Hello from LOW

WOW!!! What a great day of fishing. Chad (Double C’s on IDO)and I were set up and fishing at 7 this moring and I didn’t get my bobber rod or heater started till after 9 am. The fish were stacked up. The best bite times for us were 7am to 9am with the bite tapering off from 11 to 2. It picked backed up again around 3 and it was only one rod fishing again till we left at 3:30.

Our first 2 spots had people on them so we ventured to GPS mark 29. Nothing special about the spot but we did fish a LOT shallower then most. We were in 16′ FOW off Pine Island, quite a ways west. Just a little sand dimple.

We decided before we went out that we were only keeping fish over 16″ and ended up with 8 walleyes between 16″ and 18 1/2″. We had numerous fish “to big” with the largest being 27 1/2″ (it was a tank). We estimate that overall we landed around 80 fish today (lots of 8″ to 14″ and lots of misses) with the majority being walleyes. We didn’t expect alot of sauger so shallow but did catch a few. Tomorrow we’re searching for larger saugers.

The bait of choice was the good ol’ buckshot rattle spoon. I really don’t think it matters what color but I had glow pink and gold and Chad had Green and glow. Tipped with a shiner head of course. If you marked a fish you either caught it or missed it, there weren’t many “lookers”.

The weather is brutal but it didn’t seem to affect the fish. I’ll report back tomorrow and will post pics to go with the post on Monday.

Nice report CC!

I’m looking forward to the photo’s!

I was there last week with similar results. No big ones but had a sturgeon on for 1 1/2 hours and could only get it up seven feet. Lots of fish. Was wondering how you found good ice to set up in that shallow. It was so ruff and jagged in close over the island.

Snowmobiles and portables, slow going, the front of the portables are pretty beat up, even the skid plates on the snowmobiles got a work out. We didn’t know it was that rough when we got outside the gap. We started heading west and got into the jagged stuff and decided to get to the north edge, go west and then come back south. It was pick and choose the least jagged route. When we went in for the day, we just went east till we hit Adrians road (which we crossed in the morning), crossed the island, cruised across 4 mile on the bomber trail, jumped on the river and came off at the public landing. There is a bunch of slush towards the lake from the landing (in the river, MN side). Just pin it and hold on, high pucker factor but very doable. (On a snowmobile). Wouldn’t advise trying to drive a truck or wheeler thru it though, you’d be digging or waiting for a bomber to get you out. The slush was not there in the morning, something either opened up during the day or the current picked up or ???

Adam

Well,today was a bust for us. After getting up at 5:30 to discover a drift INSIDE the cabin door we decided to go back to bed for a while. The wind was just ripping and the temps were 0 or under. After we got up for the second time, having breakfast and a little mid morning siesta we decided to brave the weather and head out.

We should have stayed at the cabin and watched football. We ended up moving a little deeper but just couldn’t get anything going. The temps and wind didn’t allow a lot of searching so we set up and hoped for the best.

After getting set up around noon we had nothing but sniffers on the jigging rod, all the fish we caught were on the dead stick. Plain red Gammy with a shiner set almost on the bottom. The fish were just off where we were fishing….

We talked to some fisherman at supper tonight that did alright in 30′ of water but a group of 3 having around 30 fish or less seemed to be the average.

The maiden “voyage” for my new fish house was about perfect. I was all set to get the Frabill predator but my buddy Jim talked me into the Otter Cabin. I’m glad he did, the set up and take down takes less then a minute (even with it blowing 30+) and the overall quality is unsurpassed. The other thing I really like is how it pulls behind the snowmobile. My old house (Eskimo) danced around but the Otter sled tracks very true. And the “Ice Camo” just flat out looks cool. Thanks again Jimmy (Walleye Warrior on IDO).

This trip we stayed at Sportsmens Lodge, it is our first time staying here and we’ll be staying here again. We’ve stayed at pretty much all of them (Border View, Adrians, Arnesons, River Bend, etc.) but always ended up having dinner or enjoying the night life at Sportsmens or Wigwam. In my humble opinion, if you want to have some fun after a hard day of fishing (and not have to drive), Sportsmens or Wigwam are the places to stay. There is a live band at one or the other 6 days a week for the entire ice season.

Back to reality tomorrow, wish we had one more day but the bills have to be paid. We hope to be at Mille Lacs a couple days next week. Word on the street is the mud has very few bait fish and the walleyes are snapping….

Adam

You would think that after getting a buddy into the best house on the market,OTTER, he would at least call with a report right away???? I think I got the call at like 9:00 Saturday night?? Oh and I forgot – !!
Glad you guys had fun, wish I could have been there! I did get my new Otter Ice Lodge together this weekend. That Ice Camo does look sharp!! I will be on some body of frozen water this weekend for sure! It may even be Mille Lacs! First things first though, I have to get the “Home Base” out of storag and ready for New Years weekend! Just have to pack a few things in it and wait!! I am undecided on where it will land, Red or LOW??? May have to flip a coin on this one! I can’t wait to get the house on the lake and get the following view of it again!!

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Back to reality tomorrow, wish we had one more day but the bills have to be paid. We hope to be at Mille Lacs a couple days next week. Word on the street is the mud has very few bait fish and the walleyes are snapping….

Adam

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Thanks for the updates on LOTW, Adam. Let us know how Mille Lacs goes for you once you’ve had a chance to get out.

Happy Holidays.

No problem, wizard of the best walleye site on the net. The Mille report is up and the fishing was almost as good as LOW!!

Thanks for all the work you and the staff put into this site. I’m sure you visit the “others” and I’m sure you notice the crap that’s spewed forth from them. I don’t know if you “edit” the garbage on this site or if it’s just full of serious fisherpeople, but please, don’t change anything. The “what are they biting on and where should I go” are things you don’t very often see here, and it’s very refreshing.

I don’t get to post much in the summer because of all the “serious” (tournament/MTT) fishing we do, but I do enjoy sharing/writing about our bad and good days on the water.

Thanks again IDO, take care and keep a tight line, Adam

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No problem, wizard of the best walleye site on the net. The Mille report is up and the fishing was almost as good as LOW!!

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You post a mean ice report my friend. I can tell you’re having a heck of a good time out there.

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Thanks for all the work you and the staff put into this site. I’m sure you visit the “others” and I’m sure you notice the crap that’s spewed forth from them. I don’t know if you “edit” the garbage on this site or if it’s just full of serious fisherpeople, but please, don’t change anything. The “what are they biting on and where should I go” are things you don’t very often see here, and it’s very refreshing.

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As soon as I post this reply I’m going to share your words with the staff. I cannot overstate how much it means to the guys that keep this site rolling along to hear positives from the members.

As for editing posts… I don’t know that we “average” an edited post per week. The members here lead by example and newcomers just seem to follow suit. It took some work to get things they way they are now but, in all honesty… we just don’t have many issues with the visitors getting rowdy or posting nonsense.

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I don’t get to post much in the summer because of all the “serious” (tournament/MTT) fishing we do, but I do enjoy sharing/writing about our bad and good days on the water.

Thanks again IDO, take care and keep a tight line, Adam

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We’ll take all the ice info you’re willing to throw our way! I hope you have a great ice season… and keep your eyes peeled for the sled eating slush!