Nice work. What’s your plan of attack for the next few weekends? I don’t need specifics, just what types of structure you will target, or where a person would look for the fish to be.

I’ve been reading up on walleye seasonal transitions, specifically Walleye Wisdom written by the Lindners in the early 80s. I would think we are solidly in the postspawn period with the fish in the 10-20′ first breaks but not yet on midlake structure?

I don’t think I’m going to be able to get out this weekend due to the girls having dance and gymnastics shows, but good luck to those who get out.

Jon Jordan wrote:

Don’t feel bad! The south end rocks were a tough nut to crack. We blew more than half a day in that area too. Never marked or caught a thing.

That makes me feel better Jon. Part of my motivation was learning how to use my new side and down imaging. I marked one fish but was starting to doubt my electronics so I’m glad to hear someone else didn’t even mark much.

Thanks for all the advice guys. The mouth of Cove bay was iced in so I ended up going to Isle bay and fishing the area from there up to about doe island. never caught a fish or saw one caught for that matter. I tried to avoid the groups though. I did end up seeing some fish up very shallow so I think they were still spawning. I appreciate you guys getting me started out there though. Thanks again.

Thanks for all the suggestions and advice guys. I really appreciate it.

Eelpoutguy wrote:

Sounds like a winning combo Sticker. This is my first year at the cabin in Outing. Do you think I could find them that far north? I have a lot of decaying deadfalls from past storms.

You should have a decent chance of finding chantrelles and Lobsters (probably others too) in the summer. I stumbled on some by accident at my in-laws near crosslake a few years ago.

is this the Plus edition or standard?

nevermind. I found it. thanks again.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

for sure, any areas that hold current will hold cats, find the deepest holes.

With the warm weather you could probably put in on the hw71 access and get cats past the narrow channel right side shoreline breaks….

Thanks for the info. I’ve never been on the chain before and I don’t see an access on Hwy 71 on recreation compass. Can you tell me where it is?

glenn57 wrote:

On another note, drove by the chain and it’s ice over for now. Except where the river flows!

With this warm weather, would person still be able to get a boat in and make it to any spots that would hold catfish? Or are there any shore fishing opportunities right now? I may have Friday afternoon off and really don’t want to work on my honey-do list.

Thanks in advance.

I’m not sure what you are looking for as far as price range, age, miles, etc., but I’ve got a 2003 Chevy Suburban 4×4 that is going to be going on the market in the next couple months it’s my hunting vehicle now that used to be my daily driver. It has about 129K miles I believe. Body is rough (typical rust in the typical places) but it is mechanically sound. It would make a cheap reliable tow vehicle. PM me if it sounds like something you’d be interested in.

I actually JUST returned from Fleet Farm with that map. I haven’t even opened it yet.

Yes. It is our first time on that site. A group of campers let me walk around and take a look last August. It Looks pretty nice!

Dutchboy wrote:

I’ll send you a PM later.

Thank You Sir.

Yes, sorry. The Wolfpack Islands on Namakan. Specifically we are staying on Wolfpack East.

Thanks for the advice. If I put in at the crow, I’d probably go towards Otsego on the Miss. rather than up the crow. Is there enough water to float my boat on the Rum at St. Francis? I would like to run up the river and fish back to the landing. the boat is comparable to a Lund Pro V 1660.

there is a guy in Cold spring who has a litter of Yellows. Not sure how many he has left. I got a pup last year. They are pointing yellow labs. The dam is out of Sauk River Labs with Risky Raider lines and the Sire is Cashman’s Jimmy. These dogs are smart, good pointers, Excellent nose and great family/pets. Only complaint I have is the hair!!! PM Me and I’ll get you his email address. If you talk to him and he has some left, you’d be welcome to see my girl who is just over a year old now. we can take her out in the empty lot across the street from my house and you can see her point Killdeer, mourning doves and pigeons By the way, Macy is 57 lbs.

Bunk trailer isn’t going to work for me… I do fish some lakes with shallow landings. As for the power winch, I don’t mind cranking the boat on, but it is just pretty slow and at a busy landing, I like to be in and out. Does anybody know how many feet per minute those electric winches will pull a boat? If it is like my ATV winch, it would be faster to just crank it on by hand. Thanks for the input guys.

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as she was let go to fight another day

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I was just about to ask how it tasted.

That is a dandy!

Thanks to all the sponsors!

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My experience with the 4.3 is it has enough power to pull just about anything. Really strong motors. However, the chevy tranny is weak and won’t stand up to a lot of pulling. Definitely get a tranny cooler for it before pulling long distance.

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Totally agree. I ran a 4.3 for a long time. Pulled loaded (with camping gear)17′ Lund Angler to Canada for several years up to 80 mph when I-35 is flat. Oil cooler is a good idea and not bad to install, also as someone else mentioned, use “3” instead of “D”. Plenty of power.

Thanks guys! Sounds like an adventure. I am going to catch some Eyes on Gull on Friday as a confidence builder and hit Mille Lacs Saturday, or Sunday depending on wind.

Gull has been good for me this year, but is too far from the hunting property and doesn’t quite have the quality fish that Mille Lacs reportedly has, so it is time to broaden my horizons.

Great input guys. Exactly what I am looking for. Very true comment about the impatient bride, but if the fish aren’t biting I can normally squeeze a couple extra hours out of her if she has a good supply of magazines.

What is the best place to launch a boat on that east/south east part of the lake? How much do the private resorts charge? Is there a decent option for public access?

Also, what is the water clarity like in the summer on the lake?

Thanks Scott! Any particular Depth, color or speed?

Fish, sorry about the misdirection of this thread, but I figured as long as we are talking about it, I would throw this out there. This is a great site for comparing vehicles from a gas mileage perspective.

fueleconomy.gov

I agree with you Impala. My next one will probably be a 4 door pickup since this is no longer my commuter vehicle, but it is a pain to try to park a full size pickup in a parking ramp downtown with a longer wheelbase. As a hunting/fishing vehicle, it is nice to have a full size, and very true, the gas mileage on the fullsize with a bigger engine is not much different, especially when pulling a load.

What kind of gas mileage does that Durango get Big G?

My Otter Magnum Lodge will not fit in the back of my TB with the seats all the way back. If the Otter Sled is 6’6″, the I bet the cargo area of the TB is about 6′ or 6’3″. If you slid the seats all the way forward it might fit, but that isn’t really practical, for me anyways.

To get around this, I bought one of those racks that slide into the reciever of the truck and put my fish house on that. It hauls well, is only a few inches wider than the truck and you don’t need a trailer. Downsides are that your sled and cover get salt on them and it blocks your tail lights, which I fixed by putting a set of lights (that plug in just like a trailer) on my rack.

As for problems, I have had a few, but nothing major yet. My left front wheel hums a little bit, probably wheel bearings. Also last fall when duck hunting, I used the 4×4 to drive down a muddy trail, hunted for the morning, and when I started the truck up to leave I had a Service 4×4 light on and no 4×4. Scary, I would never have made it out in 2wd. Nothing I did fixed the problem, so I turned off the truck, pulled the fuse, waited a minute, put the fuse back in, started the truck, put it in 4×4 and drove away.

On the 03 models, the gasket around the rear license plate tray shrinks and looks bad.

On the good side, It has lots of power and good brakes, making it a nice vehicle for pulling trailers. I just got back from a trip to canada where we pulled a 17′ Lund Angler SS fully loaded with camping gear and gas 920 miles each way. We averaged 15mpg driving 72 mph in 3, not D.

All in all, I like my TB, yes it has its problems, but show me a vehicle that doesn’t. They are all money pits.

We go West out of Ponton rather than going north to Thompson. There is a site dedicated to the area. Xtremesportfishing. Dave Colibaba is a guide in the area who lives in Thompson, he is the admin of the site. Even on our bad trips, we catch many Northerns over 40″ and several of trout over 28″. Manitoba seems to be very friendly to Americans. We have had great experiences with the MNR, nice guys and not really out to get you, just making sure you are following the rules. We do normally get torn down on the way back into the US though in Pembina by the US Fish and Wildlife, so be sure you are legal. Read the regs carefully as there are lots of lakes with special regs. Don’t forget the camera. Good luck!

We fish between Thompson and Flin flon.. Will be up there on Saturday. northerns and trout are good.