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Posted

Just wanted to post a thanks to all of you that contribute to this site. I Returned lastnight from our "Veterans on Ice" trip to LOW. The St Francis American Legion Post took a group of 18 Veterans from the Korea, Vietnam, Panama/Granda,and Desert Storm eras up for some fun on the big lake. We went out of Ballards and they took wonderful care of us. Very few of the group had ever fished LOW before so what we learned prior to the trip on this site was very helpfull. we quickly learned that the general rule was if they strech accross the top of the bucket they go in the bucket...Ballards had us all spread out from 15 to 28 feet of water. On Sat. the 20th the group in my house of 4 fishermen we put 10 in the bucket. It was a real light bite and had to change up often to trigger them. As it ended up we hade the best results of our entire group for that day. Sunday was even harder...we opted to saty in 27 deeft were we had been the day before but those in shallower requested to come out deeper for the second day. By midway thru that second day, we were joking eachother on the radios that we may have to start keeping those that streched across the top of the coffee can that held the minnows instead of the 5 Gal. bucket. We did manage to keep 11 the second day in our house of 4 but the others did not do as well. The big fish of the trip were a pair of 17" Saugers the first day and three 14" sauger the second day out of the 18 fishermen..Lessons learned... 1) Change presentation often, going smaller each time, 2) one dead stick and one jigging. If you missed em on the jigger you usualy picked up a bite on the dead stick. 3)Gold, or Glow 4) next time stop and fish URL for some crappies on the way up, and or on the way home...All in all we had a great time, shared some good stories and made some new memories.

Posted

USA: Nice to hear that you had a good expierance to the big pond. It has definitley been a tougher bite as of late and the downsizing you did was the way to go. We found the same thing last week. HOpe you plan another trip next year and enjoy it even more. There is no place like it. Bill

Posted

USA,<BR>Glad you enjoyed the fishing ! <BR>Thank you from all of us for serving your country and for serving us.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
    • smurfy
      🤣 did your nose just grow a bit!😏🤭
    • Wanderer
      I hope to be fishing….  It’s so rare that I get to go, I hate passing up the opportunity. 😉   
    • leech~~
      Since the Vikings are never in it. We use it for an excuse to make some fun stuff!  Last year was a bit light. Hot cheese bean dip, hot wings and pepperoni cheese bread! 😋
    • Hookmaster
      That snow and the 15-25 mph winds on Thursday with higher gusts will be nasty drifting. I didn't go to LOW (can I say that in the this thread?🤫) this week because of it.
    • smurfy
      Who's watching the big game Sunday? More importantly what's ya'all cooking!   I like good football si I'm tuning in. Food... yea no clue yet 
    • Wanderer
      Hard to see em well enough to tell.
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore...  Ice fishing is strong across the south shore of Lake of the Woods out on Big Traverse Bay.  Most anglers are targeting deep mud with others fishing structure if available where they are going out of.  There are fish in both areas.     Some ice roads are now extending more than 16 miles out, with over two feet of ice reported in most areas. Resorts and outfitters continue increasing weight limits. As a rule, fishing continues to be very good with consistent action for anglers.  Most fishing activity is taking place in 26-32 feet of water.  Anglers are finding a healthy mix of walleyes and saugers, with plenty of opportunities to enjoy fresh fish frys and bring fish home.   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.   On the deadstick, a plain hook or a small jig with a live minnow 6 inches to a foot off of the bottom.    You never know when the fish will move through.  Anglers fishing the entire day normally have success.  Electronics are a big help as well. On the Rainy River...  The morning and evening hours are the best for fishing walleyes. A jig and minnow combination has been a good presentation.  A jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head is also producing some fish. Catch-and-release sturgeon fishing is still producing some big fish through the ice.  There are two sturgeon seasons on Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River, a catch and release season and a harvest season in which you can keep one fish per calendar year.    The harvest season runs from April 24th – May 7th and July 1 – Sept. 30. The catch and release season runs May 8th – May 15th and Oct. 1 – April 23rd.    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 remains good at the Northwest Angle.  Resorts continue to move their fish houses staying on fish.  Some fish houses are set up on structure while others are targeting deeper mud flats.    Anglers are catching a nice mix of walleyes, saugers, jumbo perch, pike, and tullibees.  Good numbers of big crappies are still being caught in select areas and hard sided fish houses are available to target them.  Check with a NW Angle resort for info.   Jigging one line, deadsticking the second is effective.  Some days the jigging line is hot, other days the deadstick.  Some good colors have been gold, glow red, glow white, wonder bread, pink, chartreuse and orange. 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.  
    • JerkinLips
      Same story, different day (Monday).  Caught several small walleyes (biggest were 14 and 15 inches) with the best bite from 2-5pm.  Caught my record walleye this winter at 6½ (inches, not pounds).  Was wondering why the bobber kept going down a couple inches for several minutes until I finally reeled it up.  Fortunately it was just hooked in the lips.  Having a lively minnow definitely improved the action.  I put down a pike sucker for the first time this winter and got an immediate hard bite.  When I went to set the hook, the line broke just above the hook.  Don't know if it was a northern bite-off or just weak line by the hook.  May try some pike suckers next trip.   Ice conditions were very good except for heavy drifting (even with very little fresh snow).  Didn't see any vehicles traveling off road except for snowmobiles and a tracked SxS, although there weren't many people out on the lake.  Water came up around my house about 1½ inches but froze very quickly with the cold weather and no snow on top.  Will probably have to block it up again next time up.   Good luck fishing and be careful of severe drifting of snow, especially with the 3-5 inches they are predicting for Wednesday night.  
    • leech~~
      Why, do they all only wear Sitka camo over there? 😏
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