Saturday I found 9″ in the NE corner. Also found 12″+ in wahkon bay. I drove my truck on wahkon without issue.
Another week until I’ll drive on the main lake on the east side. I’m betting some resorts will be dragging houses out this week/weekend.
I know Hunters struggled this weekend with thin ice and was not letting any machines on the ice. I’m guessing they are now since James was out there.
I took my father in law out on Sat from Chapman’s. Slow day. We fished from about 9:30 til 4:30 and managed one small perch. We stayed in the bay where ice averaged about 12″ and I must have drilled close to 40 holes and dropping my Recon to try and find structure. Appears most that bay is sandy/silty bottom (this was my first time fishing up there).
All I ever saw were 3-5″ perch. While we we were driving in we saw a guy holding a nice walleye and stopped to talk. 25″ and one of two fish they caught all day as well (the other was a small walleye 6hrs earlier).
This from Chapman’s facebook page pretty much sums it up:
“Didn’t get a chance to talk with many people this weekend but it sounds like the bite was slower than last weekend. Some reported catching 1 or 2 walleyes but none reporting catching more than that. A few northerns caught and speared. Brian shared this 38″ Northern and 25″ walleye caught today. FAT fish, they are eating all those little perch that everyone is reporting seeing.”
We caught 1 19″ from 8am- 5pm on Sunday. Fished out of red door on foot. I guess people hammered them on Sat. 2 different groups claimed 20+ eyes before noon. Something changed and/ or my sh#* stinks.
We fished Garrison Bay on Monday and experienced the same. Only managed 2 fish in about 5 hours. Marked a lot of them down there but couldn’t get them to bite.
With the cold front coming this week won’t be long and we will be venturing out a little farther… 
Anyone make it out this past weekend? I’m heading up Friday and can’t wait!
I’m confused. We’re you looking for an ice report?
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>BigWerm wrote:</div>
Anyone make it out this past weekend? I’m heading up Friday and can’t wait!I’m confused. We’re you looking for an ice report?
Yes, but I’m not a reportist, I like all reports (ice, fishing, book whatever). 
I took my father in law out on Sat from Chapman’s. Slow day. We fished from about 9:30 til 4:30 and managed one small perch. (this was my first time fishing up there).
All I ever saw were 3-5″ perch.
Sorry your first outing was kind of a bust. 
But I think what’s telling is what you observed about the abundance of small perch. I have been hearing testimony of a somewhat surprising sudden abundance of available forage. Surprising because many (including the DNR) was claiming a shortage. Based on the hot bite and skinny walleyes caught during open water season, that appeared likely but now there is evidence and photos of thick, well fed walleyes. They are now seemingly well fed, hence the slow bite. (Just my hypothesis)… 
As posted here and from other sources, it’s slow. Sure, there is a few fish that can be had daytime. We’ll look forward to that on this weeks IDO episode. Christmas Eve? 
And for whatever reason, during winter…Mille Lacs walleyes seem to show up at sundown and well after dark.
My best spots last year was loaded with 3” perch. If you weren’t being messed with by perch during the day, you weren’t gonna catch white tips at dark. You had to use suckers the size of your middle finger or better to keep them off during the daytime. Just my observation.
Makes total sense, Drifter. I was just hoping to find some structure to go with the bite-size perch. Seems to me that would be the perfect combo.
I came home and pulled up my GPS tracks and waypoints of where we went, where I drilled, etc. I’ll have a plan for early ice next year. With the cold temps, I now need to get up to the mud flats. 
I haven’t been out on the Big Pond yet. But, the snow held off for the most part, and the cold weather forecast for next week, I would think by New Years weekend the resorts will be in full swing. And I hope so because I have an itch like no other that needs to be scratched! I almost took the wrong turn on my way home from work the other day thinking about the hard house on the Pond. Won’t be long!
We noticed lots of the small <em class=”ido-tag-em”>perch in the spot we did okay at.
Good to see for the future of the walleyes. Lack of perch has been the reason YOY walleye have been getting decimated IMO. 2013 year class coincided with a healthy population of small perch.
And the Fact there was no netting during spawn because of late ice out!
And the Fact there was no netting during spawn because of late ice out!
Let’s not take this thread down that road again.
I am only an armchair fisheries biologist but I think some of my theories could hold water. 
The life cycle and abundance of forage can change even within one year. That and the different types of forage. An abundance of perch may not be noticed on the radar early in the year but once they achieve a certain size, they can show up in significant numbers when nobody really knew they were there. DNR does not have an effective method to sample abundance of perch fry. Come late fall/winter, those YOY perch are now the perfect forage for most walleyes. During the summer when skinny walleyes were being caught on pieces of bacon, now have an “all-you-can-eat” supply. Medium to larger walleye aren’t going to forage on 1/4″ perch.
Seeing alot more pictures of thick, healthy walleyes through the ice so far this season to start. Perch are blind at night and “perch” on the bottom. Walleyes will gorge on them all night long.
I’m predicting a predominantly night bite this ice season again. 
Just drove by the Pond.
Quite a few portables on Garrison Bay. A couple ATV’s out there also. What was shocking to me was the two houses out on the flats.
Sitting out on south side of Weimers Flat right now. A LOT of perch and by the looks, they are of the smaller variety. Hoping as it gets darker, the walleyes come in to feast.
Was on first break this morning. Marked several fish. Good marks. No takers. We tried everything from size, color, feedstock, head, no head, full fathead and shiners, jiggin, UL and slab raps. A little frustrating.
Seeing a few portables out on Resort flat. About 10 inches of ice on Weimers.
Good luck guys!
Finding some toads in 22fow. Extremely light bite!
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Got some nice ones in 33′ 14.5″
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