Grandson’s 21″ walleye

Took my 4 year old grandson “Ice Camping” as he calls it. This was the first time he stayed in the Ice Castle. He hooked and reeled in this 21″ eye all by himself. He also caught SEVERAL perch and had a blast. Well, except for the two times he fell into an open hole.
We went up to Winnie and went out of Denny’s on the south end. Had to travel quite a ways east along the shoreline to cross over the pressure ridge that ran east/west. We then traveled north past Moxie and got set up on a break. Had the camera down so Eli could watch the fish. Saw walleyes, northern, perch and whitefish. There is a good 20″ of ice with little snow on the ice. There was some drifting so when we got to where we wanted to fish, I used the Boss Plow to make our usual “parking lot”. Those who have fished with me know what I am talking about. We had three house out and on Saturday morning after a night of wind, we had a snow bank running between the houses.
Fish were not all that aggressive but rattle jigs in glow green and glow pink worked well enough to bring home about 40 perch and a couple of eyes for a fish fry.

That smile says it all.. Awesome job Grandpa.

awesome to hear of a report from Winni, great job getting that young guy out, and showing him a good time.

Good times!

Very cool I love the Cedar interior

With the weather and ice conditions this year, it was the first trip with the ice castle. There is plenty of ice and little snow on the lake so travel is pretty easy if you can dodge the snow drifts that are out there. Perch fishing reports range from shallow to deep for the perch but with three of us out, set up in different depths, it seemed that shallower was the key. I was set up in 30′ of water but we did catch/keep about 40 perch and 1 walleye in my house. Could have caught a lot more but it wasn’t about me catching fish, it was Eli’s weekend so he caught almost all the fish and I just had a blast watching him. My brother-in-law caught this 23″ eye and he was set up next to me. A friend was set up in about 24′ of water and caught a 16 3/4″ eye. When we arrived on the lake it was a white out with strong west/northwest wind so we just got set up in an area we have fished in the past. I had some issues with trying to lower my fish house and with Eli along I decided to stay where I was.
If you are planning a trip to Winnie, I suggest you fish on top of a break-line in about 20′ of water. Rattle jig in glow green or glow pink work well. Don’t be afraid to bank the bottom to get their attention. I will be going up to Winnie every weekend until March 12 and then it is time to get the Ranger out of storage and head to Table Rock for a bass tourney/vacation. I will post results after each weekend. If you are planning a trip up to Winnie on a weekend, give me a shout.

Truly looks as though you boys are roughing it Arnie!! Nice 21 Bud!! HOOKED OF LIFE!!

You are a. Great Grandpa.

Simply AWSOME. Great to see the tradition continue. Check these babys out, I WILL have some when I get a “Ice Camper”
http://iceholegrate.com/

Ice Hole Grate. Now that’s what I’m talking about. I will be ordering a few of these. I will also let my brother-in-law know about these. (he’s the one in the above picture with his 23″ eye) The same day Eli stepped into the ice hole, Mike’s wife stepped into one in their house. I’m starting to see a pattern here.
We are heading up again this weekend and the weather report says it will be warm so we will be doing lots of cooking outside.

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awesome to hear of a report from Winni, great job getting that young guy out, and showing him a good time.

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I hear ya on this one!

Great stuff Arnie!!

sweet pics. good to see him out and getting fish. typical us/you. either get the perch or the eyes. and i for one will give a big for the fish fry he has as that pan is the size of a small kids trampoline. just awesome. will be heading up in 3 weeks to try my luck with arnie and can not wait, it is always a blast no matter the weather conditions.

what happend on the crank so you were unable to move the house? how was the evening bite? non -existant?

also pm me any meals you want to have besides the normal soup, brats, and sausage and egg breakfasts. do wew want a steak or 2 this year? got a small bbq yet for that awesome house?

broncs

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With the weather and ice conditions this year, it was the first trip with the ice castle. There is plenty of ice and little snow on the lake so travel is pretty easy if you can dodge the snow drifts that are out there. Perch fishing reports range from shallow to deep for the perch but with three of us out, set up in different depths, it seemed that shallower was the key. I was set up in 30′ of water but we did catch/keep about 40 perch and 1 walleye in my house. Could have caught a lot more but it wasn’t about me catching fish, it was Eli’s weekend so he caught almost all the fish and I just had a blast watching him. My brother-in-law caught this 23″ eye and he was set up next to me. A friend was set up in about 24′ of water and caught a 16 3/4″ eye. When we arrived on the lake it was a white out with strong west/northwest wind so we just got set up in an area we have fished in the past. I had some issues with trying to lower my fish house and with Eli along I decided to stay where I was.
If you are planning a trip to Winnie, I suggest you fish on top of a break-line in about 20′ of water. Rattle jig in glow green or glow pink work well. Don’t be afraid to bank the bottom to get their attention. I will be going up to Winnie every weekend until March 12 and then it is time to get the Ranger out of storage and head to Table Rock for a bass tourney/vacation. I will post results after each weekend. If you are planning a trip up to Winnie on a weekend, give me a shout.

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bank the bottom? gioving out secrets is not good. will have to admit the last few times out with Arnie without the camera there would not be enough fish for the fry as they wanted to take the bait off the bottom.

or were they actaully hammering it out of the mud?