After some very nice, above average weather for a good part of January, winter has returned. As I write this we are patiently waiting for a very large storm system to pass. The past few days has had a little of everything; rain, freezing rain and drizzle, snow and wind.

Sunday afternoon, three of the Bosch Boys; Tom, Ken, Jeff and I went to the lake for a little late afternoon fishing. We went off  Graceton Beach out to about twenty feet of water. It’s a good thing that we brought a couple of portable shanty’s along as the wind picked up from out of the northwest and it began snowing. We fished for a couple of hours; until after dark.   The four of us caught about a dozen fish; kept 8 walleye and sauger. No one color seemed to do best,  but Tom had the hot hole and was using a orange/green jig. If you talk to Tom, he’ll tell you it’s technique.

Jeff with a sauger and Tom with a walleye

Technique Tommy with a nice walleye

We had great weather for January this past weekend, but the fishing was slow. On Saturday, Don, Sue and I went to the lake;  it was grandma Diane’s Saturday to work. We went out of Adrian’s; set up in about 32 feet of water and fished from about 11:00 to a little after 4:00. For our efforts, we kept three walleyes and four sauger. On Sunday, Mick and I fished two spots in the same general area and caught only two saugers. On both days we marked fish many times, but couldn’t get them to bite. They would come up off the bottom, take a look, then go back down. Others that I talked to were having the same kind of weekend.

Sue with a nice walleye

Mick, one of the Reliable Transport drivers, brought some of the Bosch vehicles to Baudette on Tuesday. He had Wednesday off before heading back to Detroit on Thursday. He and I left for the lake about 9:30 on what turned out to be a very nice January day. We went out of Adrian’s some five miles past Pine Island where there is thirty plus feet of water. The fish houses just keep getting moved further and further out into the lake. You can look in any direction and see fish houses.

The first two hours fishing was really slow. I even made a casual comment to Mick that maybe he was a jinx because we were not catching any fish. I had no more than said that, when he caught a nice sauger and a walleye. We ended up keeping a limit; 7 walleyes and 9 saugers and we released a number of small saugers. We never did keep track of who caught the most, but when we were about to quit and it seemed like he did catch the most; he looked at me and said “maybe I’m not a jinx”.

Mick with a nice sauger

A nice limit; four walleyes and four saugers

Sunday afternoon, three of the Bosch boys, Jim, Mike, Rick and I went to the lake to fish the last hour or so before dark. We went out of Morris Point and set up in 21′ foot of water with hopes of catching  a walleye or two. It was snowing, but the temperature was decent. The bite was not just poor, it was very poor. Jim caught a sauger and that was it for our efforts. They could have done almost that good sitting in the shanties on the river.

Jim with the only fish caught

It was a clear, cold night on that last day of December and it was a pretty Blue Moon. We have had plenty of good ice making weather and now have about 18″ of good ice on the lake. Travel conditions on the lake are pretty good with lots of plowed roads. I’ve heard that the river has water on the ice so shanty’s need to be blocked up. I didn’t put my little shanty on the river this winter; I’ll just use my portable house when I need to.

Wednesday, Don and I went to the lake. We went out of Adrian’s and took the plowed road a little over three miles past Pine Island to about thirty feet of water. We had his hard sided shanty and had no trouble getting off the road and setting up. We started fishing about 11:00 a.m. and the first two hours was nothing. We used frozen shiners and live chubs with a number of different jigs. We were not even marking fish on the flashers. Over the next couple of hours we caught about a dozen fish. We kept eight; five nice walleyes and three saugers. We released a nice walleye that was right at the 19-1/2″ slot and a couple small saugers.

What we did is pretty much the same as other reports I’ve been getting. Some days are better; other days not so good. I’ve heard that Red Lake is spotty, also.

New Year’s Blue Moon       Photo by Doris Knutson

Don with a nice walleye

Watching for a fish

Typically, the best ice fishing of the year is the week between Christmas and New Years and judging from the activity on the outside of the Lighthouse Gap, Pine Island and Morris Point Gap, that is no secret.

Don’s son, Brad and his two boys, Jacob and Caleb were up for a couple of days fishing. They fished the outside of Pine Island Monday and caught some saugers fishing deep; nothing great. Tuesday, I went with them and we went out of Morris Point Resort. We set up the portables in 26 feet of water and experienced painfully slow fishing. In about three hours of fishing, Brad had caught three walleyes; Don and I didn’t catch a thing. We could mark fish on the flasher, but couldn’t get them to bite. About one o’clock, I packed up and Don took me back to a road where some early morning and late afternoon fishing was producing a few walleyes in about 21 feet. They decided to hang tough where they were for another couple of hours. I found fishing better than where I was and fishing picked up for them, also. All together, we ended up with 16 walleyes and saugers; pretty good considering the way the day started.

Jacob and Caleb with nice walleyes

Jacob with a nice eater

Tuesday Don & I loaded up the snowmobiles and went to the Lake. We unloaded at the Wheelers Point landing and followed one of the marked roads to the Lake. Travel is pretty much limited to snowmobiles, ATV’s, and small Tracker/Geo type vehicles.  It was quite a site as we crossed Pine Island; a small city of fish houses for as far east to west as one could see. The resorts have been busy getting their houses out using small vehicles. Being mid day we decided to go deep and drilled some holes in about thirty feet of water. Fishing was slow to start, but picked up and we caught lots of fish; mostly small saugers that we released. We kept eight saugers and two small walleyes; caught and release a 20″ walleye and a pretty good size burbot. At least the action was much better than the river, where it’s one fish a trip and that’s what everybody is doing.

A city of fish houses in front of Lighthouse Gap and Pine Island

With the cold weather that we’ve had the past couple of weeks, we now have ice; good ice with very little snow on top. I understand that the lake has a foot and the resorts are using small, tracker type vehicles to move houses. Reports I’ve heard is that fishing on the lake is “HOT’. The river has about eight inches of ice, but as always at this time of the year, there are spots that don’t seal up right away, so one really needs to watch and know where you go.

I have fished the river the past couple of evenings trying to determine if I should even put my little shanty out  this winter. Wednesday I had one bite; caught about a 22″ walleye I released. Thursday I had three bites; missed one; caught a nice eater and had another half way up that got off. Others I’ve talked to are doing about the same. For this time of the year; that is down right poor.

It’s that time of the year, but we have not had that much cold weather and the ice is not safe. Sometime on Saturday a couple of snowmobiles tried coming across the Bay in front of the house and one didn’t make it. I saw where there was a trail of broken up ice, but didn’t know until Sunday when a group of guys started fishing out the snowmobile that one didn’t make it. It took a couple of hours to get the snowmobile out and I haven’t heard of any injuries, etc. I think somebody’s pretty lucky.

Fishing for a snowmobile in about 7-8 feet of water

The snowmobile is out of the water