if you have harvested your deer, consider some bonus walleye action before the ice forms.  The bite continues to be excellent.    
    • leech~~
    • gimruis
      I'm not one to leave that to chance the day I need it.  I always check on my stands prior to the season.  Just like I always shoot my rifle before the season and I always run my outboard motor before fishing opener.  Too many things to go wrong without confirming it ahead of time.   I guess it could have been beavers but the house itself didn't appear nearly big enough along one ditch.  It was about the size of chair.  I've seen beavers houses many times before and they appear much bigger than that.
    • leech~~
      Good thing you made a check run.  That would have really suked walking into opening day.  Why do you think muskrats and not beavers?  
    • gimruis
      Well I checked on stands over the weekend.  Kind of a disaster.   All the ditches are plum full and twice as wide becauase muskrats have clogged an area.  I spent an hour unclogging it and the water is slowly moving again, but our bridges and planks were underwater.  The back portion of the land where the best stand is was inaccessible.  Hopefully that changes by Saturday.  I have a feeling the muskrats are just going to clog it back up again.   Tons of standing corn still too.  They've started on it, but being so wet now with more rain coming, whatever's there will remain there for the foreseeable future.   All the grassland is completely flattened like a pancake due to 3-4 inches of heavy wet snow.  That eliminates about 75% of the pheasant habitat in this spot.  Total buzz kill.  And this specific spot was one of my better producers last season because the grass was intact and lush through December last year.
    • BWpineisland
      Jerkin, how was the fishing?
    • JerkinLips
      45.6°F Saturday afternoon.  Lake Vermilion was quite empty.
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