OK Picture story time....

[sd_west]

Thought I'd share some ice fishing pictures from my trip in December....

I went to visit my brother and his in-laws in Brainerd, Minnesota on North Long Lake. It was my first ice fishing trip, and I can't wait to go again.
Interesting info about ice fishing and how some of it works (well as much as I could glean away from the veterans)...

The main fishing and best fishing time is right before sunrise to sun-up and vice versa...dusk to nightfall.
You get out before the sun comes up and as soon as the water starts to change from black then slowly to turquiose (and vice versa for nightfall) ... that is when the fish bite like crazy. During that ~45 min time the fish move up from deep water to shallower water (and again.. vice versa for the night).
The vets park their icehouses on a dropoff in areas they call "Walleye Highways".
The rest of the day and night fish bite, but its like any sit and wait for the fish to come by fishing.

Here's the pics and such.............




HOME FOR THE WEEK
This is one of the cabins on the property. 2 story and cozy even at 6 below.



PARKING THE MULES AT THE FISHIN HOLE
Man riding snowmobiles across the lake is a blast.



THE ICE FISHING HOUSE
You learn a lot about space management in one of these lol. But I gotta say it's nice, warm, and cozy in dere.



WAKING THE BAIT UP
The most fun (sarcasm there lol) is when you first get to the icehouse. First you gotta get the key in the frozen lock. Then its.. get a fire going in the stove(not easy with damp paper and wood). After that.. it's break open the ice holes and scoop out last nights ice that formed on over the holes ( Law is each fisherman can fish 2 holes). And last but not least is to chop the ice off the fathead minnows.
But once thats all done its fishing time !!



SNAKE IN THE HOLE
Northern Pike coming outta the hole. Man they barely fit when they are 28" or larger. Amazing site to see one of those coming up outta there.



29" NORTHERN PIKE
My brother taking the hook outta a nice snake (well thats what the northeners call dem pike).



WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN ICECHEST
Walleye on the ice outside the icehouse. After you catch em, you just toss 'em out on the ice. Well not ALL of them. You only toss a couple out so you don't have 50 icehouses next to yours the next day from putting a mess of fish out on the ice and declaring "I GOT A GOOD SPOT HERE !"



THE RIDE OUT
Last day of fishing and heading out. As you can see it got to snowing good that morning ( My flight left in late afternoon)


Well Hope that entertained you fellas some and not put you to sleep.
If you have never been ice fishing, then you are missing out on a unique experience. It did get cold while I was up there. Temp dropped to around 10 below couple mornings. But even then, it's a bareable cold. Especially once your catching fish. Of course the icehouse and the cabins are very warm. Afternoon temps ranged from 15-25 degrees. Which during these times we either caught up on sleep, rode snowmobiles on the lake, or did a little afternoon fishing.

[Speck]

Awesome Pics sd. I always wanted to try ice fishing. Thanks for sharing the pics. Speck

[izzysfishin]

Nice post sd, enjoyed it very much. Great pics, i got a chill just lookin at em...izzy

[wrwest]

Brrrr that look cold. But it was a good post and great pics. Thanks for sharing...

[Mo'nBack]

We have to do that in La, but our ice is either hyacinths or moss that we have to clear out to catch fish (and it's 99 degrees) !! Great pics!! I'd like to try it some time!!

[crappie66]

Ice fishing is my preferred method of fishing. Wait all year for winter to come around.

Real fisherman don't yield to the weather.

[Slablicious]

Ice fishing is a blast. You didn't mention the warmth a good fifth of whiskey can bring while fishing. Hmmm, sounds like you need to go again and really experience fishing the ice!

[deputyking]

Great job of posting and explaination of pictures. Keep up the good work.

[sd_west]

I always thought guys that ice fished had to be crazy, cause not much bites except in deep water in the part of the country im from. But those crazy northeners changed my mind for sure lol.
I will definately be going again this year. And now that I know the routine and how-to's it will be even more fun.