That’s what several diehard members of the Badlands Bass Bandits have determined they will do. The tenacious anglers have introduced their “first ever” Ice Series, a bold effort to satisfy their fishing “fix” over the winter months. They won’t be drilling any holes through the ice though.

They’ll be fishing from boats on the warm water of Lake Nelson in Oliver County. It is a lake that remains open during the winter thanks to warm water discharge from the Milton R. Young power plant. The Bandits held the first event in the series Dec. 5 with the warmest temperatures they are likely to see this winter. The daytime high pushed into the upper 40’s.

“This is a tough person’s game, or will be after this one,” said Kyle Okke, Dickinson.

Remaining events are set for Jan. 9, Feb. 6, and March 6. Weather conditions can be particularly harsh across North Dakota at those times of the year, but no matter to the dedicated bass anglers who are determined to pursue their passion rather than stay home “wishin’ they were fishin’.

Submitted Photo Levi Scott, Fargo, holds a largemouth bass caught in Nelson Lake. Scott was participating in the Badlands Bass Bandits first event in their inaugural “ice series”.

“When it gets cold it’s fun,” said Okke. “When temperatures are in the single digits there’s fog on the water here all day long.”

Nelson Lake attracts fishermen all year round, but most pick a nice day and fish for an hour or two from shore and take advantage of water temperature that is much higher than the air temperature. On Dec. 5 anglers recorded water temperatures over 50 degrees over most of Nelson Lake. Close to the discharge channel the water reached into the 70’s. It’s unlike any other fishing water in the state.

Largemouth bass are the main species in Nelson Lake. The state record, 8 pounds, 8 ounces, came out of their in 1983. The lake also boasts a good population of crappies and bluegill, the young of which provide good forage for largemouth.

The average length of the largemouth caught in this past tournament was about 15 1/2 inches. Several competitors visiting with each other at the conclusion of the event remarked about the quest for bigger bass and closeness of the competition.

“It was a really fun day with no shortage of fish to catch,” said Okke while packing away his tackle after loading up his boat. “The bigger fish were tougher to come by.”

Submitted Photo The nice largemouth bass was caught by Kyle Okke, Dickinson, during the first of four “Ice Series” events on the warm water of Nelson Lake.

“It was good fishing with a lot of fish, just not a lot of size,” added Lewis Kuppler, Mott. “There was a lot of cookie cutters at one to two pounds. It was fun though. I had a blast!”

Kuppler’s fishing partner was Levi Scott, who made the trip across the state from Fargo for the chance to fish largemouth in open water. Scott moved to the state from Indiana this past July and is still getting acquianted with North Dakota’s fishing opportunities.

“It started out good and remained steady. It was a good day of fishing,” remarked Scott.

He added that the weather during the event wasn’t too much different from what he might have experienced in Indiana at this time of year, but also said he knew it could get a lot colder.

A few anglers said they had their best bite while fishing aggressively in about four feet of water. Others fished deeper, 12 to 14 feet, over submerged rock and caught fish doing it. Several presentations were working too – spinnerbaits, crankbaits and, of course, plastic worms presented on Ned rigs, Carolina or Texas rigs.

What seemed to work best of all though, said several of the fishermen, was that they were on the water doing what they love to do.

“This is just too much fun!” said Okke. “It’s just so much more fun to fish out of a boat.”

All of the largemouth caught during the event were released back in the lake in the catch-measure-photograph-release format utilizing the Fish Donkey app to track and tabulate all catches. Each team was allowed to submit their top five bass for the competition. The largest largemouth of the day was 19 inches caught by Tanner Mallams of Minot.