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Posted

The Sheriff issued the permit yesterday - it’s on for next weekend as scheduled!  18 inches of good, consistent, clear ice over a 2 mile swath of Gull/Hole in the Day Bay.

We’ll be out for our 3rd year, our 2nd staying on the lake.  Looking to make the Leader Board this year!  Haha!

I’m planning on doing a little scouting this weekend for our overnight spot.  I’ll report on ice conditions at least.  Can’t say too much about the fish! :whistle:

Anyone else?

Posted

Thanks for the up dates, we were going to come up today to find a different spot to park but have to work.

Weather is supposed to be good. Hope to get on the board too.

Posted

Access is in good shape at Hole in the Day.  Ice is in good shape and travels MUCH easier than last year.  But that was due to slush getting rutted and refrozen.  These warm temps might play that way again.  But for now all is well.

Fishing though... the evening walleye bite was short like usual but finicky for us.  1 - 14 inch eye iced and one other lost.  Set line and shiner was responsible for the 14.  The hooked and lost fish was on a spoon with minnow head but I had to let it hang still for the commitment.  I had several other lookers but they just wouldn’t eat it.  Two lines became one but no bump! :angry:

Nice day to be on the lake. :)

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders
Posted (edited)

Went by there today and noticed a few house setup in the contest area.  What happens to them next weekend? They are told to move or get kicked off a public lake? :confused:

Should have gone to a different lake there Wanderer. Just saying. ;) My son and I today.

IMG_3104.JPG

Edited by leech~~
Posted

@leech~~

I believe the permit does require those houses to be moved out of the contest area.  Not necessarily kicked off the lake.

That’s what permits are for, eh? ;)

Looks like a great day for you two - congrats! 

Might’ve been the lake, the spot or the fisher.  But I’ll go with the lake too. :D

  • Thumbs Up 1
Posted

Just wondering how do you "reserve holes" for this??

The rules say up to 4 holes can be reserved but no other info. Do they give you something to mark with or how is this accomplished?

The site contact page seems to be down right now so I can't get it from the horses mouth.

 

 

Posted

You can set gear by up to four holes, but a person has to stay there with that gear.  I usually get there right at 8 and grab holes for me and my buddies, then they come out a couple of hours later.  I am the morning person in the group.:grin:

Can't reserve holes until 8 am.  However, some of the people that sleep out there do sneak over and mark holes during the night.  I would not risk it if it was me, though.

  • Thumbs Up 1
Posted
4 hours ago, climbmda said:

You can set gear by up to four holes, but a person has to stay there with that gear.  I usually get there right at 8 and grab holes for me and my buddies, then they come out a couple of hours later.  I am the morning person in the group.:grin:

Can't reserve holes until 8 am.  However, some of the people that sleep out there do sneak over and mark holes during the night.  I would not risk it if it was me, though.

I was the hole saver last year and it got a little stressful for the size group that was coming.  Not this year, even though we’re staying out.  Someone volunteered to take custody of one my markers - a cheap rod holder from one of the holes when I wasn’t looking.  I didn’t get too upset since I’m not even a big fan of the practice.  Just playing the game.

I’d think the officials would make a sweep of the contest area for hole markers sometime before 8... but maybe not.

 

Posted

3.1 lb pike wins.  3.0 lb walleye second.

The walleye was really the big winner though with ‘Catch of the Day’ honors.

Lotsa tullibees on the board again.  Several came from around us but none FOR us.  Marked one but was dealing with a tangled dropper rig at the time.  Caught one small perch.  

  • Wow, ❤ 1
Posted

The one and only bite came in the first 2 minutes. The problem was I dropped my line and needed to help the wife due to a mess she created. Got it straightened out and saw that my rod tip was bouncing. Ran over and set the hook but nothing home.

  • Thumbs Up 1
  • Wow, ❤ 2
  • Official Fishing Report Team - MN
Posted

Wow how that tourney has changed over the years. When we first started going perch and rock bass were kings then there were a few years the eyes dominated now its a tullie fest :grin:

  • Thumbs Up 1
Posted
13 hours ago, Jim Almquist said:

The one and only bite came in the first 2 minutes. The problem was I dropped my line and needed to help the wife due to a mess she created. Got it straightened out and saw that my rod tip was bouncing. Ran over and set the hook but nothing home.

Bummer!

That first drop is the most important one of the contest!  

Posted
12 hours ago, IceHawk said:

Wow how that tourney has changed over the years. When we first started going perch and rock bass were kings then there were a few years the eyes dominated now its a tullie fest :grin:

I’m only 3 years into this thing, but yeah, tullie fest is right.  Makes me wonder if the positioning of the contest area has moved some over the years or if the fishing has changed that much.

Walking away from the stage at the end with my jalapeño cheese curds, I was reading the signs of the past winners.  There some nice fish that have won it in the not too distant past.  The eelpout winners kinda blew my mind.  I don’t hear about eelpout at all on Gull since I’ve been paying attention to it.

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders
Posted

So for about 18 years of over 11,000 people fishing the same area you don't think it may be changing the fishery a bit? :confused:

 

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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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