Anybody have plans for late ice crappies in the bwca? I might head up to the Gabbro Lake area in mid-March.

I will be up there near Gabbro march 17-21 to fish my favorite crappie hole. I am hoping the ice holds out till then. I may have to go the week prior. My mid march trips are my favorite times up in the bwca.

I will be crappie catching the first weekend of march just outside of the bwca. Looking forward to a good suntan as well!

quote catfish72: "I will be up there near Gabbro march 17-21 to fish my favorite crappie hole. I am hoping the ice holds out till then. I may have to go the week prior. My mid march trips are my favorite times up in the bwca. "

Are you fishing and sleeping out on the ice in a canvas tent? Looks like a nice set up

quote karola: "

quote catfish72: "I will be up there near Gabbro march 17-21 to fish my favorite crappie hole. I am hoping the ice holds out till then. I may have to go the week prior. My mid march trips are my favorite times up in the bwca. "

Are you fishing and sleeping out on the ice in a canvas tent? Looks like a nice set up"

Ya I fish and sleep in my canvas tent. It is a pretty good set up. I like it alot. It is a canvas A frame tent that I modified for my needs. When are you heading up? If you are up there when I am, you should stop by check it out and have a drink. I can not imagine we would be super far apart. I only know a few spots for crappies in that area.

Yeah i would like to see that, I always cold tent it and am thinking about getting a canvas tent next year. I should know within the next week when I'll be up there and will let you know.

hey ya come check it out if you can. I just posted where I purchased my tent from. on steve's hot tent question on this forum. so if you are interested check that out.

hey man looks like I am going up a week earlier than I thought. I am heading up there this Sunday the 11th till Wednesday the 14th let me know if you are planning to be up and I will let you know where I am heading to.

We have a similar tent and were considering a similar setup. How do you stake out your tent on the ice and is wind a problem?

Hey I actually just got back from a trip up north. Stayed the weekend at my buddies cabin near Crane Lake and camped overnight on Tuesday on Birch Lake. I probably won't be up for a little while, good luck and let me know how you do. Caught a 15 inch slab! Also, I'm thinking about getting this tent, with 4 foot sidewalls. What do you think? It has a floor sewed in. http://www.outfitterwarehouse.com/mountain-spike-tent-p-456.html

quote karola: "Hey I actually just got back from a trip up north. Stayed the weekend at my buddies cabin near Crane Lake and camped overnight on Tuesday on Birch Lake. I probably won't be up for a little while, good luck and let me know how you do. Caught a 15 inch slab! Also, I'm thinking about getting this tent, with 4 foot sidewalls. What do you think? It has a floor sewed in. http://www.outfitterwarehouse.com/mountain-spike-tent-p-456.html


"

WOW! What a great fish! Or you must be really good with photo shop. about that tent, it"s Funny that's the tent I was going to buy until I found the tent that I bought. It seems like A great tent. the only reason I did not buy it was that I wanted to not have a center pole in the middle. In hind site my set up is only a little more convenient. I also own the teton tent on that same page. I bought it some years ago for hunting trips. they make very good tents! Wile I am thinking about it, I made the mistake of cutting the floor out and forgot to leave part of it in for a sod cloth. BAD MISTAKE! you need that sod cloth for winter camping to keep the wind from entering through the bottom. 6 inches is a good width. I will post some pics of my trip when I get back.

quote heavycanoe: "We have a similar tent and were considering a similar setup. How do you stake out your tent on the ice and is wind a problem?"

I use ice screws from Eskimo. they are the screws that people use to keep hub style fish houses from blowing away. they are fantastic! they are also heavy, and that sucks! I wish I could find them made out of aluminum. As far as wind goes yes it has been a problem a few times. [ upwards of 20 mph winds] my three pole frame in conjunction with the ice screws seems to hold up pretty well under most conditions

So if I were go with that tent would there be any issues with setting up on the ice? I would sleep on a pad right on the floor. Would there be any water soaking through the canvas from the stove melting the snow?

I plan on using it a lot in the fall for grouse/deer hunting trips as well.

quote karola: "So if I were go with that tent would there be any issues with setting up on the ice? I would sleep on a pad right on the floor. Would there be any water soaking through the canvas from the stove melting the snow?


I plan on using it a lot in the fall for grouse/deer hunting trips as well."

You should have no problem setting up that tent on the ice. The tent I do believe comes with a water proof vynal floor sewn in. Not a canvas one. So you should have no leaking from the floor. I cut the bottom out of mine because it was to slippery, heavy and bulky for me to deal with. Now I use a coated nylon tarp for my floor it does not weight much at all and its not slippery. Also I can fold a corner back and fish with out cutting holes in the floor. another thing is I can take the floor out and clean it off without taking the tent down. As far as Ice melting goes you will have lots of that if you do not insulate the stove from the ice. I am going to take good photos on my trip tomorrow of how I deal with that problem. I will post them when I get back.

Nice slabs guys!

Good luck on your trip, hopefully the fish are biting!

quote catfish72: "

quote karola: "So if I were go with that tent would there be any issues with setting up on the ice? I would sleep on a pad right on the floor. Would there be any water soaking through the canvas from the stove melting the snow?



I plan on using it a lot in the fall for grouse/deer hunting trips as well."

You should have no problem setting up that tent on the ice. The tent I do believe comes with a water proof vynal floor sewn in. Not a canvas one. So you should have no leaking from the floor. I cut the bottom out of mine because it was to slippery, heavy and bulky for me to deal with. Now I use a coated nylon tarp for my floor it does not weight much at all and its not slippery. Also I can fold a corner back and fish with out cutting holes in the floor. another thing is I can take the floor out and clean it off without taking the tent down. As far as Ice melting goes you will have lots of that if you do not insulate the stove from the ice. I am going to take good photos on my trip tomorrow of how I deal with that problem. I will post them when I get back."

quote karola: "Good luck on your trip, hopefully the fish are biting!

quote catfish72: "

quote karola: "So if I were go with that tent would there be any issues with setting up on the ice? I would sleep on a pad right on the floor. Would there be any water soaking through the canvas from the stove melting the snow?



I plan on using it a lot in the fall for grouse/deer hunting trips as well."

You should have no problem setting up that tent on the ice. The tent I do believe comes with a water proof vynal floor sewn in. Not a canvas one. So you should have no leaking from the floor. I cut the bottom out of mine because it was to slippery, heavy and bulky for me to deal with. Now I use a coated nylon tarp for my floor it does not weight much at all and its not slippery. Also I can fold a corner back and fish with out cutting holes in the floor. another thing is I can take the floor out and clean it off without taking the tent down. As far as Ice melting goes you will have lots of that if you do not insulate the stove from the ice. I am going to take good photos on my trip tomorrow of how I deal with that problem. I will post them when I get back."

"

hey man, I had a great time on my trip! It was very interesting winter camping in 60 degree weather. what a mess! It was one of the tuffer trips I have taken. I almost think it is easier camping in -30. I posted some pics of my stove set up on the hot tent -ice melting thread. check them out for how to deal with ice melting under the tent. be sure to post pics of your tent when you get it.:)

Nice pics and set up. How was the fishing?

quote karola: "Nice pics and set up. How was the fishing?"

The fishing was just OK. I managed to catch a few crappies and a few perch and for some strange I caught a walleye. nothing big enough to warrant photos though. but I did have some tasty crappie tacos for dinner, so it was worth it. Now sadly all my winter gear is put away for the season. Winter was far to short this year.

Yeah i hear you man. Way too short this year, hopefully next year we have a good spring season. Hell I was up on Agnes last weekend, hoping to find crappies but just small pike and a couple walleyes.

quote catfish72: "

quote karola: "Nice pics and set up. How was the fishing?"

The fishing was just OK. I managed to catch a few crappies and a few perch and for some strange I caught a walleye. nothing big enough to warrant photos though. but I did have some tasty crappie tacos for dinner, so it was worth it. Now sadly all my winter gear is put away for the season. Winter was far to short this year. "