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Hello fellow NE Ice Nuts! This is my first post on the site. So here goes.....A group of us based out of Omaha have done a 3-4 day ice adventure the last couple of Jan. that usually is within an eight hour drive. Last year we sight fished Emerson Bay on west Okoboji IA and had a blast. Some of the most frustrating fishing i've ever done but you learn how to jig thats for sure! We got into some yellow perch and I fell in love with the species. Fun to catch and even better to eat. So this year we want to primarily target yellow perch during the day and walleye in early morning/evening. We have all kinds of ideas on the table from devils lake ND to the sandhills. Where should we go? Personally I like lakes that aren't overrun with hundreds of ice shacks and also not too large in size. I was looking at Home Valley and Frye Lake out in the Sandhills. Does anyone have some insight on those lakes? Also I know there are tons of smaller lakes across SD and Minn. If you have any suggestions that would be awesome!Thanks,Peter
Our sandhill lakes have some great perch fishing, and yes, they can be as good as any found anywhere. However, word gets around real fast and when there is a fishery that gets a hot bite for big perch it gets fished down really fast, and yes that has happened even on the remotest of fisheries (e.g. Home Valley).The best spot often is different from year to year. I would watch for the annual Fishing Forecast and plan accordingly, http://outdoornebraska.org/Fishing/pdfs/FishForecast.pdf.Daryl B.
Daryl I have read countless posts by you across numerous forums and must say its so nice to have someone right at home that is so dedicated to the sport. Thank You! Your info is top notch and you are so passionate about what you do. It's inspiring. All of NE anglers would agree that someone like you is a such a blessing to have working for our state!I also want to thank everyone else who gave me their .02 cents on where to find some perch. Devils and Webster are definitely on my bucket list. I don't know if we will make it up there this year because most of the guys in the group just had their 2nd kid so we might have to keep the trip a little closer and shorter for our wives sake. So far the best perch/walleye reports that are a little closer to home seem to be coming out of Spirit Lake IA. We will have to see in a couple of months if the bite is still as good as it is now. I'm super pumped for the ice season. I can't stop thinking about it! I've been spending my free time gathering info/materials for modding my ice shack. I'm going to be adding dead stick pole holders, center console, lights, and beverage/bait holders soon.