I have an RS Net and really like it. No more spending 10 minutes to get a jigging rap or crank bait untangled from it.

Found the creek chub gold mine last night! Scouted different spots by just fishing for them before putting out traps first. Caught about 20 and put two traps out in the creek, plan on checking them later this afternoon.

I use an old cooler to keep my bait. Drilled two holes in the back and ran the plastic tubing through it for the aerator, which runs off a battery. I know some guys who have used old freezers, which sounds like it would work pretty well. In my bait keeper I also use those yellow bait bags so the minnows are easier to transport and it also makes it easier to change water.

Fished Winnipeg this past Friday and Saturday and the bite was very slow for us. We came out of the trip with zero big fish….not sure what we were doing differently than everyone else. Friday morning we went out of Balsam Bay and fished in 22′ and within the first hour I had a big one on that got off right at the bottom of the ice. We moved around quite a bit from 20′ to 26′ without much luck so we pushed our way towards the mouth. We got on a flurry of smaller fish in the afternoon in 23′ but no big ones. Saturday morning we got out early and started fishing at 6am in 14′ of water out of Prudens Access. My brother had done good in the spot a week ago and pulled out a couple bigger fish. We fished there for quite awhile without even marking a fish so we packed up and headed 6 miles to the Northwest. I received a couple reports of guys doing decent in an area and we fished that particular area for a couple hours with only a couple eater fish caught. We decided to head back towards the East and fish in deeper water out of Balsam. We fished in 24′-26′ and did catch more eater sized fish but again no big ones. Overall, it was somewhat of a disappointing trip but I guess that’s how it goes. It’s tough to keep ones confidence when you put in the work and don’t get much in return. Will try again next year!

Just heard Balsam Harbor and Sunset are blown in and trucks are not able to access from them. Any one know if someone will be opening this up before Friday?

I have an Otter hub house I just bought this year and it is very warm. If you plan on sleeping in it and want something to stand up to harsh winds, BUY A THERMAL! They are a lot more sturdy and you won’t have condensation on the inside of your house dripping on you overnight.

You absolutely need an extension. There is probably 3 feet of ice. I actually drilled a hole in one spot next to a pressure ridge where the ice must have overlapped each other. I drilled down as far as I could and still didn’t punch through. I had to move a couple yards away from the ridge to get a hole through.

Yeah we were fishing next to a large pressure ridge and it shifted and water came at least a foot out of the hole. It felt like an earthquake. The West side has VERY rough ice and travel is slow going.

Craig Kilber wrote:

Im heading up this Friday, does it pay to bring a 4-wheeler up there or am I able to drive my truck around?

Thanks!

The only benefit of having a wheeler is that you could possibly cross a pressure ridge easier. Otherwise, guys are driving there trucks on with no problem.

Cameron white wrote:

Access to the lake this year is different. East side there are 4 different accesses now. West side, no access from warner or chalet. Plan on launching from matlock or wpg beach even. Big fish are showing up, most of the biomass is coming down from the north basin due to the smelt crash. It’s not uncommon to get 50 eater mornings.

I heard they just plowed a parking lot at Warner….Did I hear wrong?

mike-west wrote:

Busse
Any Blue connector Lowrance power cord will work for you (I beleive this is the Part# Lowrance 000-0127-49)
This power cord will have 2 runs of wire
1 with the red, black, & Yellow. This is the one you’ll be using.
1 with I beleive Blue, orange green & Yellow wires. You will not need that run of wires and can cut them off closer to blue end if you’r prefer. Those wires are for date which you won’t be using

You will just need to connect the Red to Positive and the Black to Negative.
Again the Yellow wire in this case won’t be needed unless you’re connecting to a switch.

Be sure to install the in line fuse on the Red Wire.
The small blue ends can be purchased at almost any hardware or electronis store
and just need to fit battery connectors.

For the Lowrance power cable, any place that sells Lowrance or Amazon, or ebay should work.
Hope this info helps

That is very helpful, thank you!

biggill wrote:

Here’s my hds7 on the genz pack. I bought some cheap automotive connectors on amazon. They are waterproof and essentially made for the application. I even put a connector on the charger so it can be easily connected.

Let me know if you have any questions.

That is exactly what I am trying to figure out how to do! Where did you find your power cable from @biggill?

nhamm wrote:

What do you mean modify the power cable?
I left mine long and ziptied it compact, never know if ya may need a longer again.

Don’t you have to modify the Lowrance power cable so it can hook up to the 12v battery? Or does Lowrance make a cable already like this? I see @biggill had to modify his so it would hook up to the battery.

I am in the same boat as you right now. I have a Lowrance Elite 7 and want to rig it to a Genz Pack so I have access to GPS right there but not really sure on how to wire it up and everything. I think there are some good youtube videos out there.

I have a couple of the NOS Scheels rods and have really liked them. I didn’t want to go spend a lot of money on new rods and reels that would be specifically used for only Winnipeg. I have about $150-$200 in rods then I just use my Shimano Siennas that I already have on my other rods and put new line on them and I am ready to go. If the Commanders would also work for walleye fishing around your home lakes then that would be a sweet set up too. If you wanted to spend more on rods and save a little on reels you could use some of the reels you already have on other rods or I have used my summer time Pflueger Presidents reels on my Winnipeg rods before. I am heading up there Feb. 9th-12th!

Thanks for the help fellas. I just planned on buying the Lowrance transducer and power cable, the $20 Genz pack, and a battery. Not sure how I am going to modify the power cable to hook up to the 12v battery. I will check out some Youtube videos.

I would agree on LOTW as well. As for getting around on the lake, I was on Mille Lacs last weekend and you could drive everywhere. Devils Lake requires tracks and there is also quite a bit of snow up on LOTW. This warm weather could help with that. I wouldn’t set any plans in stone yet as your date is quite a ways away yet. I would watch these forum pages and decide where you want to go and what you want to all bring (wheel house, portable, wheeler..etc.) as the date gets closer. A couple other good pages to check out are are Fishing Minnesota and Lake State Fishing. I know one guy did bring up Lake Winnipeg, February and March is primmmmme time for trophy greenbacks. It is only four and a half hours straight North from Fargo. Big Windy is where I will be heading in February and March.

I am heading there early tomorrow morning and will have a daily report. We are going out of Red Door tomorrow morning and fishing the flats for the day then we have a sleeper rented out of Twin Pines Resort for Saturday night. We wanted to just get a motel room at Red Door but they require a two night minimum stay. Cost the same for us to just get a sleeper as it did to get a two night stay at Red Door. Sounds like the report has been very good for the mud flats. We just have portables and plan on staying very mobile. Hoping this warm temperature for tomorrow and Sunday really turns the bite on. Not to be greedy, but I would be a little disappointed if the two of us do not catch 20-30 fish every 12 hours…

I bought an Otter hub not to long ago and used it a couple times. Haven’t had any issues with it and it seems to be very well made.

Devils Lake has a lot of snow so it is tough to get around, have seen some really nice jumbo perch caught recently though. Red Lake can be pretty good but can also be dead Red, which more times than not its Dead Red. If you do go to Red you almost have to rent a sleeper on the ice. Lake of the Woods has had a pretty steady bite. They do have a decent amount of snow up there now so getting away from the crowds may be a little harder if you do not have a wheeler or sled. Have you taken into consideration Mille Lacs Lake? Bite has been really good out there, only draw back is you can only keep one fish.

Thanks! I will be posting daily reports for Saturday and Sunday.

The Clam blade spoons have always worked very well for me. Either in the pink and gold or the white with silver speckles has been the best. You can try with or without the rattle as well.

Yeah I seen there were some large cracks that developed last night so they weren’t letting out vehicle traffic. I may end up just bringing the wheeler and portable just to be safe.

My dad and I are heading to Mille Lacs the weekend of the 14th and this will be my first hardwater trip there, just wondering if you guys could help with a few questions I have.

Will I be able to get around the lake pretty well with my Jeep Grand Cherokee, it does pretty well in the snow and I can stay very mobile with it? Otherwise I will bring my wheeler and portable but if I don’t have to pull a trailer, even better.

Not sure where we are going to stay yet, I would like to stay somewhere either on the North Shore or East shore and just need a room for Saturday night. Anyone have any suggestions?

Where is a good bait and tackle store to pick up bait? We are traveling from Breckenridge, MN really early Saturday morning.

Thanks fellas

I am stuck between the Yaktrax, ICEtrckkers and the Kahtoolas. Only reason I haven’t already bought the Kahtoolas is sometimes I fish out of my Jeep and I don’t want to put a hole through my weathertechs or even worse, step on some of the fabric in my fish house and put a hole in it.

My brother and a couple buddies went out of the Warroad area over New Years and went out a couple miles to the reefs. Fishing was pretty slow for them but they did get one 28″. This time of year I think a good majority of the fish are closer to the river.

I have the swivel seats in my Otter Lodge and really like them. I usually put the minnow bucket in the middle or items that I need close by instead of reaching behind me. I don’t think I would like having to reach over the bench seat to grab something every time but can’t say I have experience fishing in one with a bench seat.

Joe Scegura wrote:

I know in the past if you told Otter what you actually did to break it the laugh would get you a new part, sled or canvas.

Otter builds the toughest houses, so some of the stories I’ve heard from Otter are pretty hilarious.

Only thing is, I don’t know how it broke. The pole is bent and actually has a tear in the metal.

I am staying in a sleeper on shore December 17/18 and plan on being able to take a wheeler out. I had battery issues one time up at LOTW when it was -20 where our jumper pack wouldn’t even get it started and our wheeler only had electric start. It obviously won’t be that cold but just make sure to bring a jumper pack and if it isn’t to much hassle it wouldn’t hurt to take it out on the drive up and at night.

Lake Winnipeg is perfect for 2 guys because most of the time you will have to travel by snowmobile or 4 wheeler. My first trip there I never used a guide and we caught some really nice fish. Just do your research, there is a ton of info on this site, and be prepared for anything. The hotel in Gimli and the South Beach casino are really good places to stay at and offer lake access not to far away. Like I said just be prepared as Big Winni always finds a way to break something.