New Year’s in Northern Minnesota – by Chris Barlage

With surviving Christmas and all the mess cleaned up the New Year approaches. Sitting in my chair and knowing the weekend is approaching I turn to my wife and ask what the plans are for the weekend were. I nearly fell out of the chair when I heard the answer. “I though you would be gone fishing”. “Yes I will be” I answered with a great big smile on my face. That very second I was on the phone calling the boys telling them I had a free pass for the weekend and it would be a 3 day since we were off on Monday from work. Everyone was in and so it was at 5:00pm on Friday we were all northern bound. Arriving a little late it was time to brain storm. What would the game plan for the morning be? We wanted to hit big water, but soon we would see our spot would not be fishable. It was time to rethink. With Walleyes and Perch on our brain we would find a spot. To bed we went only to wake and realize that we had over ...

Big Water Panfish – by Bob Bohland

It should come as no surprise that most trophy panfish come from bigger waters. They have more forage, more habitat, and just more room for numbers of panfish to grow larger. Yet, many anglers only fish panfish on small to medium sized waters. Whether it is not realizing that there are fishable populations of good sized panfish in the bigger lakes, or whether it is just being hesitant about trying to find them amidst thousands of acres of water, they are missing out on some of the best trophy panfishing available. But with a little hard work, and a couple of tricks up your sleeve you can have all the panfish to yourself on big bodies of water. While most anglers on smaller waters tend to go right towards weedy shorelines or bays, there can often be too much of this type of structure in a large lake for an angler to efficiently dissect. Many savvy big-water panfisherman don’t bother with near-shore structure. They know that it is easier to dissect the off-shore structure in a lake, leaving them less area they have to search. There are two different types of off-shore structure that produce good-sized panfish: Mud depressions, also known ...

First Ice in Northern Minnesota – By Chris Barlage

With some cold weather and reports of people fishing north of Mille Lacs there is only one thing for an ice fisherman to do. Get a few days off of work and get the guys together and hit the ice. So that was our plans. After work on Wednesday we loaded up the trucks and we were northern bound. We hit the hotel early evening and asked about ice in the area. Our plan A lake was told to be wide open earlier in the week. After hearing that we soon came up with a plan B just in case we found open water in our first spot. So feeling a little disappointed to bed we went. Just after sunup we set out to the lake to see if there would be fishable ice. Sure enough there we saw our bay froze over. So paring up into twos and ice picks in hand we walked the shore until we found the point that we wanted to go out from. Drilling many holes along the way to check the ice we found a nice clear 6 inches. So we drilled the ...

Backyard Ice Fishing… Metro Area Lakes – by Matt Johnson

When thinking about the Metro Area, MN, we oftentimes assume that we’re dealing with small fish and pressured lakes. While both assumptions can (at times) be true, you’re only cheating yourself by pushing the Metro lakes aside. Not only do our Metro lakes hold quality fish, but at times they will hold high numbers of these quality fish. The trick to uncovering these gems comes with some effort, but with vast rewards and short trips you will see that fishing in your backyard is more than worth it. The most important key to fishing Metro lakes is being adventurous. To put it simple: don’t fish where the crowds are. We are too quick to join the shanty town when we should be out searching for our own fish. So many times have I found quality fish in lakes where others complain about the fishing pressure. How does this happen? Well, let’s just say it involves a few tanks of auger gas and sore legs, but when you get a glimpse at the pot of gold you forget about the pain. The pot of gold in this story means giant panfish and trophy walleye… and yes, right in your backyard. I’m a firm ...

Pine to Prairie Panfish – by Bob Bohland

Big fish live in big fish waters. Most seasoned anglers know this. While a fluke trophy can be caught out of almost any waters; the best way to catch big fish consistently remains to travel to big fish waters. For panfish anglers in Minnesota, you need to simply pick up a road map and follow the Panfish Corridor to find your best chance at trophy panfish. This belt across the state has some of the best growing conditions for panfish, and due to the types of lakes in this region; panfish often survive even the harshest of winters that would otherwise decimate a lake in the southern tier of the state, but can still withstand the fishing pressure they often see. Why Here?Some of you are probably thinking that the northern lakes in the state provide better fisheries for panfish than the middle tier of lakes. But the problem with the lakes in much of the northern parts of the state is their trophic classification. Trophic classification is determined by several variables, but the one most focus on is the total weight of biomass in the given body of water (think bugs as food for the fish). The lakes in the ...

Ice Fishing – At The Leading Edge!

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Mid-Winter Bald Eagle Survey Sets Record
BISMARCK ND - The annual mid-winter bald eagle survey conducted Jan. 13 along the Missouri River stretching from Bismarck to the Garrison Dam showed a record number of bald eagles, according to Patrick T. Isakson, conservation biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. A total of 108
Teen Angler Catches New State-Record Walleye
ROCKFORD, IL – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Division of Fisheries salutes 15 year old Nick Tassoni of Rockford for catching a new state-record walleye. The fish was caught on Jan. 7, 2012 on the Pecatonica River between Rockton and Harrison in Winnebago County. Nick Tasson
Free Ice Fishing Instruction for Kids - February 4th
MILWAUKEE WI – Kids 15-years-old and younger can discover the fun of ice fishing at the 21st annual Kids’ Ice Fishing Clinics on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 at park ponds and lagoons in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. The free clinics will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Participants receive instruct
Wolf Management Plan to Take Effect
ST PAUL MN - Minnesota's population of wolves will transition from federal protection to state management by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on Jan. 27, bringing with that transition a number of law changes. Minnesota's Wolf Management Plan will protect wolves and monitor their
Iowa Fishing Reports
DES MOINES IA - The weekly Iowa fishing reports 1/19/12 is gathered from local bait shops, angler creel surveys, and county and state parks staff. NORTHWEST IOWA FISHING REPORTS Oldham Lake Ice thickness ranges from 2 to 5 inches. Open water reported around trees. Bacon Creek Lake A family orie

In Depth Ice Fishing

Getting started ice fishing for walleye
Being the little snow we have this year, there should be some shallow vegitation that is still on the green side, I would start shallow say 5 to six ft an puch a bunch of hole out to 10 to 15. an just hole hop til u find fish. Theres no contour shoreline that can give u a starting point like a point
Happy Birthday Gordie!!
Happy Birthday Gordie!
night bite?
Do you move out from where you were catching them at sundown? In my experience I don't catch them after dark where I caught them at sundown.
Impressive collection
Nice collection. And here I thought that I had a lot of decoys :grin:
Rainy river sturgeon season?
April 24 thru May 7 and July 1 thru September 30

In Depth Hunting

Simnple yes or no.... New question
Do you support this measure? What a joke.... oh, my answer is NOOOO! 1.1A bill for an act 1.2relating to game and fish; modifying bait restrictions for firearms deer hunting; 1.3amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 97B.328, subdivision 1, by adding a 1.4subdivision. 1.5BE IT ENACTED
WI Turkey Results online today
He's right. You actually have to go in as if you were buying a license. I'm in for May 2-8. :)
Which breeder?
Swede, glad to hear you are set to go. GOOD LUCK with your new friend!!
Dave Smith decoy pics
Macks prairie wings sells the hens for 119 but shipping is free over 100 bucks. That is the cheapest I have seen them
More trapping of dogs...
I read the article. Are these traps really tricky to use or why can trappers get them off what they catch but people can't get them off their dogs? Just a Q's I don't know and would like to. Thanks. Got this off a Web site. Would it help? [b]You as a trapper have to be responsible. This trap

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New Year’s in Northern Minnesota – by Chris Barlage

Big Water Panfish – by Bob Bohland

First Ice in Northern Minnesota – By Chris Barlage

Backyard Ice Fishing… Metro Area Lakes – by Matt Johnson

Pine to Prairie Panfish – by Bob Bohland

Ice Fishing – At The Leading Edge!

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