Sportsman's Lodge 12/31 & 1/1

[40Mercman]

Fished out of Sportsman's on 12/31 & 1/1 and did good, not great, but good. Had 50 with 12 keepers on 12/31 and 30 with 14 keepers on 1/1. Biggest was a 19" eye. Gold jigs outpaced everything else by 3:1. The drive up and back was really bad, roads from Bemidji on up were snow and ice covered so it made for slow driving.

[fiskyknut]

Thanks for the report Mercman.

fiskyknut

[Bearfish]

Also, at Sportsman's over the New Year in a sleeper. Had about the same results as 40Mercman. Largest was 17" walleye. 15" of snow over the 3 days we were there. Caught'em on a variety of Angel Eye's, gold pimps and hooks. 27 FOW.

[New Yankee]

Bearfish - how would you rate your sleeper experience?

I've done Gibbins (which was fine) just trying to look for new experiences I guess - looks like Sportsmans gives the little kids a break (as does Gibbins).

[Bearfish]

We brought two ten year old boys with and got a very affordable rate. Two adults and two kids in the sleeper were just right. Any more in there would of been snug over three nights. Besides, no one had to sleep in the upper bunks which would of been a little warm up high near the ceiling. The boys are already planning next years trip! I'd recommend going with Sportsman's. The sleeper we had was built in Oct 04 and was very clean and comfortable. A good radio and a couple decks of cards kept us plenty entertained during the evening.

Dan Gibbins and wife now run the sleeper division out of Sportsman's and were very accommodating. We'll be back!

[PLEV]

Bearfish,

We are going to be in a sleeper this coming weekend. How big of a sleeper did you have. I think they have two different sizes, not for sure though. There will be four of us in the sleeper. From what I understand the size of the one we will be in is 12' X 18'.

I thought this would be plenty big enough for 4 of us. Please let me know if this is the size you were in. I guess I'm kind of worried now that we won't have enough room. Also how deep of water did you fish and how did you do? Mostly Walleye and Sauger or did you pick up a few Perch and Pout as well? Any decent size fish?

Any info is really appreciated. Time is getting close and really looking forward to getting on the ice and staring at the LX3.

Thanks,

PLEV

[Bearfish]

PLEV,

Not sure if we were in a 12 X 18 or 12 x 16. Our house was called "Moose Tracks." I believe the bigger of the two sizes. 2 adults and 2 kids fit fine. The sleeper we were in had a bench/bed that ran the length of both 12' walls so we slept 2 (one adult/child) on each bench w/our heads on opposite ends. That worked for us. Im 6'1" and my son is about 5 ft. I don't think two 6' adults could sleep this way comfortably.

Used the upper 2 bunks for storage. Would of been very warm in the upper bunks (IMO) unless you turn the heat way down overnight.

See the fishing reports listed above. Mostly walleye and sauger. Averaged 14". Also, caught two 10" perch (didn't target them) and a 1/2 dozen 'pout.

There was the new snow (15") that may of slowed down the bite a little. Bring some glow jigs with as it is extra dark down there now! Fished 27 FOW but they are continually rotating them out into deeper water. Had to remind the youngsters to reel them up slow because of the pressure changes. Better for CPR.

[PLEV]

Thanks for the reply Bearfish. Our group is 4 adults and all of us are 6' or taller. We usually use the top bunks for storage as well. Maybe we will have to take your advice on the heater at night and use one lower bunk and one upper bunk on each end for sleeping. Will see when we get there. We have come up to LOW the prior 2 years but went with another sleeper rental place. It's always a little scary going with a new place. Sounds like you had a good time though. From your post it sounds like the sleepers are plenty warm. From the pictures on the brochure we got they look nice inside. The lady I talked to on the phone was very pleasant. She also gave us a lot of informantion on what to expect. It sounds like the bunks are on each end and the holes are just in front of the bunks and you sit back to back, 2 on each side to fish. I think we will be happy with our choice. As far as baits we should have enough. The other 3 guys give me a hard time because I have a large assortment. Lots of Gold and Glow baits. We fish pretty hard. All of us have vex's and pretty much stare at them all day. I'm sure we will do fine. The only problem is the weekend isn't getting here fast enough.

Thanks for all your help. I will post how we did when we get back.

PLEV