Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

Recommended Posts

  • 4 weeks later...

Here is a slightly-delayed report:

 

I got out to the Airport Lake, AKA Bartlett Lake, a couple weekends ago. The panfish bite in deeper water was nothing great, with nothing but small bluegills. I did catch a couple of perch, and saw other guys in shallower water catching them, too.

 

The best part of the trip was this 27" Northern. I got a couple of hammer handles to go with him.

 

Hoping to make it up there once more before the ice goes bad, but Mother Nature isn't giving me a lot of time to do that this year.

1-2017 Winona 27 Northern.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Still plenty of good ice on Bartlett Lake today. 16" where I was at. No standing water on the ice yet. The shorelines were in good shape, too. Too bad it will probably all be trash by Tuesday. :crazy:

 

The bluegill were biting well this morning, but for every decent sunny I had to throw back about eight potato chips.

 

The Northern were slamming tip-ups baited with shiners. Too bad for me I brought suckers. I caught a couple Northern, and a 16" largemouth as well. I would have liked to get out to the airport lake tomorrow morning (after a trip across the river to get some shiners ;) ), but I have other things to do. The backwaters around Winona will just have to wait until next December.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, JIvers said:

Still plenty of good ice on Bartlett Lake today. 16" where I was at. No standing water on the ice yet. The shorelines were in good shape, too. Too bad it will probably all be trash by Tuesday. :crazy:

 

The bluegill were biting well this morning, but for every decent sunny I had to throw back about eight potato chips.

 

The Northern were slamming tip-ups baited with shiners. Too bad for me I brought suckers. I caught a couple Northern, and a 16" largemouth as well. I would have liked to get out to the airport lake tomorrow morning (after a trip across the river to get some shiners ;) ), but I have other things to do. The backwaters around Winona will just have to wait until next December.

 

I had the same experience today. Tons of little gills and very few big ones pike were not going on anything on tip ups today though. Wasn't fishing your area but figured I'd chime in. I had anywhere from 17-29 inches of ice with some water on top ice is great yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...

I'd be surprised if there were much good ice on Bartlett this weekend--that deep water with a bit of current takes a while to freeze--but I may go out and take a look anyway tomorrow when I am up in the area getting my first ice fix of the year in.

Anyone got any early ice reports for the Mississippi backwaters around Winona and Lacrosse? I'll be adding mine tomorrow night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/14/2017 at 5:43 PM, JIvers said:

I'd be surprised if there were much good ice on Bartlett this weekend--that deep water with a bit of current takes a while to freeze--but I may go out and take a look anyway tomorrow when I am up in the area getting my first ice fix of the year in.

Anyone got any early ice reports for the Mississippi backwaters around Winona and Lacrosse? I'll be adding mine tomorrow night.

I haven’t checked backwaters since last weekend, but I checked the small lake this morning and it has just under 2 inches of ice.  McNally’s has been hit pretty hard for the last 2 weeks.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the reply.

Ya, McNally's gets pounded right away.

I looked at the ice in front of Schafer's in Onalaska yesterday; there was about 3.5" of ice near the docks, and then it got thinner in a hurry. Apparently someone got wet feet there earlier in the day. :eek:

I ended up at Lawrence Lake Marina just north of Brownsville yesterday. There was probably 4" of good clear ice, much better than what I found in  La Crosse.

Will post pictures later, but I got one nice largemouth on a tip up at the Marina, one 10" perch, and a couple small perch. 

Today I drove around Winona, and fished the backwater pond east of Latsch Island on the west side of the road. The ice there was...not real good. :eek: I stuck close to shore on 3" of not-real-clear ice after my spud bar saved me from a cold bath a little farther out. :lol:

I caught a few small perch there, and a bunch of small bluegills. Nothing worth keeping, and nothing on the tip-up.

Was expecting the ice to be a little better than what I found, but what do you do?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
  • Made my last ice trip of the season to Winona this weekend. Of course, I went out to my old turf at Bartlet Lake.
  • The sunfish bite was very good...if you like potato chip bluegills. :D 
  • The tip-up bite was good, and made the trip more than worthwhile. I kept a limit of Northern, and threw back quite a few bass. The Northern were hitting both shiners and suckers, while the largemouth burned through my shiners. The pike preferred live bait over dead, which is a little odd for this late in the season. 
  • I've heard reports from just south of Winona saying ice conditions are going downhill quickly, so take what I say now with a large grain of salt...but I was surprised at how good the ice still was behind the airport yesterday. No one is driving out anymore, which is smart, but the shorelines were still in good shape, and over the deep water I had close to two feet of decent ice. 
  • I will close with the highlght of the trip, which was this personal best largemouth bass that hit one of my shiners. 21", and fat, so I am sure she hit 5.5 lbs. Released after this photo.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore...  The focus for many this week is the ongoing deer hunting season which is a big tradition in these parts, even for avid walleye anglers.  There were some that either already harvested their deer or are more into catching fall walleyes than hunting.     Those that are fishing are taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and excellent walleye and sauger bite that is happening across the lake.  Cold weather is in the forecast in the upcoming days and weeks so that is also getting many excited. The best depths on the south end of LOW are 22-28 feet of water.     Vertical jigging with frozen emerald shiners is catching most of the walleyes, saugers and jumbo perch.  Depending upon where on the lake you are fishing, some slots and big trophies are in the mix as well, but most reports are talking about good numbers of eaters.    Jumbo perch are coming in good numbers this fall which will serve ice anglers well.  Watch out for an occasional pike or even lake sturgeon mixed in with the walleyes.      There are good numbers of walleyes and saugers across the south shore which is setting up nicely for early ice.   On the Rainy River...  There continues to be good numbers of shiners in the river, and consequently, there are good walleyes in the river as well.     Walleyes along with saugers, pike and some sturgeon are coming in up and down the river.  Most walleyes are being caught in 10-25 feet of water in various stretches of the river.   Jigging with live or frozen emerald shiners is the key. Some anglers are also still slow trolling crankbaits upstream to cover more ground and find fish. Both methods are producing solid results. Sturgeon fishing remains 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...  As temps are getting colder, most are in the woods hunting and not fall fishing, however, for those who bundle up, fishing continues to be excellent.     A nice mixed bag with walleyes, saugers, perch, pike and crappies being caught. Very good muskie fishing with the colder water temps and shorter days.  Some big fish and some good numbers are being caught amongst the islands.  Both casting and trolling is getting it done.  
    • gimruis
      I hunt in the rifle zone so I don't have a need to use a shotgun to hunt deer, but I would be looking at this if there was ever a need to.   There could be state legislation introduced next summer that eliminates the shotgun zone completely.  It has bipartisan support.  Wisconsin removed theirs years ago and MN is usually later to follow.  They've tried to pass it more than once and it came up just short both times.  Probably just a matter of time.
    • Wanderer
      Oh, h e l l no! 
    • leech~~
      Screw that, here's whatch need!  😆   Power-Shok Rifled Slug 10 Gauge 766 Grain Grain Weight: 766 Shotshell Length: 3-1/2in / 89mm Muzzle Velocity: 1280
    • Wanderer
      20 ga has become a real popular deer round in the last 5 or so years.  The rifled barrels are zinging those sabot slugs with rifle like accuracy out to 100 yards easily.  Some go so far as dialing in for a 200 yard shot but really, by 150 they’re falling off pretty low.   I have a single shot Ultraslug in 20 ga that shoots really well at 100 yards.  Most everyone I know that has bought a slug gun lately has gotten the Savage 220 in 20ga.  Problem can be finding the shells you want.
    • leech~~
      My son always bugs me about getting a nice light over-under 20ga for grouse hunting.  I say Heck no, I'm getting a 3 1/2" 10ga so I can put as much lead in the air that I can!!     So, I'm keeping my 12ga.  
    • 11-87
      That’s almost exactly what I was thinking.  Have slug barrels for both   One for turkey and one for deer.      I have a 20ga mosseberg as well. (Combo came with the scope but never used.   I always liked the 12 better
    • leech~~
      Wanderer is right on the money and covered it well.  I was wondering too if you had a slug barrel for one of your guns?  If so you could make that your slug gun with a scope, and the other your turkey gun with the Red dot.  As you can afford it. 
    • Wanderer
      Kinda depends on if you want magnification or quick target acquisition.   More magnification options and better accuracy with a scope.  You get what you pay for too so get comfortable with a budget for one.  Tasco and Bushnell work but I find they lose their zero easier, have low contrast and don’t gather light well in low light conditions.  That said, I’m still using one I haven’t replaced yet.  Vortex has been the hot brand for the past several years for bang for the buck.  Good products.  Nothing beats Swarovski though.  Huge dough for those.  Burris is another decent option.   There are some specific models for shotgun/slug hunting in the economy brands and bullet drop compensation (BDC) reticles.  Based on experience I’d recommend not falling for that marketing ploy.   Red dots are usually lower magnification and easier to get on target.  Reasonably accurate but don’t do well with definition, like searching the brush for your target.  I put a HAWKE red dot on a .22 for squirrels and it’s been good.  For turkey, that’s probably the route I’d go.     If your slug shots are normally not too far and too brushy, I’d think a red dot could work there too if you’re only buying 1 scope.  You’ll be better off dimming the reticle to the lowest setting you can easily use to not over shine the target and get a finer aim point.   If you don’t have a slug barrel, you might appreciate one of those.  I had a browning with a smoothbore slug barrel that shot Brenneke 2-3/4 inch well.  The 11-87 would well fitted with a cantelever rifled barrel. 
    • 11-87
      Looking for recommendations on scope or red dot    I basically hunt turkey and whitetail, live in southern MN. So it’s all deer/ shotgun    looking to add a scope/ red dot as my eyes don’t work like they used to to with the open sights.    my gun options are 11/87 12. Browning BPS 12    not looking for the most expensive or the cheapest    pros and cons of one over the other
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.