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Posted

I have been looking at iced-over lakes in the NW metro for a couple weeks now, but haven't been brave (or dumb) enough to venture out to check ice thickness yet. 

 

I imagine the little, shallow lakes have 2-3", but I'm just guessing. Has anyone been out to check any spots around the metro yet, or are we all too "wise"?

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Posted

Long Lake has largely opened back up.

This is me clicking reset on the timer.

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Posted

I'm gonna drive around town till I find ice that won't kill me. Heard Nekomis is froze over. Too bad my boss wont go out and test the ice for me.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders
Posted

welcome to fm.  yu must love yer boss. LOL 

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted (edited)

I checked out a few small area lakes around the nw metro over the past couple days and found a wide variance in ice thickness. At the north beach on Silver Lake, the ice that was so thin I couldn’t step out to check it. It looked to have opened up with the recent warmup and had since refrozen, but definitely had <2”.

 

Just a couple miles away, Pike lake in New Brighton had 5”. The lower 3-4 inches are clear and solid while the the top 1-2 is cloudy, but not wet or mushy.


I caught some panfish there. Nothing impressive, but it was fish through ice so I count it a victory.

 

If the forecast is right, we should be walkable all over the metro by this time next week.

Edited by popriveter
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Posted

Stopped by Crystal Lake in Burnsville on Sunday and it was wide open. Could have launched a boat. 

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Posted
4 hours ago, Getanet said:

Stopped by Crystal Lake in Burnsville on Sunday and it was wide open. Could have launched a boat. 

Thanks for the info. I am surprised at how different the ice is on different lakes right now. Looks like it will stay sketchy through this weekend, but a good deep freeze next week should even it out a lot. The forecast calls for negative temps M-W.

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
Posted (edited)

Metro Chain of Lakes

7-8” of solid ice where we fished

12/27/19 at 10pm

 

24”

 

E800CF4C-E522-42FA-AA26-CB7D8545283A.jpeg

6428C28E-09B9-4CAD-8C4F-6761C34169A0.jpeg

Edited by kcooley81
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Posted

Nice! Thanks for the scoop & pic. GL next time out.

Posted
On 12/29/2019 at 9:22 AM, kcooley81 said:

Metro Chain of Lakes

7-8” of solid ice where we fished

12/27/19 at 10pm

 

24”

 

E800CF4C-E522-42FA-AA26-CB7D8545283A.jpeg

6428C28E-09B9-4CAD-8C4F-6761C34169A0.jpeg

It looks like that is a polar bird  fish house with floor? How do you like it? I just got one off craigslist and have set it up in the yard but haven’t fished it yet. 
 

Also fished the chain Saturday and found 7-8inches everywhere I looked. Curious how the rain effected the ice though. May wait a day or two for it to firm up again.

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Posted

@Storm Yep it’s a polar bird with the floor. My younger bro bought it last year, it’s great.

 

May get out again on New Year’s Day, not sure yet.

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Posted

@Wanderer Thank you.

  • 3 weeks later...
Posted

Made it out on the chain of lakes yesterday. Roughly 12-13 inches of ice where I was and 3-4 inches of snow on top so the walk out pulling gear wasn't to bad yet but made a big difference compared to clear ice. Bluegills were up shallow still for me with occasional bass mixed in. 

 

Tried for walleyes last week on lake of isles with no luck besides crappies. Tried anywhere from 12 ft just off weed line to 20 down the breaks. Any recommendations for the minneapolis chain of lakes? Thinking I will try Bde Maka Ska next off some of the nearer to shore structure for evening bite. 

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Posted

Went out to Spring Lake on Wednesday evening. Lots of trucks out on upper prior and spring. Saw a 3/4 ton coming off prior. Probably 14” of ice on spring, left my truck in the parking lot and traveled by car from the winter access. We were targeting walleyes but no cigar. Picked up some perch along the way. 

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  • 11 months later...
Posted

Bumping this topic. What are people seeing around the Cities? Thinking about driveability cuz I want to shake down my ice camping system. Catching fish would be nice, though?

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • smurfy
      🙄 oh yea.....like your a picnic on the beach!!!!!!! 🤣
    • leech~~
      Hey, he seems to like starting pissing matches, everywhere!  😒 😉
    • Wanderer
      Hey now, that one is all you!  Haha!  Don’t make another thread septic. 😉      Yup, the Looper Bug.  I couldn’t remember that catchy name for it.  2lb test is a little crazy, especially for the line quality back then but I can see that being a thing too.  Such clear water.  Looking down the hole watching the fish swim around and them looking back at you.  The further out I got, the easier it was for them to see me.   My one looper charged in when my jig was just below the ice while I was laying face down like you said.  It hit basically right in front of my face.  The fight was me rolling over and pulling it out of the hole.  That was shortly before the guys in the shallows packed up their little black shelters and left with their fish.     So, by the end of the day I learned: black looper bug; light line; conceal movement; and/or fish shallow.  And then never went back.
    • leech~~
      Cuz like I said, he was breaking off a lot and they were like gold at the time.  Guys an't giving up anything when combat fishing, I'm sure he pissed off some folks running around jumping in and out of open holes. 😉
    • smurfy
      🤔why didnt ya "leech" some of them black flies from the guy!!!!!🤗😂   awe come on....wanderer would of said it too!!!!😉
    • leech~~
      Au, yes the black fly, aka the looper bug.  I remember the first time I was introduced to it.  There must have been 20-30 guys out in front of the French on the ice. This one guy was running from hole to hole and pulling fish, but he was also breaking off a lot.  When I finally got close to him, he said he had 2lb line and just the bug on the end and jigging.  I think I had about 6lb line and some jig with waxies.  I jumped in my Suv and buzzed up to the bait store in Two harbors "which is closed now" to get new line and bugs.  By the time I got back and fishing again the bite must have been over!  Spent the rest of the day laying on the ice staring down the hole, ton's of fish went by but not bite!! ☹️    I used to get up at like 3:00am to drive up from Brooklyn Center, fish until dark and drive home.  When I had more of the wander spirit.  Heck I remember when I had no brains or money in the spring, getting up at like 2:30am, driving up and fishing every stream for about an hour that I could get to from Duluth to Grand Marais.  Then driving all the way home the same day.  🤪
    • Kettle
      Last day of myself hunting before I help my friend with new clients. Back on the bigger marsh, mainly teal but 5 fulvous whistling ducks. A medium size duck but they fly and decoy like Canada geese, big circles and glide in. They are noisey birds
    • Hookmaster
      Kettle, sounds like an awesome trip. Never see drake bluewings in MN during the season. For the bridge my pucker factor would've been 11, and that's walking across both ways!!
    • Wanderer
      Gotta love META, right????  Naw, they ain’t tracking’…   
    • Wanderer
      I did the looper steelhead thing in front of the French River once.  It was fun. I got one looper but the sight fishing aspect of it was the most fun.   We saw a couple guys limit on steelhead up close to shore and learned the black fly was the way to catch ‘em.  We didn’t have any.   My first 40+ hour day that I can remember.  Went to work Friday morning, Van Halen concert Friday night, too jacked up on the way home to call it a day so we loaded up for the North Shore.  Fished all day, drove home Saturday night.     Those crazy kids…   Chequamegon Bay and the Apostle Islands have always been a want but an undone deed.  The wander spirit has faded from my old traveling buds.  They like to stick to what they know now.
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