Mike and I busted free early on Friday to head up to Mille Lacs yet again in hopes of landing more eye's. We hit the ice around 2 in the afternoon for an evening bite, and again the following morning for a half day before returning to the cities. Our two half days gave us some very interesting time on the water. As I'm sure most of you know, the ice has been pretty sketchy in some areas, but here is a report from somebody who has actually been up there and fished pretty much the entire lake this winter. There is a crack that runs around the majority of the lake. It shifts around from time to time as the ice keeps growing, but there are places that it most definitely can be crossed. This pressure ridge most likely will not close up this winter, so the only solution is to use the available bridges, or to bring your own. This crack is roughly 1/4 mile out from shore and wraps around the entire lake from what I have seen. There is solid ice right up to the crack on both sides, and is fine if you can get planks on both sides. It is only open because the two sheets of ice keep pushing against each other as the ice thickens on the rest of the lake. Once you get across this bad boy the ice is 12" or better. We honestly found nothing under 14" in the several spots we fished this weekend. I just thought I would tell exactly what I have found, because everybody I talk to seems to think that this big lake has open water and cracks running all over it. I repeat....Once I crossed this crack, I found nothing but one big skating rink that stretches as far as the eye can see.
As far as the fishing went, we didn't have the greatest of luck. We fished two spots on Friday afternoon, and found some hungry fellas on our second honey hole. We didn't slay them by any means, but Mike and I had a great time running from hole to hole to catch the 6 that we landed. Saturday morning we were joined by Art who met us on the water to bring us the bad luck he usually carries with him on our fishing outings (heehee). This man always seems to pick the days when the fishing is the toughest, and therefore I just tell him that he's obviously bad luck. We drove out to the spot from the night before only to find two portables set up in our holes. We immediately started fishing new spots with no luck until we boated 3 Walleyes and a BBJP around 10 in the morning. We called it a day earlier than expected, and spent the next hour trying to cross the ever changing ice heave by shore. This made for a few laughs and blunders during an otherwise cold, windy, and uneventful morning on the water. Every time on the ice is an adventure, and as always I enjoyed this one to the fullest. You can't always catch a ton, but it's still fun trying. Fish On!!