We placed two of our Fish House Rentals on the ice yesterday! They are our 7’ x 14’ 6 hole, 6 person fish houses (#5 and #6). They are located in Waconia Bay in 11 feet of water in a spot that’s good for daytime sunfish and possible northern pike, and the potential for crappies in the evening. They are within walking distance of the marina. We drill all the holes and the heat is on, ready to fish! Call (952) 442-2096 to reserve. Click on our Fish House Rental page for more details… https://intownemarina.com/fish-house-rental
With improving conditions on the ice this week, we are now allowing Single-Axle wheel houses through our access with ATV’s and Side by Sides as long as you are ready to pull it out to the spot right away. Please do not leave them on the ice in front of the marina. We are NOT allowing cars or trucks. We are finding ice thicknesses ranging from 7 to 13 inches at this time, although we do have one area marked north of Waconia Bay on the way to Center that has as little as 5 inches (very small spot). We have only done checking from Waconia Bay to the walleye hole between the marinas and Cemetery Reef, out to Center Reef, Pillsbury Reef and Wagener’s Bay.
If you’re spreading out to areas away from everyone, keep in mind we still have springs on the east side of the lake (notably between Cemetery Reef and Anderson’s Reef where we have marked at least one area we found again this year). Whether going where the crowd is or off on your own we definitely recommend checking ahead of yourself to find the best path to wherever you’re placing your house as there are still some slush areas that haven’t completely healed under snow and enough drifts you’d want to avoid getting stuck in if you are hauling anything heavy. Chains on your 4-wheeler is a good idea as well.
Anglers continue to have success catching sunfish during the day in the weeds around 9 to 12 feet of water. Wax worms are always good, but we’ve had several people getting good action on larva too. Crappies have been better towards evening. They have been around the weeds too, but also a touch deeper up to 15 feet of water. With the mild weekend, it’s a good idea to set up tip-ups for northern pike in the same areas as the panfish. Don’t be surprised to get a rod-bender bass bite, as we’ve had several successful largemouth bass reports so far. Walleyes continue to be best in the evening or early morning hours before sunrise. Depth ranges between 13 to 18 feet of water near Center Reef, Pillsbury (before it gets too crowded) and the deeper fringe of Waconia Bay are all good early season walleye locations. We have a nice variety of Shiners for those of you looking for them! For those spearing, the water clarity is currently good.
We’ll see you on the ice!
