North Dakota Fishing, Not!

As many know, I recently moved three hours Northwest of Minneapolis.  I now reside in Wahpeton, North Dakota.  I often ask myself, why did I move?  After all, there are not many lakes in ND.  Luckily I still have a MN fishing license.  After hearing from a co-worker that the Walleyes are biting on Swan Lake, I headed home to do some research.  I learned that Swan Lake is just outside of Fergus Falls, MN and that is only 25 miles away from me.

When I woke up this morning, it was -4 degrees, and the wind was 16 mph.  A bit too cold for fishing, but my itch to explore a new lake prevailed.  After spending time with the family, I pulled up some handy DNR maps of Swan Lake, and mapped out where I thought the Walleyes would be.  After lunch, I loaded up the truck and headed to Swan.  I was on the ice by 1:30 pm.  Luckily someone plowed a nice little road on the ice.  The road led to the exact location that I thought the Walleyes would be.

 There were less than 10 permanent houses on the lake.  The gas auger fired right up and I was able to find a good place to set up the one-man Clam.  The wind was a major factor, and it was blistering cold.  I had a small heater that, at first, was able to keep my holes from freezing over.  After about an hour, the Vexliar showed a fish near the bottom and my bobber disappeared.  I pulled up my first fish, a hammer handle (small Northern Pike).   After another hour, I pulled up a small perch.  After a few more hours, another small perch.

By 4:30, my body was so cold that I decided to call it.  This was a tough decision for me because I know that Walleyes bite best just after dark.  The Clam was great for an hour or two, however it got to be so windy and cold that my holes began to freeze over.  I also lost feeling in my toes and the Clam was vibrating from my shivering which (no doubt) scared the Walleyes away.

After I packed up my gear, I decided to go over to the adjacent fish house and offer my minnows to some fellow anglers.  They had the nicest, coziest set up.  They invited me in, and I was able to enjoy the Packer/Bear playoff game on a flat screen LCD in HD.  As we socialized, I learned that Swan Lake is indeed a good place to fish.   Walleyes beware!  I will venture out to Swan again after it warms up a bit and the wind dies down.