Minnesota Ice Fishing, Feb. 2010

Minnesota had at least as much snow as we did here in North Dakota but they seem to keep their lakes more accessible. They do have more lakes (10,000 at last count) and more people to use them so most lakes have roads plowed on them so one can get around. Mille Lacs, near Brainerd, MN is one of those that plows roads on the lake. Mille Lacs is Minnesota's second largest lake at just over 200 square miles of surface area and averages 40 feet in depth. My nephew, Mark, invited me to come to MN for an ice fishing adventure since I was not able to do much fishing here. It was a great experience and an opportunity to see what ice fishing in Minnesota was all about.

Since there are more people using the lakes in MN, you see more of a community of fishing shanties on the lakes. This trip was in February of 2010 and normally you would see a larger Shanty Town than this but with the severe winter, fewer people ventured out.
Once we got my fish house set up, it was off to drilling holes and getting the rigs ready to fish. The walleye bite was a little off when we were there but we did have good success with perch. What could be better than fishing with all the comforts of home?

One day it was so nice that Mark drilled a hole outside and soaked up the warmth of the sun's rays. I think the air temperature was -10 at the time.

Sunset on the snow drifts of Mille Lacs lake. It was a great week of fishing.