rippinfish wrote:

Price?

Sorry, I’ve updated my post.

I build all my ice rods on DH blanks that I pick up right from his store. Great noodle rod and graphite panfish and walleye rods as well. Send me a message if you have specific questions on ice rods or components. I taught myself how to do it all off of YouTube and all my rods have turned out great.

Joe

It was very slow for me on Sunday. Two short walleyes around the confluence. Only saw one other fish caught.

Joe

pool2fool wrote:

If you’re looking to get further up river and don’t want to do the long run, the Ft Snelling launch in the MN river is another good option. I do it solo all the time. See the various other threads about p2 launches

Is the shore sandy so I beach my boat well? According to the website the dock is not in as of the 22nd.

Any update on Bay Point or Colvill?

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Time to up grade from my 6’crappie rod for fishing Walleyes. Was thinking about a triumph 7′ ML. I want a longer rod with a soft tip to haul em in. What do you other walleye guys use? I hear any thing from 6’6″ to 10′.

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I have a 7′ ml triumph and premier that I use as bobber rods and they work great. I can use them for a lot of other techniques as well which is nice.

Joe

I’ve been very happy in all my experience with Rapid Marine.

Joe

When there’s 4 tire tracks in the snow you can use the left two or right two, not the middle two…got caught behind that this morning.

Joe

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I was talking JRs tackle outlet from Brooklyn Park. Great little ma and pa tackle shop.

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They make a nice noodle rod for $30.

Joe

Speaking of super (dope) bowl, thought this was funny….

This is a tough one….been a gopher hockey fan my whole life but now I’m enrolled part time in grad school through St Cloud. Can I still cheer for the gophers?

Why are you changing? The only difference is the flat screen so you won’t be gaining much in my opinion. Look at an 18 or 20 or any of the other brands models with zoom if your going to spend the money. Otherwise I’d just stick with the 8.

Joe

Ice golf tournament at the Anchorage Inn in Longville this weekend. You’ll stay plenty warm chasing down your ball as it bounces across the ice and gets buried in a snow drift.

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So u went walleye fishing today and I probably tried like 15 different spoons. Nothing. All I got is lookers but no spooners. What’s the next best thing.

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Jig and minnow. I feel that in clear water a spoon with a vertical profile is less natural than a jig and minnow with a horizontal profile.

All open water season people catch hundeds of walleyes on a leadhead jig and minnow and then ice forms and we put them away and pull out the spoons. I always have live bait on a set line next to me when I’m jigging in my house and I often run into the same issue where they actively chase a spoon but won’t take it while also not taking the live bait. A jig/minnow has saved me many times in this situation. I’ve been amazed at the number on times on the ice where they only look at a spoon but will smash a jig and monnow. Dont go through your whole spoon box before pulling one out. I like a 1/16 or 1/8th oz jig with the minnow hooked through the mouth and behind the head so it stays alive and still kicks when held still. You’d be surprized at the amount of action a jig and minnow can produce when jigged vertically under the ice.

Even this smaller walleye took down a whole jig on aday when spoons just weren’t converting.

Joe

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I ice fished Walker bay two Februarys ago for the first time and I could see my jig in 24ft of water. Not sure if this is the norm but the clarity at that time surprised me to say the least.

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Its normal, Ive watched my bait in 25ft of water in walker bay. The main lake stays stirred up by the wind in the summer but also becomes very clear in the winter as it settles.

Joe

Here us an auger carrier I pulled together a couple weeks ago. The Kolpin Rhino XL grips can be had on amazon for $21 and then just a 2×4 and U-bolts to the rail. Less than $30 and about 30 minutes to assemble.

Joe

Their tackle is at most retailers but I think the rods you can only get at their outlet in Brooklyn Park on 169 or online possibly.

Joe

That’s normal. The colors are a little lighter and different then traditional flashers. When you do get dark red you know i’ts a nice fish! Just set the sensativety based on seeing your bait as you normally would and you’ll quickly get used to the color difference and you’ll also start seeing the advantage you get with having six colors, great target separation and a thin target line. You won’t get the blobs when fish are bunched up and you can really tell the difference is size of fish.

Joe

My JRs rods have been great. I have the lite bite which is their fiberglass ‘noodle’ style rod and it works great. I also have a light graphite rod that I’m very happy with. Theyre a great value in my opinion. I have some ugly sticks for lead core and catfish but would not consider one for any of my ice fishing applications.

Joe

On a deep clear lake like this I would start searching in and around weeds before venturing out to the basin. You might even run into some of the nice sunfish present in the lake.

Joe

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3 1/4 inch in flasher only and 2 1/2 in any other display options with flasher for the lx6

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My only gripe with my lx6. I really wish I could use the vertical zoom with the 3 1/4 flasher, there’s plenty of room for it on the screen but it shrinks down to 2.5″ when combining any of the displays. The 2 1/4 flasher is not real easy to read.

Joe

Mine takes a few seconds if the transducer is swinging.

Anyone know if there’s still an update planned to be released this month. I heard mid-December a while ago but haven’t heard anything recent and it’s mid December. Did I miss something?

Joe

I was able to straighten it out by putting the tip in some warm water but it it developed a bend again after fishing with it. I was more curious if anyone has seen this happen with their high buck custom noodle rods? I didn’t have it under much load, just enough to take slack out of the line.

Joe

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Nils only makes a 4.5,6 and 8″ Strikemasters the onlyone I have ever seen with a 7″… I have a 7″ hand auger and its a POS…..

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Because its 7″ or because it’s a POS?

Too cold to do any real phishing…probably got more bites then those who did brave it. Got a laugh out of me…

Fish have no idea that slender spoons are the hot bait right now. They don’t flock to every slender spoon that is dropped down the hole. In experienced hands with a person who is good at finding fish they can be a great tool. If you’re not catching fish on them then its likely not your bait but where/when you are fishing and how good you are with the bait you have tied on.

I laugh when people ask me what I was using and nothing about where i was. It doesn’t really matter if you’re not on active fish.

Joe

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I found a new lake that I want to start putting some time on,but it is 100ft deep and I have no idea on where I should start. I am targeting walleye on a very clear water sisco lake. If anyone has a good plan of attack, please help. Here is a link to the lake map http://dnr.wi.gov/lakes/maps/DNR/2353600a.pdf

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Based off depth contours alone I’d focus on the northeast corner where there is a lot more structure. Most of the remaining area of the lake is just a steep shoreline break into the main basin. Some areas I’d look to would be between the island and the small rock hump where it creates a nice saddle and on either edge of that where it goes into the small hole to the east or where it goes out to the basin to the right. Otherwise maybe try the break on that goes south to north starting on the west edge of that rock hump. It would be really nice to know if and where there are any weeds in the lake. The map indicates a lot of sand/gravel/rock and if you could find some weeds that would be a good place to start.

Spend some time drilling holes and trying to find transitions in bottom content and baitfish. Walleyes like edges and they follow baitfish so if you find a combination of both you should have a good starting point. As for depths, it really depends on the piece of structure you’re fishing and where the weedline is. I prefer shallower water than the previous poster suggests and have my best success in 10-20ft ranges.

You’re likely to find a better low light bite on a clear water lake so spend the daytime exploring and looking for some of the suggested areas and then get your holes drilled early and stay quiet on the ice as primetime approaches, especially important if you’re fishing shallower. Try for natural presentations in clear water, silver and golds work great.

Good luck!

Joe

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I found the target separation to excel in zoom mode.

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Ice 55 does not have zoom, it has optical enlargement that is mislabeled as zoom. It just blows up the image 2X in the target area. Similar to blowing up a picture on your computer. It does not actually change the target separation or re-enhance the image once in “zoom”.

Think of it as blowing up a picture on your computer, it distorts but gets bigger. Its the same way with vexilar. Marcum is the only one with a true zoom, it zooms in like a camera would. Better target separation and re-enhances the image to SFL again in zoom mode.

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I started the season with an Ice 55 and noticed the same thing. It turned my 1/4″ width target into 1/2″ on zoom. The blobs got so big I found it easier just to turn off the zoom. Other than that it was a nice unit and I really liked the six color. I ended up selling it though after having issues with two units in a row and having to send them in for repair. If they were more reliable (from my experience) they would make a good unit.

Joe

Bring extra of whatever clothes/heaters you can fit. My biggest concern would be vehicle trouble or just not starting in the cold while you’re on the lake which could lead to real trouble so maybe fish near some other groups. I’d be replanting for another wkd but that’s my advice if you’re going no matter what which it sounds like you are.

Joe