Weed Edge Largemouths off the Deep End – By Matt Johnson

It’s no surprise to find out that bass spend most of their time in weedy areas, in fact, I would go as far to say that in most lakes that’s one of the only spots you’ll find bass. So, what better structure to begin our search then where the culprit lies—weeds—and in order to fish the weeds you need to begin with the infamous weed edge… Bass are notorious for cruising the weed edge in search of an easy meal. Actually, bass will dominate the weed edge and even chase down prey regardless of how hungry they are. Bass can be bullies and bass will pound a presentation that crosses their path. Weed edge fishing makes things easy for not only locating bass, but for getting bit more than once. Locating the right weed edge can be half the battle. You want to focus on areas where deep water is available. You also want to pay attention to what type of weeds are available. Areas with more than one mix of weeds can be very productive. Variance in weed type gives the bass more reasons so stay. It provides an abundance of prey species as well as oxygen and cover. Other characteristics of ...

History Lessons – By Bob Bohland

We have all had a great fishing spot ruined. Whether it is from a mouthy friend who likes to brag, someone else finding your spot, or just dumb luck by a few locals. There isn’t much you can do other than fish with the rest of the crowd (which can amount to torture to me) or find a new honey hole. This can take a lot of work and, at least in my experience, a lot of failure before you hit pay dirt again. Many keep a log of lakes they have fished and what they have caught, sometimes even with pictures or GPS coordinates to remind them. Why keep old lakes that have gotten out in the back of your mind? Simple, because panfish, especially crappies can recover in lakes that have seen the limelight of internet forums, magazine articles, and TV shows, and can return to their once lost glory. The Alexandria, Mn area is home to a lot of very productive lakes, but these lakes also see a lot of pressure. Anglers in the area travel from hot lake to hot lake seemingly like locusts, but for area guide Joe Scegura, it is all just part of the ...

Super Summer Walleye Pattern on Lake of the Woods – By Ron Anlauf

There really aren’t a lot of places where walleye angling starts out good and keeps getting better through July and August and even into September. Lake of the Woods is one such place and is a real jewel and why it might be a good idea to schedule a trip to this northern most border water. Lots of pole bending is what we’re talking about and includes fish of every size; from the smallest sauger to monster ‘eyes and everything in between. Although the action can be red hot it isn’t everywhere and there are some things to look for as well as some specialized equipment needed to be effective. The predominant summer pattern is trolling basin areas with crankbaits and is super effective way to cover water and put fish in the boat. There is more than one way to get it done but hands down the top method includes the use of downriggers to get the baits running at the right depth. You can do the same thing with leadcore line or even by attaching snap weights to your line ahead of the lure but downriggers like my Cannon Mag10s ...

April “May Fly” – By Greg Clusiau

I finally got into them. It was a last minute thought from Blake, last Friday, when he messaged me from work, asking “fishing tonight?” That’s all it took. I’m easy, especially when it comes to fishing. Although both of us work different jobs, we do have the same 6-2 day shift and only live two blocks from one another. This makes those last-minute decisions happen a lot easier so it was no surprise when I got home and found Blake pulling up next to the house, only minutes behind me. We headed to one of my early-spring “go to” spots, hoping the water had warmed up enough to get fish moving in shallow. I had been there a few days prior and it just wasn’t happening. Maybe it was finally ready. I keep a close eye on the water temperatures of a handful of local lakes. Doing this allows me the luxury of not missing out on one of the better early-spring crappie bites that takes place each and every year. No boat, just waders. This is my early season approach. Hop in the truck and drive, not worrying about how the trailer is doing because there is none. This makes getting around a ...

Think Outside the Box, the Jig Box! – By Leisure Outdoor Adventures

For decades, anglers across the country have said if they could have only one lure in their tackle box, it would be the ever versatile jig. The standard jig has so many ways it can be used to catch fish from vertical jigging and snap jigging, to casting, and pitching. This versatility, combined with the evolution of the fishing industry, allows the fisherman to have an array of choices in his tackle box. Jigs have a diversity in sizes, shapes and colors and we here at LOA, feel that the jig is something that has to be part of every fisherman’s arsenal. LOA’s Jeff Anderson has been fishing jigs since he could tie one on his first fishing rod. Jeff’s range and skill with his jig fishing put him at an elite level and he stopped by LOA country to share some tips. When it comes to chasing walleyes with jigs, Andersen has two favorite approaches: chasing weed walleyes and snap jigging across weed and sand flats. Weed walleyes often times are chasing 3-4” perch and shiners within bays, sand/weed flats, and bars or humps that have good cabbage weed growth on ...

Fishing & Hunting – At The Leading Edge!

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Iowa Fishing Reports
DES MOINES IA - The weekly Iowa fishing reports from 5/10/12 are gathered from local bait shops, angler creel surveys, and county and state parks staff. NORTHWEST IOWA FISHING REPORTS Oldham Lake Anglers are catching some 7 to 8-inch bluegills. Brushy Creek Lake Fishing continues to be good. Crappie [...]
Helping Musky Find Their Way Back to Green Bay
GREEN BAY, WI – When state fisheries staff hit the water last week in search of Great Lakes spotted muskellunge, they weren’t sure how many they would find in their nets along the bank of the Fox River just south of Green Bay. It didn’t take long for them to realize they hit the jackpot. Musky [...]
Becoming an Outdoors-Woman
BISMARCK ND - The North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program has announced a schedule of events in 2012. Hike the Maah Daah Hey Trail is June 15-17. This workshop is designed for women with previous hiking or backpacking skills, or who are in good physical condition [...]
Wind Cave National Park to Share Elk with Custer State Park
WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK, SD – The superintendents of Wind Cave National Park and Custer State Park announced today that the two parks will cooperate in management of elk that use the parks. The parks share a common fence that restricts movement of elk between the two areas. Under a recently develo [...]
Walk-In Access Enrollment Deadline June 1
ST PAUL MN - A June 1 deadline is in place for landowners in 21 southwestern Minnesota counties to earn money by allowing public hunting on their private land through the Walk-In Access (WIA) program, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Privately owned parcels of 40 acr [...]

In Depth Fishing

Digger Anchor ?
I don't really know where to post this so I will start here. I see that Digger Anchor now has a Digger Anchor 2 model. I am wondering if anyone has experience with either of the Digger Anchors 1 or 2 because there is a pretty big price difference between the two of them. Thanks............ [...]
Went for first time, fluff report and questions
So the gamefish weren't cooperating last week, nor were the turkeys. We saw a ton of fish flopping in the shallows so I went out to Fleet Farm, bought a reel and a couple arrows and decided to give it a shot. The water was higher on Friday but the fish were still there and very active. I only h [...]
2005 115 hp Yamaha 4 sroke
So are you saying its running back down the hose to the tank? If so then the anti-siphon valve at the tank may be your cause. Does it run ok? You just have to prime it each time? [...]
Hows the fishing?
we had similar luck this weekend here in S. MN. spent about five hours sat. night and three last night with only two decent channels. i'm still skunked on the flatheads, but agree with the others in that it won't be long now. [...]
Stability of fishing kayaks
[quote=Just_Lew]Check out the videos and reviews for the new NuCanoe Frontier at NuCanoe.com. If you are looking more for a fishing platform, this may be just the answer. [/quote] I'm just renting, but these look great. If I were buying I would like into them. How much are they? [...]

In Depth Hunting

Looking for some excellent hunting photos
[url=http://fishingminnesota.com/forum/file/userpics/2012/05/full-17729-20609-292200_341668895885704_100001277882441_1004372_1760885192_n.jpg][img]http://fishingminnesota.com/forum/file/userpics/2012/05/full-17729-20609-292200_341668895885704_100001277882441_1004372_1760885192_n.jpg[/img][/url] [...]
Bird dye and planting birds
I've never trained dogs on public land, but one thing I will warn you about using quails is that you don't need to spin them before planting. It might depend on how big or strong of a flier they are to determine if you should spin them. I learned from experience a few weeks ago when I spun [...]
TEAM 8 - "TURKEYSNIPERS"
[quote=Archerysniper]Hey no one was suppose to know that I was sleeping when that Tom came thru,It's not my fault he didn't gobble :blush: [/quote] No one did know until you told us :D [...]
GREAT dekes QTY vs Quality
[quote=Gordie]HB I'm on the same side of the swamp as you on this. But if I could afford it all my dekes would be made by mutha :grin:[/quote] my thoughts to a T [...]
good cheaper trail camera recommendation
I would highly recommend the spypoints sold by gander mountain. They are great quality and have a good model for $100. The Spypoint 4mp I have takes great pictures and runs off of AA batteries. The battery life is great and lasted me 2 months and still had half the battery life when I changed them. [...]

Fishing Tournament Blog

Wayne Ek- Okoboji Tournament Day
Wayne Ek-Tournament day for the Okoboji Open The night before the tournament the weather turned ugly, high winds, rain and tornado warnings. When we got up in the morning it wasn’t much better. Launch was at 7a.m. and weigh-in at 3 p.m. We were boat number 5 out in a 40-boat field. Staying [...] [...]
Wayne Ek- Bass Tournament Blog
Wayne Ek- Day two pre-fishing for Okoboji Open Started pre-fishing on day two in the east lakes of the Okoboji chain. The east side of the Okoboji chain is made up of East Okoboji, Upper Gar, Minnewashta and Lower Gar. The east side chain is shallow and has stained to muddy water. The day [...] [...]
Wayne Ek’s-2012 Bass Tournament Blog
With Rick’s blessing and Joe’s help I will be posting a short narrative on each of the bass tournaments I fish this season… win lose or draw. My plan is to highlight both the pre-fishing days and actual tournament day. The blog will start off slow and then increase in frequency, as we get deep [...]

Get out Fishing or Hunting Today!

Weed Edge Largemouths off the Deep End – By Matt Johnson

History Lessons – By Bob Bohland

Super Summer Walleye Pattern on Lake of the Woods – By Ron Anlauf

April “May Fly” – By Greg Clusiau

Think Outside the Box, the Jig Box! – By Leisure Outdoor Adventures

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