Any Prior Lake Reports?

[ThunderCAT]

I am thinking of going to Prior Lake this weekend off of Sandy Beach in the bay...has anyone been out there? Any ice reports? We'd be on foot, so I am guess we'll be alright.

[GuideGirlsMom]

My son(MNFireman) is out there now--will tell him to post what it is like out there...GGM

[ThunderCAT]

Very nice...looking forward to the report...I think I'll be heading out there tomorrow, and maybe Sunday.

[ThunderCAT]

Got out to Prior today...first time this year! 

BUT...the choke lever on my auger broke and we were stranded! 

Luckily we got a couple holes punched and were able to fish. We fished from about 10am until 3:30, and would have stayed later but my buddy had to pick someone up from the airport.

Anyway, it was slow going until about 2/2:30, then the action picked up and we managed a few keeper pannies. We caught a bunch of fish, but really had to sort through them. It was still good to get on the ice.

Now, I need to get that auger fixed ASAP because I am hosed until I get it fixed! 

[Spinach]

Thanks for the report. Thats great that you guys caught some fish, especially at the time you were there (non primetime).

I'm guessing you own a Strikemaster? Shoulda bought a Jiffy....

Strikemaster= Brittle: Recoils, Choke levers, handles breaking in the cold weather.

Jiffy: a little heavier but nothing generallly breaks!

I'd rather have something I can rely on everyday for several years too. I do know that Strikemaster does have excellent customer service though, they should with the parts breaking that often. 

Most of this post was a joke! I think both companies have great products, i just feel that Jiffy will outlast all other competitors.

[ThunderCAT]

Pat, I should have came to you before I bought this last year! 

I actually did a lot of research on both brands, and it was literally a coin flip. I went with the Strikemaster because I got a good deal on it. I should have went with that flashy yellow Jiffy maybe though!

Ive heard Strikemaster has great customer service...I hope what I hear becomes reality when I call Monday morning! There certainly is a lot of plastic on that for a machine that gets used in bitter cold conditions.

There's good news though - when it runs, it cuts great! 

[Spinach]

They do have excellent customer service, I know they will take care of you with no questions asked.

About 7 years ago, I owned a SM Mag2000, it was about 3 years old or so, very well used and broken in. A weld of some type broke in the transmission and the drill just spun freely. I drove up to Big Lake, they took it in back and after 20 minutes, he came out and said he replaced the trans and gear box. I asked how much and he said he covered it under warranty. I was so impressed that i ended up buying a SM hat and an extension while I was there. A couple weeks later, I was about to call and thank him again, but unfortunately he passed away unexpectedely. I forget his name now, but i'll always remember how well I was treated.

Excellent service!

[rchaze60]

was out on prior friday and was sitting on 8-10" of solid ice in the bay  caught a few crappies one bass and one eye going back out tonight after dinner

[ThunderCAT]

I got out to Prior again this afternoon with some buddies. Fished from 10:30am-6pm. Managed a number of small sunnies and a handful of keeper sunnies and a couple crappies. Pretty slow, and slim pick-ens for the keepers. Managed a small Walleye on a waxie too. I'd sure like to find an area of that lake that was less crowded with some bigger fish, but I don't have a wheeler of snowmobile, so I'm not very mobile.

[McGurk]

Was out Sun Afternoon, and marked panfish in 20-22' of water all day long.  They were as negative as I've ever seen panfish, though, and I threw everything I had at them with nothing working much better than anything else.  Yellow and tiny was better than most everything else, but not great.  C&Red about a dozen cleanable gills and lots of little stuff, and we left the ice before the crappies typically come in (4:00PM).  I'm looking forward to a high pressure system to come in this week, though, and hopefully turn them on as I know where they are.  I'm going to hit it hard this weekend as I've got a weekend pass (wife's out of town!) and have scouted a couple of spots I want to try.

[McGurk]

Moving out to deep water.  There were crappies few and far between last night in 22', but getting them to bite was tough.  I thought I might sneak a walter or two there, as I have in the past, but I think it's time to move camp.  I'm hitting the center of Lower Prior this weekend, as there seems to be NO ONE out there, and the crowds are getting old.  Post more later.  Good Luck this weekend.

[repoman]

They do have excellent customer service, I know they will take care of you with no questions asked.

About 7 years ago, I owned a SM Mag2000, it was about 3 years old or so, very well used and broken in. A weld of some type broke in the transmission and the drill just spun freely. I drove up to Big Lake, they took it in back and after 20 minutes, he came out and said he replaced the trans and gear box. I asked how much and he said he covered it under warranty. I was so impressed that i ended up buying a SM hat and an extension while I was there. A couple weeks later, I was about to call and thank him again, but unfortunately he passed away unexpectedely. I forget his name now, but i'll always remember how well I was treated.

Excellent service!

dang a 3 year warrenty , pretty good ! i had a jiffy 30 once but could never keep the dang thing running , had it adjusted at d-rocks but still when it was cold it wouldent stay running , i mean i had to pull ,pull \pull until it would start , then i had to let it run a while before i started cutting , this year i bought a older model sm mag 2000 with the big wide handles and man last weekend when it was -17 she would fire right up 1st pull and cut like a hot knife through warm butter . it was funny i sat and watched these guys tring to start there jiffy and they were having a hard time , they finally got it running after i cut like 4 holes with old sm ..   .
but never the less everyone has there own opinion and likes and dislikes , but me personally i gotta say , i love the sm 
theres not a faster cuting auger on the market !!!!!

[ThunderCAT]

My SM MAG2000 is a little cold blooded. She always starts, but sometimes it takes a few pulls. I figure as long as she doesn't let me me down, I'll stick with it! Does cut good though...no complaints. I should probably look at upgrading to a lazer bit, ideally a 9", but my 8" chipper is good for now.