Ice was not quite good enough to get out this past weekend. I am hoping to get out this weekend. Many places reporting 3 - 5 inches of ices in Minnesota. Some lakes like lake Independence still had open water.

Ice report - Dave Park Rapids

Lakes are freezing in an odd way. There are horizontal open water areas from shore,and a spot that stayed open after lake froze. This is the first time Dave has seen this happen in his many years on the lake. Some bigger lakes are still open. It is getting colder and the lake is starting to "sing".

Twin Lake - near elk river

Twin lake reported to have 3 inches of ice by Jeff's Brother in Law Brian.

Forest Lake

Had about 3 inches of ice.

Current EventsSt. Paul Ice Show

St. Paul ice show is coming this weekend. For more information see

https://www.stpaulicefishingshow.com/

Ice Rescue

There were two anglers rescued from a sheet of ice that broke off of the main sheet on red lake on 11/21/2018. For full article see

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.mprnews.org/story/2018/11/21/ice-rescue-prompts-angler-safety-warning-

Walleye Stocking is over

According to the Outdoor News walley stocking is over because ponds have frozen over.

Gear

Cabelas $299 ice auger

The mystery auger that I only saw the display for.

Eskimo Pistol Bit

A new auger bit to hook to a drill from Eskimo.

https://www.geteskimo.com/Product/10197/auger-complete-pistol-8-inch

Otter X-over (sorry called this a frabil in the show)

A new shack with more doors on the sides and front. I guess if you need to get out you have many options.

https://www.otteroutdoors.com/product-category/ice-shelters/xt-pro-x-over-series/

Topic - Fishing line

Jeff and Jason talk about the different types of fishing line

Line TypeNotesURLMonofilamentThe old stand byhttps://www.fishusa.com/Monofilament-Fishing-Line?gclid=Cj0KCQiArenfBRCoARIsAFc1FqdqTqQvys8dL9o0Tm5rEy05ZECiWfpuq8ZSpHSIg1Pl_G00zSLzN94aAgSfEALw_wcBFlurocarbonEverything mono can do, but has some memory issueshttp://www.berkley-fishing.com/Berkley-ae-why-use-fluorocarbon.htmlCopolymerfancy stuff, but hard to fish outsidehttps://www.fishusa.com/Copolymer-Fishing-LineBraidSuper tough but holds water and freezes uphttps://www.fishusa.com/Braided-Super-Fishing-Line

Knots

Some knots work better with certain types of line. My favorite is always the Trilene knot, but its not for every line type.

Putting it on right

There is a right way and a wrong way to put line on. You want to match your rotation of the reel to the rotation of the line. Below is a great video to show you how.

http://www.berkley-fishing.com/Berkley-ae-spooling-a-spinning-reel.html

LB Test

Choosing the correct lb test is important. You want to target the size of the line to the fish. But it is not that easy. The type of rod and reel is also a factor when choosing line size. Along with the type of lure you are using. For most situations i use 4 or 6 lb test. I have landing a 39 inch northern with just 4 lb test on my reel.

How much do i put on?

Leave about 1/8 inch of space on your reel. Fill your reel to full and you will end up with a tangled mess. To little and when your fish runs, you will run out of line.

Legend

Jeff talks about the time when he watched a show about the top 10 yachts in the world with Dave while waiting for the fish to bite.