Have posted this twice but doesn’t seem to be going through, so apologies if there are duplicate posts here.

I will be on my fourth season this year and haven’t even gotten close to having an opportunity at a shot at a Tom. Have been hunting public land within an hour of the twin cities. Have heard a handful of gobbles but can’t seem to locate them or get them to come to me.

My family has some property near Akeley. Have had deer seasons where I’ve seen dozens of birds, then multiple years with no birds at all. Last November opener I heard what had to have been 6+ birds gobbling at legal light on the property. I plan to head up north this year and hunt that property.

Speaking of – anyone ever tried hunting turkeys from an elevated deer stand? We have a nice (comfortable) tower stand that I’ve had birds walk underneath me in. I’ve always hunted from the ground posted up on a tree or in some brush but I’m considering sitting in that stand this year. Only major issue I can think of is calling from an elevated position may make the birds suspicious? Anyone have any experience hunting turkeys from an elevated deer stand?

Not specific to this lake, but I also am curious about metro area ice conditions this up coming weekend.
I promised my nephew I’d take him out for his first ice fishing experience. We plan to fish a twin cities metro/western suburb lake Saturday morning.
I’m sure it will be very wet – but I assume overall ice is still very fishable? We’ll be walking to our spots from the access, so no vehicle or ATV.
Any thoughts?

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like it’s definitely an upgrade. Hopefully I can pick up an end of season deal on one.

I know I’m bumping a very old thread, but thought it was better than starting a new thread.

I have the k-drill and a Milwaukee M18 drill with a handle.
Overall I have no issues just using the drill and handle. Personally think it takes a little too long to drill holes with the k-drill but I’m on season two with the k-drill and perhaps my blades are dull. Have also read it’s not made to be the fastest, just durable/tough.

I’m seeing that you can get an adapter for the k-drill to use with the clam plate.

My question to those with experience- is the clam plate worth it, or a significant upgrade to just going direct to the drill? I’d imagine the ergonomics of holding the plate vs the drill/handle is an upgrade.

Any thoughts or feedback? For more info – I ice fish maybe 5-10 times a year if I’m lucky, so I’m not out there constantly drilling holes.

All good info, thanks.

Ryan Schwartz wrote:

If you’re fishing with a Vexilar under 20 feet of water, I would use low power mode if your model has it. Fish can feel the sonar pulses if you blast them with normal power in a shallow area.

Interesting. I have the FL18 that does have low power mode but I’ve always used normal with bottom lock on. I’m going to have to switch to low power mode for my local lake that tops out at about 8 feet deep…

Thanks guys, I appreciate the info. I try to stay away from other groups as I wouldn’t want people crowding in on me, but you make a good point that there’s a reason they are fishing there. I’ll still give plenty of space.

I’ve been pouring through some of the LakeFinder survey info and digging into the Navionics webapp and think I’ve got an idea on a lake or two for this weekend. I do prefer fishing the deeper basin holes just because I like looking at the Vexilar in ~24 feet of water versus 8 feet of water. Think I’ll drill a half dozen or so holes and see if I can spot them. Will report back!