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Posted

This thread seems active so I thought I would join.  I am looking for a lake where I could teach my 13 year old daughter and 7 year old son to ice fish.  I am only looking for a lake where they could get some action.  I have summer fished the Miss with them and caught some fish and they love that but they struggle with understanding the basics.  We have lived here for 8 years but I'm not sure of your ice.  I am originally from NW Wisconsin and I have seen enough of people not knowing where and when to drive on ice.  Stupidity can happen quite quickly with both adults and children.  Keep in mind that the point of teaching them is to put some food on the table and not just waste time, money and bait.  I never take more than I never than I need because I will be the one cleaning them.

I have all of the equipment needed and a 4x4  truck except that my Eskimo Shark 8600 won't start because it sat dry for too long and needs a carb rebuild.(I did the first two but someone else can do it)  I'll take that over to Power Sports.  Sorry,  I looked at the electric augers but that is way too much money for the amount of holes I'll drill.  I am not in on the lithium batteries.  If that Eskimo model number catches your eye that means you are getting old.  Had it since I was 12 yo. 

I need the kids to get off the X-box and Fail Pad and get out and do something. 

I am guessing some waxies and fatheads would be a good choice get started with?  Just simple jigging.

I appreciate your local knowledge and thank you.  I do get a kick out of some of the people you meet in St. Cloud.  You have to chuckle at this...

  http://knsiradio.com/news/local-news/no-ice-fishing-lake-george  

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders
Posted

Welcome to the forum.

Once you get your auger fixed may be you should go out yourself a time or two to get the rust off and check out a few spots.

Nothing like taking kids out for their first time and having them freeze their butts off and have no fun cuz Dad didn't have everything ready to go. Even at their age bring some good chairs , snacks and drinks for them to break up the long boredom that can be Ice fishing at times will help! :)  Good Luck.

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders
Posted

probably @Rick G and Andy out there on lake george. ;);) ..  Great advice Leech for pa to pop out and look for some spots once the auger is running good. welcome to FM Rivers!  Lotta good lakes in this area to try. With kids maybe look for gills to keep them entertained and they are great eating. cheap light rod and reels, small jigs and waxies or euros or even the old jiggle sticks with a small boober. If outside, bobber goes down a bit, back up till fish pops out of hole. :)  Maybe teach hand over hand. Inside shelter small slip bobbers on the rod and reel combos.  Good luck and have fun!  Theres a get together on the 27th on blue lake over by princeton. I know the guys there would be happy to do some teaching and helping. 

  • Thumbs Up 1
Posted

Welcome Rivers. :)

I don’t fish the St.Cloud area so I don’t have a lake to offer you but there are a couple close get togethers forming.  Cambridge has one coming up on Blue Lake and there should be some cat fishing on on the Horseshoe chain coming up too.

You could learn and teach more about the area fishing in a few hours at either of those than a few days on your own.

Posted

@eyeguy 54

Bobbers, Royce, it’s bobbers for crying out loud! :lol:

  • Yayyyy 1
Posted

Thank you all very much.  I actually wrote that last night and posted it to myself.  I did get the auger in for service and then I went driving west out of St Joes just to burn gas and search for a lake I liked.  I kind of like the looks of Grand.  That landing is not special but I didn't have a problem getting out there and back.  It was getting pretty dark but there folks out there fishing for something and I'm not the kind of derp that will roll up and ask anyone.  They are fishing where it would seem to be about 20 feet.  I didn't see any tip-ups but they have to be after walleye or crappies at dusk.  Maybe you folks tip up as much as we do in WI.  We could have three lines and always used two for scouts with small minnows.  That's OK though.

And jeez, as far as getting everything ready to go, it appears that I have stopped at a lot of yard sales over the years.  Just sorting the whole mess out has taken all evening but I sure do tend to accumulate fishing related items.  At least the daughter was excited and asked if we could go tomorrow.  She must have a built in barometer.  She's correct by accident.(on most lakes)

From what I saw, it is good solid ice without the slush and slop.  Getting these kids going is the most important thing.  Give a man fish and he eats for a day, but him/her to fish...

Thank you all again for the warm welcome.     

  • Thumbs Up 1
Posted

Welcome to Fishing Minnesota, Rivers!

If your looking for some consistent action for the kids Grand, Pleasant or Beaver would be good choices to start with. All three of these lakes have good populations of bluegills, bass and pike....perfect fish for teaching, as they bite willingly most of the time. Of those three lakes Beaver is the easiest to find fish, just start looking along the weed line to the right of the access. Keep it pretty simple, tip ups w a sucker for toothy fish and small floats w waxworms for panfish.  

Ice conditions are pretty good in our area right now, finding no less than 16 inches on MOST of our area lakes.

Good luck out there w the kiddos:) 

Once you find some fish, post a report or some pics, please:)

 

  • Thumbs Up 1
Posted

Thank You Rick.  Found out today that I need a new carb on the auger and that is a week out.  I'm not sure about that but it is cheaper than buying a new one by a factor of four.  I have everything sorted out and ready to go for the most part.  I appreciate everyone helping out to get me back in the know.  I am looking forward to getting out there and getting the kids some fresh air.   

      

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Wanderer
      Nope!  But it’s more funner!
    • 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.    
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