An Outdoorsman’s Journal: First ice camping/fishing trip

Hello friends, I have been hearing good things about Chippewa County’s Otter Lake for a number of years, but knew absolutely nothing about it until this week. Along with my golden retrievers Ruby and her pup Red, I slept on this beautiful body of water, and I think you will find that I had quite the interesting adventure.

Tuesday, Dec. 17 – High 25, low 19 Perhaps my busy season is going to go through December this year. It begins with planting season and generally ends on the last day of deer gun season. Anyways, that is what I will blame for a couple of strategic errors that would have a pretty solid effect on this trip. So, I do not have a lake map, I tried to find one but failed. Not a big deal, I had my Wisconsin Gazetteer and a picture on my phone of Otter Lake and most importantly, I could use my Helix 7 to figure out depth and structure.

I am loading two Otter sleds with as much weight and bulk as they can handle at a public boat landing, and the lake I am looking at is just about as pretty as can be. Kind of bad luck came my way when the truck was empty and I did not see my Helix 7. I must have forgotten it and told myself to buck up and figure things out the old-fashioned way. What’s the old-fashioned way? Look, think, explore, drill holes and drop a weighted line down the hole till you like what you see. I was also down to two hours of daylight, which with all the above and building a camp is a project. So I drill three holes with my ION Alpha electric auger (I love it), set up three tips-ups over 14 feet of water rigged with a 10-pound test and a bead above a number 14 hook, and begin building camp under windy and cool conditions. I get the Eskimo Fatfish 949 pop-up shack set up and start running propane lines for my heater, propane light and cook stove. Hold it; stop right there. I have a flag and holy moly, it’s a fish. Guess what? I am fighting a fish and just like that, I have a 23-inch walleye on the ice. This is one lucky walleye, because on Otter Lake, walleye between 20 and 24 inches have to be released. So, I am feeling pretty good about life when I have a “no, this can’t happen to me” moment as I realize I do not have a lighter. I had repacked all my gear so I knew I did not have one. I hiked back to the truck and no lighter. My punishment for my mistake would be like the Helix 7 mistake: live without. In other words, no heat, warm food nor lights other than my headlamp. I went to my cot much earlier than I would have and had two bundles of gold hogging all the room on my very small bed. Wednesday, Dec. 18 – High 21, low 21 The entire night there was a war going on underneath me, throughout all of Otter Lake and everywhere in the north country. The ice grew from 7 inches to 8 and there was a lot of expanding, especially after dark last night. There were hundreds of expansion cracks created; it seemed like one of them about tipped my cot over.

I did not get cold, was up hours before sunrise and had a flag — i.e. “blinky lights that I love to see” — at 5:30. From the get-go, I knew I had a good fish and I did. It was windy, dark and cold, but I did not care if my fingers fell off at the elbow; I was going to catch this fish. You can bet I was super happy when I iced a 28.5-inch “HAUGASAURUS,” as in a walleye.

All morning I kept thinking about how cool it would be to explore this lake by canoe or snow machine, as it is a beauty — long, narrow and plenty of islands and peninsulas. I am thinking I will come back with a canoe and camp and paddle troll for walleye and crappie.

I only had three flags, caught all three fish and the last one was a 31-inch gator. In closing, I would say this: without ice spikes for my boots, this trip would have been pure misery. Guys and gals, get a pair. Make sure they are large enough for your boots and use them.

Using ice spikes is kind of like the difference between a heated Eskimo shack with lights and a warm meal or none of the above; they just make life better.

Sunset

Mark Walters