No doubt they were tough fish! As I sit tonight awaiting the open water season, it seems a lifetime since that day on Waubay!

I was suprised to learn how they salvage vehicles through the ice as I recently saw a barge-like vehicle pull a truck and then house from under the ice. Very impressive equipment but I am certain it would not be able to pull a payloader!

BTW, how is the perchin’ up there? I am moving to Fargo and cant wait to put on my communinion dress and offer my virginity to the Devil!

WOW! I am not sure if you know this but dropping a payloader through the ice is a harbinger of good fishing. In fact, several Early American settlers used to park an early version of the payloader on the ice to determine when winter would end. Of course resources being scarce as they were during that time, the preparation and monitoring of the activity became too costly. As a result of the Early American settlers desire to continue to honor the tradition without expending so much effort, they switched to watchng a small rodent endeavor from it’s winter burrow. This activity is now the leading indicator of the approaching spring.

I guess all I am trying to say here is the Perch Fishing should be very good on Devil’s Lake this winter.

See you in a few weeks!
John

Well, now the ATV excuse…thats a good one. So far she has fallen for the larger ice house (insulation creates floatation), vented heater (reduce CO death potential), Quad Cab (In case we get a bigger boat), Bigger Boat (eliminate unsafe blind spots while towing) and More fishing time (Free her up for more shopping)…I never thought of the ATV thing….what the hell one more time to the old well!

I learned from Progressive that the vehicle is covered if it goes through the ice but the stuf inside is not unless I have a rider for my homeowners. (But dont tell my wife because I think the ATV excuse is a winner!)

I use Seafoam all year as well. Keep in mind that the products are not designed for exactly the same purposes as Seafoam is designed as an additive that can be used as an every tank product where Stabil is not. In my old 2 stroke, if I did not use Seafoam in every third tank (6 gallon capacity), I would get poor performance, alot of bonus noises and smoke. With Seafoam, that motor ran like a warm breeze on a cold November morning. I use it in my new truck every 5th tank and in my new 4 stroke every other tank (20 gallon capacity.) It does store extermely well and does not cause any noticable smoking or other odd side effects. I am a BIG proponent of it as a miracle additive and, it does, in fact, taste good with lime!

Have a great winter and see you on OT!
John

Thanks for the help. I wil have to think of a new name in the future since mine is already in use! I am looking forward to getting on the water again! I just put the boat away today and after hearing the conditions over the next few days, may have to pull it out for one last hoorah!

Thanks again!
F-KNAB (Formerly Known As Backtroller)

Shane!
Congratulations on the babies! There is nothing like it when they finally understand what you are doing out there.

You may need to pull that new boat home soon because Momma will be calling for the mini-van soon and a minivan is not a suitable towing rig.

So here is my advice: Buy it now. Go out to your favorite dealer and just pull the trigger. Yes, sure mom will be mad…well, I dont think there is a word to describe how mad but, mad nonetheless. But fear not my good man, because no matter how mad she gets, she wont want to be a single mom so your in! Now of course, no need to worry about the sex because she has little interest in that now and, judging by your timing, she may have learned a thing or two about your potency so I would guess you are looking a 2 years anyhow…so pull the trigger!

Now, lets not forget that we Love these women who provide us with our blessed tormening companions, so as soon as she will begin speaking to you again, sell the quiet evenings on the water napping while Papa Shane imparts manly wisdom and nuturing fatherhood upon your seedlings. Paint the picture of family time together in your own special world separated from the riff raff of the mainland. And finally, LET ‘ER DRIVE! When she hammers down that 115hp 4 strk and goes careening across the water free of the doldrums of motherhood………lets just say……don’t forget the condoms!

LOL! I just bought the Crestliner this fall and what a difference it makes! When you want to talk rigging sometime I have some secrets that will make you laugh!

Well, I must say, I think I have the ultimate kid set up. I have 3 little boys, 7, 5, and 2. It goes without saying that I would rather hang out with them then anything else, but the close second is rolling through a willing school of ‘eyes!

I have a portable DVD plyer for the boat that bridges the lapse in time. This little setup has allowed me late nights on Mille Lacs, overnights on Ottertail and day trips all over SW MN and SD. While I have some reservatons about electronic entertainment on the water, my boys love riding in the boat and talk about the fishing with excitement. My 2 and 5 yr olds harrass me to take them fishing constantly and MOM has a hard time saying no! (A huge bonus)

The 7yr old has a gameboy that he brings and, of course, I always make sure there is LOTS of food and drink on board.

I have a bag of bags (Walmart, Target, etc) for poop and garbage!

I pack a 5 gallon bucket and one of those trainer toliet seats (keeps little ones from falling into the toliet) that fits perfectly on the pail. All 3 somehow need to poop when we get out there!

This summer the fellas enjoyed stripping down to nothing and sitting in the livewell “swimming” and generally enjoying themselves.

I cut down a piece of PVC to hold a 62″ golf unbrella for shade and always bring matchbox cars.

The key here is the kids. I agree that when they want to go, its time to go, but with a little extra stuff, you can increase your water time to almost as long as you can stand it! On the boat almost anything goes but KEEP CANDY TO A MINIMUM to NONE if possible……not too much needs to be said on that topic…..

I will be on the Mille Lacs on Sunday so keep your eye out for the glowing Blue Grestliner with 4 happy boys on it!

My pleasure! The shiners were starting to pick up in the river but I would by no means call the run thick as many of the reports from the area indicate. I read one that said there are “zillions” of shiners in the river. The Shiners were picking up though and I will say that next year we will make the trip in late October or early November. Have a great trip and let us know how you do!

Alright Gary, it’s cards and, um, ahh, soda…after dark! 3 days, we will try to teach these walleyes some manners!

Thanks again!
John

I can hardly believe that I will be up there in 4 DAYS! It seems far from my desk here in Marshall! Anyhow, thank you both for all of your advice and I will provide detailed info as soon as I get back. I have heard that there is not a night time bite on the Lake or the river, is that true?

Gary,
Thanks a TON! We got together to plan the trip today and all of us are like little kids getting ready for a trip to Disney! We will certianly follow your advice and take LOTS of pictures!

We are staying at Wheelers in cabin 6 so stop in and see us. We will be there from the 2nd to the 5th.

John

Well there is a first for everything! I have never had a fish displayed before, I will send the picture to Mel’s! BTW, does anyone know who might have given me help at Mel’s? He is a tall, thin guy who said he normally works “on the other side of the store.”

Ok, Ok, Ok, I will do it! FISH ON!!! I will be up there that weekend with the little boys giving them their first Mille Lacs Fall Full moon! Bring us good luck!

That ramp at the outlet is really pretty scarey! Motoring out from the ramp (2.1′) we use the bow mount and moved through 1.5′ of water! I watched boat after boat run their lower unit into the gravel. While the lake is really low, the ramp is still useable but use the bow mount to get into the lake is my recommendation!

Thanks Wade. Any news on the bite up yonder? I am really excited to get on the Ottertail. We are goin to fish Pickerel, Ottertail, and Round.

Thanks for all your help and constant news.

John

I cant comment on the Crappies as I have never really targeted them personally. I have a few buddies who go for them during the spring off the dike roads and really hit ’em pretty hard this spring. This winter I did not get on Shetek as the bite was strong on a few other lakes. As you are from this area you will certainly recall that the bite just does not seem consistent year to year.

Good luck next trip down!

John

I had this problem and almost lit my new truck up trying the upgrading to a 15 amp fuse. What I finally did was rewire the whole dang trailer and found that I had some wire exposed that was shorting. After running new wire I have had no problems at all. If you are shorting going into the water then your electrical system is not properly grounded. The problem is in the wiring on your trailer. After a time your wiring can weaken and this just happens. If you upgrade the fuse to a higher amperage, then you will certainly melt wire at best and in worse case scenario burn you vehicle.

Good luck!

One thing that I found really helps keep the idle smooth and reduce the smoke is using a can of Seafoam in the fuel every few tanks. This product really cleans the gunk and has kept my Merc running very smoothly.

Man, I have been gone too long! I remember when Tuck was just a nobody like the rest of us! Congratulations!

What a great lake to be on! I fished Ottertail this weekend and we did very well between 10PM and 1AM. We fished the flats and landed several very nice walleye in 8-9 feet of water using berkley rattl’ traps in chrome/blue. The fish were just smashing the rattle traps! IT was fun, we were laughing so hard that I almost pee’d in my pants!

Added bonus was an incredible view of the northern lights from the lake!

great fishing and happy livin!
John

I have been researching and came up with a Chronomid Worm larvae. Has anyone heard of this and is it what we are seeing? Apparently it is a favorite larval protein that the Walleye find emerging on the rocks and as the feed on them some remain in the mouth.

Thanks
John

James,
We were on Ottertail.

Thanks
John

What is the latest on Pool 2?

I grew up flyfishing in the Adirondacks and spent a few years wading pristine rivers in AK before giving up the flyrod for walleye hunting because I just did not believe that brute like that brownie were anywhere near here……hmmm, I wonder if my wife would mind if I got that Orvis 7 weight afterall…..

Congrats on your experiment! I dont know if I can do it but, perhaps a few beers and more days of no Walleye and I may follow you home like a stray dog looking for a Sheepie and some Tums!

James! Are they going today….have we turned the corner….can I excersize my skuning demon….can I stop following you around on the river….I dont want to resort to eating Sheepies with StillaKid!

Opinion question, any chance of our little river producing brutes like these?

Well, I love the posts and agree with all of the responses as I have thought the same thing on several occassions, I got this ugly little Alumacraft from a friend who had to force himself to sell it after he got it from his Dad who had to force HIMSELF to sell it. It does the trick, is a little scarey on the big water but I can follow James around just like anyone else! The funny thing on this post is that the Dreamers blew their budgets pretty much from the start…..Ranger 620 maxed out…..what are you towing with a 1981 Yugo? LOL! Anyhow, I was thinking that a little research would go into this dream like:

1999 Warrior Trail w/brakes and swing tongue

1999 Evinrude Ficht 90 hp (warranty until Nov 2004) SS prop, aluminum spare prop, 4 seats, custom travel cover, 2 – X-85’s, Global Map 1600, 24V MG762 bow mount trolling motor, Apelco 8500 VHF, rod holders, Wave Wackers, Shift Extension, 2 – Deep cycle batteries (new Sept 00)

Unit is in excellent condition – $18,900 (Warrior website)

Not saying that it is a great price but, a godd set up that, with the swing tounge fits in my garage AND is big enough to keep my young’ns from danger in tough weather.

Now, truck wise, I have about 22K left to spend, so It looks like a DANG good deal for a F150 4×4 Crew cab, reality looks like a Supercab, 5.4L V8 (21,891 at Walser last weekend) …y’know close out deal….so I can transport the family including 3 car seats AND look cool doing it! I feel my manhood shrink every time I roll into Garrison with the MiniVan!

Dont think about all of what you would do if you had a choice with the money, think about what you would do if you HAD to spend it on a boat and Rig…y’know its a use it or lose it deal.

Finally, I thought it would be a little fun to think about for a change considering the overall crappy state of the economy!