Craig Severson wrote:

Been fishing in 25 to 28 feet on the edge of a break. Seems any live bait works for us as we’ve done pretty well. Red #6 hook on a rattle wheel with a 6 to 8 foot mono lead has been the ticket, 1-2 feet off the bottom.Have done pretty poorly jigging. Good luck there’s a ton of snow right now.

Thanks so much for the info and help! Will definitely keep this in mind!

I’m more than happy to do my own research and grind through a few different lakes but am just wondering what to look for when doing research online regarding the lakes I’m looking at. Not sure if there’s a pretty big giveaway to if there’s a chance a lake has a good night bite or not.

Troy Hoernemann wrote:

Water clarity is big on most dark stained lakes fishing slows down 1/2hour after dark or be for what species of fish are you looking for

Panfish and pike is what I’m after for the most part.

nhamm wrote:

Such a small lake to figure out, why not just handle it yourself?

Im there for 1 day so I wanted to get a few more opinions before going out.

Mr Big Eves wrote:

Crazy, took me a minute to find the lake! Lol, I swear I zoomed in roughly two hours north of the cities and it was the first lake I zoomed into! Wow, still amazes me.

Your secret is safe with me!

Hahaha that’s awesome. I don’t even know if it’s much of a secret up that way at all but I figured I should be safe since I hardly fish it ever.

404 ERROR wrote:

This seems like the perfect scenario to go and check out the excerpt from last weeks episode of IDO about basin Crappies. I would imagine everything James talked about would hold true on this lake.

Yeah I saw that and my only thought was the lake he was referring to was probably double the size and had much more deep water as well.

I appreciate all the feedback and it has helped tremendously. Trying it out tomorrow evening so I can’t wait!

rwilliam wrote:

Up until this summer when I made the switch to a Garmin echoMAP chirp, I was strictly a flasher guy.
I used my Marcum Lx5 the prior 5-6 years, however it was used mostly for walleye. It worked very well for what I used it for.
Ron.

Were you able to troll slowly with the transducer down and still pick up a decent signal where you could see structure/weeds?

sktrwx2200 wrote:

I like what you had to say about it Joel!

Im on the fence on this one. I hold the fish out away from my body, but not 3.5 ft away. Its natural to hold it away from you, you dont hold it against your body slimming you clothes up. I dont care if people hold it out 4 ft or not, you can still tell when its a big fish. I only laugh at folks who hold a 1lb <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>perch or sunnie out 2in from the lens making it look like a 50lb <em class=”ido-tag-em”>perch. Lets just call it the “Jason Mitchell” technique. Come on. haha

no question these are giant walleyes. Put that location on my list.

Very well said!

Looks like the pictures were taken either with a GoPro or a GoPro type lens which helps but it is blatantly obvious these are some giant fish and I would assume these guys put in some hours and work into finding and landing the fish. Nice job and great fish!

Steve Thompson wrote:

Welcome to South Dakota Ryan.

As most have suggested, make sure to stop in and talk to Doug at Sportsman Cove in Webster. He’ll give you the latest update plus load you up with bait.

As far as lakes go, Bitter and Waubay are both good lakes but have been pressured pretty hard again this year which has affected the bite. We have also entered the mid-winter blues so that means… drill baby drill!

While a lot of out-of-staters (this is not a knock) tend to gravitate to Bitter and Waubay, don’t over look some of the smaller and less pressured lakes such as…

-Dry No.1: <em class=”ido-tag-em”>Walleye
-Goose: Walleye, Perch
-Indian Springs: Walleye, Perch
-Lynn: Walleye
-Opitz: Walleye, Perch
-Pickeral: Walleye, Perch
-Reid/Round: Walleye, Perch

As far as lures, the best advice is use what you are most comfortable using. Lures are designed to catch fisherman, not necessarily fish. It’s a matter of figuring out what the fish want for breakfast. Eggs today, Pancakes tomorrow, French toast on Friday. Here are some of my go-to lures.

-Ultra Light Rippin Raps: Tip the bottom treble with some spikes for perch
-#2 & #3 Jigging Shad Raps: Tip the bottom treble with some spikes for perch
-#5 & #7 Jigging Raps: Perch, Gold, Chartreuse for <em class=”ido-tag-em”>walleyes
-Rattling Spoons such as VMC Rattle Spoon or Lindy Rattling Flyers. Gold, Red, Chartreuse all work well.
-Spoons such as VMC Tingler, Tumbler, Flash or CJS Slender Spoons. Tip with spikes or Minnow heads. Gold, Red, Chartreuse all work well.
-Small Jigs: Gold & Chartreuse work well.

Best advise, watch how the fish react and change it up if you can’t get them to strike. I always keep three rods rigged with a variety so I can get back down quickly while they are still there.

Good Luck!

Steve, thanks so much for the advice. Truly appreciated! I’ll continue to do research today and tomorrow and will also look into all of those other lakes. I am restricted to only all day Friday so I just want to be sure I am going to the right lake. I don’t keep any fish so I’m not worried about going home with a bucket full, just want to keep a bend in my rod the majority of the day!

Dusty Gesinger wrote:

I’m heading out on Friday for the weekend, when will you be out there?

I have a place by Wilmar, MN so I am driving there Thursday night and then getting up early Friday to drive out to SD and spend the entire day there!

Thanks so much for the information! Are people driving trucks on the ice out there yet? Any depth suggestions for the perch?

I do have Navionics and yeah, bitter looks really intimidating! Haha

Wow, that’s pretty solid then. Might just ride it out with the line I have.

deertracker wrote:

I thinking not much. All of the snow has to melt off first.
DT

Well, there really wasn’t much snow to begin with and most of the small lakes/ponds I’ve seen have already lost all of their snow.

I use a Frabill case and have no complaints!

Thanks so much Will! I look forward to hopefully showing off some pictures tomorrow!

Yoshi wrote:

What resort are you going out of?

Staying at the Grand Casino so we can have stuff to do when we’re not on the ice but we’re open to driving around the lake to get to any launch!

Hahahaha thank you both for a good laugh!

I have the VX-1 and my girlfriend uses the FL-8 and personally I love my VX-1 a million times more than that FL-8 and I’ll list my reasons below.

– Zoom feature
– Less noisy because of the awesome carrying case it comes with
– I feel like my VX-1 is not as flickery as the FL-8
– It all around looks like a better unit, the FL-8 is just ugly lol!

rjthehunter wrote:

What lake was that? It looks rather familiar! Is it near St. Johns?

It is not, it is a long skinny lake in the west metro!

mark-bruzek wrote:

Since you asked for thoughts…
Try to be more inconspicuous about catching fish. Kneel down, keep back to people and don’t hold the rod and reel over your head. These little things will limit the attention of others. Its kind of like waving a net around during summer. Things to think about.

Thanks for the advice! We actually dont usually keep fish and we’re not too worried about other people seeing us catch fish. We actually wouldnt mind if people came over and fished around us. Want everyone to enjoy the sport as much as we do!

mplspug wrote:

Looks good to me!

I have a Silver 3+ and some questions.

Did you use GoPro Studio to edit the video?

Did whatever video editor you use automatically put that GoPro shot at the beginning?

Do you use a color filter, because I noticed the raw video from my go pro seems a little washed out?

What export setting do you use to export (if using GoPro Studio) the YouTube setting?

I know, I need to read the manual. Sitting down with it tonight.

If anyone wants to chime in on other editing software out there, please PM me.

I dont actually edit them myself, my friend does and I know he uses the GoPro studio and I know he exported to the YouTube setting. Also, we did not use any filters!

Jon Jordan wrote:

Couple options for the rooms, check out The Red Door on the north end:

http://www.thereddoorresort.com/motels.html

or McQuiods on the SE corner:

http://www.mcquoidsinn.com/lodging-and-rates/

Many of the more popular reefs and flats will now have permenant houses out. That should help get you in the right neighborhood. Most resorts offer staked roads and maps to fishing areas for a $10 fee. Remeber to drive slow and don’t punch holes near roads perm shacks.

Jigging spoons tipped with minnow head or live minnow under tip ups or bobber rigs are always a good start.

Good luck out there!

-J.

Thanks Jon! I will definitely take a look at those two and keep those tips in mind, I appreciate it!

I heard ice thickness is 17-20 inches, is this true and have people been driving trucks out there?

mattgroff wrote:

Watch the last episode of ido TV.should help u a bit.

I did and am definitely going to re watch it once or twice before I go.

I plan on making a day trip up there sometime in January but have never been there before. Are local bait shops good with giving out spots or places to try? I have Navionics but the map isn’t very good for Mille Lacs and I trust locals over an app any day.

You can’t fix stupid.

Awesome pictures Wade!! Looks like a lot of fun!

Fishing definitely slowed down for me as well. Marked a few fish but nothing committed. Frustrating!

Any preference for color when fishing for walleye? Natural colors in clear water and flashy in darker? Thanks to everyone who already replied as well!

Gary Sanders wrote:

Without more lake specific info it is difficult to provide any direction. Based on the info that you provided, perhaps the timing of your visits to the hump could be in question.

Im not so much asking about this lake in general. More so any ideas of other depths/depth changes I should be looking for when using a map.