It’s a quick way to check the ice in a variety of different spots while staking out safe trails. While slowly cutting down into the ice, the workers can tell when the water begins to spray up just how thick the ice is by how deep into the ice the bar is. The guide bar of the chainsaw is marked off in inch increments. When the ice reaches about 3 inches thick, most resorts use chainsaws to check the thickness of the ice. This is discouraged for the majority, but for these few ice guides, they take many safety precautions and have done it for years. Oftentimes, some of the more aggressive and experienced ice guides are navigating out on just a couple of inches of ice to check its progress. In early December when the ice finally forms, resorts all around the lake are working hard to mark trails and search for the thickest ice. The efforts of resorts and ice guides make the ice fishing easy. Scenes like this happen all winter on Lake of the Woods. Smiles and good memories in the 70-degree comfort of a fish house. Fully heated, they are part of the experience of ice fishing The Walleye Capital of the World. The vehicles are typically steered with big skis on the front of the vehicle, similar to snowmobile skis, rather than tires that would get stuck in the deep snow. These rigs allow clearance over large snow drifts and exceptional off-road capabilities with tracks instead of tires. For the many fish houses, there is painting, adding new skids, repairs, checking heaters, fixing windows and a myriad of other tasks that are all part of the process.Īs the ice thickens, many resorts will transport visitors in a bombardier, or possibly a homemade track rig. Resorts begin the by getting their ice fishing vehicles, trailers, fish houses and other equipment ready for the upcoming ice season. For most, though, the process starts up around the end of summer. Prepping for the winter season for some resorts and sleeper-fish-house businesses is a year-round process. What most visitors don’t realize is what happens behind the scenes to make this harsh winter environment a very comfortable ice fishing mecca. Others prefer the challenge of doing it on their own with their own equipment, either driving out on a plowed ice road or navigating on a groomed snowmobile trail more than 40 miles across the lake or Rainy River. Most take advantage of the unique infrastructure that has been created, traversing from a heated resort into a heated ice rig to a heated fish house without lifting a finger. Thousands flock every winter to Lake of the Woods to enjoy some of the best ice fishing in North America.
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