Today’s Top 5
Lake Erie’s open-water bite far from over. Nolan P. caught this 12-lb heifer from shore last night on a #14 Rapala Husky Jerk in glass clown:
Pat D. and buds texted us on Wednesday: “Last night’s trolling on ‘Tonka…still eating Rapalas in 38-degree water!”
Meanwhile, same night (Wednesday), Bro stuck an early-ice pig somewhere in Itasca County, MN:
And earlier in the day:
#EarlyIceGangsta #BroKnowsIceFishing
Steve of Thousand Lakes Sporting Goods (Cohasset, MN) visited Slabville:
Tyler T. smirkin’ with this SLABsolutely ridiculous crappie. Wonder if he rubs ‘stache wax on his jigs?
He caught (and released) several near Alexandria, MN. Had 2.5-3″ of ice that has since evaporated. Scary stuff — be careful!
Clayton D. on some sumo ‘gills:
…in northern Manitoba. Locals playing hockey on it. Why drop a puck when you could drop a jig??
Steve Pennaz broke through on purpose so he could tell us how to get out. #stout
…on your sonar. Cool video:
A night shot so we thought this was a walleye at first. Not so, but an awesome fish:
Ice Fishing
Round Lake. Ice heaved and melted away from the shoreline.
2. Cabela’s Ice Classic weekend.
Meet and talk to Ice Force pros, plus some crazy deals.
3. New IDO episode: Henry’s Lake ice trout.
4. Now’s the time to prepare for safe ice.
5. Win a trip with an Ice Team pro.
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Make sure you note the special code for Target Walleye/Ice subscribers!
News
1. MN: Mille Lacs Lake webcams, looks boat-friendly.
Just because there’s a lack of ice, doesn’t mean the walleyes aren’t hungry.
2. MT: Anglers urged to kill Swan Lake walleyes.
3. ND: AIM Weekend Walleye Series new NoDak division.
4. MWC inducted in Freshwater Fishing HOF.
5. MI: DNR working to reduce pressure on Saginaw Bay perch.
6. Possible merger of Berkley and Rubbermaid.
Free Tupperware with any order over $50 lol.
Events
Rainy River Resort, Lake of the Woods.
Bro is EVERYWHERE! Crazy he still finds time to get on the ice.
Fishing Reports
> Part fishing report, part ice report this time of year. The boats are doing very well with good numbers of walleyes in 10-20′. Launching at Wheeler’s Point and fishing in front of Pine Island. The big water (Big Traverse Bay) is still open. Thin ice on the small bays. Zippel Bay reporting 5-6 inches of ice. Bostic Bay and Baudette Bay all reporting 1-3″.
> On the Rainy River, bays are getting locked up with open water on the river. A few anglers on the river with anglers catching nice walleyes in evenings. Open water bite has been good this past week.
> Up at the NW Angle, ice is 2-5″. Some air boats running to islands so far. It won’t be long, but safety first. When the time comes, work through resorts for safety.
Tyler Robinson:
> Went out on both Saturday and Sunday morning out of JR’s. Fished in 7-8′, being away from the crowd helped a lot. Water clarity was rather poor at about 2′, which probably led to the slow bite. The first few hours of daylight brought the best bite and UV-colored Rippin’ Raps seemed to be key. I would say about 90% of the fish we marked ended up biting.
> As the day progressed, the bite slowed down and changing to a red-colored spoon tipped with a minnow head got a few fish to bite. It still held true that even in the afternoon hours if we marked a fish there was a good chance it would bite. Most of the fish were between 17-20″, or less than 14″. Ice conditions were decent. Where we fished, we had about 4″ of rather solid ice but the walk out was layered with cracks and even some open water which JR had bridged.
Here’s the latest video report.
Tip of the Day
Quote of the Day
Shot of the Day
More open-water Erie action — gotta love it!
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