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I'm thinking of bringing my Dad up for a duck hunt. How are the ice conditions?

We are on a 350 acre lake and it seemed to freeze up fast last year. Any help would be appreciated.

Mike

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Mike - we had ice on the small ponds but it seems to have left us for now. I start seeing that hard water and get crazy- start seeing ice hole ,jiggin poles & walleye every time i close my eyes. Could it be an addiction or maybe something worse? Good luck hunting

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Mike -Alittle more info-Some lakes still have ice on the edges. Sposed to get near 50 degrees today.

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You should be good for this weekend, I have seen lakes smaller than that still open this weekend. Although I have seen a lot bigger ones froze, with the weather we are haveing I doubt the ice will stay.

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Thanks guys,

My lake is surrounded by rice and there is a nice river that flows into it, unfortunitely I am not comfortable taking my 14' boat the distance to the river.

We're both looking forward to the hunt, we hunted opener and we saw lots of ducks, even shot a few. It's nice to get my Dad back out hunting, he's starting to get up there in age. We built a duck blind and put it on the shoreline so it is comfortable for him.

Mike

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On my way to work today, I didn't see any ice on the ponds and lakes that had ice on sunday.

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small lakes iced up last night, got cold friday night, and the wind dyed. lots of geese and some mallards around.

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Went down to the lake Friday night and it was all open. Went down Saturday morning and it had a thin layer of ice, no big deal. I break ice and throw some dekes out. I thought I went to the edge of the ice but when the sun came up I saw that the ice continued another 100 ft past my dekes.

I saw one flock of geese, 1 small flock of Buffleheads and a few loner ducks.

Pulled my now frozen decoys out of the lake and went to work in the woods clearing brush. Not the out come I was looking for but fun none the less.

Mike

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  • 2 weeks later...

Big island is frozen solid. I walked out about ten feet and got nervouse, heard some cracking, so I turned arouned. It is suppossed to get real cold so maybe by next weekend it will be walkable.

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big island dude, we have a place by spring lake, and i use to fish little ranier until it froze out. can you tell me anything about it now?

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I have never fished it. I have seen poeple out on it, in boats and ice houses. I Have never heard anything about it either. sorry. Now Im gonna have to give it a try tongue.gif

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I didn't fish it last winter but the year before I did. Fished it early in the season and got a few crappies but nothing great. I hear of a northern now and then but overall not much from the people I know that fish there. I didn't hear that it froze out lately. When was the freeze out? Glenn, maybe run into you on Bow this winter!!

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merc, little ranier froze out bock in the mid 80,s i believe. speared it back then, good fishin. got some nice sunfish too. hope to see you on the bow, plan on going there new years weekend. gotta go gettin raedy to go up harpooning.

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Rumor has it there is 4 to5 inches of ice on pokie. 8 below last nite should have put on alittle more. Has anybody been fishin yet? don't need complete details as i know how tight lipped fisherman can be. Would like to hear about water clarity and ice conditions on other ponds & if people are catchin anything. Good Luck and stay safe.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • smurfy
      is 3 weeks away............who's going and where???? i skip the first week and i'll head up to the cabin the 2nd week.  ussually fish smaller lakes. 
    • jparrucci
      Very low, probably 2 feet lower than last year at ice out.
    • mbeyer
      what do they look like this spring?
    • SkunkedAgain
      I might have missed a guess, but here are the ones that I noted:   JerkinLips – March 27th, then April 7th Brianf. – March 28th Bobberwatcher – April…. MikeG3Boat – April 10th SkunkedAgain – early April, then April 21st   Definitely a tough year for guesses, as it seemed to be a no-brainer early ice out. Then it got cold and snowed again.
    • mbeyer
      MN DNR posted April 13 as Ice out date for Vermilion
    • Brianf.
      ^^^45 in the morning and 47 in the evening
    • CigarGuy
      👍. What was the water temp in Black Bay? Thanks....
    • Brianf.
      No, that wasn't me.  I drive a 621 Ranger. 
    • CigarGuy
      So, that was you in the camo lund? I'm bummed, I have to head back to the cities tomorrow for a few days, then back up for at least a few weeks. Got the dock in and fired up to get out chasing some crappies till opener!
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Lots of ice on the main basin, but it is definitely deteriorating.  Some anglers have been fishing the open water at the mouth of the Rainy River in front of the Lighthouse Gap.  The rest of the basin is still iced over. Pike enthusiasts caught some big pike earlier last week tip up fishing in pre-spawn areas adjacent to traditional spawning areas.  8 - 14' of water using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring has been the ticket.  Ice fishing for all practical purposes is done for the year. The focus for the basin moving forward will be pike transitioning into back bays to spawn,  This is open water fishing and an opportunity available as the pike season is open year round on Lake of the Woods. The limit is 3 pike per day with one being able to be more than 40 inches. All fish 30 - 40 inches must be released. With both the ice fishing and spring fishing on the Rainy River being so good, many are looking forward to the MN Fishing Opener on Saturday, May 11th.  It should be epic. On the Rainy River...  An absolutely incredible week of walleye and sturgeon fishing on the Rain Rainy River.     Walleye anglers, as a rule, caught good numbers of fish and lots of big fish.  This spring was one for the books.   To follow that up, the sturgeon season is currently underway and although every day can be different, many boats have caught 30 - 40 sturgeon in a day!  We have heard of fish measuring into the low 70 inch range.  Lots in the 60 - 70 inch range as well.   The sturgeon season continues through May 15th and resumes again July 1st.   Oct 1 - April 23, Catch and Release April 24 - May 7, Harvest Season May 8 - May 15, Catch and Release May 16 - June 30, Sturgeon Fishing Closed July 1 - Sep 30, Harvest Season If you fish during the sturgeon harvest season and you want to keep a sturgeon, you must purchase a sturgeon tag for $5 prior to fishing.    One sturgeon per calendar year (45 - 50" inclusive, or over 75"). Most sturgeon anglers are either a glob of crawlers or a combo of crawlers and frozen emerald shiners on a sturgeon rig, which is an 18" leader with a 4/0 circle hook combined with a no roll sinker.  Local bait shops have all of the gear and bait. Up at the NW Angle...  Open water is continuing to expand in areas with current.  The sight of open water simply is wetting the pallet of those eager for the MN Fishing Opener on May 11th.   A few locals were on the ice this week, targeting pike.  Some big slimers were iced along with some muskies as well.  If you like fishing for predators, LOW is healthy!  
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