First trip to LOW (Sleeper)

[Bearfish]

Two adults and two 10 yr olds going up at the end of December for three nights in a sleeper.

What should we bring - or not bring?

Pretty much prepared, but was wondering if there are any "should of broughts" or "nice to have" or "don't forget" that we should be considering bringing up with us.

Anything we should leave at home?

No such thing as a dumb answer!

[great fishing 4-U]

sleeping bags, pillows, warm clothes, ( the sleepers are heated but I have heard of stories of the heaters going out which could make for a long night.) I think the main thing to think about is what to do after dark. As talked about on this site many times after sundown it gets to be a long night once the fishing stops. Just make sure you have plenty for the boys to do games ect. Other than that fishing should be great and the boys will love it. (I will also be up at that time) Good luck!

[iffwalleyes]

Better have a deck of cards for sure. Sleeper on lake of the woods after dark are just that sleepers. I have never stayed in a sleeper there myself. But I know the fishing is slow at best after dark. So have lost of activities planned for after the bite slows. Some guys bring tv/vcr combos and watch movies. Check with the resort and see it the have a way to provide 110 power. They should either with a generator or inverter. If they do then you can easily have some fun. I myself like to get off the lake at night since fishing is so slow. Then I go get a good supper and a couple drinks at one of the restraunts, bars, or lodges.

[gspman]

- sleeping bag & pillow

- camera to take pictures of the hogs you'll be catching and releasing

- something to do after dark and during the day if the fishing sucks especially for the boys (cards, mags, books, gameboys, football if it's nice out, etc...)

- cd/radio makes things more pleasant

- freezer bags if you plan on taking some fish home

- this is an important one...extra garbage bags (5 gal. type for potty breaks and bigger for garbage)

- extra roll or 2 of TP

- matches or long necked lighter for gas stove & gas lights

- food (breakfast, lunch & dinner (keep in mind it's possible that you may not catch enough to eat), snacks)

- beverages (water, pop, beer & hard stuff)

- ice cubes for drinks

- fillet knife

- fish breading

- oil for frying the fish

- plastic silverware, glasses & paper plates for less cleanup after meals

- bar soap

- if you catch alot of fish your hands will be wet and dry alot, some hand lotion will keep your hands from drying out and cracking

- oil of olay face wipes to try to stay a little clean, they work great

- at least 6 rods rigged in various ways for various presentations (jigs, plain hook & ice buster bobber, flutter spoons (angel eye jr), lead spoons (go devil), jigging minnows (chubby darter, jiggin rap), etc...

- flasher (Marcum or Vexilar both work great, and you can rent Vex's at some of the resorts too, not cheap though)

- extra battery for the flasher

- jigs and spoons of various types (gold ones, orange ones, some that glow, you know the drill... basically one of everything and maybe 2 or more 8^)

- hemostats work great for removing jigging spoon trebles and smaller hooks from fishes mouths

- mechanical fish grabber for tulibees and the feared and hated eelpout so you can keep the stink off of you

- extra fishing line

- spare reel

- an old camera flash works great for making glow in the dark lures glow

- long johns for sleeping so you can just jump in your boots at night and go outside and whiz without freezing to death

- pack boots (it'll still be cold at floor level)

- thermal socks

- heavy clothing (flannel lined carhartt jeans and shirt-jacs are great)

- warm coat, warm hat and warm gloves/mittens (bad things can happen on the ice and you need to be prepared)

Have fun. I'll be up there Jan 7, 8 & 9. I can hardly stand it already. It's killing me.

There, thats my overly anal-retentive list of things to bring to LOTW.

gspman

Oh and one more thing: Bring your trash talkin' A-game for when you catch the first and/or the biggest fish so you can smart-off all day long about it. Ya gotta trash talk when your on the ice.

[New Yankee]

Bearfish, My family went last year - my kids were 5&6 at the time so my thoughts may be a bit off for your boys, but here's my two...

We were able to drive out and ran a power cord from the van to a TV/VCR for kid videos which worked well - if they have an extra 12 volt in the house you could do the same, or take one with. Iffwalleyes made the same point. Gameboys or what have you may serve the same purpose.

Bring what ever you'll need to cook on with you - a large fry pan, coffee pot a/o baking sheet - the house will have these things but you'll likely not like the looks of them

The house we were in had a small oven so frozen pizza was a hit with the kids!

We also brought extra kitchen garbage bags for our trash and to change the 5 gal bucket/toilet more often than what the resort may leave you bags for, the kids will appreciate that, as well as you over three days. Plenty of paper towels and toliet paper just in case as well.

Oil and fish fry stuff, chips and dips - I always planned for big breakfasts but could never really get it done since you wake up and the bite is starting - we ended up with two meals a day and snacks,but that may be just me. Case of bottled water never hurts - again the house will have water in jugs, but perhaps not as sterile as one might prefer.

[bturck]

New Yankee: Sounds like you were running a Bed And Breakfast out there!!!! LOOOOOL

When is your group headed up, the guys, from last year? Bill

[New Yankee]

BT - good to hear from you. Last years group has chickened out. Tried to get the family to go after Xmas instead but the wife doesn't like the thinner ice (2 ft is her limit she says...). Was twisting arms here at work and THINK one of the guys will go with me and we'll take our boys - I'm trying to get it hammered out so we might catch 'ya at the bend - kinda looking at Feb now(?) but I'll go anytime if I can!

[Kaz]

I didn't see a CELL PHONE mentioned!! That is almost a must if you are out on the ice overnight and need to get help if something goes wrong, like the frunace goes out... I wouldn't be out on the ice without one!!! Just to be extra safe.... Kaz

[New Yankee]

Your ABSOLUTELY right Kaz! Guess we've become so accustomed to having them in our pockets - I call them an electronic leash - that we don't think of them, which is exactly when you don't remember!

[Bearfish]

This was the stuff I was looking for! Thanks all!

[12lb8oz]

Thats a great list Yankee. I always stay on the ice when I go up. I love it. The down side is you don't get a shower but I have never stayed up there for longer than 3 days. I like it because you can get up in the morning and start drinking like it was 10 pm. Don't have to drive anywhere. I am an early riser but the next best thing is I wake up, put on my slippers, take a leak, and take the cover off my holes and start fishing. No going outside, no drilling holes, just fishing. As soon as it gets dark we quit fishing and usually play cards late into the night. We have never had kids out there but they are going to get REALLY bored at night. Make sure they have something to do is the main thing. We love it but like I said we've never had kids along.

[soultwist]

For anyone that gets really bored at night go to Gander or Best Buy or something and get a $20 gift certificate. When you get up there announce that it's a prize for the biggest eelpout. It a reason to keep fishing, plus they put up a fight and some people love to eat them.

[Eric Wettschreck]

The other fellas in the sleeper will be very happy if you bring a can of deodorant. Dont forget a jug of good ole high quality H2O.

[PLEV]

One other thing you may want to take. I think most of the sleepers have them but we did stay in one that didn't. Just for safetys sake you might want to take along a battery operated carbon monoxide detector. Just ask the outfit you are staying with, If they don't provide them it wouldn't be a bad idea to take one.

Stay safe and have a great time. I know I would have had a blast at age 10. It's something your kids will never forget.

[wildirishrose]

Something we always bring is our portables, most "sleeper houses" are set up in deeper water for mid day bites, but the morning and evening bite in shallower water seems to be better for larger eye's.

[FisherDan]

We stayed in a sleeper last year for the first time. It was a 6 man and it defenitly had a ventalation problem. We had to crack the windows open to keep from getting gassed out.

We told the Resort owner about it. You would have thought they would have fixed it but I talked to him at the Ice Show and it sounds like they blew it off. We did book again with them this year. Everything other then that was great. I am definitely bringing a carbon monoxide detector this time.

Dan

[dewey1]

hey gspman. I dont think you can have fish fillets on the ice now that there mis a slot on the lake?

[gspman]

Yeah the whole eating fillets on the ice thing is an issue. Has anyone ever been cited for this? I would expect that nobody would rent a sleeper if this were a strictly enforced law.

[curt quesnell]

There has been a slot on LOW for many years, it is

different this year.

A good question, still looking for good answer.

[riverman]

Do not filet any walleye or sauger on the ice it is illeagel because they cant measure the size of the fish it came from.I know u ate it but the guts are some place near by. You can eat all tha pearch you want.

[dewey1]

makes sense riverman. thanks

[soultwist]

Quote:

---

• While on waters with size restrictions, all fish for which the size

restriction applies must have their heads, tails, fins, and skin intact

and be measurable; except when a watercraft is docked or moored to

shore and the person is in the act of preparing the fish for a meal.

---

I would think that when they add a provision for preparing a meal that you will be fine eating a meal out on the ice. They still have your carcasses to measure. It would be illegal to filet your fish to go home with you, you could gill and gut them. Also any fish eaten would still count towards your limit for that day.

Edited to add:

Quote:

---

Possession of filleted fish on the ice/water. In Minnesota many lakes have length restrictions governing fish harvest. When fishing on these

lakes, it is illegal to possess walleye, sauger or northern pike fillets. All walleye, sauger and northern pike must be possessed in a way that length

can be determined. This regulation is enforced “on the water (ice)” for walleye, sauger and northern pike. For other species with length limits

(such as lake sturgeon or muskellunge), it is illegal to cut up the fish in a way that length cannot be determined while the fish is being transported.

---

This information adds that the fish need to be possessed in a measurable way. The first passage (that is actually in the DNR rulebook) makes it clear that fish need to remain whole while on the water except in the case of a meal. The second passage I read as more of a helpful hit that the DNR released that really just muddied the waters further. I don't read the second quote as something that supersedes the first information. I suppose every game warden out there will interpret all of this differently.