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What ice we have will be getting thicker in a day or so. Starting then, we're looking at lows in the single digits with highs in the teens or low 20s. That'll be making ice, especially since there's no snow to speak of. The shallow lakes have ice already.

I'm thinking I'll be on the shallow bay in Birch Lake this weekend, the one where I usually start on first ice and do tip-ups for pike during the day, with a switch to walleyes late in the afternoon.

Mmmmmm, hope the weather service keeps their shnit straight for a change. I need to do some drillin'. Um, golly, what I mean is the 8-inch Mora is sharp as a razor. smirk.gif

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  • Steve Foss

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Better check those blades again amigo! Remember Trout Lake???

Next weekend we'll have some ice. Trends look good for the week.

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Different blades, bubba, different blades. Can you say "exchange service?" grin.gifgrin.gifgrin.gif

That was a cast-iron b--ch, though, wasn't it? crazy.gif

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AMEN BABY! CAST IRON! Hiking in CarHart Extremes was pretty ridiculous as well. Never let me do that again!

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Stopped out to check some ice conditions today. At 11:00am on Fish Lake the narrows and high banks area were all fozen. South of airplane island was about 50% frozen. Over by the dam was open water, and to the south lots more, until the protected areas. All of this info was from

the road so it’s a guestimate. Rice lake from the dam looked completely frozen, but don’t know how thick, although there were some chunks broken by the dam and they looked to be about 3-4” thick.

Nobody out on the ice at either lake. Forecast looks good for weekend fishing. But probably not before.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

The last weeks temps weakened that first ice pretty good. I'm still measuring 2.5" but its soft, nothing like the rock hard we had and need to get out on. Lets see how the next few days temps go.

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Yes indeed ST, looks like starting tonight things should get going in the next week with the forcasted temps. I am pretty pumped for the next few days off I will have after Thanksgiving. Need to spend some quality time staring down a 8" hole.

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Cheffrey looks like we should hit WRL on Friday. Maybe try FLN if the ice is good. Give me a call tomorrow and we can discuss plans.

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Northlander, I want to hit that walleye lake here in Wi. early ice. I'll give you a call when hunting season is done.

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For sure Randy! I also heard of 1 down that way. Maybe the same lake? Start with a D end with a N? grin.gif

I can see everyone searching out thier Wi Lake Maps now cant you? wink.gif

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That walleye lake here in Wis? Hmmm, sounds familiar. Northlander, isn't that the evening tip-up spot you fished out over the last few years? blush.gifgrin.gif

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

Bring it on, 3 degrees here and falling. The pack of beer on the porch is frozen.

I've got my eye on a couple small lakes that froze during that last cold snap and stayed frozen all through the warmer weather. Tonight will firm that soft ice up and make a bit of ice too. Having said that be real carfull if your headed out this weekend. I wouldn't trust any larger lake yet and I know that some of them didn't totaly freeze the last cold spell and some opened back up. I guess what I'm saying is ice conditions are going to vary greatly from lake to lake. In fact your going to see some lakes with open water still.

If you do go don't go alone and be prepared. A chisel to test every step along with ice picks and a rope w/mokeyfist to throw. In other words, plan on the worst and the worst can't happen and if it did you can get yourself out of a bind.

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Managed to watch th 2006 olympic volleyball team this evening as I called Northlander after he passed me by on 53. Sounds like somewhat of an early ice gathering with a bunch of us meeting up at minnow-ette at 8am on Sunday to go out of highbanks. Should be a good time lets just hope that fish lake held shut through this wind. Should not be much of a problem to get out on on Sunday with these wicked temps.

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I’ve got a feeling that this wind might screw up most weekend hopes. I think that any lake with some open water before this wind started may have a whole more open water now. If the lakes or ponds were completely frozen I don’t think the wind would affect them much. The temps are right but the wind could be more of a determining factor… Have a good Thanksgiving everyone…

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Stfcatfish its not the one Im speaking of but ya thats another good one. I may have to try that next week. Nothing easier than that spot.

Cheffrey that was like the Special Olympics team. frown.gif Man we played like crap! You just never know who is going to show up to play. Now if BD110 would just stay out of my way and let me swing. grin.gif Ah its all good fun I guess.

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The wind finally dropped and, at -8, Shagawa froze all the way over last night. With a high of 15 today and a low in the single digits tonight, it'll keep making ice. Hope Sunday's warm snap doesn't kill that, and the winds are supposed to stay light for the next few days.

Meanwhile, forward to the protected bays with ice fishing gear!

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Made it almost to Ely today to work on a well. Checked the Ice on Eagles Nest 2 & Armstrong. Both have 2.5" to 3" of ice as far as I dared venture out alone. About 15 ft. from shore where I know I could be no more than chest deep. Still, I checked with the bar every 2 feet out crazy.gif. It was chilly today at 11 degrees, felt like 0 peering down the well for an hour! Ice will get a boost from yesterday, today & tommorow, which means I may fish hardwater NEXT weekend.

Later -CLoma

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Big Lake up the Echo had so much ice on it I couldn't even get it to make noise with my 250-lb bulk. I went out 100 yards, same deal. Even stomped and jumped.

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Four inches of ice this morning on Kramer Bay of Birch Lake, I'll be out tomorrow with spud bar and tip-ups.

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Hey Northlander or ST, have you guys heard anything about ice conditions on Fish Lake? Thanks for the update.

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STF - Is Kramer the only spot on Birch you checked? Would it be to sketchy on Brich for a person to check near Blueberry Island?

Has anybody checked Johnson Lake near One Pine, north of Babbitt (or as a lesser reference south of Ely grin.gif)?

Has anybody been fishing on an Ely area lakes yet?

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Hey Casey:

I only checked on Kramer. I'll be passing One Pine and Johnson on my way tomorrow. I'd bet a lot of money they're both iced over and solid. One Pine in particular is one of the first lakes to ice up, but I won't know until tomorrow.

And, geeez, it's supposed to be raining with a high of 37! I was planning on fishing today, but my company decided to leave today instead of tomorrow because of the weather. Had to hang around to say goodbye, which pushed the fishing back to tomorrow. Maybe I should bring along the canoe! frown.gif

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators

Grand had a constant 6" of solid ice from the McGregor road access out to the deep water. I can't comment on other areas for the lake but did see guys venturing out in Sat afternoon from other areas.

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Casey-

Howdy!! I finally put together who caseymcq was. Nice to see a familiar name. I still need to take you up on your offer. Really iching to chase some lakers. Anywho, catch ya later.

Wirz

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • JerkinLips
      41.6°F in Stuntz Bay Thursday morning.  Left my boat in the water to hopefully fish more before the lake freezes.  Caught four 9-11" walleyes in 2½ hours before I gave up due to the strong west wind.  Water level has not gone up more than a couple of inches at the most.  May be a good winter to jack my boathouse out of the water on the deep end.
    • Troy Smutka
      The calendar migrators from the Dakotas have been passing through central MN in trickles the past few weeks, and the recent cooler weather has some Canada ducks starting to show up. We have been harvesting mallards, pintails, gadwalls, wigeon, shovelers, greenwing teal, canvasbacks, redheads, bluebills, and ringnecks in decent numbers.
    • SkunkedAgain
      It doesn't look like the lake level has gone up at all. I was up a week ago and struggled to get my boat in and out of the public landing on the west end of Head O Lakes. I used my paddle to push the boat further out to deeper water. I could hear the hull moving over the sandy/muddy bottom near the launch.
    • JerkinLips
      Pretty tough.  Was catching about 2 walleyes per hour and the biggest was only 13".  Back up Thursday so I hope I have better success.
    • smurfy
      the kid and I always check our stands prior.......i'll go back to check the conditions of said stands before he gets there to see what we need. while i'm at it if i can i shoot at grouse with shells that appear to not have bb,s in them!!!!🙄
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore...  With unseasonably warm weather, there are still some anglers hitting the water and most have been rewarded.  Limits of walleyes and saugers being caught, and the forecast looking ahead is favorable. The best bite on the south end of LOW has been in 22-28 feet of water. Water temperatures are dropping and as the temps cool further, the bite has been excellent.     Vertical jigging with frozen emerald shiners has been the program for most anglers.  Bring plenty of bait, as you’ll need to sort through some smaller fish and short biters.  Plenty of eater fish to be had, just have to do a bit of sorting.  Anglers are also reporting very good numbers of jumbo perch and occasional pike mixed in with the walleyes.     For those fishing structure, if you slide up on top of a rock pile, don't be surprised to catch a big smallmouth bass, there are plenty around.   This week’s hot colors have been gold, gold/glow white, gold/chartreuse, gold/orange, and gold/glow white/pink.     One tip, a stinger hook on your jig will catch you more fish if you start missing too many fish. On the Rainy River...  Bait dealers are reporting good numbers of shiners in the river this past week.  Interesting, each night is different.  Some areas have the small shiners called pinheads.  Other areas have the larger minnows.     The river is producing some nice walleyes in various spots from Four Mile Bay to Wheeler's Point, to Baudette all the way to Birchdale.  There are 42 miles of navigable Rainy River from the mouth to Birchdale with plenty of public boat ramps along the way.     Walleyes are being caught in various depths, but 15-25 feet of water has been good.   Jigging with live or frozen emerald shiners has been highly effective. Some anglers are also trolling crankbaits to cover more ground and find fish. Both methods are producing solid results. Sturgeon fishing has been strong.  The catch-and-release sturgeon fishing is open into the spring when it changes to the "keep season" on April 24th. Up at the NW Angle...  Fall fishing continues to be excellent. Points, neck-down areas with current, shoreline breaks, and transition zones from rock to mud are all productive locations for walleye right now.   It is traditionally a mixed bag up around the many islands in this part of the lake and this fall is no different.  In addition to walleyes, pike, jumbo perch, and crappies are in the mix.  A jig and minnow has been the most effective presentation. Good muskie fishing is the norm during the fall of the year and area reports have been good.  In addition to casting, trolling shorelines, points and neckdown areas has been effective.  Muskies are often targeting schooling tullibees this time of year. The weather forecast for the next couple of weeks is conducive for fall fishing.  If you don't deer hunt, or if you have harvested your deer, consider some bonus walleye action before the ice forms.  The bite continues to be excellent.    
    • leech~~
    • gimruis
      I'm not one to leave that to chance the day I need it.  I always check on my stands prior to the season.  Just like I always shoot my rifle before the season and I always run my outboard motor before fishing opener.  Too many things to go wrong without confirming it ahead of time.   I guess it could have been beavers but the house itself didn't appear nearly big enough along one ditch.  It was about the size of chair.  I've seen beavers houses many times before and they appear much bigger than that.
    • leech~~
      Good thing you made a check run.  That would have really suked walking into opening day.  Why do you think muskrats and not beavers?  
    • gimruis
      Well I checked on stands over the weekend.  Kind of a disaster.   All the ditches are plum full and twice as wide becauase muskrats have clogged an area.  I spent an hour unclogging it and the water is slowly moving again, but our bridges and planks were underwater.  The back portion of the land where the best stand is was inaccessible.  Hopefully that changes by Saturday.  I have a feeling the muskrats are just going to clog it back up again.   Tons of standing corn still too.  They've started on it, but being so wet now with more rain coming, whatever's there will remain there for the foreseeable future.   All the grassland is completely flattened like a pancake due to 3-4 inches of heavy wet snow.  That eliminates about 75% of the pheasant habitat in this spot.  Total buzz kill.  And this specific spot was one of my better producers last season because the grass was intact and lush through December last year.
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