After Saturday’s “truck trip” to Upper Red Lake for another shot at the walleyes, it was time to get back to doing what I do best, catching crappies.
This meant there would be no easy-driving plowed road to travel on. We would make it out there by snowmobile, maybe.
I had heard far too many horror stories this season about snowmobiles being bogged down and left out on the ice. Maybe I should say left in the deep snow and slush, as that’s normally the demise of many an unprepared fishing trip. I’ve been there and done that.
Some of them have been stuck so bad that they had to be cribbed up and left, with hopes that the slush wouldn’t rise any higher. Meanwhile, waiting for the trail to freeze up, snowmobile owners would indulge in the daily ritual of trying to pack the trail, in order to hurry things along. Then, when everything looked solid enough to take a chance, a hair-raising run was made back toward shore and solid ground.
So, with this in mind, we headed into the heart of Itasca county for a long-awaited crappie fishing trip. Shortly before heading out, on Sunday morning, I bumped into another snowmobile owner who wanted to go crappie fishing. What a stroke of luck. Traveling in pairs is the best approach possible when checking out suspicious lake conditions.Click here to read more stories like this!!
Once there, I was more than surprised when lake conditions were found to be just short of excellent. The snow was a little deep but there wasn’t any hint at all of slush. That was on this particular lake. I will, however, certainly be prepared for tough conditions on any future trips to different waters. You just don’t know.
The only slush found was in various areas of the lake and best of all, it was below the ice. There was no problem in running a snowmobile but layered slush made it a challenge when it came to drilling holes. Once I found an area like this, I worked away from it until solid ice conditions were found, as long as fish were still below us. Working through multi-layered, slushy ice is a good way to destroy an auger. I’ve done that too.
Crappies were found but they were a bit on the fussy side. Although I did catch a few with one of my favorite “crappie searching baits”, a small Northland Tackle “Forage Minnow Spoon”, it proved to be too large to consistently put fish on the ice. A down-sizing switch was made to Northland’s “Mud Bug”.
This little bait, although small in size, fishes heavy and that’s key for two reasons. One – when crappies are on the move, like they were on this day, you want to get that bait down to them as fast as possible, before they leave. Two – the heaviness of this little jig allows you to “blast” through the snow and ice of an un-cleaned, freshly drilled hole. Just pick out a small opening and let it fall. Chances are, it’ll be down in “crappie-ville” within a few seconds.
On another note, I’m a little worried about some of our little lakes, especially the ones that have a history of “winter kill.” With all of this snow, and more to come, I’m afraid we’re going to lose a lot of fish, once again. Some of the waters I fish, north of Nashwauk, have O’Leary Lake and Little Bear Lake on that list. Keep your fingers crossed.
Also, here’s something else to ponder. On the plus side of all of this snow, it has kept most anglers off the ice and that is saving thousands of fish from being harvested. Never-the-less, we’ve received enough snow already and I wish it would stop. Good luck, have fun, and be safe.
By Greg Clusiau
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