Die Hards how do you stay out so late with your boats fishing?

I don’t think a neck warmer has been mentioned yet. You gotta keep your core warm, and a fleece neck gaiter can really help.

You guys talk about putting your boats away mid October. I’m kind of backwards I guess.I don’t use mine all summer. I put it away in June and get it out around the 1st part of October. Ill fish the river until its too froze to get the boat in. Usually that takes until close to Christmas here in NE Iowa. I hate being in the boat in the summer heat!

B-Man, you win! That must have been a crazy awesome experience! I’m curious though, did you run your engines the whole time? I’d be worried about water freezing in internal components.

luttes wrote:

B-Man, you win! That must have been a crazy awesome experience! I’m curious though, did you run your engines the whole time? I’d be worried about water freezing in internal components.

Superior isn’t that cold – in the winter. Yes you’ll get freezing on your boat from the air temp – but i imagine that is it.

P3 will hold at 31.5F and I can go a month without seeing my tell tale run. You can certainly freeze your bilge pump to the floor of your boat. P4 is like a hot bath at 33F so most problems go away.

I like what Jon J said above about stuff (boots) fitting too tight. Insulation of all types relies on air pockets to trap the heat and keep you warm.
I have been in the outdoor clothing and footwear market for 26 years. 3M Thinsulate as well as others requires air in the layers to keep you warm. As an aside, a 3M representative once showed me in a demonstration that when you pack anything more than 800 grams in a boot, you have to pack it way too tight and it doesn’t work as well. It’s a great marketing ploy for companies to have 2000 gram “super boots”, but the bottom line is that you aren’t getting anymore insulation value. Wool socks and a loose fitting 800 gram boot will keep you warm all day.

John is right, neck warmer. What happens to me is I have one day to fish, those fish want a precise presentation and that wind is screaming out of the North; then i realize I would be better off waiting and ice fishing-easy to be precise, can have a shelter and TWO lines.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>luttes wrote:</div>
B-Man, you win! That must have been a crazy awesome experience! I’m curious though, did you run your engines the whole time? I’d be worried about water freezing in internal components.

Superior isn’t that cold – in the winter. Yes you’ll get freezing on your boat from the air temp – but i imagine that is it.

P3 will hold at 31.5F and I can go a month without seeing my tell tale run. You can certainly freeze your bilge pump to the floor of your boat. P4 is like a hot bath at 33F so most problems go away.

If 33 degree water on Superior isn’t cold I don’t know what is Lol

It was relatively warm compared to the air temp though

I also think the thermometer in your transducer might be off a bit if it’s consistently reading 31.5° fresh “water”

Crazy side story from Superior:

In late August of last year had a wicked blow from the west while we at Isle Royale. Sustained 25-35 knot winds for 3 days straight during what is generally a relatively calm and warm time of year. The surface temps are usually around 60-65…

Once the waves died down to 2-4′ we made the crossing back to mainland. When we got within 5 miles of the north shore, the windshield instantly fogged up, the air temperature plummeted and we were freezing in our tee shirts. I looked down at my graph and we were in 37° surface water…..In late August!

The hard west blow pushed off all the warm surface water and billions of gallons of cold bottom water upwelled into its place. Something you have to see and feel to truly believe. It was crazy.

We got home later that day and it was 92 degrees out

I’ve seen P2 below 32 for water temps. The flow allows those temps without total lockup.

Regardless of body of water those water temps are cold and the air temps are usually colder. Get the right gear and have some backups if you get wet and it’s manageable.

Unless the fish aren’t biting…..

B-man wrote:

31.5° fresh “water”

Water moving can be below freezing temp.

I spend more time fishing through skim ice in the winter than most people on this forum fish in a year.

I hate to say it, but I actually strategically break and leave ice pack so I can fish the first 100′ of open water below in single digit temps. Them days the river is skim ice almost completely and would be solid un navigable river if I, solely, didn’t keep it open.
I can get pretty protective of the ice pack on certain disclosed sections of … in the coldest periods of year.
Break up that pack at the wrong time and it can be a few weeks of challenging fishing with skim ice flow.
So yes, 33 is bathwater to some of us. No problems at them temps. Fish away, chip ice of boat from air temps.

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Snow is unfishable in those water temps below 32°.
Even a light snow.
Becomes an un melted surface slush that you can’t pitch through and darn near need a downrigger.

Hear if slush under the ice in the rainy river? Can make ice fishing interesting.

I’ve been stuck on top 60″ of slush after a 2-3″ snow. Right flow piled it up. You’d think if water couldn’t be below 32 then that small amount of snow falling over a course of a few hours would’ve melted.

Heck, it took 6-8″ of snow in 2 hours on bathwater pool 4 before it was unfishable and time to leave, though I was more concerned about the drive home. So yes 33 is a heck of a lot different than a little less and its noticeable.

Superior is certainly a beast!!

My boat comes out of storage approx Thanksgiving and goes back in slightly after Easter, except for an occasional trip. In my situation, wind is the most critical denominator. Wind determines when I fish more than temps.

Is this too cold? The bite seems to be awesome right at ice up every year!!

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Red Reno wrote:

Is this too cold? The bite seems to be awesome right at ice up every year!!

What my kicker looks like all winter

I’d be cautious using live well in those temps BTW.

A lot of good advice so far. I fish the river a good amount in the winter and have found what works for me. I agree with the oversized boots and I also like the Muck style boots so if I step in the water a bit to get the boat on or off the trailer I don’t have we feet. I wear striker bibs but can stand the bulk of the jacket so I have gone to a softshell jacket with a heated vest under it and that seems to work best for me even in temps at or below freezing. I also don’t like fishing with bulky gloves so I generally have very thin gloves if anything and an have a handwarmer in my jacket pocket or even bear one of the fanny pack style Milwaukee heated handwarmers on the very cold days. Having a tiller boat I bring a thick pair of mittens to wear driving between spots but that is all they are used for.

I would agree with FBRM that Use of the live well is not recommended as it is not usually getting water into the livewell that is the issue but rather getting it out of the livewell so you are legal to go down the road again. Just simply bring a cooler and thro the fish you are keeping in the cooler or even in the bottom of the livewell with no water as in cold temps they will be just fine without water. I would also agree that I have seen water temps below 32 on the river as the water is moving and can go lower than freezing. Trolling motor shafts also can freeze up and mine get a wipe down with WD40 about once a month in the winter.

I was on Pool 2 one evening in late December. According to my ‘Bird the water temp was 32.1 degrees, and it was snowing pretty hard. The snow wasn’t melting when it landed on the water, it was forming these big mats of slush. We finally figured out we could cast straight up into the air so our jigs would have more velocity on the way down and punch through the slush. It was a strange way to present a jig but we managed to catch a few Walleyes that night.

SR