A Return to Winter

Hello Sportsfans…  And welcome to the weekly gone-fishing here on Minnesota’s Lake of the Woods.

A return to winter.  Burrrrrrrrr.  As well it should be.

When the thermometer started to dip last Thursday…  The BITE accelerated ahead of the cold front.  And then it happened…

By weekend it had become “hold your breath outside”, “snot bubbles freezing”, “hurry up and put that thing away” ice fishing on the frozen tundra.  And then the sighting…

From a distance of mere miles…  Off in the horizon…  Came a report of a wondering man.  Now mind you we’re fishing “up north”.  Let’s make that “WAY UP NORTH”.  And in these parts it’s quite unlikely to see anyone hiking from house to house to house to house.

Baby it’s cold outside…

Yet, supposedly, that was the tale.  And then the question arose…  “Was this the ghost of Whistling Bill?”

Back in the day (circa early nineties) there was a man who often visited our establishment with rare inclinations.  Fishing?  No.  He never cared to ice fish.  Walking?  Yes.  He loved to track from shack to shack to shack…  Visiting…  Wondering…  Entertaining…  And basically enjoying all things cold, outdoorsy, and wintery on L O Dub.

It always seemed odd about Whistling Bill…  He dressed lightly…  Under-dressed more or less…  We worried about him getting frost bit, and for the most part lost in a white-out…  But basically, who was to question his actions?

Yes…  He did in fact whistle while he talked…  Yes…  He was an actual “ice fishing enthusiast” per say…

YES or NO ???  Inquiring minds want to know…  “Was this man, reportedly wondering from fish-house to fish-house to fish-house last Saturday, the ghost of Whistling Bill?”

We may never know.  But it did bring about fond memories of adventurer’s gone past.  Bill was a good dude.

As for the bite?  Yah…  That cold snap kinda bit us in the butt.  But we still saw plenty of action for the frying pan and quite a few stories about the ones that did NOT get away.  At least until they were photo’d and released.

What?!  Someone caught a 15-inch perch!!  Then someone caught an 18-inch sauger!!  Then someone caught a 29-inch walleye!!

We’re holding our own up on the reefs.  It’s February.  Life is good.  Come if you can.

Set the hook!!

Blazin

10375120_1048356301847480_3372281694948590685_n_(2)Hello Sportsfans and welcome to the weekly blaze here on Minnesota’s Lake of the Woods.  We’re butter…  We’re butter…  We’re butter…  How so?  ‘Cause we’re on a roll!

Wow, have we almost clipped our way through January?  Yep.  Quickly approaching half-time of the ice fishing season.  What will FEB & MAR bring?  Can’t wait to find out!

Gosh, it seems like we’re actually starting to pop a few more big fish up north.  Last week we had the daily double on those couple of whoppers.  And so far this week, it’s been quite similar.  Check out Colleen’s pic of her NINE pounder.  Fantastic catch and release!!  Good hustle Colleen!!

Our mix of walleyes and saugers continues, adjacent to the reefs up north, and we’re also popping the occasional jumbo perch.  Pretty tough to target ‘em, but a bonus non the least when you get one tugging on your line.

Wow!  Is it almost FEB?  Did I already say that?!

Speaking of which…  A reminder from the OFFICE GANG…  Our FEB / MAR weekend ice fishing special…  (FOR OUR BALLARD’S REPEAT CUSTOMERS) Limited availability…  Actually getting quite full…
3 nights / 2 days ice fishing = $375pp (must have a group of six)…

Exciting hey!  We’re on ‘em!  Nick and the boys are busy again this week with more “fish house shuffle”.  Keep moving and don’t burn up fresh ice.

All is good on L O Dub…  Set the hook!

Boom

1.17.15_Buckets_O_FishHello Sportsfans…  And welcome to weekly gust here on Minnesota’s Lake of the Woods.  Cool, clear, and calm.  That’s how we’re starting this Monday morning.

You ever had one of “those moments”…  The experience of seeing something happen, physically being a part of it, and then soon realizing that you very well may never see it occur again in the span of your lifetime.  Funny how “those moments” can happen when you’re fishing!

Yesterday morning, although not technically part of the occurrence, I did see proof of what turns out to be a tremendous story.  It’s definitely one of those BOOM moments.

Been there?  Seen it?  Done it?  Have you really?!

The two fellas that came ambling into the office that morning looked road-worn and tethered.  Checking out, they appeared a bit tired, possibly the after-shock of the night prior or maybe the remnants of a fun-packed weekend drawing to a close.  Either way they were looking for some fish to take home and they had a story to share.

I scoured the cooler and found a couple of bags of fish with their tags on them.  Back in the office I was countered with a peculiar look, and one of the gentlemen stated, “BIG FISH?”

Ok…  I’ll play the game.  And I wanted to hear their story!  Someone that morning was finally claiming the prizes in cold storage.  Earlier I had seen the TWO MONSTER WALLEYES in the freezer!  And obvious now, it was these two lucky winners who went “jack-pot” on L O Dub.

Their day prior began rather auspiciously, and their afternoon had ended with an exclamation.  Good fishing…  Lots of action…  Plenty for the pail…  And then BOOM!!  A twenty-nine incher!!  And then BOOM!!  (within thirty minutes / same shack)  A thirty-one incher!!

These my friends are “those moments”…  One’s that will forever live in fishing lore…  A new “best story” for our ice fishing season…  And that’s maybe part of why we keep going and keep fishing.

Hey, it’s been good.  Same program as last week.  Get in the Bombardier.  Ride an hour to the reefs.  Catch fish.  Have a blast!!

Come if you can…  And Set The Hook…

North Bound

Hello Sportsfans.  And welcome to the weekly spin here on Minnesota’s Lake of the Woods.

Baby it is cold outside…  Matter of fact the truck thermometer was reading -30 degrees this morning.  Thankfully the fishing has been warming up.

What’s the latest and greatest?  Well, we’re about five weeks into this winter season and we’re raising some eyebrows, along with some fish.  Walleyes, saugers, perch…

When the Carlson Group checked out last night they said: “This is the best fishing trip we’ve been on to LOW.”  Well, thanks gang, that’s the response we like to hear!  And also, it’s a huge kudos to Nick and our team on the lake for their efforts in the chase.

Relentless, relentless, relentless…  For some is just might be “fishing”, but for our guys it’s their livelihood.  And it’s one that is taken quite personally…  Good fishing, bad fishing, or anything in-between, it seems like our guides are always trying to be better.  And when you get a compliment, like the one from the Carlson Group, it means a great deal.  So thanks again, much appreciated!

We have moved north…  The entire fleet…  And if you haven’t already been facebooked, or tweeted, or twitted, or whatever it is that we all do in this day and age…  Then “yes”, our fishing is much improved.

Even though it’s early January we are already a long-long way from Pine Island and the Lighthouse Gap, traveling by Bombardier, fishing for the moment in what seems to be one of the few areas in the basin that is holding decent numbers of fish.  It’s interesting…  And intriguing at the same time.

Nick mentioned: “We might actually be in an area that we can hold-up, spread-out, and catch some fish for awhile.”  As opposed to the last five weeks (let’s just call it all of December) running hard and wearing the wood off the bottom of the skids.

How many times did our guides’ move (50) fish houses since the day we started the ice season?  A gazillion…

Why is the north-end of Big Traverse Bay holding good numbers of fish, as opposed to the south-shore?  Good question…

January is here and it’s going to be a boomer.  We are looking forward to having you join us.  Good times.

Set the hook!