I winterized my boat with a tear in my eye.:-)
Now it is time to move on and get the hard water gear organized.
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I winterized my boat with a tear in my eye.:-)
Now it is time to move on and get the hard water gear organized.
Would love to hear more about it. Just moved up and have never ice fished. Told some coworkers that I would definitely go with them but won't drive my truck out onto the ice :)
How do you know where to set up? Do you base it on experience or do you have a portable depth finder? Does a depth finder work through ice or do you have to drill test holes?
Ice is never 100% safe you have to use some common sense. 12 inches of clear ice can be driven on; do not be racing around, drive slow under 15 MPH. The MN DNR puts out some good guide line to follow.Quote:
Originally Posted by ekim22
A map of the lake is a must. I run a Vexilar FL-22 and it does a good job reading through clear ice; just pour some water on the ice to wet the transducer.
There are two ice fishing shows coming up in MPLS; I recommend you attend as there is a wealth of info to be had there. There are many equipment distributors and ice pros giving seminars, also answering questions.
The first show is in Blane MN Nov. 16,17,18. This is a new show. The big show is in ST. Paul Nov 30-Dec.2.
Awesome thanks for the heads up on the shows!
There are five of us in the area planning to attend the St. Paul show on Dec.1. Weather permitting!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by ekim22
One thing you will learn real quick is to dress right. Not so heavy that you drown in sweat moving around and no so light that you chill when sitting over a hole. Start with a good set of insulated but breathable boots. Everybody I know has his own favorite. And then dress in layers so you can adjust your clothing to the situation. Check out the shows first before you buy anything. Dressing for the cold in the North Country is a bit of an art, but not all that difficult to pick up. You can actually overdo it as well as under-dress, I have one snow suit that is just too warm to be active in. First a heavy sweat and then when I sit over the hole a chill. That way lies hypothermia and it can kill you.
BTW to have a look at the flashers that most of us use, check out the videos at the websites for Vexilar and Marcum. Those will give you a taste.
A classic article by Paul Greenburg (author of Four Fish)from the Boston Globe.
The winter people - The Boston Globe
Interesting article.Quote:
Originally Posted by IMFSHN
no1son brings up dressing for the occasion and nothing could be more true. Somewhere the misconception that people who live here in the north are "used to" or conditioned to the cold gets tossed around a lot. False. You can't get used to it, you adapt to it. Learn how to "layer" your clothes and by all means go do some snooping in sporting goods stores for winter wear, starting with what lays against your hide and work your way out. How you dress is perhaps the biggest adaptation. Exposed skin is yet another concern.
More than anything the skin will dry out in the cold and if the wind is a factor the drying effects are amplified, especially if you opt to fish open ice. Use a good sunscreen chapstick on your lips and use the same on your nose. Hands and face cane get a good skin lotion before and after fishing. Then there is the optical end of things. WEAR SUNGLASSES when you are out in the elements moving around but especially when the sun is on ice and snow. You'll find that wearing sunglasses even on hazy days makes for mor relaxed vision.
Minnesota tends to be a state of extremes and the best way to enjoy things is to learn how to dress for the day and activity. The one time of the year you will not want to shorthange what you wear is winter....things can change in a heartbeat up here and lots of statistics bear witness to that fact. Have fun, but have fun safely.
Do not under estimate the sunglasses either! The sun may be weaker in the winter, but off of white snow or ice it can be powerful enough to blind a person. Snow blindness is not an urban myth.
Hi no1, I have gotten my face really tanned sitting on a bucket ice fishing, especially in Mar. Even got accused of going to the tanner...lolQuote:
Originally Posted by no1son
That snow and ice can reflect a lot of the sun's energy. I remember being on the ice one day when it got downright hot and I ended up in shirtsleeves and they got rolled part way up. Paid for that rolling up dearly. White hide...bright sun...cooked.
Ma and I went to the grandson's basketball game last night and the air felt different now. Felt like winter even if it was 30 dgrees. No1son and others who live in the northern tier states know the feeling. I think no1son may be entertaining a snow shovel today and perhaps tomorrow and then we get cold according to the local weather. I'm thinking you're going to get nipped too Crappie 1. The weather map I saw looked pretty wide where the cold was going to settle and with the amount of snow forecast the air is going to lose a bunch of heat. Just hope the snow precedes the cold so you're ice can set up clear.
Just looked at the weather, it is supposed to get colder. It was 37 earlier. I'm ready for some ice...Quote:
Originally Posted by CTom
They changed the weather to include high winds [40 mph or more], heavy snow in some areas, and well below zero by this time tomorrow. I can almost hear the ice snapping here with that forecast, but I hope the snow stays to the north.
You can finally smell winter in the air, but then it gets back up into the 30's by middle of the week again, probably not warm enough though to stop building ice for most of the day. Looks to me like the week after this next one we get to play St. Peter and walk on water, at least on some of the lakes. I am not ready to chance it yet this coming week.
Dale
Quote:
Originally Posted by CTom
The winds don't seem to have made it to Minneapolis, but by now we have around 5" of new snow here in the mid/mid-south of the Metro. Temps still running right at 30, too. This evening and tonight the bottom will drop out, but it may stay a bit milder than they were originally forecasting only down to 5 - 10 above. If that is all the colder we get this winter, I will take that for sure. (I can dream can't I!)
I did a shake down trip yesterday with a friend of mine. I found 5 to 6 inches of clear blue ice on the bay we fished. I iced some medium sized crappies in the 9 and 10 inch range. I caught some small gills with one nice fish going 9 inches.
I got to try out my E. C. inline reel; what a sweet rig.:-)
Just caught this. My nephew goes to the tanner in the fall or else he gets seasonal depression. It is just too blame gloomy. He needs the extra ultra-violet. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Crappie 1
I'm envious. We have 29, but going into the 40's again mid week. Glad you got out..Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob/MN
No, I'm envious.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crappie 1
And I'm shoveling - 10-14" of white stuff across the Twin Cities yesterday.
Sorry to hear you got dumped on; that makes for bad ice. :-(Quote:
Originally Posted by no1son
We lucked out and only got 1 inch. It was 11 below this morning and hopefully it will stay below zero until we get at least 12 inches of ice.
We are not supposed to actually get down to zero. The ground isn't frozen hard under the snow either; so quite a bit of this will soak in and it is needed badly. The winds that were behind this did not develop like they were supposed to either, which is just alright by me.
Bad ice perhaps, sore backs for sure.
FWIW Minnesota is over 400 miles from north to south and so we have quite a range of variations in temperature and weather, ranging from USDA hardiness zone 5 to some parts in much more severe zone 3. At 10 degrees change in average winter minimum per zone there can be and generally is quite a bit of difference from far north to far south. This storm cut across the southern middle of the state with very little snow in the far north or extreme south and southwest.
We got well over a foot here in Elk River.
I love it.....even without a snow blower I love it.
That said, I do NOT like the traffic. My usual 35 minute drive into Golden Valley has taken me on average 2 hours both ways since Monday. A 4 wheel drive truck is nice except when it's not in 4 wheel driver and has rear wheel drive......definitely not fun when you have to pull out into traffic.
A coworker of mine was saying the same thing about the snow being bad for the ice...
To quote an old carpenter song....."We've only just begun...................." Once again, welcome to Minnesota!Quote:
Originally Posted by ekim22
When I scooped my back walk yesterday, I found that the ground underneath was not frozen at all. I have seen it where partially and even fully frozen ground has thawed out under a snow cover and grass has actually greened up and started to grow underneath a snow bank, even with pretty bitter air temperatures above it all.
Remember that the water under the ice is never colder than 32 degrees and generally even a little above it; so developing ice can take a real beating under a blanket of snow. That is why so many ice fishers want a good ice layer before the snow falls.
About your 4-wheel drive on ice. You start up much better, BUT you don't stop any better at all; so follow carefully. On icy roads you will need a whole lot more distance to stop safely.
Yea trust me, I leave a lot of distance between myself & the next car. People can get upset with me all they want, I'm not filin an insurance claim :)
I agre with you about the grass. We shoveled out a couple of 10x10 spots for the dogs to do their business. Today the grass is showing through and isn't frozen at all. In fact it's wet and muddy.