So last week, a buddy and I were so desperate for some ice fishing we pondered our options. Which were few. If we were rock stars like the IDO team we could drive north or west for 17 hours but that sounded rather painful. So, despite the reports of some dicey ice on Upper Red, we figured…hey, let’s give it a shot. So we left super early Friday, fished Friday afternoon/evening, and Saturday till noon. All in all a fun trip.
Went out of Bear Paw (near West Wind) in Waskish. We slept in a sleeper shack on shore and dragged a portable out. That nearly killed us in terms of the weight of the sled, but we managed to find some fish. Nothing super on fire, but we each brought home 3 nice eater eyes. We caught ours in about 8 feet both days. Silver slender spoon with red marking, yellow/orange forage minnow, and a Lindy Darter. We tried rainbows, shiners and fatheads. All worked – fatheads actually seemed best. Nothing giant for us, though apparently some guy near us caught a 30″ walleye.
There’s a LOT of guys out there. We found plenty of safe ice for walking. And if you have an ATV or snowmobile, you’d be fine. 6-8″ of ice for us.
Worst part for us was the long marathon drive there/back. But it was a fun, spur of the moment trip.
Just had to cancel/reschedule a trip to Devil’s Lake, so this will hold me over temporarily.
Good luck if you head up.
