I can only make 1 trip, and flexibility isn’t possible so I need to make a decision. Do I hard water fish some late March ice or roll the dice and hope the river is open to fish before season closes? I know everything depends on the weather, but what would my best option be? The latest IDO Rainy video has me drooling, but it’s a gamble.
With the “tougher” year on the ice this year on LOW I would wait till the river.
Granted the ice bite could and most likely will turn on as we push into March but from what I have experienced and heard this season is not the typical LOW ice bite.
I feel the tough ice bite in the basin this year was due to the horrible shiner run in the fall and the fish obviously did not set up in numbers in the normal areas by Pine early season. But they should come in to spawn!
The river is a big risk if you can’t wait to plan your trip when the conditions are right. There are many factors I have run into that shuts the bite down. The biggest is when the fork rivers let go and turn the water into cream coffee. Then you are better off turning around and go back home. Last year the river opened so early both the big and little forks opened and the rainy had enough time for the river to clean back up and fishing was great through the end of the season. That doesn’t happen too often. Let’s hope for a really warm spring.
i already have cabins booke for april!! at sportsmans I dont think its to much of a roll of the dice.. fish will be there to be had!
well at least i hope they are! 
I think your best bet is for ice fishing. The river can be a small window if there is one at all. In ’09, there wasn’t a window.
In ’07 and ’08, the window was the last 5 days or so, and it was best on the last 2 days.
Some years you can theoretically do both.
I think we have decided to skip the river and get on some late ice. March 25-28. Any suggestions this time of year as to where to stay? Will resorts still have houses out? Will lake travel be a problem this year?
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