Back from an ice fishing trip to Mille Lacs. The weather was COLD, and we decided against fishing on Sunday as at sunrise it was a feel like -45. Great trip, always a fun area to visit. Some thoughts shared below.
1. Mille Lacs Jumbos: Not trying to let out a fishing secret (the horror!) but the Jumbo perch are a blast to fish in Mille Lacs and seem to have good numbers right now. Find the general depth ranges from sharing info, Livescope 100 ft in each direction, find a school of perch or baitfish (Pic 3, Pic 4) and setup as they were roaming and the temps/wind were COLD.
2. f150 App start in cold: Learned something this weekend. As the temps dropped I used the ford app to start my truck a few times a day. I tried to do the same on Sunday morning in the feel like -45 but the app said the attempt to start failed. I went out to my truck about an hour later to start it manually and the guages were on and the truck was acting and thought it was running without being started. This obviously killed the battery. Unhook the positive battery cable, get out the jumper cables, back on track. I’ll be very cognizant in the extreme cold with app start and will be getting a new battery (2021 truck).
3. ATV Tire Goo: When I bought my 2022 Polaris Sportsman 570 atv they talked me into that “green goo” stuff for tires to help them with any punctures. Not sure how that plays but the wheeler tires got very low in the extreme cold and seemed to have a flat spot each morning that leveled out after a short ride. Calling the dealer tomorrow to figure this out.
4. LVS and Heater Crate: (Pic 1 and 2) Boought a folding crate that the LVS sits atop and houses the heater below. Thanks for the folks that shared this thought when I posted about creating more space in a flip shack a few weeks ago. Worked great!
5. Lite Flite Blades and Milwaukee Batteries: Time for new blades and likely new batteries. 8 inch strikemaster lite-flite, 5ah milwaukee batteries. The batteries are 5-6 yrs old, only used for ice fishing. I drilled 5 holes through about 20 inches of ice and the battery was down to 1 bar. Weather was cold, my blades need replacing, which plays a part, too.
6. 2 Up ATV: As my fishing partner son gets older the normal ATV with a monster box makes for a tight seating area, as well as some state laws on riding 2 on a non 2 up machine. I have the ATV for ice fishing and plowing a 3 car garage driveway, so it doesn’t get a ton of use. Thought about a side by side but once you get those on the ice you’re not far off from driving a truck. Already made some inquiries on trading for a two up.
7. HD Innovations gear: After a couple trips I am having a few issues with the shuttle and Pole. Had one of the rollers that hold the pole in place lose a lock nut while on the ice. The pole has issues with the thumb screws in two places and froze up in the extreme cold. I understand with water and temps that can happen, but Don’t see much improvement over the old summit pole at this point, and I’m hoping the quality control issues aren’t a reoccurring theme.
Attachments:
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school1.jpg
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