Best experience this winter?

[mike morris]

Where did you all have your best fishing experience this winter? Man, out of all of the lakes I actually fished on, Upper Red just beat them all out. The Walleye bite was just insane. It's a shame the Crappie population is dwindling away.

[JDM]

I'll second URL. My Dad and I made our first trip there and we can't wait for next year. Incredible crappie and walleye action.

[mike morris]

If it weren't for the size of the crappies, I'm not so sure I'd make the four hour drive there. Those Walleye fillets are to die for though... When does the two walleye limit, as well as the slot last until?

[Thunder]

3 weeks ago my brother in law's friends took us out on a little puddle in the Leech Lake area they found. We had to go through some seriously rough terrain to get to the lake, but we made it. The weather that day was perfect for standing out on the ice, and they had just got a couple of inches of snow a couple of days before. So about the only tracks on this spot were ours. So calm and peaceful. We had 6 guys bouncing from hole to hole and we were nailing the bluegills, with a few bull gills here and there. Cold beer, good friends, good weather, and good fishing. I'll never forget it!

[SSSTaxidermy]

My best experience(s) this year was any lake me and my 4 yr old daughter fished on. As long as she had a nice big smile on her face, that was pure satisfaction on my end. Catching fish was secondary for me. I must have did something right because during the course of the winter she would wake up and say "can we go ice fishin' Daddy"? or "Can we go fishin' after daycare"? Most of the time, I couldn't get the gear loaded and gathered fast enough. Sure we ran into some good fishing, slow fishing, etc...But no matter what, she wanted more. Sure eating chips, cookies, junk food and pop sometimes for supper was a treat we never told mom. That was maybe why she wanted to fish so much...LOL If you don't have any kids of your own, I highly recommend taking a nephew, niece or neighbor kid that maybe isn't exposed to ice fishing.

[Grant]

the re-discovery of how much fun hardwater fishing is after a decade of not indulging... the frosting on the cake being able to deal and barter for all of my gear, no cash out of pocket other than the shelter license and bait!

[harvey lee]

I would say that my best time in years ice fishing was the lakers at the Burntside bash. These lakers pull like frieght trains. Its a trip I will do every year after going one time this winter. Now on to the Sturgeon gig.

[Eric Wettschreck]

BE-BOO-BE-BOO-BE-BOO!!!!! (It's an inside joke)

Slabfest was a riot!!!!

[Scott M]

hunting247,

great story. I hope I have kids like that some day.

Great question. I would have to mention a few since I can't pick a favorite.

*First trip to URL. I can finally say I got one of those pig crappies and I got to catch and keep some of those famous walleyes. It wasn't the best weather, and it wasn't the bite from the previous week, but we found the fish and did it with some good friends. I hope it becomes an annual trip

*Got invited to the most luxurious sleeper I had ever been on in Mille Lacs. Big Screen LCD TV hooked up to a underwater camera, stove, bathroom, loft, wood paneling everything, TV with DVD player, card table. We only caught dinky perch, but we never had to go outside which was crucial because it was like -15 that night. I'd do this again but run and gun (which we didn't do because of the weather) or make sure the house was put on a better spot.

*Cass trip for jumbos. Only got a couple hours in but really found some nice fish and did it with friends.

*Hit the jackpot on a small lake around Brainerd. Caught crappies to 14", bluegill to 10". And the bit was nonstop. The flasher would be light up from sundown until like 10. I brought a few friends out to enjoy probably 3-4 times this year and we found fish every time we went. Even when the locals couldn't find them. Patience is key, as is moving around to locate them.

*Caught my first lakers. It wasn't a BWCAW lake so they weren't huge, but I can say I did it! Lots of people on the lake and we went right to the hotspot. Very satisfying experience.

*I got an underwater camera from some used ads for a GREAT price. I've really enjoyed using it and I get better and better with it every time I go out. It is a great tool. I also started using a video camcorder from time to time that I got for my honeymoon. This has been a ton of fun too, although I still need to buy some hardware for the computer so I can upload and share with my family and the FM family.

*The people. I wanted to fish with a laundry list of friends and family, and truthfully I only got to half the list. It sounds from the list of experiences above like I had a great winter, which I did, but if I did it over I would try to get those other people on my list out. Those that I did take out had a great time and a few of these people that I more or less 'guided' ended up catching personal best fish. I for sure want to get my grandpa out. We had the most rotten luck when we planned a trip. Snow storms, super cold weather, he got sick, car had problems, etc. Next year we will go and this May we will get out in his boat. I want to take up every opportunity to fish with him that is offered. He and I have fished many times and you never know when it will be your last.

*Looking to the future, next year I want to get in all those trips above , although that's probably unrealistic, and I would like to fish cats on the shoe. My grandparents used to have a place on long (part of the chain) and I grew up fishing there. It would be nostalgic to return and it would be fun to tangle with some cats. I just never got the time to do it. I would also like to spear again. This was the first time in 7 years that I didn't spear. I didn't even buy the license. It is a ton of fun but it's not exactly run and gun until you find fish. You have to sit still and wait. Last year the sitting and waiting kind of put me to sleep. Maybe I just need to find a spot with lots of action or change my destinations.

Overall it was a great winter. I swear, they just keep getting better as far as experiences (and worse in terms of ice conditions). I enjoy the equal accessability of ice fishing (for the most part equal) and the some of the other ways the playing field is leveled (vertical presentations only, ice thickness limitations to access, etc.). Can't wait for next year.

[CrappieAttitude]

1.Guys weekend up on Big Trout Lake...

(10 guys, one Laker 25.5") Not many fish, but good to keep the college tradition alive.

2. Having enough snow this year to plow with my wheeler!!

CA

[McGurk]

Nice stories Chise, I gotta say that mine is fishing late ice on a 40 deg sunny day with family. My Dad, Father in law, And a couple of uncles in law are on a tiny backwater nailing the crappies and gills. At least I was; I had honed down to the right jig size, type, presentation, gear, and technique all winter and was now able to shine. And I attribute it to the knowledge I've learned here from all of the posters and moderators. I've helped the others as best I could, and they all got better too. It's fun teaching the old dogs new tricks, and see the results first hand.

[stick]

Ice fishing last weekend in 65 degrees with no shirt, shorts, and plenty of jumbo perch near Grand Rapids.

[harvey lee]

Eric, is that the alarm clock on Red?

[Eric Wettschreck]

Normally, I'm a fairly early riser but for some weird reason I just didn't want to get up. The URL alarm clock will wake any sleeping giant.

[Fish&Fowl]

Ummmm....what was that lake with the big walleyes and plenty of them, along with a ton of nice eaters? Rainy, does that sound right?

[The Grebe]

I guess there were a number of "Best Experiences", the first being when winter finally set in and we got some ice that was safe enough to go fish through...that made me pretty happy.

The there was being able to re-connect up with my younger brother to do some ice fishing....first time in about 5 years...we had some falling out.

Then there was the night my youngest son and I got into some slab crappies and we had ball, great fishing trip.

Lastly, but certainly not last, was the one and only time my wife came fishing with me this winter....for the 1st. 45 minutes once I got the holes drilled and the house set up, I was NiceGuys and elbows trying to keep up with taking her fish off, baiting her hook, retying hooks, repositioning slip knots and untangling lines! Without the heater on and no jacket, I was dripping sweat so much it was running in my eyes!

It was great to see her having so much fun and we got some good pictures and some tasty fillets...it was a good season overall.

[eyehead]

My favorite experience this seaon had to be watching my 3 year old daughter catch her first fish. From there it would have to be one of the mille lacs trips or last weekends panfish. Got a nice tan along with some slab crappies and sunfish. You cant beat that.

[52#FLATHEAD]

I would have to say that icefishing for my 1st time on a mini vaction to Minnesota, catching some big perch & my 1st tip-up pike, seeing fish behavior on camera, learning how to use my Vexilar, & keeping warm

[snowgoose]

I had a great time putting miles on snowmobiles this winter. We went to Michigan twice and Northern Minnesota once. We put on 1200 miles of fun. It is the one outdoor sport my wife really enjoys. I would rather be fishing but I need to make her happy too.

The best experiance on the ice this winter had to be going to the Northwest Angle with my dad and a couple of buddys. We had never been on that part of Lake of the Woods. We had a great time catching walleyes, saugers, perch, bourbout, and whitefish for two days.

I would have to second that with the local crappie bite last week before the ice got bad. We were on them good. 10 to 13.5 inch crappies non stop in 15 feet of water. That was fun.

[Crappie_ Kid]

Getting my VEXILAR!!!!

[Thunder]

Crappie Kid, I too got my first Vex this year. WOW what a difference! Fishing is so much more enjoyable now. I have no idea how I fished without one.

Hearing all the stories about dad's taking their kids make me super excited because my wife and I are expecting our first this August! I am trying to convince my wife that I need to get a boat this year so I have a couple of years of scoping out local lakes so that I can take my son/daughter to some good hot spots when they're old enough...she's not convinced I need to get a boat yet, but I'm still working on her!!

[BKB]

I would have to say the highlight of the winter was taking my nephew and one of his college buddies to LOW for their first time. Had great fishing and they could not beleive how great the people are. They also were in awe of URL, didn't stop to fish there but we will next year.

[nytelyter]

mine would not sleeping in my home bed, but insted my fishhouse bed for a total of six weeks this year. you all know how i treasure my time on the ice. ... paul

[Gordie]

going to Mille lacs on a down bite time and just smaking the wallys, it took a little bit of time but once you figired out the bite it was a blast. this tie s with the 40 inch norhtern that went to the taxedermist after I speared it on a sunday in the middle of the day with the lake loaded with fisherman some as close a 20 feet away

[Bassboy1645]

Pounding walleyes on madison over x mas break. The ice was crappy and we were 10-15 yards from open water but it was ohh so worth it. Caught my biggest eye yet, and 3 others like it in one night. Big slabs and some sheeps mixed in. Couldnt keep my lure down long enough!. Oh yeah using my vexiiallr too and fishing some new lakes in the bwca. First laker too about seven pounds!!!