Is it on “Demo” mode by chance? I know the Humminbirds have that and it has stumped more than one new owner.

Scheels website is junk- very little of actual inventory is found there. I would call them and ask if they’ve got Baffins in stock.

My wife has terrible circulation and no matter what we’ve tried before (warmers, socks, multiple boots etc.) her feet have always gotten cold. She went to Scheels this winter and found a pair of Baffins on sale and talked with a salesperson and another customer who actually appeared to know their stuff. Needless to say, she owns them now and they have been fantastic. No other boot compares in her mind!

I think we’re going to buckle down and make the trip to North Dakota. Buddy of mine has in-laws in the Woodworth area and they do really well on the jumbos. $15 three day license, kids don’t need one, possession limit of 80. Hopefully it will be worth the 600 miles to get there! I’ve hunted North Dakota several times and absolutely love the state and its people, nothing but the best of experiences- looking forward to the fishing!

Thanks for the replies guys, I’ll look into some of your suggestions and evaluate closer to the dates I mentioned. Last year at that time, north central Iowa lakes still had 13-16″ of ice and we had a great time hole hopping in 40 degree weather.

Today, all of the farm ponds south of I-80 are wide open and most of the lakes south of Hwy 20 are at least half open if not more. Snow geese and speckle bellies are here and the Canadas and mallards never left
Not exactly what I’d call Iowa winter!?!

Quote:

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I’ve always been one in the past to attribute the slowing of the bite, the doldrums of Jan., the midwinter-blues, etc. to more large vehicle traffic on our favorite lakes. With trucks not being on many lakes in MN, little snow in many areas and good green weeds to show for it; will the bite slow? What are people seeing out there?

Joel

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Lots of open water, not one day on the ice yet this year

Put the camera in a ziploc bag with some minute rice and seal it up. In day or two the moisture will be gone, rice absorbs it. Works well with cell phones dropped in the water as well- don’t ask me how I know that

Thanks TJ, I had never heard of that company before but it looks like they have a real quality product. They’re spendy, thats for sure, but if they are half as good as the advertising says that would make them half again as good as anything else on the market.

If Otter made a 4-person shack with a similar layout then maybe that would be an option, until then, no.

Bret-

Thanks for the idea with the double ended quick clips. Were the ones you found at Radio Shack the normal crimp on type or did you have to solder them? I ran to RS over lunch and found a similar style but they’ll need soldering to work.

Thanks guys, that is what I was looking for. Skirt fabric wouldn’t be too much of an issue if modifications need to be made- my mother-in-law has been worth her weight in gold for some of my other creations/modifications in the seamstress catagory.

Actually Scott, this year has been really frustrating on Big Creek when compared to last year. It was nothing to get 20-30 9-11″ crappies out of BC in an hour last year. This winter it takes the better part of a day, and it seems most days you end up with only two or three fish. They are really quality crappies though, nice and thick. We have seen indicators of more good things to come as a new year class of 6-7″ fish is starting to show up. I have yet to figure out the walleyes there though, guys at times get a lot of 9-12″ fish but really hard to get anything larger.

Not a bad rod, but I am not a fan of the spring bobber. It doesn’t feed line fast enough and is prone to getting line looped and caught in the spring itself. I have a 24″ UL, be very careful with the tips or you’ll end up with a 22″ L!?!