Planning an ice fishing trip...Advice

[Elusive Wally]

I am planning an ice fishing trip, for about 7-10 guys, don't care where. Want to go some time between the new year and March 15th. All fish are good to me, walleyes, perch, sauger, crappies, sunnies, northerns... leaving my options open, can anyone tell me where is a good resort / lake to go to. appreciate any and all advice. Thank You

[huskiesplayer15]

Devils Lake

Lake of The Woods

Red Lake

And definatly not in that order1

best fishes

Chris

[Eric Wettschreck]

I would very highly recommend either upper red lake or lake of the woods. I've only made a couple of trips to both but boy howdy, did we catch fish and have a darn good time.

[joneshat11]

To me it matters the skill level of your group. If you group is a hard core ice fishing group and is willing to drill tons of holes and search for fish I would go to lakes like Red, Winni or Devils. If your group wants to sit in a house and enjoy the company, throw back alot of bevs of choice, just sit and catch fish go to lake, and are just bobber fisherman I would go to lake of the woods.

[Guest]

Lake of the woods.

[psegriz]

You mentioned a resort so I'll assume you'd be staying in a cabin. I'm partial to URL so i'm saying go there the resorts usually have guides to keep thier houses on fish and if staying at thier place would be more than glad to tell you where even if you bring your own houses.

[Northlander]

No doubt Lake Of The Woods would be #1 on my list. Red Lake is another good option but the Crappie Gods can at times be very unkind. As stated a lot depends on how serious of fisherman you are. If your crew is mobil and enjoys the chase than Devils Lake, Winni, Mil Lacs or Rainy are good options. Rainy is a pretty much untapped fishery in the winter compared to these other lakes. If you look into Rainy get a hold of Woody. He will put ya on fish and is quite he character.

If your skill level and equipment are lacking get a guide. It will save you tons of time and increase your odds drasticaly. Good Luck on wherever you wind up.

Oh I almost forgot. If your looking for a great get away thats in a quiet beautiful area head up to the Northwest Angle. Bay Store Resort is a great place to stay and Frank Walsh is another one of fishings great characters. I love the N.W. Angle but I just havent gotten up that way in a few years. The most fun Ive had on a IceFishing trip was up there with Frank.

[Beaver15]

URL or Lake of the Woods, can't go wrong with either trip. Good luck and have a great one.

[Ed Carlson]

Devils Lake would be my pick for pure multi species opportunities and sumo class fish.

Early and late ice are best op's for strong bites and big fish.

A typical day on DL may sound like something like this.

Hit the ice at dawn and jig walleye up near the flooded wood. Move deeper as the sun pops up and stalk perch and more walleye. Mid day grab a snack and do pike in the bays, tons of big pike to be had on DL. Afternoon search the deeper basin for sumo perch, keep moving, keep your eyes open for herds on fish. As dusk nears head back to the flooded wood and bang more walleye. Head for camp.

DL is huge and has miles of ice to fish and miles of flooded timber. The timber bite is often the key to consistent fishing for all species. Some days you do not need to move far to keep on fish, others it is hit and run and pick and chose keepers.

If you plan ahead of time there are houses you can rent for larger groups and save a ton on expenses. A guide is optional but it may be wise for a day or two to get your bearings on DL. You can learn a lot from a good guide in a day or two. There is also rental equipment available at Ed's Bait Shop if you need extra electronics, shacks, ice augers, or cameras.

Lots of options at DL, and lots of fish too. Hope this helps.

[Elusive Wally]

Thank you all for your advice, I am going to Lake of the Woods, I am trying to choose a resort, and have narrowed it down to Wheelers, Wigwam, Adrian's, and Zipple Bay, any feed back on these resorts would be appriciated... think we'll ever get ice?

[Dano_the_jigasaurus]

If you go to LOTW and the bite isn't good, its only a short jaunt down to URL if the slabs are hitten. A couple buddies and I were staying at Zippel Bay and when the fish didn't go one of the days, We went to URL pounded the crappies and went back to LOTW. Just an Idea

Waitin for the Ice,

Dano

[Eiger0304]

Been going out of Wigwam for 8 years. Going up Dec 8-11 (weather permitting). Very minor problems for a group of 10