Ice fishing trip destination with Sleepers

[Fish Head]

I'm looking for an ice fishing trip to give my son for Christmas.  Preferably in a sleeper house.  I’ve done the sleepers at LOTW many times, but the last few years the fishing has been really bad up there, even on Oak Island last year.  Any recommendations for where I can send him?  He doesn’t want to go to Devil’s Lake for some reason.  I was thinking Red or Leech?  Where has a great bite going this year with sleeper houses?  Thanks for the feedback!

[Big Dave2]

I would recommend High Banks Resort on Winnie.

[Hawg]

There has been no bite as most are  just getting out. Red would be my hands down choice.

[eyeguy 54]

Highbanks. You might not get many eyes but good chance at a beast.  

[Chaws]

I'd drive the extra bit up to Lake of the Woods for a sleeper stay. Netting rates this fall were excellent for walleyes and the big jumbo perch are on the rise up there as well. With the Sauger opportunity, you can catch quite a few more fish than on Red. We always stay in the sleepers at Arnesens as we've found them to be the most comfortable for layout and cleanliness.

[Fish Head]

My personal experience is that the ice fishing on LOTW has become worse each year over the last 5-7 years.  Last year was terrible.  I would like to do LOTW again, but is there any reason to believe the trend has reversed?  

[Big Dave2]

Last year while we were not catching much on LOW, they were slaughtering BIG walleye, Northerns and perch on Winnie. Plus that trip isn't as expensive as LOW and the owner's Rick and Kim are awesome!

[Getanet]

I've rented houses on LOW, Red and Mille Lacs and didn't catch anything to write home about at any of them. Definitely could be user error, but my buddy and I have taken to staying at his cabin near Crosslake and just hitting as many lakes with a portable as we can fit into a 3-day weekend.

That's a long way of saying if you're son doesn't have his heart set on staying in a sleeper you might want to consider renting a cabin using a site like VRBO for a long weekend in the Brainerd Lakes area and do a lot of lake hopping.