MNfisher
12-02-2013, 11:06 PM
I headed back to MN for the Thanksgiving Holiday to be with my family. Since waterfowl season had closed the weekend before and the temps were cold, we ventured out to find some safe ice!
The first lake we hit had about 4.5-6" of ice, plenty, we jigged with minnows in 18 ft of water and came up with a few crappie and a nice walleye. No pics of those fish.
Then we hit up 2 other lakes that gave us skunks, both had about 3-4" of ice.
After that we hit up a very small 25 acre pond that gets 80 ft deep. We had done well with BIG bluegill in the past, some approaching a pound. Well the gills were not there, but the lgmouth bass were in large numbers, which is rare through the ice. We caught about 30 bass, mostly 10-11", but a few approaching the 16" mark. There is no public access to this lake, but is accessible off a bike path and a 50 yd walk through the woods. I really want to drag a canoe or kayak in there in the spring. At the right time, I bet you could catch 100 bass in an evening!
The following day, we hit up the Minnesota River in search of some trophy walleye, my friends and I used to pull several between 8-12 lbs a winter from this river. It rarely gets fished because the moving water scares people off the ice. It is a bit scary to drill a hole in the ice, drop a 1/4 oz jig down and see it whip down stream in the current as soon as it gets to the bottom of the ice. We marked some good fish, missed a few, and put one decent sauger on the ice.
I will be returning over Christmas and hopefully have a better report. I did get some fun pics though!
The first lake we hit had about 4.5-6" of ice, plenty, we jigged with minnows in 18 ft of water and came up with a few crappie and a nice walleye. No pics of those fish.
Then we hit up 2 other lakes that gave us skunks, both had about 3-4" of ice.
After that we hit up a very small 25 acre pond that gets 80 ft deep. We had done well with BIG bluegill in the past, some approaching a pound. Well the gills were not there, but the lgmouth bass were in large numbers, which is rare through the ice. We caught about 30 bass, mostly 10-11", but a few approaching the 16" mark. There is no public access to this lake, but is accessible off a bike path and a 50 yd walk through the woods. I really want to drag a canoe or kayak in there in the spring. At the right time, I bet you could catch 100 bass in an evening!
The following day, we hit up the Minnesota River in search of some trophy walleye, my friends and I used to pull several between 8-12 lbs a winter from this river. It rarely gets fished because the moving water scares people off the ice. It is a bit scary to drill a hole in the ice, drop a 1/4 oz jig down and see it whip down stream in the current as soon as it gets to the bottom of the ice. We marked some good fish, missed a few, and put one decent sauger on the ice.
I will be returning over Christmas and hopefully have a better report. I did get some fun pics though!