Wrk2Fish – I don’t recall exactly how we attached the storage. It is up at the lake right now, but I’ll try to take some pictures the next time I take the boat out and get them posted here.

I am not a plumber, but have some experience. As was already suggested, I would start with the pressure switch. The contacts on the switch can get dirty and not allow proper contact which will prevent the pump from getting power. Cleaning the contacts is pretty easy with just some emery cloth. Just make sure the power is off before trying anything. I like to verify with a voltage tester to be 100 percent sure.

I am heading up tomorrow morning. This will only be the second time fishing Leech. Looking forward to it. Sounds like the jig and minnow bite is in full swing based on what I have read.

Cedar is traditionally what sauna is built with. Preferably clear cedar on benches.

Speaking of sauna, I better go stoke the stove.

-Joe

Those crappies…That must have been a blast!

Cedar Lake near Aitkin, MN.

My understanding is Switchfire gives you more of the RAW data your sonar is picking up. Why H-Bird doesn’t just have sensitivity settings that give you more range, we’ll that is probably just marketing.

On some lakes, I utilize Switchfire, others not so much. It kind of depends on how you like your sonar data displayed. I have found that if I crank up sensitivity in the non-switchfire mode, I can get a similar reading to if I crank down the sensitivity in switchfire mode. Again, probably just more of a marketing thing.

I have to agree with Jakob. I spend a ton of time on the Rum in the summer time. Low fishing pressure and good pike and bass fishing. Once you make your first trip down, you will start learning the fish holding spots of the river.

One word of caution is that the Rum can rise quickly after a good storm. I keep my eyes on the DNR River Level webiste. There is a USGS survey station where Viking Blvd (22) crosses the Rum River.

I like to see the river level under 4 feet for my canoe in the particular stretch of river I fish. Last year, it was way high until almost mid summer. This year, with the limited snowpack, the river level has been perfect. I haven’t made it out yet, but plan to at least make one trip to see if I can find any river crappies. I have yet to catch one, but I have heard they are in there. It is pretty rare I can get out there in the spring time, so I am going to try to take advantage of it.

Horseflies can be treacherous in the summer.

The northern pike regulation is interesting. It would be sad for someone who caught a trophy but couldn’t take it home because they didn’t meet their two smaller fish requirement.

Northern pike: Limit of 10. One fish may be longer than 30 inches only if two fish shorter than 30

I am also interested in getting an answer to this question. Thanks for asking sktrwx2100.

There were a few colors in stock at Rogers Cabelas today. Colors were Orange UV, Gold Chrome, Firetiger and Helsinki Shad if I remember correctly.

They are also clearing out a lot of their ice fishing tackle. Not huge markdowns, but certainly better prices than earlier this year.

-Joe

Thanks for the input. It must be some sort of hatch going on.

The bubbled ice started in about 24 feet of water and weededge on this particular lake is around 8 FOW. It is just odd to me that this is happening constantly out there. Everytime I have fished it, I have marked these bubbles rising off the bottom on my graph during all times of the day in this deeper water.

Thanks,

Joe

I also have a pair of Arctic Pros that I purchased earlier this year. They are by far the best boots I have ever owned. Previously, I always had trouble keeping my feet warm. Now, I don’t have to worry about it at all. As others said, easy on/easy off, which is nice if your heading out for a load of firewood or to get the paper.

I went out of Castaways Friday and was marking a lot of fish, but had a hard time getting them to commit. I did end up with one nice jumbo, a couple of tullibees and a small walleye. I wish I could have found a pile of perch that size. All fish came on baits with a rattle in them. I punched holes anywhere from 22-32 feet of water. Best luck was right around 30 feet around Carlsona Sand, but that was also where I was at around sundown so that probably played a part in why I caught most fish there.

-Joe

1750 Crestliner. 80lb. Works great.

I would love to try this sometime. For being so close to home, there are some real quality fish to be had from what I have heard. I do a fair amount of fishing on the Rum in the summertime, but have done very little Mississippi fishing.

What waders are you using? I need to by myself a pair!

Any big surprises getting out for the first time?

-Joe

Gotta love those UnCut videos. Those are some serious slabs.

Hey Timo,

I would love to get over to Finland sometime. It looks like a beautiful country. I have some Finn in my blood and have a lot of family/friends that have Finn heredity as well.

Welcome to the forum.

If you are ever in the states, stop on by for a hot sauna. Got a wood burning sauna in the backyard that is on twice a week!

-Joe

I have a few of the Rapala models. They are cheap, but as long as you keep a good sharp edge on them, they work well. I also use the Worksharp to sharpen the knives and it does an awesome job. It comes with me on every fishing trip.

I just bought a pair of Muck Arctic Pros a few weeks back. I have had them on the ice a few times now and have nothing but good things to say about them.

Edit: Just re-read original post of having your choices down to two already. My mistake.

That walleye measured about 20 inches. It sure was fat though.

I had another that was around 16 inches that had 3 crappies in its gut as well.

The crappies measured between 1 and 2.5 inches long. This was the first time I had ever seen crappies in a walleye before.

I always get a kick when I get to verify what the fish have been chowing down on…Here is one from a walleye just a few weeks ago. Those are 10 crappies that were in its gut. Pretty amazing.

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I did get on the Rum a few weeks back and had a few decent fish to show for it.

I tried the Rum/Mississippi in Anoka last week for the first time, but the wind made things difficult out there and we didn’t find any fish.

I am thinking about hitting the Rum one more time in the canoe before freeze up. I guess we will see how the next week or two plays out.

-Joe

@JustDave, I have only used the paper filters with my Aeropress. I will typically just do a quick rinse of the filter with hot water and that seems to remove any filter taste. The paper filters are super cheap and I think the inventor of the Aeropress even said he would use a paper filter up to 10 times before disposing of it.

The only “problem” I have had with the Aeropress is that it is a single cup coffee maker. I still keep my french press handy if I am having company over.

-Joe

Aeropress every morning. It is also portable. We have used it many times out on the lake.

I have tried many coffee methods, but keep going back to the aeropress as it consistently makes a great cup of coffee.

-Joe

The areas we explored all looked like dynamite crappie areas. I am sure there are some absolute giants in there in the spring. I am going to try to get up there next spring for sure to give it a try.

Brian, reading about your time up there with your dad really drives home the point that it isn’t ALL about the fishing. The time spent together on the water are what give us the memories that last a lifetime. The fish are just icing on the cake.

-Joe

Well, we ended up not getting as much fishing in as we were hoping on our trip. Thursday was a beautiful day to be out on the water and we fortunately were able to spend the whole day on the water. We worked McCavity Bay almost the whole day. For a Thursday, there was an awful lot of boats back there. We marked fish and presented multiple bait/lure combinations, but didn’t ever get a set pattern dialed in. We ended the day with 15 crappies in the box. Average size was about 11.5 inch, so perfect eating size. We had the best luck slow drifting a small 1/16 ounce jig tipped with minnow. The fish were out in the deeper water, anywhere from 25-35 feet. McCavity Bay was beautiful. I could see a spring crappie bite being really good back there as well. We were tempted to hit the main lake and give it a try, but with this being new water, I had a hard time moving away from biting fish for the chance of a better bite. This is something I have a hard time with that I am learning to change. Back at White Oak, I hit the cleaning shack and took care of the fish.

I checked the weather multiple times before the trip and knew Friday and Saturday were going to be tough. When we woke up on Friday and went outside, we made a mutual decision that it wasn’t worth the fight. Winds were blowing close to 30 MPH, the high temp was only 38 and it was raining/sleeting. We were disappointed, but thankful that we were able to get some time on the water on Thursday.

On the way home, we stopped by Spire Valley Hatchery just for kicks. It was cool seeing the trout in the holding ponds. I chatted with the DNR there a bit about their operations and the lakes they stock in the area.

Though we saw a lot of boats in the bay, it didn’t look like anyone had a pattern dialed in. Lots of boats came and left throughout the day. We were really hoping that the bite would pick up towards sundown, but it was pretty consistent throughout the day. Water temp was 58 degrees.

Thanks again to the guys who helped out with tips. This site’s community is awesome. This won’t be the last time I hit Cut Foot. The lake has a lot more to offer and I am hoping to get to know it a lot better in the next few years.

Attached are a few photos of the trip. Crappie pic only shows 13 fish…I had already cleaned up a few before we decided to snag a picture.

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Thanks BK and James.

Any recommendations on bait shops up that way?

James, how long of a leader do you recommend on a minnow rig? DNR site says water clarity is around 9 feet, so I would assume the leader doesn’t need to be terribly long. With the larger minnow, what size weight do you recommend? I haven’t rigged large minnows before, so this is all new to me. I am guessing that there is a fairly significant waiting period between the hit and setting the hook with these larger minnows as well.

Thanks,

Joe

Hopefully poor weather conditions mean that fish will have the feedbags on! Looks like I will be digging out the winter gear.

Thanks to a couple of the forum members for the private messages. I think I have a pretty good game plan put together. Just a matter of staying warm out there now.

We will be staying at White Oak, so I will try to post updates when back at the hotel to let you all know how things are going.

Thanks,

Joe

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I was out at Whitewater last weekend. Fall colors are just starting to turn. The hiking was great. I did throw a line in a few times, but didn’t have any luck. The fish were there, but wouldn’t hit what I was throwing. It is catch and release only for trout down there right now through October 1st I believe. Even though the fishing was slow, the camping and hiking was awesome. If you haven’t been to Whitewater before, I would highly recommend it. If you go, don’t forget to climb the Elba Firetower!