Eddy Lybacks Report - Mille Lacs Lake Fishing (Fishing Reports, Events, Tournament Information and more)

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Eddy Lybacks Report

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Eddy's Fishing/Ice Report & Blog

January 4th - 2011 - 10:00a.m.

Monday and Tuesday the best action was in 13-16 feet and rocks for the Walleyes, and some of the fishermen that went out to the gravel did had some action in 26 feet. The best Perch action was in 18 to 20 feet of water but with the higher barometer, most Perch were on the small side.
Today we are spending some time drilling and checking the ice to see exactly how much was made in the last couple days with the colder weather we've had. Unfortunately the next couple days we are expected to get some pretty warm weather again, but it sounds like by the middle of next week things are going to start to change for the good with some colder patterns starting. Tuesday we had a south wind that was pretty strong and I'm hoping the ice pack 5 miles out didn't move north again. If it didn't and will stay put we will start going out farther next week. There was evidence of ice movement west Hennipen. Yesterday some customers went out that way and ran into cracks that only had an inch of ice that were 8 to 24 inches wide in spots. Which means other areas of the lake have the possibility to move now also. I realize that it will all freeze up fairly soon, but until then we are going to stay close.
For private customers that want to go out for this weekend, call us Thursday morning to see if we are going or not. If we do it will be in close between Gull Spider and Twin islands. There will be no vehicle traffic allowed because of the warm weather the next couple days so you will need an ATV to get back and forth. Next week when I see cold weather coming we will decide what to do next. We'll salvage the rest of the season yet!
Keep a tight line!
Eddy
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Eddy's Fishing/Ice Report & Blog

January 6th - 2012 - 9:45a.m.

Yesterday things did get pretty warm out there, but the ice held up well. We did lose some of the snow cover and with the cooler temps over this weekend things will be just fine. Monday-Tuesday it's supposed to warm to the 40's but after that WINTER IS ARRIVING!!! We should be back to normal by Thursday and will get everyone going out there. Wednesday we went out and drilled all our areas that we go to up to about 3 miles out and found from 11-14 inches of ice. Most of it was 12-13. So we have some good ice to go on when it turns cold.
You just might want to enjoy the moderate temps this weekend and bring the ATV, wheelhouse, or portable. We have plenty of parking for rigs and we are packing the driveway with snow so the ATV's pulling portables won't wear out as they are pulled on the driveway. The ice still plenty good for what we are doing and will be renting houses for the weekend. We just are not going to let vehicle traffic out with this warmer weather. We will be shuttling fishermen too and from their rental and if they have ATV's we are asking them to bring one. We will be pulling smaller private customer's houses if they have an ATV with the Jeep and Land Cruiser.
Fishing is definitely changed somewhat with the lack of snow cover. With the lack of snow cover the mid day fishing is slow and the best times are 6-9 in the a.m. and 4-7 in the p.m. those staying over night on the rock piles are doing pretty good with the Walleyes on and on throughout the night hours. And I think that pattern will stick the next few days, especially with the full moon coming.
Keep a tight line!
Eddy
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Eddy's Fishing/Ice Report & Blog

January 8th - 2012 - 2:00p.m

Saturday we had a lot of ATV - portable - wheelhouse people use our access. Quite a few new faces that would have probably went elsewhere on the lake if the favorite area was accessible. Most of the fishermen that stopped and gave us a report last evening had good luck and a lot of out of the slot Walleyes were caught and released making for a good trip. For those that stayed out late and overnight with the full moon seen the "stars align", and numerous reports of 5-10 Walleyes per house caught and released out of the slot were common. Some of our rentals did well and others not, but overall for the weekend it was a good bite. With what I've been seeing out there so far, I see the repeat of "suicide bite" of 2002 coming........
Friday things started cooling off in the afternoon and Saturday temps stayed below freezing except for Saturday afternoon when the sun came out did it get above, so the ice is holding it's own. Ice conditions are still 11-14 inches with the majority of it in the 12-13 inch range. With the warm weather coming the next two days it will remain ATV only. With the warm days the ice expands and shifts causing small cracks that do not freeze so we will be staying off of it with the trucks until it gets colder next week. Our plans are to get things going next Thursday-Saturday with vehicle traffic and pulling the rest of the houses out over the weekend. Rental customers do not be concerned, you will be driving next weekend.
You just might want to enjoy the moderate temps the next couple days before winter arrives and bring the ATV, wheelhouse, or portable. If you can arrange to get up here tomorrow or Tuesday and stay overnight with the full moon you might just get in the what might be some of the best Walleye fishing the lake has to offer. We will be shuttling fishermen to and from their rental and if they have ATV's we are asking them to bring one.
Good Fishin' and like Red Green would say "Keep your stick on the ice!
Eddy

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Eddy's Fishing/Ice Report & Blog

January 14 - 2012 - 8:10a.m.

Thursday evening the NW wind finally settled down, the high pressure moved in, and the bite reflected it. Thursday overnight there was some good Walleye catches, but during the day yesterday it was slow with the only action being Perch. So far this morning the overnight reports were coming in and the Walleye bite was on again. We'll see what today brings. The trend is going deeper is better for the day, otherwise if your staying in shallow noise is a factor and you have to be away from it for it to work.
We are still keeping vehicle traffic and pulling houses SE of a line between Hennipen and Spider Island until after next weeks cold spell and I know that the rest of the lake is locked up. We are allowing vehicle traffic to limited areas. 1/2 ton pickups or smaller. ATV's, portables, and Wheelhouses pulled by ATV's can go out as far as 4 miles into the gravel west of Hennipen Island if they want. We have roads marked with stakes and reflectors to all of it. We have maps available for everyone that goes out of our place so they know where to go and where not to. We have shallow reefs around some of the areas we fish that have very little ice on them so you will definitely want to check in with us before you go out there. We have 13-15 inches of ice in the areas we are fishing, so things are improving, but we are remaining cautious. We are keeping vehicle speeds down on the ice and anyone driving fast on the ice out of my place I will personally escort off the lake, and if you don't believe me, try it........
Please listen to what your resort that you patronize says about the ice in the areas they work. They know more about than anyone else. Don't do something stupid and go off on your own with out finding out about conditions first.
Keep a tight line!
Eddy

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Eddy's Fishing/Ice Report & Blog

January 19th - 2012 - 9:30a.m.

Yesterday fishing was slow with the cold and overnight with the strong NW wind and cold it wasn't much better. With the warmer weather coming over the weekend I think the bite will get back on track. Today and tonight I think deeper will be better, but as the weekend approach's the shallow water will turn on again too.
Last night at dusk we had a little snow and around 6:30p.m.the wind let go and it was a total whiteout for about 3 hours. This a.m. we the wind had settled some and temps really dropped. We are definitely making ice today and tonight.
Yesterday a.m. 10-14 inch crack just south of the East Bar and we will be checking it today to see if we will be going out past that for the weekend or not. I will let you know on tomorrow's report. So far this morning's check of the roads showed no signs of problems, but if any occur I will let you know tomorrow a.m.
We have maps available for everyone that goes out of our place so they know where to go and where not to. Even though we have 15-16 inches of ice things are improving, but we are remaining cautious. We are keeping vehicle speeds way down on the ice. With the clear solid ice we have along with the cold weather it's gets very brittle and snaps easily and the slower can travel the better it is. So please keep it down. I'm planning to be letting vehicle traffic, trucks with wheelhouses to most areas (don't know about the Gravel Bars yet) and expect it to be close to a normal weekend for mid January.
Please listen to what your resort that you patronize says about the ice in the areas they work. (Just because it's getting cold doesn't mean everything is ok. There are still areas that are not good for vehicle travel yet.) They know more about than it anyone else. Don't do something stupid and go off on your own with out finding out about conditions first.
Keep a tight line!
Eddy

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Eddy's Fishing/Ice Report & Blog

January 23rd - 2012 - 11:30

Today so far the shallower water is outdoing the deeper for Walleyes. Perch activity is good out in the mud areas. Yesterday afternoon fishing seemed pretty quiet from reports I heard when people were coming in. Over the weekend good reports came in from the Banana, Graveyard, Pope's and Tundra. A lot of big Walleyes were caught and released. We had one rental on Pope's in 14 feet catch and release two 28" Walleyes. One rental on the Graveyard caught and released 6 between 21-27" and there was numerous other reports of the same. So when the barometer changed so did the fishing. Unfortunately most of the portable fishermen had already left for the day. After lunch Saturday the SE wind had picked up and was making it uncomfortable out there and with slow fishing most left early. With the weather forecasted this week I think we'll have some pretty good fishing to look forward to.
This morning the snow started coming down and now we have about three inches on the ground. Finally we received some snow on the lake! Hopefully the wind won't blow it around too much and stick. It will be nice to have some roads again. We have 16-18 inches of ice out there now. Most everyone was very appreciative of what we were asking to keep speeds down to protect the roads. But over the weekend there was a few "clueless ones" that either didn't care or thought they knew more about the ice than anyone. Not only does it make things unsafe for other fishermen, it also disturbs their fishing also.
We have maps available for everyone that goes out of our place so they know where to go and where not to.
February 18th we will be hosting the 15th Annual TWP/ Lybacks' Ice Fishing Contest. It's a tournament that was originally started by some of the first Ice Team members and friends as a fun get together for themselves and has grown over the past few years to include more. Brad Buys, Mike Schmidt, Kevin Winkler, Dave Genz and more will be there to help weigh ins, prize distribution and possibly a Pig Roast. (Kevin?)
There will be 100% payback of prize money in cash and prizes. There will be door prizes so everyone will win something. Big fish categories will be in Walleye, Perch, Northern pike, and Tullibee. We will pay back cash 3 places in each category. (This year rule change will be you can only place in one category if multiple species are caught.) The will be Clam Shelters, Vexilar's, StrikeMaster Auger's, Ice Armor clothing, and numerous other door prizes valued as much a cash paybacks to be drawn. Entries will be limited to 125 anglers. Entry fee is $40.00/person. More info to come this week. Last year everyone had a great time and we hope to make it even better this year!
Keep a tight line!
Eddy

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Eddy's Fishing/Ice Report & Blog

January 29th - 2012 - 9:00a.m.

Friday and Saturday we went from warm to cold and high pressure. It definitely change the bite some. The shallower areas that had good Perch action earlier in the week slowed and the night time Walleye bite went deep. Most of our house that were on rock to mud transitions did pretty good with the Walleyes and some monsters were caught, but there was not much evidence of Perch. The Gravel Bars were good in the evening on the tops and those that ventured off the sides into the mud edges did well during the day. Overall the weekend was pretty good, even though quite a few fishermen had a hard time. Some nice Perch were caught in the mud areas, but not much for numbers. Sounds like we are getting a warm-up again this week so I'm sure it will change the bite again, but we have so many different places to try here somebody will find a new spot. either way it will be comfortable weather to be out there fishing for sure.
We are out as far as we normally go now,(about 5 miles for us) and we have 18-21 inches of ice and the roads are in nice shape. We are still encouraging everyone to keep there speeds down on the road out of courtesy for other fishermen. It does keep things quieter out there. We have maps available for everyone that goes out of our place so they know where to go and where not to.
February 18th we will be hosting the 15th Annual TWP/ Lybacks' Ice Fishing Contest. It's a tournament that was originally started by some of the first Ice Team members and friends as a fun get together for themselves and has grown over the past few years to include more. Brad Buys, Mike Schmidt, Kevin Winkler, Dave Genz and more will be there to help weigh ins, prize distribution and possibly a Pig Roast. (Kevin?)
There will be 100% payback of prize money in cash and prizes. Registration will start at 7:00 a.m. Feb 18th, Registration and payment of entry fees will be at Lyback's Office on shore. Registrations will be limited to 125 anglers. We have a sign-up sheet at our office that you can call and reserve you place starting Feb 8th at 7:00a.m. All Mille Lacs special regulations will apply to contest. Participants must be fish out of Lyback's in the areas they maintain. Weigh-ins will start at 2:00p.m.and weigh-in ends at 6:00p.m sharp! Fish must be weighed-in alive. Mike Schmidt from Clam Corp will be there to weigh the catches with his "Official Ice Team Weigh Station" Cash and prizes distribution will start at 6:30-7:00 p.m. We are going to try to have it on the lake at the "Tundra Junction" by is weather doesn't permit it we will have it on shore. (That will be announced that morning) Big fish categories will be in Walleye, Perch, Northern pike, and Tullibee. We will pay back cash 3 places in each category. (This year rule change will be you can only place 1st in one category if multiple species are caught.) There will be numerous door prizes including Clam Shelters, Vexilar's, StrikeMaster Auger's, Ice Armor clothing, Strikemaster clothing and numerous other door prizes. Everyone will end up with something. Entry fee is $40.00/person. Last year everyone had a great time and we hope to make it even better this year!
Keep a tight line!
Eddy