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Posted

Are people driving on the Horseshoe Chain yet?

Posted

drove past the chain on christmas eve, noone even parking on the ice on cedar island side. one on horseshoe side and i did see 1 truck with a big castle type house in Mertens bay but nowhere else. none out on long on the south end either. on a personal note i would absolutely NOT drive on any lakes yet. 99% of the the vehicles i seen where parked on dry land!!!

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Posted
3 hours ago, smurfy said:

drove past the chain on christmas eve, noone even parking on the ice on cedar island side. one on horseshoe side and i did see 1 truck with a big castle type house in Mertens bay but nowhere else. none out on long on the south end either. on a personal note i would absolutely NOT drive on any lakes yet. 99% of the the vehicles i seen where parked on dry land!!!

Yeah, I saw the same thing along 22.  I did see some trucks parked on either side of 22, Mud and Horseshoe, but they were right on the banks.  I fished the main drop on Horseshoe, and found 12-13" of ice.  

 

With that in mind, I would not be driving on the chain yet.  Heck, there was still a lot of open water last weekend.  

Posted

Dont do it......  would guess a few good cold nights there will, but not right now. Ice has been inconsistent this winter

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Posted

Saw a half ton pull an ice Castle out this morning.  been seeing 13+ in most places but, like Rick said ice froze up pretty strange this year so not real confident its 13 everywhere.  

 

after this weekend it should be safe i would guess, but im not going first

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  • Yayyyy 1
Posted

that's plain crazy.

Posted

just got back from a cruise around the chain. not much activity on the south end of long. lot more activity on browns then I've seen in a while and 5 vehicles on the ice there. when I drove by xmas eve there was no traffic going on cedar island but looks busy now. houses and vehicles scattered all over horseshoe. doesn't appear anyone is taking vehicles across the river yet to becker, lot of ATV traffic the way it looks.

 

anyone with ice thickness reports??????????

Posted

14+ in Horseshoe as of Monday. Trucks going from the winter access around the point past the meth hole and beyond it seems the no problems.

 

Lots of cars getting stuck at the point though (large drift there) so if you don't have 4wheel or all wheel drive I wouldn't try driving on the ice.

 

Small fishing update as well, evening walleye bite has been fairly consistent from 330-5, but not much the rest if the day.  Seems to be slowing down though, haven't heard much about the Crappie bite but think that should be starting to get good here soon.

Posted

Made it out last night to Horseshoe. 16-18 inches was what I was seeing out there. Was getting around with no issues. 

As far as fishing goes, set up in the 30-35 ft range. It was my first time out on the Chain. I went with buddies who had been there before. We caught a total of 6 catfish between the 3 of us. All were caught on jigging lines with spoons and a minnow head. I can see now why people enjoy fishing cats through the ice. :) 

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Posted

Just wondering if anybody knows if trucks are out on becker yet and how much ice? Thinking about heading up on saturday. Thanks for any info

Posted
8 hours ago, EaglesEdgeDeer said:

Just wondering if anybody knows if trucks are out on becker yet and how much ice? Thinking about heading up on saturday. Thanks for any info

Becker is the only one I havent seen anybody driving on yet. I know the main lake has a bunch of ice, just not sure about those cat tails...

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders
Posted

scary!   may have to do the dreaded walk next week. 

Posted

I was out on Horseshoe w/ the kids last Thurs/Fri. Drove out to the MethHole. I had about 18" of ice. Didn't see much for fish though. Hoping to head out this weekend.

20190104_152934.jpg

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Posted

Will be on horsehoe  tomorrow first time for the yr If see my little camper/fish house and a white chev 2500 with topper stop by for a pop or beer its nice to meet new people from the forums Thanks Randy

 

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators
Posted

Heard you on Horseshoe and then a bit further south.   Hope you had some luck and stayed warm. 

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Posted

 

 

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders
Posted

nice job!

Posted

Nice kitties guys,  I have been laid up knee replacement in Dec. finally got the OK from Doc to go fishing anyone driving out to becker lake ?

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders
Posted

yep,  lotta smalls. eaters there but a lot of weeding. 

Posted

Heading out there tomorrow to see if i can find any cats. 

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators
Posted

Hope you found a few Pete!

Posted

I was out on Horseshoe the last two Saturdays.  I've had pretty good luck "near" the meth hole in about 23-24'.  I've caught all cats on a dead stick, so bites have been so lite that the bobber is just moving ever so slightly.  Also, been using half a minnow with a glow jig.  The bite has been pretty slow both days until dark.  Then it seems the bite continues as long as you want to fish.  It does come and go though.  I would have times with bites on both rods, and then maybe 25 minute of dead time.  Then 3-4 fish as fast as I can reel them in.  

 

One thing to note, it's getting pretty darn close to needing an extension on the main lake, just a FYI.  

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • 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.    
    • leech~~
      A good start for never picking up a bow!   IMG_1910.mp4
    • leech~~
      Um, #metoo   leech~~ Author 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders Posted January 26 My whole goal for the rest of this season.  Is to watch KC lose and Taylor cry!  🥳
    • smurfy
    • Wanderer
      Smurfy is happy.
    • Dash 1
      Great looking food. So far not much of a game and I thought the halftime show was worse I've seen. 
    • leech~~
      Oh is there a Superbowl game? 😋😋
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