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Finally got a taste of night fishing on the ice Fri night. Fencekid, a buddy and I got to the Main marina 'bout 8:00pm. There were a half dozen parties already dug in for the night some, with camp fires. We loaded up the sled and set out. We hit the ice and headed towards Mud Creek. Would have had a hell of a time navigating without gps. Couldn't see but 15' (pitch dark with a hella fog, headlights were useless) ended up just outside the mouth of Mudcreek in 40 ft of water. Had to shovel at least 12" of new snow off the ice to pitch the 12' X 12' tent. We should have brought the snowblower out. Had the tent up and the stove blazing by 9:30, time to start fishin. We dropped glow jigs tipped with waxies and minnows. seems like they have changed their preference lately from minnows to the waxies. Couple hours into it and after we all iced a few cuts, fencekid dropped down the Auqa-view just to check it out. I got to tell ya I didn't think we'd see much cuz it couldn't get any darker, and we have a low-end harbor freight $99 camera. Very impressive. We could see fish and the ground easily, it was almost like there was a light mounted to the camera cuz anything in front of it for about 10' stood out clearly. Very impressed with the night vission feature on that camera. Most the fish we saw were down between 25 and 30 ft. between the 3 of us, we only iced 11 fish, but it was nice just hunkering down and staying warm and toasty in an extremely cold envirnment. It musta been 'bout -10. It definatley felt like it. We packed up and headed for the truck around 6:30 am. The parking lot was already half full, with nighttime partiers and daytime anglers just coming in. It was a great trip to say the least. Lookin' forward to another trip soon. Would really like to get in some more numbers. We've read 'bout some of you guys who catch up a boat load on the ice, everytime ya go. We need to find a more productive area. Maybe out towards Renegade next time. ?? ya never know. Until then,
AnglinAngel[angelic]
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Awesome! Glad to hear some others doing the night fishing gig. We've been doing it for a couple of years and it sure can be fun if done right. I would try to steer away from the "usual spots", especially with a sled. The biggest key now is to avoid the pressure areas. There is alot of fish in that lake. They just move around as the season moves along and away from the crowds. Plus, the fish where the crowds pound them get a bit shy and picky too.
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Sounds like a cold outing . I haven't fished it much this year but I am thinking of doing a night trip .
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Sounds like a fun trip even if the fishing wasn't all that hot. Do you guys have one of those outfitter canvas type tents?
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When I lived in upstate NY we had camp trailers converted to shacks that we would keep on the ice for weeks. We would live in them for weeks. Everynight after work to the shack, fish, sleep, back to work. Had stove, furnace, Ice box ?, porta potty, bunks and a table.
Sounds like you had fun with it though. That is a big area to shovel.
It it possible to night fish the berry without a snowmobile? I have the shelter and heater and a jet sled, but are there enough packed trails to pull it on? How far would I have to go? I,d probably be ok for a mile.
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A mile of foot steps would get you away from most of the foot crowd anyplace you wanted to go..
Actually there several spots to access the Berry that will provide fair fishing at night by foot.. Namely, the Marina, Mud creek, The Ladders, CCE, Solder Creek,,, etc... As of yesterday there were a couple fairly well packed trails leading from the marina, around the east point, and to the north and by Saturday afternoon there was a well packed trail leading in to Mud Creek parking lot and into the bay.. We didnt travel it south so I cant give you any info in that direction...
After dealing with a tail light problem on the trailer Sunday morning we didnt arrive and get set up until nearly noon:30. The bite wasnt super but ok until 3.30. At that time the bite picked up for an hour and we were kept pretty busy then it shut right down...
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hey killerbee, we can't afford one of the outfitter shacks, (cha ching). we picked up an old canvas tent at the d.i. for $10, cut the floor out of it and we are in buisness. we found the best way to anchor it to the ice is via 6" lag bolts. fencekid brings out 2 cordless drills, one with a drill bit, the other with a socket. treat the ice like it was wood. drill a pilot hole followed with the lag bolt. fencekid also whipped up a sweet stove out of an old 15 gallon drum that has been kicking around here for years (finally found some use for it) that keeps things nice and toasty inside. fencekids custom ice sled holds all but the kitchen sink and makes for an easy shuttle to the fishin spot. here is a few pics of the set up we took a few weeks ago.
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That looks like a sweet setup! Looks like you guys could stay up there for a few days if you had a mind to.
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Crap,, man I hate it when I hit "reply" before typing a damn letter!..
Hey I like the setup.. Looks like you guys have plenty of room to afford some comforts. Those ol' do-it yourselfer units are sweet when it all comes together,, and,, theres usually a bit of jingle left over for the fuel tank..
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