Weekly Ice Fishing & Snowmobile Report – February 5, 2014

The overnight temperatures still remain well below zero in the Park Rapids Area which makes for a cold morning commute out to the fish house, but the commute has been worth it. Those catching the largest quantity of walleye are fishing 22 to 26 feet of water from 6:45am to 8:45am. The peak afternoon bite is from 3:30pm to 6:30pm. Deep running points have been the best spots to park your fish house. Gapen’s™ Flicker™ spoon is this week’s hot lure, anything glow with do the trick! Big Sand Lake has been producing some above average size walleyes. Set up on the main bar on the narrowest part of the “camel back” or the bar on the northeast side where Emma Lake drains into Big Sand Lake. Be mindful of the current as it makes for a section of open water and unsafe ice, check your ice thickness as you go. Little Sand Lake has been good on the Northeast arm, fish the West side of the bar that comes almost all the way across the bay. The crappie bite has been picking up steam, tie on a Skandia™ Tungsten jig and tip it with a waxie to put fillets on your plate. They are suspended 15 feet down over 20 to 40 feet of water. Shipman Lake, South Twin Lake, Big Stoney and Mantrap are the crappie hotspots. Stop by the store for more detailed and lake specific fishing reports. We look forward to outfitting you for your next outdoor Park Rapids Area adventure!

Over the past week we have seen below average temps, but we did receive a couple of inches of snow.  The trail system has held up pretty well despite no considerable snowfall over the last couple weeks.  We have a full week of grooming scheduled for this week with hopes to warm up a little for the week end.  The Heartland Trail has a lot of snow/dirt areas due to heavy traffic but is definitely decent to ride.