I am looking for opinions/ideas of different ice fishing trips. I mostly enjoy chasing Walleye but I am open to other ideas. I have fished Devils lake, Lake of The Woods south side (a lot), Red Lake, and Sturgeon Bay. I am going to fish Winnipeg late February and looking forward to that. I have also been considering a trip to Bay De Noc or the Northwest Angle.
Lake Gogebic in the UP. Made a trip there last Winter and now I’m pretty sure that we’ll never go back to Devil’s Lake ND.
The Waubay area of SD is amazing and it won’t disappoint. X2 on Gogebic, hoping to head back up there this winter. If you feel like driving a little more, Saskatchewan has plenty of healthy lakes.
I live almost in casting distance of Little Bay de Noc and I will say its an amazing place to live. World class walleye fishing right out the back door. I would recommend coming here for sure. One thing I can tell you is that your either going to catch tons of fish or not much at all. But one reason you come to the Bay is to catch a fish over 10lbs. The best time to do this is right before first ice or on first ice. Also you have another really good shot right before season closes. This is in early march. However depending on ice conditions may affect where you can and can’t go.
You cant go wrong with lake Gogebic! It has really good number of monster perch. However not a lot of big walleye. You will catch large numbers of walleyes but not as many big ones. The walleye adverage size will be around 10-16 inches. But the perch are about the same size! Also when fishing tip ups you have a good shot at getting some larger walleyes on sucker minnows along with some big pike. I had a buddy who went there who also caught 3 crappies all over 15inches.
All good suggestions, I will add Lake Erie for size and numbers of Walleye, ice conditions can vary a lot so you need to makes sure before you go.
Gogebic, NE South Dakota, Little Bay De Noc, I would love to go to a few of the places James and the crew have, Cascade Lake in Idaho for Huge Perch, Glen Elder Kansas for Giant Crappie.
I wonder if this place ever get ice, wow.
Anyone care to go into more detail about gogebic? Such as lodges to stay at , area of the lake to fish , best time of year , etc . Thanks
Well for one you will need a sled for travel. I believe there is a lodge that is open all year, we always stay army friends place.
You will need wigglers (mayfly larve) for bait, that is their primary food source for Perch. Also Tip Downs with minnows can get a few extra Perch and an occasional Walleye.
Basically try to find break lines, weed edges.
Thanks icenutz , I have sleds , tip downs , pretty much all the gear needed. Not familiar with wigglers , not waxies I’m assuming. I’ll have to research them . Did talk to a guy from aj’s walleye resort on the north end of the lake . Rooms were pretty reasonable , said best time for perch would be early March , depending on ice conditions. What time of year do you usually go ? Thanks
Does anyone know of any guides for Bay De Noc?
Just skip forward to the end if you want to see why you go to Gogebic
Lake Gogebic is HUGE…besides the rocky shoreline/drop offs it’s one big mud flat. Their is a Clam Pro that guides up there Jon Sibley…google him for his guide service, I would suggest a guide for the first day or so just to get a feel for it. There are several lodges I know of on the north end that you can stay at in Bergland, MI. You will not catch 100 perch a day….this lake is not a numbers lake. You may only catch 10 perch all day but the odds of one being 2+lbs is pretty good….locals call them Teeter Pigs (they don’t fall over/teeter when you lay them on their belly’s on the ice) :). Their is a decent walleye population but as said above they aren’t huge. Best time to go is mid Feb/March…you will need a snowmobile as the snow can get very deep and render a quad useless…unless you have tracks on it.
Wigglers are the nymph stage of a mayfly, you have to keep the in water to stay alive. The are in the muddy bottom of lakes and rivers. The eastern part of Wisconsin has a lot of bait shops and gas stations that carry them. They are not cheap anymore since a Judge ruled that the taking of them from the river bottoms disturbs the river and does ecological damage.
The best time to fish Gogebic is first ice for walleye and then late march and even early April if there is ice for the perch. Wigglers work great
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