The first "trip" of the year had us headed north to the tune of 14 hours in the duramax. There was a ton of preparation that went into this trip, but I don’t know if any bigger amount of preparation would have yielded better results. As always, on the drive up, spending that much time in a truck with your fishing buddies…we always have visions of grandeur!
We had to make a couple of stops on the way up, first to see my brother, who just returned home from Afghanistan after breaking his leg. It was good to see him safe and at home with his family. Second, we had to stop by Calvin’s to pick up a 10" 224 bit, and the 3 HP solo head. Then we were off.
We got into the casino around one in the morning, and were fishing by eight the next morning. We were very limited in mobility because the GPS were having a hard time getting through the storm that the lake was creating. Line of sight was less than 100 yds. And this was one of our warmest days temp wise.
The next few days, the mercury would continue to fall, and lead to things getting broke, gelling up, and not starting.
We broke two heaters, one that just about blew up, a laker rod, heater grips on the quad..and a few other things.
Things that didn’t break…solo augers, otter fish houses, our snosuits, LX-5’s… and our hope to catch some big fish.
We had a ton of baits for this trip. Biggest fish were taken on BFT blade baits, and 1/4 ounce slender spoons. We had a few fish take dead minnows dead sticked on jig heads. Other baits that worked were, clacking raps, rattling rapalas, and live targets. My most vicious hits were on blades.
Over all, we would have loved to have caught more fish. This was a nine day trip, with two days of travel. Seven days of fishing cut in half, because of the cold, things not starting/gelling up. I would guess that we caught over 100 walleyes in three full days of fishing. Everyone that we talked to said come back in march, and we might do that, if it isn’t going to be -30 F!
One thing is for certain, these are big walleyes, and I mean big. They are also beautiful, the greenbacks are unimaginable until you have held one in your hands.
Steve, Marshal, I can’t wait for the next "ice road fishers" trip!
Pics
Nice report…You look cold in some of those pics…Good job in those conditions.
Good job
Wow Luke! Those Green backs are thick as a brick right to the tail!! Nice fish!!
Good Job Luke Those walleyes have a really neat color to them
Awesome fish Luke!
Thanks for the report.
Yeah, it is crazy how much your face can swell/tighten from the hotel casino to the ice…we were experiencing 100 degree shifts or more…
Good lookin fish!
Wow! Those fish are chunks and the color is awesome. I’d love to try that sometime but am definitely not as hardcore an ice fisherman as you fellas.
Nice read Luke
And the countdown begins to Mid-March!
One other thing I feel is noteworthy. Using thorne bros laker rods. These fish had extremely tough mouths…We were using 42″ pro graphite rods, spooled with super line, or mono, and you have to fish with barbs crimped, so maintaining constant pressure is key to landing the big fish, and getting good hook sets. Great drags are also a must so they don’t freeze up. Sustains and stradics performed flawlessly!! I know this is expensive gear, but it was an expensive trip, and you would kick yourself if you lost a 28″+ fish do to a drag or rod freezing up, at least I know I would have. Some of the marks we saw on the lx-5’s gave me mini heart attacks…They were huge!!
Fun Trip Luke !!!
See you at the Madfishexpo !!
I’ll look forward to your stories from the trip
Great write up Luke, way to give it a run!
Just plan a trip in March when the fish are schooled up more and typically the weather is more fishable.
Luke is dead on about mini heart attacks. My trip last March was great, the pictures do not do justice to these fish.
Excellent report, really loved the pictures of those fish.
Thanks too for shining a light on the gear you were using. Were most of the fish you caught fairly aggressive, and/or was the bite felt fairly readily? I’ve got a TB glass rod for big pike that I think would work almost as well so long as the fish were smashing the bait.
Joel
These were the most aggressive ice bites I have ever had! There was no doubt when they hit it..
Great report, Luke! Thanks for sharing with everyone at IDO! Spike
Great report Luke. Awesome greenbacks.
Can’t wait. See Marshal and you in March and April. 
Jerry
Nice Report Luke,
nice greenbacks..
Jack
The weather is your biggest enemy up there, those conditions are tough. Glad you got a taste of what it has to offer. It’s hard not to go back. I’ve got my reservations for late march.
When these guys were up it was some of the most brutal conditions you could imagine. They could not move as much as they would have liked. “Survival” fishing at its finest.
They did much better than most of the few locals that were out. Fishing and conditions have greatly improved with lots more fish being caught.
Lee