Jumbos in the Dakotas

Nice job Dave!
It always amazes me what good ice fisherman can come up with by going outside the box to get to the fish. Great idea!

I was out that way 2 weeks ago too (weather was awesome) and it was tough on the big lakes. Some guys only marked a couple fish all day. We lucked out and found some on the many sloughs that are out there. I beat my personal best with a 14″ slough tiger and thought about doing a replica… then saw a 15″er at the lodge. All I got to say is drill / drill / drill… X2 on Sportsman Cove for info…. Best of luck and let us know how it goes.

Frabil Snosuit Bibs & Coat & IDO hoodie
Otter Wild Perch (1 man) & Otter 1200 Lodge
LX-9 & FL-18
Nils 8″ a.k.a. The Tasmanin Devil
36″ TUCR Precision/Sedona 500 My favorite rod.
32″ TUCR Q.T./Sedona 500 My other favorite rod.
Thorne Bros. 28″ Sweet Heart Perch/Cetus 500
Thorne Bros. 26″ Quiverstick/Okuma STV 23
6 Jason Mitchell Perch & Walleye rods/Sienna 500
5 Polar Boxes from Rose Creek Anglers filled with what ever the IDO staff uses
and a couple other boxes jigs & spoons.
2005 Chevy Sliverado W/topper with a bedslide. Beats crawling in the back of the truck. Want list is an ATV. FISH ON!

I wish the Lithium Battery Charger was like my “Battery Tender” I have for my motorcycles. It has both hooks ups. It comes with the male/female hook up (like the standard setup with LX-9 charger) and then if you need the alligator clips hookup it comes with another extension you plug in the male/female end. Then you can use it either way. Maybe Ice Force can look into this setup. Then you wouldn’t have to mess with the cover. With my LX-9 it looks like a hassle getting to the battery to charge it with alligator clips.

Yes.. I worded that wrong. I meant the 3 front frame bars myself.

Thanks for the tip Daniel. I got mine last year and it seems like I am wrestling with it every time on the ice. I have done putting up the 3 first support poles first but have not tried the rear support pole. Thanks again! Jay

Like any good tools. You take care of them they will take care of you!

X2 on the Nils. I call it my “Tasmanian Devil”. If you are going to spend the money get one. I was at Devil’s Lake this year and went through 38″ of ice and probably still could done another 4″ more. They are tall (lite weight) and I think probably would seldom ever need an extention.
They also cut fast. I did my first gallon on Amsoil Saber Synthetic 100:1 Pre-mix 2-cycle Oil mixed at 50:1, second gallon 75:1 and now at 100:1. Now I am not suggesting this but I have had no problems. 3 years and have not sharpen my blade head yet. If you know somebody that has one. You should try it out. I know I’ll never buy no other. This is a good time to pick one off maybe $50 less if there is any around. Redrock had some around earlier.

I have done both. Paypal might me more secure. Never been burned yet (knock on wood)and have done many transactions online.

I fished Bitter last week. Friday, Saturday, & Sunday morning. If you have a camera take it! I started out with
N.L. Rattle,VMC rattle. Slender spoons, Drop chains (Pillkeys). But the best go to was a small/heavy Fiska (red)or (gold) with a waxy. Diamond jigs would work. Tungsten. Something heavy but very small. (33’water) Very lite biting perch for sure. You’ll see the perch but getting them to take it was the trick. I had jumbos stare at the jig for 5 minutes then slowly swim off. Very frustating. In my group the guys with cameras caught more fish. Good luck and let us know how you all do. I wish I could be there this weekend. Last weekend was cold and windy to say the least.
Still a great time on the ice. It’s fishing!

Thanks everyone. I have a Cabela’s on order.
That is why IDO is a great site. Great people helping people.

Any idea what the Cabela’s catalog number might be? I stopped at Mennards and got a Gulf Stream ATV 4 Wheeler Cover with elastic cord for now. Believe it or not if fits pretty good and with 3 ratchet straps it doesn’t blow in the wind at all. For $20 it will serve the purpose but still what to get something that fits tight when pulled by a sled on the lake if need to. I’ll send the Otter Cover back whenever it shows up

Thanks for the ideas and tips. I wish I had the time, a sewing machine & even knew how to operate the sewing machine. I should of started this project a lot sooner.
But was thinking it would get here in time. I do have a Cabela’s cover for my one man Wild. It just won’t stretch for a two man. Might be the Redneck blue tarp cargo carrier at this point. Thanks again!

I just got back on Tuesday of this week for my first time. We fished from Friday through Monday. Bitterly cold the whole time. My suggestion is give John Adams a call from Big John’s Guide Service. He normally charges $125 a day when he furnishes the equipment. But since we had all the equipment he put us on fish for $75 a day per person. John is a class act and very gracious person helping you out fishing up there. You’ll save a whole lot of time. We only used him for one day but it was well worth it. His number is 701-381-2599. The lake is so huge and we fished in 52 feet of water. We fished East Devil’s Lake about as far east you can go and had the best luck. Also fished 6 mile bay. We did pretty good the first two days but struggled the last two days. People were catching their limits. They have a really nice fish cleaning station right next to Ed’s Bait Shop on HWY 20 south of town. You’ll see a lot of nice perch brought in there being cleaned. We used Rattle spoons from VMC’s to Northlands. Orange, Red, Perch color tiped with a minnow head. Somedays you caught more on dead sticks with an aggressive minnow on a red hook. Wax worms on glow jigs worked too. We changed it up all the time. Most of the time constantly marking fish just getting them to bite was the key. Locals will help you out too. Late afternoon bite for walleyes we went behind Mac’s Hardware store out by the wheel houses. Nothing big and some sorting but you’ll catch a few eaters there to. Travel on the lakes is good just have to watch out for the drifts here and there. We have more snow in Iowa than at Devil’s Lake. Good luck and like I said you’ll save some time getting a hold of Big John. Let us know how you did.

Thanks CamoHunter for the info on the Perch. I’m heading up there next Thursday through Sunday with my 80 year old uncle and cousins from N.W. Iowa. It’s our annual trip there. Looking forward to it.

I was up on Bitter Lake earlier (late December) looking for walleyes/perch and the Northerns were attacking everything.
North end of Bitter Lake. Now it has been
awhile so I don’t know how travel on the lake is. But if
you want I can PM you some coordinates to get you started
if you like.

I owned a VS 380 that I really liked and had great picture quality. I could fish with it a good 8 hours but always had an extra battery. My friend fished with the first Vexilar camera that was colored (can’t remember the model number) and he even thought the Marcum had a better picture quality in B & W. Yes he had colored but I only saw color twice. It had to be the right circumstances. I thought it was a solid unit but plenty heavy to lug around. I sold mine on Craigslist about a month ago and updated to a LX-9. Good luck in your choice.

Way to stay with it Q.B. Bitter?

I have had the hoodie for almost year now and have had many compliments how nice and cool the embroidering is on them. I wear an XL and they do run true to size.
They are warm also! Great Quality & worth the $ I.M.O.
!

I like it. I love history especially the 1800’s through WWII. I thought episode 1 was good and episode 2 was so so. Will for sure watch tonight. I thought the scenery was awesome in episode 1. I also liked the mini series of Bonnie & Clyde and the Hatfields & Mccoys too.

Yes I noticed that also. I was fishing a small Gentz worm in 18′ water and I had it set to 2 with 3 color. Didn’t even need 6 color if I didn’t want to. Nice!

Quote:

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Leave camera at home, we were at sportsmans in 23ft and 30 ft 2 weeks ago and could not see anything…Ask for lil Jon or Troy as your guides

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Thanks Carguy!
I will ask for them. What was the hot jewelry you had luck with? Stop signs, Slender spoons, VMC’s ( I haven’t tried them at L.O.W. yet). I think I have them all. Any luck dead sticking? I know things chance daily/hourly.

Nice… got love perch fishing

I hope the Gophers have their track shoes on today.
The Hawkeyes have a deep bench. Should be an excellent game.

Great show guys in the land I wouldn’t think for ice fishing.
Except maybe for this year.
Enjoyed so much the shared techniques by the locals and yourselves. Now that is what fishing is about.
Curious how thick the ice was. Saw the 4 wheeler in the background. Crazy

Hawkeye fan here, so don’t give up on Tuby. Iowa is an up and coming program in Big Ten B.B. Minny just got ambushed. Big Ten is tough this year and should be a great March Madness. I just hope the Big Ten does good in the Big Dance! Go Big Ten!!! Look at what Wisky did to Ohio!

I have used the Garmin 60CSX for the last 3 years with the Garmin Inland Lake chip. Has all the lakes in North America.
Great for me because I ice fish Iowa, S.D., Mn & Wis.
I found the best deal off of Amazon. Solid unit!

X2 On the Rose Creek spoon boxes. I own 3 and what I
like about them the hooks stay sharp and no tangled up
spoons. Worth the money and fits in your pocket! I just
got one from Bob this week. First one I have that has the
Custom Jigs & Spins logo on it.