Where and When for Ice Fishing Trips?

[Outfitter17]

Do people on this board take ice fishing trips or mainly just go out on the weekends to your local lake?

If you do take trips where do you go, Minnesota, North/South Dakota, Wis., or Canada.

When do you like to go, early ice, late ice, or anytime you can get away from work?

Feel free to share you thoughts on this subject.

[Big A]

Gotta make the Trip to Lake of the Woods every year ... we usually go in early January. Fishing isnt always the best.... but then again fishing isnt the only reason we are there !

This yr we are gonna hit red lake in February and I plan on trying to be out on red pre-christmas time also...

otherwise I keep it local as much as possible.. and as often as possible !

After the snow today.... I definately have the "itch" to get out on the ice !!!

[walleyvoyager]

The woods a few times a year, New years weekend is the for sure weekend and a second trip in late march. Leech is a good long weekend shot once a year also. But early ice I like to head to Wis and take advantage of some smaller lakes around Chippewa Falls.

[blackdog1101]

Most of my fishing (several times per week) is local. A few times per season I'll make a trip to fish with friends up on Big Sandy Lake. This season I'm hoping to make a trip to Chequomegon Bay.

[Northlander]

LOW, RED, Rainy, Chequamegon Bay, Winni are all some I do. Otherwise I do local lakes, St. Louis River and Lake Superior if and whe n we get safe ice.

[JBMasterAngler]

I fish numerous lakes in my area throughout the season, and the last few years have made a trip up to grand marais for lake trout. But this year I'm either going to chequamegon bay or URL/LOW, haven't made up my mind yet.

[Rippinlip]

Great percentage of my ice time is local, but I try to make a trip to either Mille Lacs or further north atleast once a year.

I have never been to the LOW, I need to plan that one. I would also like to go to Red, Devils Lake, Great lakes or somewhere North to try for some Lakers.

Mark

[GrizzlyAdams]

Mainly fish local lakes as often as possible but my favorite place to fish is URL. We are going to try and get there at least once a month this winter. I have never fished Mille Lacs and would like to try it also this year. Any where on the ice is a good place to be though.

[Ed Carlson]

I fish local as much as I can, it's close, I can go more often, and there is good fishing to be had with relatively low angler pressure.

When I plan trips, it's to peak areas with a peak bite in mind.

The Red River of the North in Canada and the Lake Winnipeg sumo walleye bites are a couple I plan trips seasonally around peak bites.

I recommend hitting the Red River around Christmas in Canada, and into January.

Then a trip out on the big Lake Winnipeg as often as one can slip away tell the end of March when the season shuts down. Phenomenal big walleye fishing, likely the best sumo walleye fishing on the ice in North America today.

I also recommend you book accommodations early at "Cats on the Red" with Stu McKay, you will get the best info available and a team effort to insure success on the ice.

[peerchking]

local almost everyday as soon as there is ice. LOW & RED 2-3 times each. And leech once with family

[magic_minnow]

Local, URL, LOW in that order

[NoWiser]

Ontario Lake Trout. Once you've tried that, nothing else compares. I'll be up there in January, February, and possibly in March. I've saved my vacation to make those trips, don't fish much around here anymore.

[LeeMB]

I'm lucky enough to fish Lake Winnipeg and the Red River almost everyday. No need for me to go anywhere else.

Lee

[hibanks1]

Ed can you get a wheel house out on the red and do you go north of winnipeg or stay south....seen some monsters come out of there in the summer with people just fishing from shore...

[Ed Carlson]

It can be a tricky deal to get a permanent on the Red River here in the Headwaters and Central Red River region. After the ice is good and deep one may try with the use of a ATV or snowmobile.

I do not recommend driving on our region of the Red, ever. Due to more concentrated currents the ice thickness here is unpredictable over most of the Red here stateside until late winter.

If you have a good access point to start from and near a good run of river ...sure...it's doable if you take the appropriate precautions and scout the ice well first.

Also....be darn sure to block it up high....1' or more would not be a bad plan. Flooded ice can happen very quickly on a river and seal the doom of a permanent once frozen in deep. Block it up high for sure, and keep close tabs on snowfall and you should be good.

On one section of the Headwaters in downtown Whapeton, the 3-Rivers area, they get 60-70 or more permanents in less than a mile of river when the fish are on. That is a circus...trust me. We have many many miles of excellent river to work with is one can get on and off it...that is the catch.

The lighter and more mobile your permanent is...the better. Keep the minimal amount of stuff in the shack too...due to the potential for [badWordUsage] thieves and/or vandals hitting it by sled. I would not even lock the door, to avoid damage.

If you want to do it...start scouting for access points now, and maybe get it set up near it so you can slip it on with less snow and travel to deal with. Find some use friendly landowners, build a relationship with them.

[s2h]

I mostly stick to the local lakes. There is a group of us guys that have been going on 1 big trip a year for the last 10 years. Last year we tried LOW for the first time and that was pretty dang good. So we are going there again this year. We always go at the end of december or first week in January.

We all have the itch already. The emails are going wild getting all of our plans together. We already have our food menue. We are grilling steaks during the Sunday night Vikings game up at Zippels.

[dirtking]

I make it to LOTW maybe 2 or 3 times, once to Ontario chasing lakers, and to eel pout fest, and then the local lakes

[bturck]

i chase pan fish on the lake where I have a cabin in central MN. We have a perm on Mille Lacs, so get over there as well, and 2-3 trips per year to LOW. It well worth the drive. Good luck, stay safe out there.

[Tom Buckles]

LOTW is a must along with URL. I used to go to both a couple times a year. One year I went to Rainy on the Canada side and had a really good time with the Crappies. Sleepers on Mille Lacs are always fun. If I had to pick my favorite, it would be a toss up between LOTW and URL.

[wplatehunter]

I fish local when I can get out. Mostly for panfish with my son. I get to LOTW one time and the cabin any weekend I can.