Pretty sure that’s a Green Sunfish…

We picked him up at Terminal 2. Smooth sailing! Thanks for the advice.

Saturday we started in the river. There was plenty of chatter about all the small fish outside the gap and that the bigger fish were in the river. In my experience there wasn’t much difference. Caught plenty of short fish in both places.
The good news is that we caught plenty of eaters and enough slot fish to keep things interesting.
We actually had our best luck outside of Morris Point Gap. The action heated up later in the day and the average size seemed better as the day went on.
Ended the day with a 1/2 hour battle with a sturgeon. I’ll try to post a pic later when I get some time.

We fished outside the gap and can confirm lots of short fish. We did manage to get plenty to eat and 3 slot fish. Biggest was a skinny 25”er.

We’ll be at the Wigwam and fishing Friday & Saturday.

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. I will let you know how the pick-up goes and more importantly, the fishing. Hoping the weather cooperates…

JJ’s Guide Service did a great job for us.

I like the Berkley Lightning Rod 7′ Medium Moderate Fast Casting Rod for pulling bouncers at those depths.

Pair that with a reel with a flipping switch and you’ll have a nice combo. The flipping switch feature is getting harder to come by. The last ones I bought were made by Quantum but I fear they may have been discontinued.

Give Nathan at Xtra Mile Outdoors a call (608)518-5375.

Thanks for sharing. I spent 6 months over there with the Army in 2003. I miss the diving!

I have made that trip a few times a year for the past several years. I’m sure others will tell you to venture into Canada but we have not found the need. I have shied away from it due to the extra license, bait restrictions and because I might want to have a few beers while I’m fishing. Not to mention the border crossing reporting (which should be easier now). Plenty of excellent fishing on the Minnesota side. Sometimes it is a little more work than others to put together a pattern but we have always managed to figure something out and catch good numbers of fish and some trophy caliber fish as well.

I have only stayed at Young’s Bay Resort and Sunset Lodge. Both have nice fish cleaning rooms with electricity. Each has a bar / restaurant on site (Jerry’s is right next to YBR) that will cook up your fish for you. Both have docks with electricity.

Young’s Bay Resort is a nice place to stay and it is only a short boat ride to many fishing spots. I like to get my boat on the trailer and ready to transport after my last day of fishing. That way it doesn’t take much packing in the morning and we are ready to head for home. If you stay on one of the islands then your truck and trailer will likely be parked at YBR. I am actually heading to Young’s Bay Resort this weekend for an ice fishing trip.

Sunset Lodge also is a nice place to stay. I like going there when the wife and/or kids come along. A little closer to many fishing spots so more convenient to drop off or pick up people during the day or take a siesta. Kids can play in the water (probably not before Memorial Day). Has a northwoods vacation vibe.

You will have a good time!

I don’t have any suggestions off the top of my head but maybe if you tell me what lake you are fishing I might be able to come up with something…

“When you catch fish you feel the door to happiness open…”

I’m guessing there was about 24” where we fished. Plenty of ice on the lake. They are finally getting enough ice on the bay for travel. Looked like some people were starting to set up on the river but not sure how much ice in there yet.

We made it up to fish off Adrian’s Road on Wednesday 12/27 & Thursday 12/28. Fished out of by Clam hub shelter both days. Drove out to the end of the road and went out slightly northeast.

The -34 air temp. on Wednesday gave us some obstacles to overcome. The hubs on the shelter didn’t want to lock out. Primer bulb on my Eskimo auger was frozen solid. Propane heaters wouldn’t work. We did manage to get set up and fish but probably won’t try that again if the temps dip that low. I think the air temp. on Thursday was closer to -10 and set-up was a breeze. Not sure what the cut-off is but I do know -34 is too darn cold.

Fishing wasn’t fast and furious for us but did manage to catch quite a bunch of saugers. I would guess we released 2 or 3 for every one we kept. A couple of eelpout and a tulibee also caught the ride topside.

It was a trip we won’t forget anytime soon.

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Jackson Venjohn wrote:

Hi everyone,
Was planning on heading up to lake of the woods the day after Christmas. As I’m sure most of you know, cold temps are coming. Looks like we are going to see highs of -12 with lows of -25 by upper red and Lake of the woods.

Is it even worth it to go? Is there any way the fishing bite will not be EXTREMELY slow due to the cold temps coming in?
Thoughts?

I too am guessing the conditions will slow the bite. I will be fishing with my Dad and my son. We will be fishing off Adrian’s Road Wed. & Thurs. I won’t pass up that opportunity.

I have been up during some severe cold fronts that really seemed to slow the bite but other times done O.K. Always managed to have a pretty good time.

Things are shaping up nicely. I think the road is going to be good to go. Now I just hope this cold front doesn’t shut down the bite.

Brian Klawitter wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>ptc wrote:</div>
They are status symbols.

…and 2,873 cans of Hamm’s isn’t?

I’m with BK on this one

Try tilting the motor up while using side imaging.

Thanks for the advice

I was up there mid September last year. We pulled spinners behind bottom bouncers and did very well on lots of spots around Oak and Little Oak Island. Most of our fish came on minnows at that time but most of our slot fish came on crawlers.

Do the ushers keep the people with the cheap tickets out of the good seats?

Bump

I copied the AIS Affirmation statements and printed them on the back of my license and signed it. Hopefully that will be good enough.

I did encounter a DNR AIS checkpoint south of Baudette yesterday. They pulled us off the road. They checked the live wells and anchor. Had a dog sniff around the boat and trailer. We were the 3rd boat at the time. They had plenty of staff to check the 3 at once. Apparently they didn’t find anything. The whole process took about 5 minutes. They never asked to see my AIS Affirmation card.

I am still trying to find something I can print and sign. The on-line license purchase had me check the boxes to affirm that I was aware of the rules but didn’t give me anything to print. One of the boxes I checked said that I would carry a copy with me. Perhaps I will type up my own and sign it. A little frustrating…

Pug,

If you get a chance, try Soft Parade and/or Strawberry Shorts Cake both made by Short’s Brewing Company in Michigan. Might be hard to find in Florida.
I also enjoy Purple Haze by Abita out of New Orleans.

It’s a good thing no one else can see this, I might lose my man card too.

It has been quite a few years but we rented a sleeper shack from Walker Rental. Worked out pretty well. We even caught a few walleyes and a ‘pout the first night. Then the boozing and people watching took over…

Generally by February much of the fishing from the south shore resorts has moved out to the reefs. Knight Island or Garden Island areas. Fishing can be fantastic out there but it is a long ride in a bomber.

I am sure there is still good fishing to be had in the mud that time of year but in my experience it gets pretty tough.

I would look at the resorts in the Northwest Angle if that is an option for you. A little further drive to get there but the fishing is generally much closer to the resorts up there so not as much time spent travelling to and from the fishing locations.

WinnebagoViking wrote:

gonzo,

What was the name of the fish processor you used? I’m headed up next week. I normally just bring them home whole to smoke ’em but would like to try filets, however, I can never avoid the darn bones.

Lindal Fisheries
3805 County Rd M
Sturgeon Bay, WI
(920)743-4503

There was a fish processing company right on our way from the landing. We dropped off our fish and picked up fillets on our way home. The fillets had the skin on but scales removed. Also had trimmed out the line of bones. Before frying I trimmed off the skin and was left with 2 boneless pieces per side.

I wouldn’t normally have any interest in paying someone to clean my fish but this was just too convenient.