Here in Wisconsin; like most northern states, ice fishing is a common occurrence. A favorite pastime for many and a way to fill the freezer while enjoying some time outdoors.

The Turtle Flambeau Flowage (46.084662,-90.188828) is about as north as you can get in Wisconsin. Full of Bluegill, Bass, Muskellunge, Northern Pike and Walleye, we had no doubt this 13, 545 square acre flowage would produce.

Our guide for the morning was experienced guide Jeff Roble and his son Jack of Bobber Down Guide Service and they weren’t taking any prisoners.A quick snowmobile ride out to the area we’d be fishing in revealed expansive frozen water and a warming chalet for us to sit in when not chasing tip-up flags!

With temps being -15 actual, Jeff and Jack immediately went to work, drilling holes and setting tip-ups all over the place with faithful Mishka overseeing their progress as Quality Control. Within minutes, and before they could even get half the tip-ups set, we heard “Flag”.

At which point there was a mad dash through the calf deep snow to the flag fifty yards away. We all went running out there in excitement and watched Tina Brunell of the Mercer Chamber of Commerce pull up our first walleye! The fact that it was legal size made it even better.For the rest of the morning it was a series of what felt like half marathon (hey, all those layers and heavy boots in deep snow can wear you out pretty quick) dashes from the shelter to the flags. What made it worse was the wind. 25 mph on the water with gusts up to 37 mph made it between 50 and 75 below zero at any given moment.

I can’t tell you how thankful I was for my HotHands Insole Foot Warmers and Hand Warmers – without them I would have been toast!

But we were troopers, I was most impressed with Tina as she was out there as much as I was. Talk about the epitome of a hardcore north woods gal!

Staff Writer Brian Johnson’s five year old daughter Brianna was all business, even managing to pull up a walleye herself.Rounding out the crew was Lisa Heberling and Brian’s wife Melissa.

I have to give Jeff and Jack some serious credit, it was just about the worst possible conditions for ice fishing and they somehow made it happen.

I would highly recommend Bobber Down Guide Service to anyone. I mean let’s face it, if they can produce of those conditions just think of what they can do in more favorable conditions!

Here’s a video of the morning:

Service Rating

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Overall Rating: 5

MSRP: $315.00 ½ day

Service Type: Ice Fishing

Season: Winter

Primary mode of contact: Phone/Email

Promptness: 5 out of 5

Friendliness: 5 out of 5

Success Rate: 100%

Years of Experience: 3