IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
IceShanty Main => General Ice Fishing Chit Chat => Topic started by: Iceshanty on Sep 08, 2017, 11:19 AM
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Ohhhh Yeah!!!! It's time to kick off the iceshanty ice season for 2017-18! Might be tough for some of you to find photos from last season. Or heck even the season before that with the poor ice conditions! Dig up your most awesome ice fishing picture and post it here on this thread.
For the contest this year please add a little text or story about the photo. *This will be included in the judging.
On December 1st 2017 I'll select the top ten which will then be voted on by the membership to determine the top 3 prize winners. Let's see some photos of the hardwater!
(http://www.iceshanty.com/images/17-pic-prize.png)
Prizes
Top 10 I select will win a 3 month militia trial package. (http://www.iceshanty.com/iceshanty/iceshanty_store/militia)
Top 3 that are voted win a JawJacker (http://www.jawjackerfishing.com/), a 4 pack of Custom Jigs and Spins (http://www.customjigs.com/), a Team Iceshanty Ball Cap and some stickers from the Team Iceshanty Proshop (http://www.iceshanty.com/iceshanty/iceshanty_store/)
Rules
Post only one image entry per member.
Post only a photo of your own.
Contest entry period ends December 1 2017
Good Luck! :tipup:
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Might as well start it off, this pic is from the end of a very warm day on the ice at Strawberry Reservoir last season. My auger had melted down into the ice pretty far with the sled & sunkissed mountain in the back ground looked like a good shot. Great day on the hard deck
(https://i.imgur.com/Efu7NdVh.jpg)
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Opening day on my favorite place to fish. Arrived in the morning and it was completely fogged in and it stayed fogged in all day until the last 30 minutes of sun. Western Montana had an exceptional amount of snow this last winter and there was 3’ of snow on the level which made it challenging to get to the ice (walk in only). Once you got to the ice it was easy traveling though. I’ve fished this place literally for decades and for the last 30 years, opening day has always been the same group of friends fishing. This winter was different as one of my fishing buddies who has been fighting cancer for the last 25 years was unable to fish opening morning for the first time since I’ve known him, just too much snow and not enough energy to get to the ice. I told him I would try to get a decent trail to the ice and maybe he could make it out at a later date. It turned out to be one of those days when the fishing is just a bonus and you’re just appreciative to be out there. My buddy never made it out to the ice and his battle ended early this summer. His final request of all his fishing buddies…..”go fishing for me”, so I did, I am and I will.
PS: thanks for hosting another contest Scott:)
(https://i.imgur.com/iZl13mz.jpg?1)
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I snagged this picture of my buddy Brandon. It was an extremely cold morning in Michigan. -3 degrees and we both stepped out of the warm shanty to move across the lake. Brandon's beard immediately froze over. This pictures to me captured the pure joy us ice fishermen feel when out on the frozen water. Regardless of temp, or weather conditions, we are just happy to be standing on a lake doing something we love!
(http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af3/firefightertom32/1779783_10152034293708580_147826114_n_zps081vmzdw.jpg) (http://s988.photobucket.com/user/firefightertom32/media/1779783_10152034293708580_147826114_n_zps081vmzdw.jpg.html)
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(https://s26.postimg.cc/e5hr8746d/IMG_4099.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/e5hr8746d/)
wish i had my other picture, but my entire day is summed up in this pic. small guys all day that day on lotw.
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(https://s26.postimg.cc/sg8371j45/IMG_5572.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/sg8371j45/)
Trying to catch anything!!
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(https://s26.postimg.cc/peggh7ncl/IMG_2806.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/peggh7ncl/)
My wife's biggest through the ice back in February. She still has the biggest for this year :-\
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(https://s26.postimg.cc/f4hmcjyet/IMG_4551.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/f4hmcjyet/)
First trip up to Winnipeg. Buddy was a master angler, me not so much. Right at 28" but the crew thought it was bigger than the 30 a different guy caught. Realeased to swim another day.
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(http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q1/agronomist_at_IA/578ee44ee0f0710103260d6c6f6b63a8_zpsaatqftna.jpg)
The long walk out on Upper Red Lake. Was two years ago on Dec. 19th. Had to leave the ice castle on shore to sleep in. The resort wasn't letting out 4 wheelers because of slush pockets, so it was about 1-2mile walk out to get to the fish. A day or so before a break went through and they constructed the bridge for walk out traffic.
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But for the stranger, right rear, I had Round Lake State Park to myself and got a colorful supper. ;)2
Nunpa Wanbli (Lakota = 2 eagles) our National Bird, were on the horizontal distant upper limb over my head in the photo.
Alas, the 12 second shutter-timer was 25% over their wait limit. How's your imagination ? Look again ~ maybe they're back. ;)2
For the show of a lifetime, compress the foot of snow 12' to 15' for a landing strip, add several dink perch near the center and move away a few yards and set the camera to "Burst mode" for many close sequenced shots, as split seconds become magic.
Technical: 27" Cold+Steel r2fcsml ice rod in holder on ice, spring set with trigger release, Shimano AZ1000FA, bale closed on Lindy 2#Co-Polymer Ice line, Carlisle Tru-Turn #6 red long and 1" piece of night crawler. Most important feature is NO SPLIT SHOT.
Olympus 725 Ultra Zoom 10X optical 4 MP no flash tripod mounted clouded sun minimum shadow.
Photo shop was unable to remove Sasquatch.
Tinypic.com
Tom
(http://i64.tinypic.com/2yoo2ec.jpg)
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/7zuwg5z9rf/fishing.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/7zuwg5z9rf/)
Got this pic from our shack last year. Was an amazing sky!! It was a great way to round out a great day of fishing with my wife.
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/98cox2y7rf/10952137_10100178732043424_1523903898014973993_n.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/98cox2y7rf/)
Staying mobile... I mean comfortable. Maybe a little of both.
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/19an7fdc73/20161228_133441_zpsunga5szx.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
This is my 10 year old daughter with her 30" male land locked salmon. She fought and landed the fish completely on her own. My wife and I were very impressed how well she handled the hard fighting fish only ever cathing perch previously on tip ups. Funny thing was my daughter didn't even want to go fishing that day as we left our house super early at 3:30 am.
She is not a morning person. She was so pumped when she landed this fish she still tells the story how she caught it and always seems to throw in "that's pretty good for a kid my age to catch a fish like that isn't it" I think she is now officially hooked on ice fishing. Wife and I did send this fish to taxidermist for her ......we are still waiting for the finished mount.
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/5sj2wk703f/20150125_135834.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/5sj2wk703f/)
I can't wait to put the smack down on some perch again this year with my boy!
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/4pi44ea0rf/20170128_103940.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/4pi44ea0rf/)
When you decide to jump in a truck with your fishing buddies, and drive over 1300 miles to participate in the countries largest ice fishing contest and represent the NY/NJ east coast, you better catch fish(which two out of the four of our members did) and you better make sure to get your 80+ year old buddy, Wayne, up in the only lift on the ice and take in the veiw of over 10,000 ice fishing enthusiasts from 37 feet above the ice.
(https://s1.postimg.cc/2tu1vffznf/20170128_094507.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/2tu1vffznf/)
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Untouched pristine lake in the high country of western Wyoming with Squaretop Mountain in the background.
(https://i.imgur.com/WcRABu7.jpg)
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That is a beautiful picture of that lake with the mountain as a backdrop!
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Introduced my dad to ice fishing a few years ago. He absolutely loves to go and has quickly been able to out fish anyone in the area. He is funny and maybe a bit superstitious, just like his mom was. Once I set him up with a noodle rod and a tungsten jig and now that is all he will fish with no matter what. One day he caught a fish that broke off and stole his beloved jalapeno jig with just the right colors. He was devastated until a few minutes later my daughter caught a fish that had his lure in its mouth. Now he has a favorite story to tell as well. I set him up with this rod to catch small perch. He is seen here catching three pound trout and loving every minute of it! One day when he is gone to the shanty in the sky, I'm sure this pic will mean a lot more to me than it does now. I love how he is setting the rod with such excitement and is having a ball. I will never forget our days out together on the hard deck. Love that man!
(https://i.imgur.com/Ft6cXINl.jpg)
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Our 2nd annual group Ice Fishing Trip with the friends from high school. Didn't catch much this afternoon but caught a wonderful sunset. As you can also tell this was a sketchy deal. There was an amazing amount of water on top of the lake (3 inches of water/slush). We were of course very cautious getting on this lake and drilled our way out but there was 24" of ice in most areas even with crazy warm temps and that much water/slush on top.
Already have this years trip planned for Bitter/Waubay area in South Dakota SuperBowl weekend. Hope to have another amazing year, and if any of you are going to be up there around that time would love to grab a beer or 2.
Can't wait till the ice comes back!
(https://s1.postimg.cc/974m68qdbf/C5_HYk_IWQAI9g1_W.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/974m68qdbf/)
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/54g52shk63/20170923_200222.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/54g52shk63/)
I remember being upset with myself for running late that morning, I was hustling through everything. Bulling and jamming to get all my stuff out of my truck and loaded up for the long trek to the hardside. The very moment before I started pulling my sled I finally looked up to see this beautiful site. I decided it was time to chill out a bit, slow down and enjoy one of the many reasons I love to be an ice fishermen.
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/40oi7i4hsb/IMG_20160206_104436506.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/40oi7i4hsb/)
I took my grandson Wyatt ice fishing on Holter Lake and we got into some perch. Grandpa needs to learn not to make him look into the sun when I take pictures, but he had a blast catching the pile of fish in front of him.
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Very nice! Great to get the kids enjoying the outdoors.
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When you just can't wait to go ice fishing!
(https://s20.postimg.cc/tgxi30vw9/IMG_5528.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/tgxi30vw9/)
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Hate to see what might be caught there!
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Hate to see what might be caught there!
Brown trout, I'm thinkin' :roflmao: :roflmao:
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Lol, crappies?
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Lake of the woods!
(https://s1.postimg.cc/8okd5gmv2z/16251948_10158311959455195_317060178740174141_o.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/8okd5gmv2z/)
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When you just can't wait to go ice fishing!
(https://s20.postimg.cc/tgxi30vw9/IMG_5528.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/tgxi30vw9/)
turdles.
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/3rta0lfui3/20170205_125456.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/3rta0lfui3/)
Just some pretty bluegill from Tamarock Lake near Lansing, Michigan. Taken in February of 2017.
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My kid had been away at college for four years and boot camp / Army MOS training the prior to that. This is an image of the first time he got back on the ice in five seasons. As you can see the ice was sketchy, squalls were blowing through and the worst part is, he didn't catch a dang thing. Even though the conditions stunk and so did the fishing, there was no getting him off the ice until it was too dark to see.
(https://s1.postimg.cc/3qi7ba5adn/20170104_160012.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/3qi7ba5adn/)
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I like the pictures posted via Postimage! Yo can click on them to enlarge several times!! I hope most members choose them for their picture posting site!! Beats the crap out of $$$$$bucket!!! ;D
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How about a ice photo from this year?
(https://s1.postimg.cc/63rdgkir6z/CDB1_A445-5_BD9-4_EAA-_A766-_C9748_DF44_DEF.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/63rdgkir6z/)
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This use to be an old shed of my grandfathers when he passed away they were just going to destroy it but i had other plans for it..My buddy and i spend our weekends gutting it, painting it, putting windows and a door on it and we ended up with this and now we call it our winter home
(https://s1.postimg.cc/3ginfr9rnf/FB_IMG_1504036958618.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/3ginfr9rnf/)
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Sniper18, congrats to you and your buddy! Looks very nice in that photo.
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/4ofzhzupfv/IMG_1325.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/4ofzhzupfv/)
Last December I took my nephew for his first time fishing the hard water. Nobody around so I drilled a quick hole 6 feet out and showed him how to set his first trap. Stood up, flag instantly he didn't believe me till he grabbed the line setting the hook! As you can see the shock still on his face. We caught 8 brookies total in 2 hrs. This was the smallest but his first official fish through a hole. I had to keep telling him this doesn't happen every time.....it was a priceless day and he won't let me go without him anymore 🙄
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I like the pictures posted via Postimage! Yo can click on them to enlarge several times!! I hope most members choose them for their picture posting site!! Beats the crap out of $$$$$bucket!!! ;D
I thought all 'puters worked that way now? Maybe mistaken, as usual?
This one from "Tinypic" goes full-screen. https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=347418.msg3701173#msg3701173 (https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=347418.msg3701173#msg3701173)
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I thought all 'puters worked that way now? Maybe mistaken, as usual?
This one from "Tinypic" goes full-screen. https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=347418.msg3701173#msg3701173 (https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=347418.msg3701173#msg3701173)
Some will only enlarge once!! ::)
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/6hpzn6z4jv/6_E668279-0848-4_A85-_BFB8-577_BDB01779_A.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/6hpzn6z4jv/)
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One of the best parts of ice fishing;
(https://s1.postimg.cc/8z6ulqil97/042.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/8z6ulqil97/)
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/10xrpq5jsr/IMG_0249.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/10xrpq5jsr/)
My son with the winning fish from the local fishing derby.
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Love the look of excitement and pride on your son's face! Very nice fish! :clap:
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It was a fun day and many great memories made!
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/88gxyvwex7/Little_fish_gif.gif) (https://postimg.cc/image/88gxyvwex7/)
Took daughter's boyfriend fishing and he caught an 18 inch Bass. So of course I said I would catch two Bass. This is a picture of the bigger one I caught but I did as I said and caught two.
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/80j3jug49n/1872_FB15-28_BD-4_F51-8_CAC-940_BD6_F39_E19.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/80j3jug49n/)
A picture of my youngest (4 year old Lane) catching his first fish through the ice all by himself! It was a slow day and he wanted to do everything himself. So nervously I told him when the fish were showing up on the vexilar. It took him three times to get the hook set right but luckily th perch was hungry enough to keep coming back. The results were a pretty proud youngster!
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The smile on his face is priceless!
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She was up early and ready to go lol
(https://i.imgur.com/izsdp5th.jpg)
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/6o7o276k8r/33299649-04_C5-4_CDC-_AEEC-22_A96079_D397.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/6o7o276k8r/)
Here’s mine. Had a blast that day with perch, slab crappies, and to top it off an amazing sunset.
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/6o7o276k8r/33299649-04_C5-4_CDC-_AEEC-22_A96079_D397.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/6o7o276k8r/)
Here’s mine. Had a blast that day with perch and slab crappies
. Very nice shot of the sun just on the horizon! :clap:
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/342puiqkrv/zoomed_and_cropped.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/342puiqkrv/)
Walk back after a fun day of ice fishing. My son had the right idea with a comfy ride on glare ice!
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. Very nice shot of the sun just on the horizon! :clap:
Believe it or not the hardest part about that picture was getting the fish to sit there on it’s belly like it was fins up while I snapped it.
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Had to go back and take another look at your photo, does look cool the way that one fish is sitting. Superglue?? LOL!
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I'am not sure who likes ice fishing more, me or my dog. This was at the end of great day catching perch and walleye on a northern lake that we had to ourselves. What I call a perfect winter evening.
(https://i.imgur.com/F0YZEWa.jpg)
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Both very nice pics, Gofish ! Good looking dog!
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My fishing buddy
(https://s1.postimg.cc/5xnz73m5pn/20170123_105024.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/5xnz73m5pn/)
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Very nice looking dog and fish.
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We get visitors out on the ice .
Picture taken by member named woodchip . This bird visits us everytime we fish that lake . He likes woodchip's white perch .
(https://s1.postimg.cc/3n8pb48hbz/edd07fd_edit_1403914031743.jpg)
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Wow, that is a awesome picture! :clap: :clap:
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that is prob one of my all time favorite pictures to date on the ice. that is awesome!
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Beautiful walleye she caught. But if you really want to get one up on her you tell her you picked the spot and you likely drilled the hole and tied the lure on. She just hung on for the ride! Whiich is why we as men do all this, is for someone else to enjoy. Kind of lol
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/1xpj5vv2nv/IMG-20171029-_WA0032.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/1xpj5vv2nv/)
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/9744fuzowb/image.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/9744fuzowb/)
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Couple of pictures from Indian Lake in Ohio. Our season last year wasn't very good only got out a few times. Weather just wouldn't cooperate.
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Beginning of the 2017 Mackinaw Ice Derby. My favorite lake, hardwater and soft water.
(http://u.cubeupload.com/mszczep1/F9D6EF161D3943DDBF15.jpeg) (http://cubeupload.com/im/mszczep1/F9D6EF161D3943DDBF15.jpeg)
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/7b1ihdra7f/2011-01-09_15.26.30.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/7b1ihdra7f/)
(https://s1.postimg.cc/2rzheemgez/20130309_172911.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/2rzheemgez/)
One nice lonely sun set on Oneida soaking in the rays.
The cat fish was a shocker on Oneida. One of the 6 times my wife has been out on the ice and I jig this monster up to the hole..... she was pretty surprised to see the wiskers and face in the hole in the shanty. Fun day.
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The day acpchuck caught his biggest rainbow yet, >6 lbs, when we got back to his truck he found out his cooler was too small. This turned out so well that he adapted it for his avatar.
(http://stevelarsen.com/ice_shanty/chuck9.jpg)
Even though there is some camera fun going on, it really was a nice trout
(http://stevelarsen.com/ice_shanty/chuck4.jpg)
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The story of my first lake trout...
I made a trip up to the Canadian side of Lake of the Woods (Regina and Whitefish bays, to be exact) at the beginning of March with the express purpose of catching a lake trout. Midway through the second day of HARD daylight-to-dark, no-stopping-to-eat fishing, my buddy and I were joined at a spot over 80 feet of water by 2 locals who pulled up on ATVs probably 30 or 40 yards away. This, in and of itself, wasn't really interesting. We had a good time snickering about their thick accents and zany conversations like two 6th graders in the back of a classroom - these guys seemed more into drinking and chasing women than fish catching anyhow - but we were generally focused on the task at hand, heads down and eyes focused on our flashers hoping to spot another mark to go along with the bouncing ones that represented our respective offerings to the lake's finned inhabitants. After about an hour of drinking and shooting the breeze, the guys start packing up their stuff to leave.
At almost exactly the same time, I spot it. Or more accurately, I spot "them." "Them" being the four separate large red blotches streaking around the dial on my flasher toward the small yellow blip that represented the tube I was jigging about 30 feet below. My friend has noticed the sudden and drastic change in my body language, understands exactly what is going on, and is putting on his best poker face to avoid tipping off our friends who are just about to drive away any minute. Suddenly, as quickly as they arrived, the marks simply vanish. As I slumped my shoulders starting to come to terms with the idea that I may well get skunked, I see my friend perk up. These fish have pretty clearly moved away from my hole and towards his. Now I'm the one trying to act natural. This was much easier said than done with my heart is beating up in my throat despite my best efforts to swallow it back down, my palms becoming drenched with sweat, and my legs wanting to shake free from my body as if they've developed a mind of their own.
For what seemed like an eternity (and in actuality probably was a good 10 minutes) these fish play games with us. They bounce back and forth, always charging hard but peeling off at the last minute. Then just when we were convinced they were really gone, they'd show up on the screen of the other's flasher and do the same thing all over again. All the while we're trying to act nonchalant as we just know that letting the locals know we've got fish showing up would have them drilling holes next to us. Just when I was about to lose it over my repeated close calls with the fish and how it could possibly take two grown men this long to pack up their things and get moving, they drive off. As I watch them disappear behind a nearby island, I catch a glimpse of a large, solitary mark on my flasher, once again screaming straight for my tube. Having tried just about everything in my previous shots at these fish and quite honestly feeling a more than a little defeated, this time I chose to hold my rod tip completely still. Just as the streaking mark merges into the one representing my tube on the flasher display, my rod tip dips ever so slightly. It was the type of take you get from a lazy walleye when it's 20 below outside. Having read about the difficulty of penetrating a hook into a large lake trout's mouth, having worried during weeks of planning about how the lack of a barb on my hooks would assuredly cause me to lose fish, and having spent just about every waking moment over the last couple days doing everything I could to catch one of these fish, I set the hook. Hard. Really hard.
It was a complete whiff. A swing and a miss. A hitter flailing at a Randy Johnson fastball and coming up empty. Nothing but air...or water as the case were. That tube moved at least 5 feet through the water column with that mighty jerk, probably further. However, no sooner had I missed and felt the first "woe is me" thoughts begin to creep into my mind, my rod doubled over. The fish just absolutely blasted it. I didn't even have the opportunity to set the hook. It was all I could do to keep the rod from being ripped out of my hands and into the hole in the ice to join the fish for good.
After at least 5 long, drag-peeling runs in every direction imaginable, complete with the trademark belched air bubbles rumbling up through the hole in the ice, I brought her nose topside. Unsure of what to do with myself after finally getting to this point, I distinctly remember jumping up and down and squealing - quite literally squealing - "Get it! Get it! Get it!" Luckily for me, my buddy had kept his wits through all of this and quickly grabbed it. Finally. I had caught one. And there it was.
(https://vgy.me/8sLM8u.jpg)
Some quick measurements and photos then back down the hole she went. Her 33 inch length and 18 inch girth put her between 13 and 14 pounds according to the weight calculator on the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources website. This clearly isn't a truly large lake trout by most accounts, but for this "country boy" who grew up in the hills of West Virginia and who might as well have been fishing on another planet, it was probably the most memorable catch of my life. What a rush! After all the ups and downs of all that time spent chasing these fish, I couldn't do anything but sit down and reflect. It was a good 30 minutes before I was up and fishing again.
As I reflect, I still find myself convinced that the fish, just like my buddy and me, was waiting on those guys to leave. The timing couldn't have been any more perfect!
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Awesome Sunrise in Idaho for First Ice Fishing trip of 2016/2017 season. We all agreed!, The sunrise beat the fishing that day :)
(https://s1.postimg.cc/9udoqrkta7/00_C96_D4_D-4439-4622-_B8_FF-28501_B2_EA922.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/2k2lfpt8aj/)
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Very nice sunrise!
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(https://s1.postimg.cc/5uoaf4iw5n/FB_IMG_1510036174612.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/5uoaf4iw5n/)
This was a beautiful sunset on Kahle Lake in Pennsylvania. My brother was able to join me and we got him his first ever hardwater fish, then a lot more. Had only planned for a morning trip but ended up doing so well we spent almost a whole day on the ice.
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Late ice with a blizzard on the way! Turned out to be one of the best days on the ice last year, and got to spend one of the few days on the ice with my dad that I am able to. I love being able to take him out with me. Snow really starting coming down towards the end of the day. Couldn’t keep holes from blowing over and drifting with snow for more than five minutes! Couldn’t see very well at all either, but the bluegill bite was phenomenal. Let’s just say by the end of the day, getting back to shore wasn’t so much fun! First because of the snow, and second because we were leaving such a hot bite!
(https://s1.postimg.cc/93ts0v24uz/0_C02_F563-_F8_DC-431_F-9_B11-794_B8_E4_FDE21.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/93ts0v24uz/)
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Caught my biggest Largemouth Bass ever a couple years ago fishing a public lake in western Pennsylvania. I was only out for a bit to check ice thickness for the coming weekend. I brought my super ultralight rod with 3 lb mono along with me. Good thing. I hooked this monster with a tiny fiskas jig in the upper lip and fought it for 15 minutes. I had no idea what I had a hold of. When it came through the hole its open mouth literally rubbed the ice hole the whole way around. I entered it into iceshantys online fishing contest and won 1st place!
(https://s1.postimg.cc/8ajqkewtnf/1482347733873.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/8ajqkewtnf/)
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(https://s20.postimg.cc/ljvrat5qx/sun2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/ljvrat5qx/)
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It was the 10th of December last year...sometime around 9pm I had finished rigging a few lakers for the first trip of the year. Long 4lb leaders...carefully snelled hooks, boxes of jigs for trout were setup. Couple of hours in prep. Sometime around 10 I get a text "we are going for musky tomorrow". Hastily all those light leaders were snipped of and replaced with wires. 4 hour drive leaving at 2am to get there for first light I was met by Terry and Jon who wete already setting up.
I had 4 of my traps in when Jon asks if I want to put a trap on some of his numbers. Initially I declined, didnt think it was relevant...boy was I wrong. I took his broken gps unit and got close to his numbers...apparently I walk faster than it could keep up. I plopped a freshly killed bait in, put a hole cover on and forgot about it. Not long after....
(http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx225/jon006/Mobile%20Uploads/20161211_122200.jpg) (http://s758.photobucket.com/user/jon006/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20161211_122200.jpg.html)
42" 20lb Tiger. Now the best thing is those numbers have coughed up 2 40"ers and Jon gets to rib me about catching his fish for eternity.
It was the first fish of my 2016-2017 season and was not topped by any other.
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Very nice looking fish, great color!! :clap: :thumbsup:
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(https://i.imgur.com/NZ18Bte.jpg?2)
Getting fired up for new season, hope for good ice.
this is Brenda the brown trout, she blessed me and my son one afternoon as we where kicking the idea around of leaving. she put on one heck of a fight, the ice house was a mess when it finished after a solid 10 min. and half a dozen runs. the old perch rod was in for it as well as me and the kid attempting to land here. Elbow deep into the hole many of times trying to turn her head up the 10" hole filling it as she slide onto the ice we where in a lose of words. After setting in the excitement grew we enjoyed some pics and put a tape on her. PB 23 3/4 " and just pushing 10lb. Thanks fishing gods.
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Beautiful fish!! :clap:
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That brown is epic.
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(https://s2.postimg.cc/umm03b251/002.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/umm03b251/)
22: chain pickerel.
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late february, 2017. my dad (pictured) and i went on an overnight trip on a weekend that turned out to be mostly rain and slush, but the fish were biting and we were catching some very good sized bluegill, so we opted to stick around.
on the second day, around noon, the slush had all been melted off into massive puddles across the surface of the lake. soon after, the sky began to clear, and i got this picture
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/c587aee6347fb7b707086b59d8940135/tumblr_oz7ohsktgN1rf4ji6o1_1280.jpg)
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Panfishman awesome pic !!!!!;
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Very nice panfishman!! :clap:
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Nothing like ice fishing with my boy!!
(https://s33.postimg.cc/r9q00q6gf/IMG_0135.jpg)
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perfect shot, love that expression on his face!!
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That picture is SOoo cool! Looks like my grandson. He's a fisherman too.
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Closing day of 2016, walked around the ice in a t-shirt and my fiance got a sunburn on her face.
(https://s18.postimg.cc/db1fvp6qd/Ice.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/db1fvp6qd/)
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Looks like a beautiful day! Nice picture.
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First time taking my son ice fishing just after Christmas last year. Had a great time!
(https://s17.postimg.cc/6cp8syx4b/Cody_First_Time_Ice_Fishing.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/6cp8syx4b/)
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Very nice picture, looks so peaceful!!
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Love ice fishing with my grand son
(https://s18.postimg.cc/80agy4j4l/Mikey.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/80agy4j4l/)
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Love that smile on his face. It's great that you get to spend time with him out on the ice!
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This was taken when my wife nominated me for the icehole of the year award. At least I THINK she said icehole.
(https://s7.postimg.cc/pl2dg5c07/20150308_161856.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/pl2dg5c07/)
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LOL !!!
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The day acpchuck caught his biggest rainbow yet, >6 lbs, when we got back to his truck he found out his cooler was too small. This turned out so well that he adapted it for his avatar.
(http://stevelarsen.com/ice_shanty/chuck9.jpg)
Even though there is some camera fun going on, it really was a nice trout
(http://stevelarsen.com/ice_shanty/chuck4.jpg)
Dang! Nice fish! Reminds of this past fall when I got a 36 inch king and the tail and the head were sticking out of the cooler!
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The story of my first lake trout...
I made a trip up to the Canadian side of Lake of the Woods (Regina and Whitefish bays, to be exact) at the beginning of March with the express purpose of catching a lake trout. Midway through the second day of HARD daylight-to-dark, no-stopping-to-eat fishing, my buddy and I were joined at a spot over 80 feet of water by 2 locals who pulled up on ATVs probably 30 or 40 yards away. This, in and of itself, wasn't really interesting. We had a good time snickering about their thick accents and zany conversations like two 6th graders in the back of a classroom - these guys seemed more into drinking and chasing women than fish catching anyhow - but we were generally focused on the task at hand, heads down and eyes focused on our flashers hoping to spot another mark to go along with the bouncing ones that represented our respective offerings to the lake's finned inhabitants. After about an hour of drinking and shooting the breeze, the guys start packing up their stuff to leave.
At almost exactly the same time, I spot it. Or more accurately, I spot "them." "Them" being the four separate large red blotches streaking around the dial on my flasher toward the small yellow blip that represented the tube I was jigging about 30 feet below. My friend has noticed the sudden and drastic change in my body language, understands exactly what is going on, and is putting on his best poker face to avoid tipping off our friends who are just about to drive away any minute. Suddenly, as quickly as they arrived, the marks simply vanish. As I slumped my shoulders starting to come to terms with the idea that I may well get skunked, I see my friend perk up. These fish have pretty clearly moved away from my hole and towards his. Now I'm the one trying to act natural. This was much easier said than done with my heart is beating up in my throat despite my best efforts to swallow it back down, my palms becoming drenched with sweat, and my legs wanting to shake free from my body as if they've developed a mind of their own.
For what seemed like an eternity (and in actuality probably was a good 10 minutes) these fish play games with us. They bounce back and forth, always charging hard but peeling off at the last minute. Then just when we were convinced they were really gone, they'd show up on the screen of the other's flasher and do the same thing all over again. All the while we're trying to act nonchalant as we just know that letting the locals know we've got fish showing up would have them drilling holes next to us. Just when I was about to lose it over my repeated close calls with the fish and how it could possibly take two grown men this long to pack up their things and get moving, they drive off. As I watch them disappear behind a nearby island, I catch a glimpse of a large, solitary mark on my flasher, once again screaming straight for my tube. Having tried just about everything in my previous shots at these fish and quite honestly feeling a more than a little defeated, this time I chose to hold my rod tip completely still. Just as the streaking mark merges into the one representing my tube on the flasher display, my rod tip dips ever so slightly. It was the type of take you get from a lazy walleye when it's 20 below outside. Having read about the difficulty of penetrating a hook into a large lake trout's mouth, having worried during weeks of planning about how the lack of a barb on my hooks would assuredly cause me to lose fish, and having spent just about every waking moment over the last couple days doing everything I could to catch one of these fish, I set the hook. Hard. Really hard.
It was a complete whiff. A swing and a miss. A hitter flailing at a Randy Johnson fastball and coming up empty. Nothing but air...or water as the case were. That tube moved at least 5 feet through the water column with that mighty jerk, probably further. However, no sooner had I missed and felt the first "woe is me" thoughts begin to creep into my mind, my rod doubled over. The fish just absolutely blasted it. I didn't even have the opportunity to set the hook. It was all I could do to keep the rod from being ripped out of my hands and into the hole in the ice to join the fish for good.
After at least 5 long, drag-peeling runs in every direction imaginable, complete with the trademark belched air bubbles rumbling up through the hole in the ice, I brought her nose topside. Unsure of what to do with myself after finally getting to this point, I distinctly remember jumping up and down and squealing - quite literally squealing - "Get it! Get it! Get it!" Luckily for me, my buddy had kept his wits through all of this and quickly grabbed it. Finally. I had caught one. And there it was.
(https://vgy.me/8sLM8u.jpg)
Some quick measurements and photos then back down the hole she went. Her 33 inch length and 18 inch girth put her between 13 and 14 pounds according to the weight calculator on the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources website. This clearly isn't a truly large lake trout by most accounts, but for this "country boy" who grew up in the hills of West Virginia and who might as well have been fishing on another planet, it was probably the most memorable catch of my life. What a rush! After all the ups and downs of all that time spent chasing these fish, I couldn't do anything but sit down and reflect. It was a good 30 minutes before I was up and fishing again.
As I reflect, I still find myself convinced that the fish, just like my buddy and me, was waiting on those guys to leave. The timing couldn't have been any more perfect!
That's one of the best fishing stories I've read! Heck of a catch.
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Great pictures everyone!
This picture was taken December 21, 2016, less than a year ago.. Crazy how early it was for...
Lake Erie
I was alone..
It's possible, I had the entire lake to myself that day.. And to my knowledge, I might be the only person to ice fish, out on Erie that season??? It all blew out the next day...
(https://s7.postimg.cc/7z0iypffr/IMG_20171115_183928.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/7z0iypffr/)
<°)))>{
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Love that skyline as the backdrop, nice picture!
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Wow, some really great photos!
(http://i.imgur.com/aal4Ejq.jpg)
Mine was taken this October, up at Maroon Lake, outside of Aspen, CO. First ice scouting trip of the year for me. I really enjoy the early ice we're blessed with out here in Colorado. With the many lakes above 10,000 feet, we can often ice fish from October to May or later.
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another awesome picture
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Waited till almost February last season to find the closest safe ice which was over 3 hours away. Fishing started off really slow until we headed out farther and away from the pack. Located a large school of perch and it was game on! The flasher lit up like a Christmas tree and down viewing with the underwaterwater camera was key to pick out the larger fish. There is nothing more fun than watching a school of perch coming in to feed like a pack of wolves and having the biggest one come up and inhale your bait! This one hit the jammin jigs humpback jig and was the biggest of the trip!
(https://s8.postimg.cc/u6vvkczb5/IMG_3641.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/u6vvkczb5/)
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Wavemaster, wow that is a awesome perch!!
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(https://s18.postimg.cc/tgkk7ro1h/12535.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/tgkk7ro1h/)
Always catching stuff like this form shore but going to give it a shot. This will be my first year ice fishing. I think that it will be a blast.
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(https://s17.postimg.cc/rs0vvpthn/3146551_C-7_A34-4_B2_B-8_EEE-_F44527_EE6_E4_F.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/rs0vvpthn/)
My daughter happy as can be to get a picture with her fish. It was so fresh all it did was flop around and she couldn’t get ahold of it. Best times are taking a child fishing.
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Great smile!
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This was 30 minutes of fierce bite! I couldn't keep my line in the water. The best perch fishing I have ever had in my years of ice fishing! Definitely a worthy pile of fish. And thanks to the IceShanty Militia flag for making a great center focal point! The fish look up to it!!
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Beautiful perch!! Sounds like fun!
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Beautiful perch!! Sounds like fun!
yeah me and my buddy had a blast that day. Once the bite was on.....it was ON!
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"Frozen Tent"
(http://i66.tinypic.com/vmrrx0.jpg)
Last year was quite the season for pressure ridges.
This one formed right against shore and pushed up to form what looked like a frozen tent. I have never seen anything like that.
It was large enough to crawl into. :woot:
WW
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Very COOL!!
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(https://s18.postimg.cc/pphxb91ol/Snapchat-1129272977.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/pphxb91ol/)
This may not be the best quality or sunrise sunset pic, but I've decided this is the one to put in the contest. To me, it tells a story. From first glance it looks like a standard pulling shack out picture but upon closer inspection it is more metaphorical. I believe it shows the grit and tenacity of us ice warriors. Bundled to the gills, eyes forward, ever vigilant for that perfect spot on a new body of water. Wind so stiff it's iced up the rope sling, but we press on for respect of the quarry. Shack caked with ice and snow, showing the fish gods we are willing and able to put in the dues of skunks. Shimmer of sun trying to peek through the clouds telling us, it's out there, victory is attainable but it's gonna be a grind to burst through the clouds/resistance of the ever wary Sander vitreus. To me, this simple picture embodies what all of us crazy people are ever so addicted to.
Thanks for consideration!!
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Just a few more days to enter. :tipup: Keep them coming.
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(http://i1063.photobucket.com/albums/t504/mattyb_516/Mobile%20Uploads/E6AF9339-DF24-4E99-A294-6F041DD1345E.jpg) (http://s1063.photobucket.com/user/mattyb_516/media/Mobile%20Uploads/E6AF9339-DF24-4E99-A294-6F041DD1345E.jpg.html)
No real special story to go with this picture. A few years ago, a local ice fishing company had a contest. They needed a new picture for their website and whoever provided it would win a new limited edition trap. So I went through my photo library, found one, and after a little editing, I had my picture that would win the contest. Well, I didn’t win. As far as I know, a winner was never selected. This was 3 years ago. Since then, I always take a picture of a trap on every trip and submit my best one to their website at the beginning of the season in hopes of claiming my trap that should have been mine 3 years ago. My profile picture is the one I submitted last year and this one is the one I will submit to them in a few weeks.
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Very nice shot, Matt!
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Good ending to a great day of fishing on URL in Mn.
(https://s20.postimg.cc/yqpanhc4p/007.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/yqpanhc4p/)
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Nice little ice village scenery!
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(https://s2.postimg.cc/m7g8en26d/IMG_0706.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/m7g8en26d/)
I got a beer in my hand and toes in the sand !
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I like that last one Nessmuck...
Could be 40 years ago, or yesterday...
<°)))>{
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Very nice black and white photo of a peaceful setting!
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Very nice shot, Matt!
Thank you much, tbern
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A special one to me, my ladies first Sauger thru the ice. This is from Lake of the Woods this past March.
I got my lady really into fishing the first year we were dating. She was generally excited to go out but there were the slow days that she would lose interest relatively fast. That was until she hooked into her personal best Northern (38" - 15lbs), she was hooked on targeting Northern after that.
Some background on how we ended up on LotW. We had a trip to Jamaica all booked and paid for.... I showed her some videos and pictures of the Northern that LotW produces. After a very tiny amount of convincing we cancelled the Jamaica trip and booked a trip to Northern, MN. Some terrible weather, the truck breaking, fun fishing, able to take the dog, etc. It was one of those trips we will never forget. She didn't get her trophy Pike but that just gives us an excuse to go back one of these days.
-Kyle
(https://s18.postimg.cc/kiyyv5s79/IMG_0503.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/kiyyv5s79/)
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(https://s8.postimg.cc/j1nputbc1/First_Ice.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/j1nputbc1/)
Had a friend move from Wisconsin to Wyoming who had never gone ice fishing. First ice we hit the hard water and he pulls out this beauty of a facemask he had made himself. It scared the fish so bad that when he looked down the whole they practically jumped out of the water into his hand! A master of the ice the first time out!
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My first fresh water sailfish. Caught in Colorado at about 11,000 ft.
(https://s2.postimg.cc/z2q3uchxx/IMG_0067.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/z2q3uchxx/)
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My bud scout57 came out for 1 last morning perch hit , the sunrise was nice and the bite smokin
(https://s17.postimg.cc/b4vzhjhy3/4_D3_B082_C-38_CE-428_A-9214-8661_D59_F83_D2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/b4vzhjhy3/)
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Last day to enter ice nuts! Post open until midnight. :tipup:
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(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8455/8010684222_b81132e205_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/dcSRkd)Nice Catch (https://flic.kr/p/dcSRkd) by Mike Stellpflug (https://www.flickr.com/photos/85501582@N03/), on Flickr
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Great family picture! Awesome looking fish.
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Well, good luck to all..
Thanks for sharing, more interesting, this year, with the story included as a prerequisite...
Getting better all the time around here...
<°)))>{