Lawrence Luoma wrote:

After I was on my 5th set of blades and last set during prefishing we turned to the K-Drill a buddy had. Same sandy areas the K-Drill just wouldn’t dull. Personally I run a Lazer 5 and 6″ hand auger for panfish and a K-Drill 8″ for Walleyes.

Lawrence Luoma

Agreed. Love my 8″ lazer for speed but when they’re dull they’re brutal. I’ve also snapped 4 sets of lazer blades, 3 sets in one season! The bolts were plenty snug, I’m not rough on my equipment, they just snapped right through the bolt hole. $160 just like that…

The K-Drill is faster than the chipper but slower than the lazer, but the blades last way longer than the lazer and its super light.

I love my Vexilars. I’ve had my Fl-8 since 2008, just upgraded to a Flx-28 this winter. Fantastic unit. Simple and reliable.

Yesterday I was on 18-22″ in east bay. Virtually no snow on the lake anymore, WEAR YOUR CLEATS! Still driving pretty much everywhere. Obviously avoid the bridges.

Fished all weekend. Morning walleye bite was very good, a few perch mixed in as well. Midday perch bite was decent, overall size of fish varied. A lot of smaller perch with a few 12-14″ in the mix. I will be out this weekend as well.

I prefer the FLX-28. Easier to hole hop with and I prefer knobs on a unit for quick adjustments rather than buttons for menus. And I love the real time response.

Glad to hear you’re up are running! My dad had the same issue with his. I couldn’t believe their turn around time. He mailed it on a Tuesday and the new one came on Thursday of that week!

These guys have explained it well. I’ll throw in my opinion as well.

Fl-12 has a flat screen and sees from the transducer, to the bottom of the lake and everything in-between. If you fish less than 20′ MOST of the time, you will be fine. For technology, this is the same as the Fl-8. I’ve used my Fl-8 for 8 years and love it. Simple to use yet highly effective. I’ve used mine many times for perch in 55′ on Devils Lake. Still works, but the Zoom is much more efficient for this.

Fl-18 has a sunshield, a Normal mode (with the bottom 6′ Zoom and also a Bottom Lock (used for summer)) and a Low Power mode (6’Zoom and Bottom Lock as well). If you fish MOSTLY bottom hugging fish (walleyes and perch) I would go with the Fl-18.

Drives me nuts how Mille Lacs is advertised as a ‘keep everything’ fishery now. One species is down the hole, so keep as many of the other species as you can!! I don’t get it.

Frustrating situation on that lake. Problem is, only one species gets the love out there and I think we all know which one…

Very nice. I used to hunt Big Marine now and then. Heard people used to hunt Bald as well until they changed the regs out there. I currently go to school in ND and am too spoiled up there to hunt back home when I visit ha.

You can duck hunt on forest?

I’ve been using Frabil G-Juice additive this year along with frozen water bottles. Seems to help. I’ve noticed the fish are calmer throughout the day and not freaking out in the well. They are very active when grabbing them for the weigh in, my thumb could show you the proof!

As a current UND student, that was a frustrating game to watch. We just didn’t bring it the whole time.

However, I can’t tell if I’m watching the nation championship or the jack eichel fan club…. I’m about to turn it off.

What pound test leader do you like for 30 pound braid? Does a 10-12 pound fluoro knot go through the guides well?

Just hang it up. No fish is even close to worth your life. Got out for the last time of the season on Devils tonight. The entire lake has close to an inch or more of water on top. Very soft ice.

Fished all day today. The season’s reputation continues. It seems small walleyes and perch are very strong this year. I haven’t found large perch schools and they don’t appear to be strong in basin areas either. Spots that had quality walleyes a few weeks ago now are full of fingerlings.. It would’ve been a successful day if we were able to keep any of our fish. Can’t seem to find the big walleyes this year. My theory is most are in less than 10′. Thoughts anyone?

I may know of a spot or two that have fish on them time to time.

It’s about to turn on. Forecast looks awesome.

How are the driving conditions? Headed out tomorrow. Assuming I need my extension now?

Haven’t been out in 2.5 weeks. Hoping to change that this weekend.

On a baitcasting reel you can’t go wrong with 30 pound powerpro. It is the same diameter as 8lb mono. Casts awesome, extremely sensitive, and great for driving home the hooks.

TV coverage is in 2 weeks….. I know I know.

Thanks guys! I was using rapala x-raps. They couldn’t resist that day!

A chipper is much slower than a lazer. For some reason I keep breaking lazer blades. 3 sets in 2 years. They are plenty tight and just had the pitch ‘okayed’ by a certified strikemaster parts dealer. Its a shame cuz that lazer bit melts ice. Replaced my old chipper blade and put that shaft back on. Significantly slower but doesn’t break… My auger bit must be cursed.

Check the pmtt website. There is always a write up of how the placing teams caught fish. Never fished one but I’d like to.

Sorry about the confusion. ‘Night bite’ to me and my buddies means evening. You are right, there is not a night bite on devils. Why? I don’t know. The last 2 hours of light are key. Once the sun goes down, so does the bite.

I purchased one last week, got to use it all weekend. For $300, it’s an awesome camera. Used it this past weekend on Devils, worked very well. Simple to operate and gets the job done. I used the down angle the most, very nice to see rocks and fish from a higher view point. Worth the money if you ask me.

1/24 – 1/25 Report

Where have the big walleyes gone? A lot of 11-13″ walleyes caught this weekend and only a handful of eaters. A few jumbos in the mix. Targeted structure: rocks and sand in 21-29′. Fished 8-20′ as well, same story. Fished deeper, 30′-40′, small perch. Caught a lot of fish this weekend, just not what we were after.

Has anyone else been out?

1/23 fished 9am-6pm

Couldn’t seem to find large perch today. Found a small school of 8″ers that kept us busy and one random 12″er. Perch 28′-40′. Another night of aggressive walleyes in the 21′-24′ range. Not many large fish, may try deeper. Weather was great today!

Check out Bry’s guide service and Percheyes. I haven’t personally fished with them but have heard good things! Good luck and I hope you make the trip!

http://www.brysguideservice.com
http://www.percheyes.com

1/16/15 Got out around 2 today. Fog and overcast made my decision to target walleyes that much easier. A lot of smaller fish but aggressive. 18′-24′ was most successful. Didn’t have pressure ridges where we were, but I could see one driving on the west side of six mile and all I can say is wow. It’s about 3′-4′ tall and goes for a few miles from what I could tell. If traveling pre or post light use extreme caution!