Does anyone have room for one guy (me) to fish with them on Friday only. Can only get away for one day. Live in Grand Rapids so can be there first thing Friday morning. Disabled vet (agent orange issues) so need to fish with others in case I have medical issues. Thanks. Arnie

Thanks for the info. Great help. Can’t wait for open water now. Hopefully it’s before May.

Have one. It’s about 4500 pounds.

It’s snowing here in Grand Rapids. Wind plowing. All that fun stuff. Brought in another load of firewood. Wood fireplace is going and nice and toasty. Should be sitting in the Ice Castle on a lake somewhere but could not get away. Oh well. That’s winter for you.

Saw the first portable out on an area lake today. They pulled it by hand. Too early for this guy. I’ll give it a few more days.

We feed them at our place every day. Fun to watch.

I saw four the size of basketballs on the side of our house. Should have looked earlier. Did not cut them open as I figured they were too big. Maybe next year I will watch for them and get to them before they get too big.

Hey Jeff. Just got back from the VA Clinic in Hibbing due to back pain (loading wood). The doctor asked if I had any cyan (sp) pepper at home. Said to mix about 1/2 teaspoon with olive oil to make a paste and spread it over the sore part of my back. Does something to sooth the nerves. Never heard of such a thing but she seems to know her stuff. If that does not work try McMasters.

A BIG “Thank You” to my fellow veterans who have fought and died to keep this great country free so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have. God bless America!!!

The shop that rebuilt the motor does have a warranty on their work and labor but they insinuated that they are not sure if it was their fault or mine. SAY WHAT.
The reason it went was because no fuel was getting through so no lubrication=dry cylinders=fried motor. How is that my fault. Was thinking of upgrading to an E-Tech but it sounds like an E-Tech is not all that it is cracked up to be. Is their anyone on IDO that runs an E-Tech and have no problems????

Here are a couple of pictures of the limit of perch caught on February 2. I have to give credit to my brother-in-law (Tom) as he caught 17 of the 20 perch. We were fishing about 20′ apart. We have been fishing this area since first safe ice. Tom has a spear house but does not spear. It is just fun to watch the action. Lots of small northerns in the mix as well. We were fishing on a connecting lake to Pokegama.
We are going to Splithand to pre-fish for this weekend. Taking the Ice Castles there with the wives. Party time on the ice with fish frys and cold beverages. Supposed to be near 30 degrees so it will be a blast.

Ice Castle is the way to go. Built solid. If at all possible, get the hydrolic model. May cost a little more but it is the way to go.

X2 (strikemaster)

I blew in an additional 3″ of insulation and now I only burn 3 cords of wood to heat my entire house all winter. I have propane stove and a furnace but have not filled my tank in three years. I still have 60% left in my tank. The added insulation has saved me hundreds of $ so add to what you have and reap the benefits.

Thanks for the reply guys. Good points that I too have thought of. The format would be that you would be provided with an object before the tourney, that would have to be in every picture. The fish is put on the ruler all facing the same way. The date and time must be on the picture as well.
My BIGGEST concern is with the weight. I have fished bass tourneys since the 70’s and I know how close the weights can be.
There is a local walleye tourney every year and they catch, photo and release the fish as they are caught. It seems to work for them but I still am not convinced the weights(results)are accurate enough, but I wanted to get some feedback from bass guys.
We are looking at having this tourney (annual event) starting in 2013. So if we had a regular weigh-in, would you fish it?
Thanks for your input.
Arnie

I have my dad’s sling shot he made and used back in the 20’s. It is worn smooth from all the use. I have it in a shadow box on the wall. Someday it will go to my grandson who is 5. I also have his baby shoes.

Happy birthday Jeff. Hope you have a great day.

They were one of the main reasons I watched the show. Sad day for sure. RIP Mitch

I was diagnosed with diabetes a few years ago because I was exposed to agent orange in nam. If any of you were in nam, you should check this out. I learned of the connection through AARP. This was a couple of years after being diagnosed. Went to the local VA rep and filled out some paperwork. Right now I am at 30% disabled and may be going for 50% because I developed peripheral neuropathy in my left foot and right arm. Not fun that’s for sure.

Just got back from a week of fishing on Table Rock Lake in Missouri. Yes I used an A-Rig while there. Had three hooks and two blades. I did catch a Kentucky and a small mouth on one cast. Biggest fish of the trip was a 21″ large mouth. What was interesting to me was the number of strikes on the blades. Now in reviewing the top of this post it states that in MN we could use this rig IF we only use one hook and the rest could be dummy baits. I tend to think that there would be a lot of hits on the dummy baits. I don’t see where this rig is going to make a big difference in tournaments because we don’t have schools of shad swimming in our lakes. When fishing this rig with my brother-in-law fishing from the back of the boat using a single lure, he caught several fish that did not hit the A-rig. To me, it is no different than using 360 imaging. If you use the A-rig and are within the laws of MN, you should be fine. However, I’ll be doing some more research BEFORE I throw this thing in MN. Just my two cents worth.

Getting the Ranger 520 out of storage today. Need to get thing ready for a trip to Table Rock. Leaving March 18th and going to fish a tourney on the 24th. Can’t wait to get back to the Rock for some bass action. May even try out an A-Rig as I hear they are hitting this rig big time. Probably bring the musky rod and get ready for a workout.

You would a pound of butter for that monster. Talk about Lobster Fest!!!!

It’s good to hear someone knew hos to catch them last weekend. Gun and run was the way to go. Congrates!!

Yes it was a tough bite this past weekend. However we did catch 14 or 15 walleyes and kept 11. They were not big but good eater size. (12-14″) We ate four with perch Saturday night and I sent 7 home with Dan.
What lures did you guys find worked the best? (Make and color)

Total weight 21.3
Big walleye 6.7
Big Sauger 2.6

If you are landing on the east side you may be going out of high banks?? You will want to set up in about 24′. Glow red/pink or glow green rattle jigs are working great. Bounce it off the bottom and be aggressive. If you are seeing/find small perch move up in the water column above the small ones to find larger perch. Hope this helps. I am leaving for Winnie in a couple of minutes. I have a grey Ice Castle 16′ Milacs Addition. We will be out from high banks. Will also be a white 21′ Ice Castle and a blue Ice Castle. I have a maroon Toyota with a boss plow on the front.

What landing will you be using. Maybe I can give you some additional info.

Priceless memories. Way to go.

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.

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.