"Fly-in" ice fishing?

[Cujo47]

Just wanted to know if anyone heard of such a thing? I've heard of people going on " Fly-in " summer fishing in Canada etc. I,ve always thought why not a fly-in ice fishing trip. I would love to know if theres such a thing.:idea:

[Ice T]

It would probably be a bad idea to try and land a pontoon plane on ice and snow. So I'd have to say the fly in ice trip is unlikely.

Your best bet is snowshoes or a snowmobile into a wilderness lake. About 12 years ago myself and a group of guys did a winter camping trip in Canada. We snowshoed pulling homemade sleds about 10 miles into a wilderness lake where we set up camp and ice fished for 3 days. We killed the Lake Trout. One of my partners actually landed a 10 plus pounder. The trip was one of the best exeriences of my life.

[danf2001]

Up here in Alaska we fly in to remote lakes during the winter time. My neighbor has a PA-12 on skis and we fly to some very hot lakes known for trophy northerns. We split the cost for fuel. A PA-12 is not that big so I have to break down a lot of the gear like the power auger and I take all of the hooks and leaders off from my tipups and place them in a duffel bag. We were supposed to go out today, but it was too cold (high of -5 Farenheit and a low ceiling). We've yet to be fogged or snowed in... But I am dreading that day.....

Being from Michigan originally I can not think of too many bodies of water that are not accesable from the road or via snowmachine. So with that in mind I can not see it being economically feasable to fly to go ice fishing? Maybe I am wrong, but I probably wouldn't do it other than for convience.

Years ago, we used to fish Sturgeon Bay for jumbo perch. That would have been a good time to have a plane on skis as it usually took 2 hours to get there and then another 12 mile ride out on lake Michigan on an snow machine.

Anyway, just my two cents worth. Good luck!
Dan

[William H Bonney]

We used to do it all the time too, when I was a kid. I can't even remember where we flew outta but it was like a 12 minute plane ride over to Put-n-Bay, stayed at a bed and breakfast, rented shacks,, it was cool. It was kinda funny,, all the CRAP guys would be loading on those little 5-6 seater planes.:lol:

[triplehooked]

I could see a fly in ice fishing trip to Canada. I know there is alot of lakes up there that are fairly inaccessable in the winter. I don't know off hand any that do it though. A few of the lodge owners that I have talked to head south since there isn't as much going on up there during winter. Hey Dan, quit hoggin' all the cold weather, we would like a little ice!:chillin:

[umas911]

Found this
http://www.islandlakeresort.com/images/dropIn.jpg

Stephen and George Taft of Flint landed their Cessna 180 on Island Lake for a bit of ice fishing last Friday Jan. 31 2003
Island Lake residents were treated to an unusual sight last Friday when Stephen
and George Taft of Flint dropped in to enjoy a bit of father-son ice fishing.
That may not be unusual in itself, but their transportation to the 65-acre body of water on the northern Ogemaw County line was a bit unconventional. At around 9:30 a.m., they circled the lake in their Cessna 180 before setting down safely and taxiing down in front of Island Lake Resort.
After parking and covering the cowling to keep the engine warm, they grabbed their power auger and proceeded to set up for some quiet ice fishing along the east shore. Steven, the pilot, said they were just giving their equipment a test before a fly-in ice fishing adventure to Canada next month. His father, George, has been fly fishing on the Au Sable River for many years, but was unaware of Island Lake until Friday. The pair flew out after about three hours of fishing.

[woodie slayer]

i see a guy land on fletchers every year. he fishes a couple hours and takes off.

[Blue]

In my younger days I thought of doing an winter fly in fishing trip. Back then White River Air had a fly-in winter trip, but never went. In talking to resort owners when doing summer trips, the major concern they had was the amount of snow on the ice creates slush. Makes it difficult to get around. Any ice fishing trip into northern Canada would for sure be a adventure,

[QuickStrike]

In my younger days I thought of doing an winter fly in fishing trip. Back then White River Air had a fly-in winter trip, but never went. In talking to resort owners when doing summer trips, the major concern they had was the amount of snow on the ice creates slush. Makes it difficult to get around. Any ice fishing trip into northern Canada would for sure be a adventure,

Blue is correct. This is the largest problem with a fishing trip in Canada. All of those outpost camps are reachable by snowmobile, but the snow is so deep that it actually insulates the warmer water below. Soon, a layer of slush develops that makes navigation at slow speeds nearly impossible. Believe me, there thousands of those little camps scattered across Canada, and the owners would love to be able to get money flowing into those areas during the cold season. They can't do it due to the slush.