We made the trek north of Karlstad through Roseau and across the Canadian border, where a grumpy official waved us through after a few questions about our destination, cargo and professions. Returning to the U.S. to enter Northwest Angle is another matter, as the border crossing is nothing more than a phone booth. You stop, call and tell U.S. Customs you are crossing. Once you supply your vehicle's license-plate number and date of entry, you are given an access number. The phone booth border crossing was out of order, so we stopped at a restaurant and called customs, as we were warned that without that access number U.S. officials would not let us pass!
With our customs duties complete, we unloaded at the restaurant and parking lot at Young's Bay. We had three tracked ATVs-a Polaris Sportsman 700, a Sportsman 800 and an older Yamaha Grizzly-and a tracked Polaris Ranger.
We loaded these machines with clothing, extra gas, ice-fishing gear and camera equipment and took to the ice. After you drive between the bar and a closed shop, the land stops and the giant Lake of the Woods begins. A plowed highway allows access to a selection of lodges and bars nestled in a cluster of islands and bays on the northwestern corner of the lake.
We cut along the ice highway and snaked across the smaller bays, stopping to play in drifts on their edges. The Mattracks machines sit up considerably higher than stock and look as if they are ready to take on the world. Looks are not deceiving, as the Mattracks-equipped ATVs are amazingly capable in the snow. We crossed deep drifts and fresh powder and were unable to stick the machines, despite our best efforts.
We dived into fresh snowbanks with 3 to 4 feet of snow, and the tracks churned their way through the powder with ease. They did not auger themselves into the snow, and they powered through the deep stuff with ease.
The tracks use a gear reduction that considerably slows the machines' speed. Mattracks claims a 30 percent final-drive reduction, and it felt as though it was more than that. Even the big Polaris Sportsman 800 seemed sluggish, and the top speed felt like less than 30 mph.
The major drawback of the Mattracks system is not, however, the speed. Steering effort is quite high on the tracked machines. You can turn gradually with relative ease, as light pressure on the bar will move you in a steady arc. Tight turns, however, require serious muscle.
After riding about 6 miles across the ice, we came to our base of operations for the trip, Norm's Camp (800/473-8311, 218/223-8311; www.normscamp.com). The lodge, which is on Oak Island, consists of a cluster of small cabins scattered around the wooded property. When we pulled in, a couple of deer bounced into the woods and Norm Undahl came out and showed us our cabins.
We got settled into our cabins, which were simply furnished and decorated like a grandmother's house, with afghans draped over the couch, ceramic animals on shelves and small framed paintings on the walls. Then we set out to fish in Norm's ice-fishing houses, less than a mile away on the edge of an open bay of the lake. Once you get out into open ice, the sheer size of the lake strikes you, with white ice stretching as far as you can see, a barren ivory desert dotted with clumps of islands.
On a nearby island we again did our best to stick the Mattracks-modified machines in 4-foot-deep snowbanks. We had surprisingly little luck, as the tracked machines floated across the tops of the drifts with relative ease. J.T. was able to stick the 800 when he stopped in a worn-down track in a waist-deep snowdrift, but we pulled out the machine so easily we suspected it could have been driven out with a bit of abuse.
Snug in Norm's heated shacks, we netted a half-dozen walleye ranging from 11/42 to 2-plus pounds. We filleted out slabs of white, firm fish, went home and had a fry.