We had the 4 wheeler out on Wednesday on Pine Lake just north of Baldwin. About 5 1/2 solid inches. Talked to a lot of people who have been out all over the place. Ice is not an issue – Give ‘er hell and good luck!

1/4 oz white jigheads with a chartreuse twister tail. Here is a pic of one of them. Sorry it is fuzzy – was in a hurry—-

As far as I know – just pop the air bladder with something small and sharp when it comes out of it’s mouth. Get it back in the water quickly and I’m pretty sure all is well.

Using it in anywhere from 6 -22 ft.

Rivereyes and James seem to have a bad attitude about ice fishing. REMEMBER —- put your beer in your bibs a couple minutes before you want to drink it.

Used the Marcum a couple times this year so far……. I absolutely love it. The adjustable zoom is a great feature, and you don’t have to learn how to read “the flicker”, and the target seperation with the thinner lines is much nicer. Whatever—— they both make great units but I can tell you that the Marcum is awesome——————————————-Pax

Have not had time to use it on the water yet and am still learning (as I probably will for quite some time) but it is a fun little toy. I used to use an eagle explorer without the mapping and that worked fine too. Don’t know about battery life yet. Colored display is really just a bonus. I’ll try and keep you informed—————————————Pax

I just got Garmin’s Street Pilot III a litle while ago. That is a handheld, full color display. It even will talk to you and give you directions.

Thnak you —-I can already feel the ice beneath my feet and taste those panfish in the skillet—————Pax

Rivereyes- Are you out causing trouble again??? You never gave me a shout to ask about your local lakes. Take it easy and thanks for the report———————–Pax

Dave – We gave the nitro crawlers a shot this year and they worked good – but I don’t know if they were any better. Have to use them a little more extensively this next year. They did outproduce regular crawlers in the Boundary Waters on our spring trip but that is the only occasion that I can think of.—Pax

Well at least you’ve got one hell of a good story Rob!

not much love for catfish’s political opinions——-I’m a Sconi and I think even I would puke if Paul Welfare got elected. Let’s find something better to talk about.

That’s a tough one SteveO. Usually the cheaper ones are people’s unused barns I.E. —-POOO Or the other option is one of the storage units scattered everywhere now. For your boat you’d need a decent sized sized one of these and they are in no way cheap. Maybe you should just get a price quote from one of these places and show your wife how much it will cost per month and maybe she’ll change her mind. That will allow you to tinker with your toy all winter. Sorry – I know this isn’t much help but it could be worth a try————————–Pax

Looks great. Like SteveO said – it is nice and easy to get around in.

I plan on starting out fishing in as shallow of water as I can with spinnerbaits and shallow raps, possibly a buzzbait. Then I’ll progressively work deeper until I hook up with fish. If all else fails I’ll concede and throw out a crappie minnow out one side of the boat and a sucker minnow out the other. That’s my plans and I’m sticking to ’em.

Sorry River Eyes – I’m headed to my secret lake – not the ‘Croix. OK Horshoe Lake just north of Turtle Lake. I’ll be one of the few ‘Sconis out there amidst all of the Minnesotans. Hope the weather predictions for the coming weekend stay true if not get warmer. Good Luck to all wherever you head to. ————————————Pax

If he didn’t want anyone fishing his little pond I guess he shouldn’t have dredged an access to it. If you can get to it in the water you sure as hell can fish it. I’ve run into a few problems with property owners especially ice fishing small ponds and at least 3 different times I can remember calling a warden on the cell phone to come out and resolve the problem. So far I’ve always been right (luckily)

JIG – Hands Down -No Ifs Ands Or Buts About It

Might as well tell you what I think too. Go with the 24 v as everyone else thinks. I think you would like the built in transducer as that way you don’t have any extra cords. What’s nice with these is that before you buy the motor you specify which brand of locators you prefer so they already have the proper transducer in it. If you want to take the same unit for ice fishing just buy/build a box for the unit and get another transducer. Seems like most like the minnkotas but I have had 3 Motorguides and will probably never switch. I run a 24v 67lb laser ES on a 19 ft Javelin F/S and have more than enough power for a weekend. Good luck ————Pax

P.S. – – – According to Bass and Walleye Boats magazine Chargetek makes high quality on-board chargers for the cheapest out there.

What for??? Is the water that high?

Great fish James! Call me crazy but the gators are truly my favorite fish to go after. Love seeing those girls with big teeth. Glad to hear you’re feeling better. —————————-Pax

We gave it a shot on Friday for a while – fishing was secondary because I was trying out a new(er) boat. Got a couple decent saugers slipping right down the center from the dam back to the y. More active fish when we got near the clam beds (thanks Rivereyes). Nothing spectacular though. 1 small sturgeon. My partner had something decent on up by the lock and lost that after about 20-30 seconds. Was pretty darn busy for a Friday. Makes you wonder if we’ve all got cushy jobs or what.?.?.?

I’m glad I’m fortunate enough to not have to only go there on the weekends. Mid-week is by far the best time. I only brave it down there on weekends if either the bite on hogs is on or I just want to subject myself to the mobs.

I think I’d be smiling a little bit more if I’d caught that nice eye. Hopefully all the gals will be hitting Pool4 4 soon.

About 2-3 times a year and that’s about it. Just like to catch ’em not a superhuge fan of eating them. The pollution thing is probably blown out of proportion I would guess (non-educated one). I guess eat ’em if you got ’em

I have noticed the same thing fireflick. As soon as the nights start staying in the mid 30s that when things really start happening fast.

32 miles right on the nut to Evert’s Landing.

would be fun to try but I also don’t think that it would be legal anywhere for that matter except maybe the south.

Use the smallest one that you can as long as you can positively feel the bottom when you want to. Right now with the flow not really moving you should be able to get by with 1/4 to1/8 oz but when the water gets higher (as it will soon) you may need to up it a pinch. Colors are your baby -give ’em all a shot.