
🎣 Take a Kid Fishing Weekend Recap
I hope you, your vehicle, and your fish house heater systems made it through last weekend--which happened to be Minnesota's Take a Kid Fishing weekend! Even thought it was dangerously cold, we had a blast fishing with kids in the Baxstar day house on Little Detroit and the fish came out to play! As you can see, the heater was working well inside our house! I'd like to personally thank all of you who exposed young anglers to ice fishing this past weekend. They will never forget the memories they made!
🔥 Hot Tips For Heaters In Cold Weather ❄️
On a more serious note, I have an important tip I want to share with you to avoid issues during the next extreme cold weather event. For Ice Castles, and other houses that have heaters with propane tanks that are outside, have a spare tank with you and keep it warm in the house or in a truck. If the heat goes off, try replacing the tank. The most important step is to turn on the valve on the new tank as slow as possible, or slower (I think you catch my drift...). Open it too fast and it will freeze the regulator. Give it time before trying to start the heater again. Personally, while I wait, I like turn the thermostat to "Off", turn the battery backup switch to off, unplug from my generator, and count to ten (I also make sure my generator's exhaust is not facing the wind at this time). Then I plug back in, and turn everything back on. This tip isn’t a cure all, but it has saved me many times. Larger inverters over 3000 watts work better than 1800-2200 watt inverters in cold weather due, in part, to the fact the heater's blower is running almost nonstop. You can also safely use a block heater, partially connected to your propane tank to keep the propane warm if you have a big enough generator. If you only have a smaller generator, get it off the ice by putting it on your tailgate or blocks of wood. Every little adjustment makes a big difference. As a last resort, I also bring a big buddy heater with me at all times as a backup. If you use that or any other non-vented heaters, you must crack a few windows for your own safety.
🐟 Fishing and Ice Report 🧊
The ice gets thicker every week. I have stopped measuring but I'd guess we are at 20"+ on Detroit. For those of you who fear the ice, please trust me when I say it is safe as it gets on Little DL. As for the fishing, Walleye fishing has slowed down, but your best chance is to fish inside turns with a dead stick and jigging a buckshot. Try 18’-20’. Fish for crappies near and in the weeds, or suspended near deep holes. Tease them up to get some action. Small minnows and waxies will do the trick. The bite window has shortened down to as little as 40 minutes some days for crappies and walleyes, so be sure to get to your house on time! Finally, as long as the sun is up, pike, bass and bluegill will give you a fight all day long. We fish them near weeds, but you can pike and gills can be found as deep as 25' right now. Thanks for reading and good luck fishing, everyone!

🎉It's Not To Late To Book Your Next Ice Fishing Adventure!
Our Ice Castle rentals are booking up fast and we're even booked full on some days. The Baxstar lineup includes 5 Ice Castles and 2 day houses. We have even upgraded our aluminum day house to an incredible Ambush Outdoors Explorer. At 14' x 6.5', up to 8 anglers can fish at the same time! In addition to our rental, you can book a guided trip with me, Brady Baxter, owner of Baxstar Fishing. I will cater your trip to assure you have a great time on the ice. Learn more, check out our calendars, and book online by clicking the button below!
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