I took a day off to head to a frozen lake, I'm going ahead of my family to prep our ice fishing house for the weekend. I haven't been here in 7 weeks so its going to be a little bit if work.

I took my best truck of course.







You can have a beer on the ice roads, just so ya don't get stupid.

The resorts plow these lake roads, and they charge a fee to use the road. 10 bucks for this one.

I follow this for 5 miles out onto the lake

Dave i hope you have a great time and catch some fish.

That doesn't suck.

Banquet beer?

Even looks like banquet bottles!!

About time Sir Northern Dave.

I'm making plans for a trip north myself soon.

That mesh cap, and the propane tanks are sort of an odd combination.

Good luck with it all, and my you, and family enjoy safe fishing, stay on the proper side of the ice.

Are you using a North American Hunting Club Selfie stick.?



Hope you catch a limit or 3....

Just got back from the grocery store for a cheese curd run and noticed Coors was selling the retro bottles then Dave has one in his hand - I think.

Weird.

Is that a J10 truck?

I ran out if good lake road about 3/4 mile away from my shanty. So yeller (truck) had to work



That's a soft push. You have to jab away at it because its a multi layer snow crust. Hit it too hard and the blade climbes up and u are on too if the pile.

Which is not good.

Once I made it to the fishing house I had to clear a turn around and a parking area for the rest if my tribe.

The old rule of fishing is, one must suffer in order to catch fish.

I've never suffered while catching fish. I've suffered not catching as an unnoticed rip in the waders while steelheading will generally sway the mood.

Ice fishin brings out the kid in all of us...

ND, enjoy the ice time with your family.

Dave, thanks for sharing the pics. I love that ole yeller truck of yours.

I'm starting to get the fishing itch, but our winter has been so warm the lake ice isn't thick enough.

ND: I think you are crazy.

But you seem to enjoy it immensely.


Carry on.

Cool pics

Dave,

You almost make a guy want to visit Poland.

Almost.



Travis

Then to drill the holes.

This is what they look like, before drilling.



I use this, this is how I set it up, that tub at the floor level is for catching ice shavings.



Here's what it looks like drilling (that's me boy)



Here's what the weather does to my beer.



Here's what it looks like when u finally fishing.

Why do you minneeesoda guys fish for ice?

That setup makes ice fishing look considerably less insane.
Nice.

Well Keith, that is a misnomer.

Just don't let Eener fall in chasing fish.....

I got one sauger at 7pm. The tribe is here now. 6 of us in here!

Keith, the ice is for the whicky.

Which is also frosty.

Richard it was a joke....I grew up in Sout Dakoota and Minneeeesoda

Sir Dave, just how out in the wilderness can you be, and still post?

Dave, is that ice road out of Baudette or Roseau?

It ain't easy to post, phone barely gets enough signal, and it thinks I'm in Canada. Just because I could hit Canada with a slingshot from here.... The border runs across the lake just north of me. A border patrol truck was parked 1/4 mile from me while I was smashing snow with ole yeller.

My youngest boy brought a friend along, and they are having a loudness contest. They are both winning.... A pair if 11 yr olds talking over each other... Nobody else can speak or think....

Near warroad.

Because it cheaper than buyin it at the store eh?

That's a big word for a west Minnesotan to read.

Go see the video I posted for your birth date you...

I can't see it yet. I'm still at work. I'll look when I get home and have a Jamison.

Added a yella perch to the pail.

sushi!

Must be Lac ov da Woots? (Our old Pontiac wagons back in the 60s never sank either.)

only thing i see wrong is you're not drinking shiner bock.

It looks like you drilled a hole in the floor of your living room!

let the good times roll! fish on brudda!

Thats a beauty perch, haven't caught one like that in years! I did get a mess of burbot tonight, although my setup was considerably less UBER than yours. That thing looks sweet.

About time ya got to work there Dave!

Dave, that is fricken' sweet!


Not as cool as a cut/paste political thread but still not bad...

Cool pics Dave.

I may go do the same tomorrow. But I usually go right to the Bourbon in these temps.

Coors though?

Right on Sam! Lol!

Gooooooood morning!



Here's my 2 rod set up. I have 2 short medium action spinning rods in swinging hangers on the wall over my fishing holes.
The spool thing is called a rattle reel. Its a tumbler wheel with bells I set the line down at night and if a fish takes it the bells wake me up. Then I get out of bed and kick some fish ass.



Here's a closer look at one of the fishing rods.

Looks like a great time. Who won the loudness contest?

Nice. And I really like the old chickenbuck truck.

Heckuva setup, Dave. Hope you catch a bunch.

I'm done with ice fishing for the year. There's just too much ice for my hand powered auger.

Tie for first place, it seems its a weekend long contest, still competing.

What a great setup.

Looks like a ton of fun.

twofish

Dave if you need something bigger, i can send one of these.

Roger, that would rock for the pike fishing.

do you use chum/bait, to attract the fish to your area.

A great day off Northern Dave, I haven't fished through the ice since I was a youngster with my Grandpa and Dad. We got to sit on old metal buckets and freeze. Could be why I haven't done it since. Very nice setup you have.

Lol! As the owner of a 10 year old boy...I know these contests of which you speaketh.

Dave, I don't get jealous very easy but I'm seriously jealous now!



grin


Just showed this to my wife and she said, I want a 'house' like that!

I have a pair of 8 year olds that can give a statue a headache.

Maybe you can send the boys outside for a while and get some temporary relief.

Sam, when he starts pulling the golden brown fillets out of the hot oil, and shows them next to some great looking Cole slaw, then, envy begins!

What do you call those jigs, Dave?

Not a better sound than just kids being kids, whether it is boys or girls. Having fun and being goofy. Had to smile when Dave posted it.

JB lures "gem n eye". My favorite. The one I showed has glow face with a hammered gold back.

You have certainly earned it Sir. GOOD ON YA!

Coffee is on, fine cartoons playing on the TV, pajamas and slippers... Its a good morning.

You suck.

Very nice set-up ND. Have you ever tried a submersible light to attract bait fish?

Thank you sir!



That is probably illegal, so.....

Yes.

Swim toward the light.........

Great report, ND.

I thought I was a high roller with my padded seat on the bucket.

Quit ice fishing a while ago - just wasn't any good at it.

Awesome! Party on, Dave.

Fixt

hey Dave, do you ever dip for smelt on these expeditions???

Trolling off the back of a snowmachine never did have great results!

Me and a friend tried it once, he got this light that you lower down on a cord. It must have been close to 20 years ago. We thought it was going to make for great night fishing. It didn't seem to work. Later we heard it was illegal. I don't know if its legal today or not.

Keep that dog away from the holes. Northern bait!

Not to worry.

I was curious if they would work under the ice. I figure it must be dark down there 24/7. Down here in the land of soft water, they work very well for night fishing for crappie.

Go Eener!

Depends really.

There's usually decent light through the ice.

Hey! Dave. Thought you might like this!

http://youtu.be/mPBNgSOfbBU

Fresh baked banana bread, in the ice fishing house.

You ARE a jack of all trades!

Another great thread Dave.

I hate reality TV, but I'd watch Camp Chickenbuck. You guys know how to have fun.

Dave i had to share your wienier video with my brother so he could compare it to his wienier.

The banana bread is definitely not my work. That'd be Pam.

Awesome expedition Dave. I'm thinking about donning my coveralls and hitting the ice for the day, probably leave my big black wiener at home though since I don't have a hard side shanty, wouldn't want it to freeze.

Just got a new heavy action rod with a Shimano Calcutta on it for northern fighting that I want to try out. But it was 47deg last week and our snow melted so I can't ride to the lake I like to fish for them. Need to kill some though, I'm down to 3 bags of filets.

The boy and his young lady friend are off on an expedition to collect his 4x8 spear house from its own desolate location about 6 miles from our sleeper house.





Looks like some other fisher people are using our road too.

john said your wiener looks a lot like his.

That really looks like fun. Thanks for sharing. But I have a question from us Southern Dave's who don't have to cut holes in the tops of our oceans and lakes.

What if da' fish is bigger than da' hole?

I bet it's canned corn.

That has happened. Its tricky, it usually involves an ice chissle and a lot of finger crossing. Doesn't always work.

Do ya ever do any smelt dipping on your expeditions Dave?? Smelt are gooood chow!

Dave i bet if you got some menhaden oil and dripped it down that hole, your arms would be sore from reeling in fish.

TMI!

John

I moved myself to the very back of the house, got 2 fishing holes, my cold beer and a clear view if the TV. Fishing is rough!

Yeah,..sure they are.....

Being a parent would drive me absolutely insane......


What, if I may, would be bigger than those holes you're drilling? Big Lake trout or something.?

There is something seriously wrong with this thread.

I personally would rather watch paint dry.

Looks like you having a good time though.
I am going to start building another Osage self bow today....in a nice heated garage. NOT sitting on feet of ice.

Hi Jim! Smelting is a springtime gig. They still do it in the streams that dump into Superior. I've never done it but I have ate lots of smelt. When I was a kid I cleaned hundreds if not thousands if them with a scissors. Our dad used to go in the spring.

Sturgeon.

Don't stop now Dave, cook up some of those pickerel/walleyes.

Complete the torcher.

In due time sir.

We need a couple more in the pail first.

Damn it Richard, now I'm hungry!



Dave, Gold Medal weekend. I can only think of 1-2 things to improve it and they aren't wife or kid friendly anyway....grin

Sam, the working plan is to my wife, and I to be passing by with in a couple hours of Dave's lake in a couple of weeks.

Methinks, I'll be swinging a hammer moreso than fish from a lake, but, (wink)?

Richard, you will have to give a report and hopefully more fish than work!

I'm walkin' on Dave's thread Sam.

I waiting with baited breath for more Sir Dave's update.

The Good Lord willing, I'll keep the "fire" up to speed if, and when, the Wabigoon travailing circus takes it's act on the road.

10-4!

3 pans like that.

yum!

Well done, all of it. Good on you, Dave. No man can ever say that you do anything half-assed, either. Thanks for sharing.

Now that, Sir David, is living rather well.

I've gone from thinking you had bad cabin fever to a state of stone jealousy ...

That is the coolest ice house I've ever seen! I want to see your hunting blind!

Lookin' good Dave! 4 days till my dad and I will be up....can't wait.

Amazing what a guy will go through to make living in Minnysoda worth it

Glow sticks or glow lights, my brother. Like Kevin Costner said, build it and they will come.

I can send you a couple, if you want. FYI, green is mean..

Life's a B-otch when your forced to rock an Ice Castle..............

Nice fish fry Dave. We ate a lot of hybrid Saugeyes growing up, they taste just like a walleye and probably like a sauger, though I've never eaten one of them. Walleye filets have my mouth watering, and we had fried Northerns with homemade onion rings and fried pickles last night.

do you use chum/bait, to attract the fish to your area.


I bet it's canned corn.



NO the chum most people I know use is canned peas

When the fish come up to take a pee ya spear them or hit them over the head

Yankee fish have enough sense to sleep at night. Something about hanging with drunks someone once told me....


I have to say I'd like to try lights for shee fish thru the ice. Daylight seems to play a strong roll in their biting. Too near dawn or dark and .... No bite happens.

The wife is gonna cry when I show her the video. The Weasel is 6 years gone and we still look for him , but the Arctic and our current circumstances isn't a place for a Doxie. There's one a coming down the ways a piece,tho.

ND, ever try this? Pardon the audio.

Yes sir. I built a spear house with/for my oldest boy, and its been fun!



I made the spear too, lol!

We got some snow drifting last night.

Looks like a person could get drifted in out there if they were not paying attention. It looks cold.

Its about -5. I think we may see teens above zero if not 20 today though, that would be nice.

Dave, what is the internet service on the lake?

As nice a time as you seem to be having, "Getting away from it all", does not appear to apply.

Outstanding!! Great picture!

Verizon cell service, posting from my phone.

No pictures of the setup but I have a Verizon Modom with a designated line for internet services for when I'm not at home. It's safer than using WiFi provided by motels and businesses when traveling. It works well for me.

I always wanted to ice fish. was gonna go about 3 years ago but it was an 18 hour drive and I didn't have a full week of vacation time left. I guess I will haveto just enjoy your pics and hope for a trip at a later date. I have tiny spoons and jigs but I will have to buy a couple of rods and learn how to use a velexar thingy.

Old trucks rule.

Guess catch and release is not an option...

You eat those, or are they viewed like carp and gar down here that most folks just dispose of.?

Ever accidentally lose a spear thru the ice.?

30 years since i last spear fished for pike in n WI

thanks for sharing

Megacool.

Is a Pike of the North a Jack of The South?

Maybe a pickerel of the South.

We eat pike, its very good, firmer meat than walleye. I really like it.

Canadians call em jacks.

Not to rain on ND's thread but........
I was on the same lake over the weekend. I was about 8 or so miles from him as the crow flies. ND's house is a little fancier than mine but as long as a person has somewhere to stay warm & spend the weekend.
I forgot mustard and we had to leave early as ketchup just won't cut it.
Catching was slow for us but the bear cub caught his first fish. I set the hook then he reeled it in.

Let me see if I can load some pics.














Yes I'm still wearing my pajama pants. I put them on after drilling the holes in 40" of ice & took them off before I packed up to go home. It's a rough life on the frozen water....

That is awesome!

Yes it is!

You fellas are not suffern' near enough.

That's nigh on to sinful snagin' fish in all the comforts of home.

How come you don't lip em like them guys in the Bass show's, it sure makes em look bigger when you hold em out at arms length.

Fishing report LOTW: I fished alone today (Sunday, 3-1-15)out of the Angle, off Oak Island. Had incredible good luck! Got a late start at 4 pm, ended up with 4 eyes in the 18" range, 4 eatin size saugers, but, despite poor catches of 'slot' fish, caught 3, 25", 25" and a 26"! Yeeee Hawwwww! Around 5 pm or so I could barely keep up with the bites, used a Gemin eye with a rainbow minnow. It would get to 24' and a fish would take it immediately.

That's a damn good report.

That sounds like darn good fishing. The south side has been much slower that most years with an occasional good day tossed in.
I'm just about finished with a little 6'x12' hard side portable. I may have to hook it behind the widetrak and take a little trip north.
Are you in MN or Canadian waters?

I've heard of more than one southern bass fisherman that has made the mistake of trying to "lip" a northern pike. Clamp and shake = one nasty cut up hand that will be painful all the way through the healing process.

Great pics ND and WB! I don't know when we'll get up there next. Sure would like to hear of the south side bite picking up soon.

[quote=White_Bear
Are you in MN or Canadian waters? [/quote]

MN. Just south of Oak island in 26'. I couldn't go today, but maybe tomorrow.

They will poke a hole clean through a thumbnail before you can say "ouch".

I don't need to learn by experience there as I have seen it before.

That said, I would have stuffed all of my fingers down a 20# water wolf's mouth just to land the kids first fish. Maybe not the second one though so I'm glad this was a baby one.

Right after I got married,I took the wife out on leech,where my BIL had a dozen or so spear houses to rent.
he let us sit in the one that had the muskie coming in every day.
he came in about a foot under the ice.
probably about 30 lbs.
the wife noticed

Awesome pic of the youngun Whitebear. Reminds me of me at that age.

And on the lipping Northerns, last summer I caught an 18lber. My hands looked like hamburger after I wrestled the big bugger in the boat. I didn't know that they had teeth on their gill rakers, tongue, and apparently on top of their teeth! I just discovered fishing for Northerns in the last 3 years or so and love it, I've even got pretty good at filleting them.

I think "Northern Pike" is Indian for "Teeth with Fins"

What a polite way to say your wife chit her pants Fluffy!

It sounds like they're getting good at filleting you as well.

Ha! We've all learned from experience that you just keep your damn hands/fingers away from a northerns mouth. A long needle nose is your friend!