Fishing and Field Reports Minnesota November 2015

Fishrapper Fishing and Field Reports For November 2015

Fishing Report November 30, 2015 - Ice Season Is Upon Us, ... sort of.

The 2015 ice fishing season is creeping into view from the outside corners this year. Over the weekend, there are reports from fisherman who have been in pursuit of Panfish, walleye and Northern Pike.
Geographically, most reports have been about lakes located north of US Hwy 2. Red Lake, as usual has Walleye fishermen hoofing it onto about 5 inches of solid ice. The Walleye fishing has started off slow, but it's early and the water hasn't cleared up yet; fishing will be improving as conditions stabilize.
I chatted with my friend Chad Schumacher on Sunday; he's been out on White Oak Lake where he reported ice ranging between 4 to 5 inches on Saturday.
We spent a couple of hours touring more Deer River area lakes on Saturday and found that there was ice on the vast majority of small lakes. In fact, it's safe to say that all of the area's 100 to 200 acre lakes are ice covered. Depending on water depth, some of them can support foot traffic already, some of them remain way too thin to support any weight.
The largest lake that we found frozen was Bowstring Lake; there was a thin sheet of ice covering about 90% of the lake's surface. At the north landing, there was just barely enough ice to support my weight and I walked a few yards out from shore on 1 to 2 inches of thin, crackling ice.
At Sand Lake, there was also a coating of very thin, shiny ice that appeared to be only a few hours old. Small open holes appeared in numerous places, but by now, it's likely covered by the first ice of the winter.
When we reached Cutfoot Sioux, we were greeted by flocks of waterfowl that were resting up before flying south. Swans, Mallards and Goldeneye were holding along the edges of some slush along the shoreline. From the Eagle Nest landing, there was no sign of ice anywhere on the main lake. At the bridge near the Mosomo landing, ice covered most of Little Cutfoot and most of the 1st River too.
I've heard that some of the shallow waters of western Minnesota are frozen now too and it's likely that you could have spied some ice fishermen on them this weekend too.
I don't guess that I'll be wetting a line before the St. Paul Ice Show this weekend, but the season is upon us. It's a sure thing that I'll be hearing numerous stories from ice fishermen and by next week, I think we'll all be out on the ice somewhere.
Please me a favor and Email a picture when you see some action on the ice, you don't have to give away your sacred honey hole, but giving folks a heads up about conditions could help save a life during the early season; who wouldn't want to save a life?

The Bowstring River and it's backwaters and were frozen solid this weekend.

At Bowstring Lake, there was a thin sheet of ice covering about 90% of the lake's surface. At the north landing, there was just barely enough ice to support my weight for a short walk.

From the Eagle Nest landing on Cutfoot Sioux, there was no sign of ice anywhere on the main lake.

Fishing Report November 24, 2015 - Ice Watch 2015

I didn't expect to see very much ice on Monday, and I didn't. Most of the popular fishing waters are still wide open. But on my afternoon tour of Grand Rapids area lakes, I was reminded of how easily Mother Nature can catch up when she wants to.
I was surprised by how quickly the area's shallow water lakes are freezing up. In fact I don't think it's much of a stretch to predict that there will be fishable ice in Northern Minnesota by December 1st.
The largest body of frozen water I saw was White Oak Lake, south out of Deer River. It was frozen over, but the snow covered ice looked fragile and I didn’t test it to find out if it would support my weight. Almost all of the small ponds and some of the backwaters of the Mississippi were frozen too and from what I could see, their ability to support the modest snow cover was much better.
With a water depth of 30 feet, the small 113 acre Sand Lake, near Warba was the deepest body of ice covered water that I spied. I’m not expecting to see many of the area’s larger lakes covered by ice this week, but I’ll be on tour every day anyway, just in case.
Do me a favor and Email a picture when you see some of your favorite lakes freezing up, okay?
Oh by the way, I've been doing a bit of house cleaning recently. In the process, I've stumbled into some interesting gift items along the way. If you're shopping for an outdoorsman, or keeping your eye open for interesting bargains,you might want to have a look at my "For Sale Page". That's where I'll be listing details and photos about some of these goodies.

White Oak Lake, ice covered, but appears to be thin and fragile.

Mississippi River backwaters and most small ponds are frozen solid.

Fishing Report November 5, 2015 - Catching The Catchable?

I know what you've been thinking; where the heck did that boy disappear to?
Well, if I'd known what was good for me, I'd already have taken a couple of days off this week and gone fishing. But the 2015 season has been an odd one; there are a lot of extra chores on the list this year, stuff that can't be ignored. So I've been taking full advantage of the lull between open water and the ice fishing season to try and catch up.
Usually, I'd take some time off for hunting too, but for the moment, even that's on the back burner. Despite the fact that there are only two days remaining before the Minnesota Deer Hunting opener, I can't even think about hunting.
I have to admit, the unusually gorgeous weather has not helped my cause! This weather play tricks with my mind and focusing on chores isn't all that easy. The boat is still ready to go though and if these warm days return next week, I won't be able to help myself; I won't talk myself down again.
In the meantime, there's good news for me, this rainy weather helps relieve that cooped up feeling and allows me to focus on the mundane. Chores seem a lot easier when the alternatives involve wet, cold and windy. Thankfully, it's nice to be off the hook, for now.
When I do get the chance to wet a line again, the prospects for good fishing remain positive. There are reports about good Walleye fishing on both the Rainy and Mississippi Rivers. The gap at Lake of the Woods is productive right now too.
Suspended Crappies continue to be aggressive everywhere and thanks to the Tulibee moving toward shallow water to spawn, Trophy hunters have both Muskies and big Northern Pike to target as well.

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