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Posted

Hello,

I am new to this forum so I apologize if I am doing this wrong. I have done a lot of summer fishing with some ice fishing in between. Now that my kids are getting older we picked up a new 16' ice castle and are looking for a good lake that will keep the kids entertained and hopefully get them "hooked" on fishing. We have been on some of the lakes around the Milaca area. Green, Stanchfield and Mille Lacs with hardly no luck. I have buddy with a house on lory and not much going on there as well. I am not looking for wall hangers or anything like that just somewhere to fish that has good ice (for the wife) and fish that bite. I would appreciate any input.

thank you.

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders
Posted

Well first welcome to HSO!! Second you are going about it in a okay fashion. Little Elk is a good choice for action, with the chance to get a few keepers. Blue Lake is another option that has a good fish population. Lory is normally a safe bet if you set up shallower and try for gills. Seeing you have been around Princeton with green and Stanchfield. All the lakes I mentioned are around Princeton as well. If you have other questions just let them fly and someone will answer normally. Also check out the local bait shop they hear where the hot bites are as well.

Good Luck

Posted

Rush lake is a little further to drive to but has good fish populations with room to explore.

Welcome to the forum, there are some great people on here!

Good luck fishing.

Posted

Yes Welcome to the HSO family lots of great guys with a lot of great info.

Blue and Green are great bodies of water. I have noticed a lot of guys fishing what I believe to be to deep this season and personally I have been seeing tons of fish shallow this year and when I say shallow its been in 10 foot or less. ( I spear fish for Pike)Been on a few different lakes too and its been the same thing on each lake.

Fanny just east of Cambridge can hold a lot of panfish and it can also have some great pike action as well.

Good luck and please let us know how you do.

Posted

Gordie any more tips on Fannie? I assume pannies are shallow there too-what part of the lake is good?

Posted

I like to go out at the landing near the church and fish straight out from there for pike or by the grass island to the left for pike. You can access from the public landing on 95 also. The church landing is just a little further up the highway.

Posted

Thanks, mostly curious about the crappies though

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders
Posted

Skogman Lake was kicking out crappies a week ago.

Posted

Thank you all for the warm welcome and the advice! We did visit a few lakes this weekend and had some luck. We hit Shakopee on Friday for some tip up fishing. Had five flags in five and a half hours. Two 24", missed on and lose a 28"+ and the hole. (all released)Spent more time pulling people out of drifts then watching flags, no roads plowed lots of snow and 18" of ice. (Still a lot of fun) We hit Blue and Green on Saturday and got in to a group of gills on both lakes at about 17 FOW. All were small and went back in to the lake but the kids had a blast which was what we were after. Thank you aging for the tips and good luck on the ice!

Posted

Glad you caught some fish!

Keep us posted if you make it out again.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Gordie are you still seeing pike and panies shallow? I would think weeds would be dying now with very thick ice and stubborn snow. Hope lakes don't freeze out.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • smurfy
      Venny backstrap and the fixins!
    • SkunkedAgain
      Running on empty at dark on a sled is definitely stress-inducing. Been there, done that. Glad that you made it out.
    • SkunkedAgain
      Eagle swoops are always a hoot to watch.   The snow is mostly gone on the lake. Ice melt made things pretty wet but the ice is obviously still very thick. 
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore...  The big question:  "How is the ice up at Lake of the Woods?"  That is for each individual resort or outfitter who operates an ice road or trail to answer, but overall, ice conditions are still very good and ice fishing is going strong!  As always, stay on the marked ice  roads and trails for safety.     Being up on the Canadian border, the colder temps Lake of the Woods enjoys vs much of the region combined with three feet of ice makes a big difference.  Fish houses are allowed unattended overnight through March 31st and it sounds like a good number of resorts will be fishing through the month, but ultimately, Mother Nature will determine that.     Regarding the fishing, overall, very good reports for walleyes, saugers and perch.  There is a strong population of smaller walleyes and saugers in the lake which bodes well for the future, but in the meantime, anglers are sorting through them to catch their keepers.   The one-two punch of jigging and deadsticking remains the most effective technique. Jigging spoons with rattles tipped with a minnow head or a lipless crankbait on the jigging line is the ticket.  On the deadstick, a live minnow a foot off the bottom on a plain red hook or medium sized ice fishing jig is catching a lot of fish.   Using electronics is super helpful.  Many nice walleyes are swimming through suspended, keep an eye out.   Anglers tip-up fishing for pike have had a great week and it should continue to get even better.  Suckers, frozen alewife and smelt are working well. Putting baits 1 foot under the ice or right off bottom seems to be effective this week.  Most common depths, 9 - 15 feet. On the Rainy River...  The Rain River is still frozen with no signs of open water yet.  Every year can be different, but on average, the Rainy River will start opening up around the third week of March.  The first boat ramp suitable for larger boats is Nelson Park in Birchdale.  We will keep you posted.    As of March 1st, walleyes and saugers are catch and release only on Four Mile Bay and the Rainy River.     Make plans now for sturgeon season.  Once the open water appears, the fish are super active.  Here are the seasons...   -Catch and Release Season: May 8th – May 15th and October 1 – April 23rd. -Harvest Season: April 24th – May 7th and July 1 – September 30. -Closed Season: May 16th – June 30th.  Up at the Northwest Angle...  Fishing remains very good up at the Angle and the ice is in good shape as well.  As on the south end, resorts monitor ice roads and trails daily and there are still some great ice fishing opportunities available.     Walleyes, saugers, perch, and pike are showing up in good numbers.  Those targeting crappies are reporting good numbers of fish.  Work through a NW Angle resort for ice fishing opportunities on this part of the lake. The walleye and sauger season is open through April 14th. Pike fishing never closes, and perch and crappie remain open year-round as well. Whether booking a day house rental, sleeper fish house, or resort stay, there is still plenty of time to plan a late-season ice fishing adventure. 
    • Wanderer
      Looks like a shallow lake with some potential.  Keepable crappies, decent bluegills and some nice perch according to the last survey (2015). Susan Lake   With a max depth of 10 feet, I’d want to know a little more about it before I’d start drilling holes.  Could be a nice little adventure though.  
    • Brianf.
      Jeff and I fished Saturday and half day Sunday, targeting whitefish, ciscos, crappies, and perch.  The bite was tough for us.  We ecked out a few, but nothing special.  Highlight of the weekend was the sled ride into Wolf Lake and having an eagle swoop in and eat a rock bass we had on the ice.  All in all, not a bad way to waste time.    
    • monstermoose78
    • smurfy
      Smoked polish sausage with some beans!
    • smurfy
      just below the ice???? i was pulling crappies from 30 ft over 43 ft and 23 inches of ice this past weekend.   nice going!!!!!! 👍
    • monstermoose78
      Went fishing with my dad and we spanked them panfish again. Same set up as yesterday. Fish fry coming this Friday for the family!! 
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