Frosty, frosty, frosty…  Good day sirs and sportfans!  Welcome to the weekly twist here at Ballard’s Resort on Minnesota’s Lake of the Woods.

 We keep hearing about “warm-temps” down south, but here in the NorthCountry we are deadlocked with Old-Man-Winter.  Good news per the ice fishing and biz as usual here on LOW.  Lots of snow yesterday and today.  A veritable winter wonderland if you will…  High temps mainly in the teens with lows in the single digits.

 At last check on the drilling by our boys up north?  We’re augering 24” of ice west of The Sisters and Knight.  Good Bombardier travel conditions.  Better fishing.

 Speaking of…  This morning after breakfast some Pella boys cruised past the office counter, and mentioned “this is the best ice fishing we’ve ever had.”  Wow!  Thanks dudes.  Our guides appreciate the compliments!  This being their third-venture to Ballard’s in the winter…  It’s always nice to hear that the hard work put out is producing positive results.

 Overall fishing?  Those that were here last weekend probably saw a bit of a dip in the action.  Some of our haunts in the mud, west of The Nine, weakened.  But the same could probably be said of the huts further north.  More likely the result of a high-pressure system and sub-zero temps.

 The past two days we seem to have rebounded quite nicely.  And we still have a corner on the fishing grounds up north.  Lots of area to spread out, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.  About a 13-18 mile jaunt…  Depending on the cluster of houses you get dropped off at.

 The walleye / sauger combo seems to be holding fairly steady also…  We are seeing good “mixed-bags” with the catch.  And even the occasional perch-o-rama.

 Good ice fishing right now gang!

 Set the hook…

 Hello sportsfans and welcome to the weekly cheer here at Ballard’s Resort.  Speaking of cheer, me thinks the roof may have briefly lifted off the tavern a couple of times this past weekend.  It may have been the Packer victory…  It may have been the partaking of beverage…  Either way good times hey.

 The bite – The bite – The bite.  What’s the latest on Big Traverse Bay?  Pump the breaks fans, cause Old Man Winter put a crimp in our crook this past week.

 Yep, when that thermometer dipped to -38 degrees Fahrenheit a few days ago, he took the walleyes and saugers down with him.  Ouch.  Still enough fish to keep your evening fish fry going…  But certainly, a drop from what we’ve been enjoying (good action) in the previous two to three weeks.

 And now?  REBOUND.  Or so we hope.  The guides, per the usual, are dragging houses to beat the band.  Fish clean ice.  Look for fresh fish.

 Good news…  We’re also getting a bit of a reprieve from the sharp cold this week.  This should also bode well for incoming guests.  LET’S SPARK THE BITE!

 Fish houses are spread from 16-31 feet of water.  That puts us anywhere from 0.5 to 3.1 miles offshore.  Grab your jig sticks and let’s go…

 Set the hook.

Snow, ice, cold, fishing…  We’ve got it all going on this week here at Ballard’s.

The latest and greatest?  Honestly?

Fishing has been OK.  Good numbers…  Lacking a bit on size at times…  But still decent.

This past weekend we really put the pressure on our guides.  The fish houses were pretty well jammed up, and they did an excellent job trying to keep people on fish, and stay on the move.  No easy task.  You guys are awesome!

Our best BITE is still taking place in relatively shallow water.  Let’s call it that 23-25 foot range.  For now…  The walleyes and saugers appear to be hanging tight to the south shore.

We are a short Bombardier ride across the west end of Pine.  And from deeper “test shacks”, it seems as though the better fishing is “in-close”.  Good news.  Shorter ride more fishing time.

Catches really varied from house to house these past few days.  We’re hearing about anglers catching 40-50-60 fish a day.  And then others just so-so.

The thing with the action right now?  These deep dark cold fronts that blast us really turn things into a finesse bite.  This isn’t turn your back to the hole…  Card playing winter fishing…  A guy’s gonna have to work that jig and minnow combo.

And then about every hour..  On the hour…  Your shack will get a bit of a flurry.  Lots of fresh walleye fish frys, and a few to take home to share with friends.

Let’s keep it going!  See you soon!

Set the hook…