This was a fun one. Put up a great fight.

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Went to ML on Saturday, out of Fisher’s, and caught 53 walleye and a pike. We were out for about 8 hours, and while the snowstorm pushed a lot of the traffic off the lake, it didn’t bother the fish.

As for size, no supertankers, but the smallest was 17 and the vast majority were 18-20. The biggest was 24.5.

It was a good start to the year, and getting home in time for dinner scored a couple points with my wife.

Walk mine through a warm room, or just show it a picture of a flame (to scare it a little).

I’ve never fished for muskie, but that’s the type of episode that would make me consider it! That was awesome to see.

I’ve been asking the same exact questions, Brian. I’m looking for a workhorse casting rod. St. Croix is what I know, but I’m still looking around.

My TUCR ice rods are awesome, but I also knew what I was getting into, because of the attention and praise they’d gotten. I haven’t seen reviews for the open water offerings, and I’m still on the fence. If the open waters are as good as the winter rods, I’d be thrilled!

I’m hoping someone will chime in that has used one.

Nate

My order was cancelled last week. Received an email on 2/26.

I’m waiting on a rod, too. I’ve been keeping tabs on the sale items, and you’re spot-on. If they anticipate that the existing orders will be cancelled, which is probably a very large number already, why in the world are they accepting even more?

Wormdunker mentioned the Elliott Odyssey rod, and that product page has a picture of what I’m talking about.

You can see the cutout/inset in the grip. The cutout is too long and wide for the reel I’m using, a Shimano Stradic.

The Odyssey Limited Edition Ice Rod

The reel is taped on tight enough that it isn’t going anywhere, but there’s room in that inset space for the reel base to wobble from side to side.

The shim idea is probably easiest, in order to keep it from shifting, but that seems like an adjustment a guy shouldn’t need to make on that type of rod.

I’ve never tried bands on a reel, but it’s worth a shot. At this point, I’m reluctant to cut away part of the handle, but that might be a consideration too.

For those of you still looking, they’re back in stock at ifishpro.com.

Is there going to be a 3.0 version next year?

Maybe I’ll buy someone else’s outmoded 2.0 then!

I’ve seen the same thing. It seems they’re good enough that the supply can’t keep up with demand!

There were definitely fish to be caught today.
Three of us walked out early from Agate and setup shop. The other two had their keepers by 9 am, and although I didn’t get mine, I did catch 17 fish between 16 and 20 inches. Nothing smaller and missed an over.
The sleet certainly didn’t make for a comfortable day, and there was a lot of scooping out the holes and wiping off the flasher, but if a person dressed appropriately, it was doable.

I try to put the same thing down as soon as possible. For the weekend I mentioned, that involved grabbing another minnow and getting it back down right away.

It’s looking like 10/19 was my last day on the lake for the year. Too bad, because the big smallmouth were snapping.

This year, I learned to hone in on aggressive fish after a miss. If they strike and miss, or I set the hook and miss, it’s definitely been worth it to stick on that exact spot. Far more often than not, I’d end up catching that same fish or another fish within just a few feet of the first hit.

A couple weekends ago, there were plenty of boats out on Indian Point making long passes or trolling to and fro. I’d see someone set the hook but come up empty, and they’d keep right on moving. A few minutes later, they’d be blasting off to go somewhere else on the lake.

Fact is, you never know what’s in front of you, but you do know that you just missed a fish that had decided to hit whatever you presented. Show the same thing to it again. Turn the boat in a tight circle around that spot, give it a minute, and wait for that fish to take another run at you. It’s unclear how many fish are sitting in an area, but you know you could’ve/should’ve caught that one.

I was up Thursday through Saturday, and fishing was excellent.

Thursday was a perfect day, and I had a couple buddies along. A bunch of nice smallmouth, with a 22 1/2 the biggest. Monster.

Friday was the windiest day I’ve been out in. My trolling motor was running at a 6-8 out of 10 to hold a spot. After I ran out of juice, about noon, I backtrolled for the rest of the day. Lots of good fish, but fishing alone, boat control was a major challenge. There wasn’t anyone else at the landing, so that’s something.

Yesterday, Saturday, was amazing. Big fish, bass and walleye both, and not as many boats as you’d expect. At least, not many boats that stuck around long enough to figure out the bite.

In short, if you can get to the lake, do it.

This was a healthy, but lean, 29 incher.

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Found this 22 inch smallmouth hanging out in 26 feet of water on Mille Lacs.

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I would agree with the baitcaster recommendation.

I fish exclusively on Mille Lacs, and I’ve gotten comfortable with most techniques where a spinning reel is either ideal or just ‘good enough,’ but a baitcaster would definitely allow for a more diverse approach. There are times when casting distance and extra horsepower are what I need, and the spinning rod and reel don’t quite cut it.

We were on the north end and caught fish on bigger rocks from 6 to 14 feet deep. Most boats were further out, and I saw a few nets here and there, but it didn’t appear to be fast and furious on Sunday.

Sunday was one of the most special days I’ve ever had on the water. I took both my dad and 4 year-old fishing, and we were able to catch a bunch of nice smallmouth. My son’s first ever fish was a 20.5″ bass, and as I held the rod, he was also able to reel in another 6 or 7.

I’ve had days with more or bigger fish, but never any better.

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I missed opener on Mille Lacs, but made it up there by myself last Thursday. Caught about 30 bass, with 11 of those 20 inches or bigger. The two biggest were 21 1/2.

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It’s been a great year, and it’s not done yet! The best day included 10 smallies over 20 inches. There have also been a few walleyes over 25″ that have found their way into the net.

Biggest smallmouth so far is 23 inches, and well over 7 pounds (caught last weekend). Here’s hoping for a couple more fantastic weekends to keep chasing them!

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