Ice Fishing by Feel or Sight If this sounds like a normal weekend to you, then you just may have what it takes to ice a bluegill over 10” this winter. Big bluegills can be tough customers. Now choose which is better, decide, will you primarily be ice fishing by feel or sight? It’s 5 am and you’re up brewing coffee. Lake map in hand you make last minute decisions before heading out to load gear. Mother Nature’s icy grip has taken hold as you head out to temperatures well below freezing. Armed with an assortment of jigs and plastics you make your way out into the frozen tundra. Big bluegills can do crazy things to a person. They can consume your thoughts. Do you go ice fishing by feel or sight? If this sounds like a normal weekend to you, then you just may have what it takes to ice a ... [ Read More ]
Reach High for Clear Water Salmon
by Mitch Eagan Much has changed within the underwater world the salmon of the Great Lakes swim. Nowadays, it’s more than just the common cyclic climbs and crashes in the population of both predator and prey that have sportfishing catches varying year to year. In addition to Mother Nature’s natural order is the introduction of a glut of exotic species flushed from the ballasts of freighters from foreign seas. To say the water quality differs today from when the salmonid families were first introduced into these freshwater seas in the late 1960’s is a gross understatement. One thing that hasn’t been tainted, however, are the wicked feeding benders of Chinook and coho salmon. When the moment’s right, salmon still gang up and rip through schools of alewives, lake herring and smelt in ... [ Read More ]
Late Summer Giant Bass – Pre-Turnover Magic
In between the hot, late summer weather and worst boat traffic of the season, lies a light at the end of the tunnel for serious trophy bass hunters. The two week time frame preceding the turnover can offer some of the best trophy fishing for late summer giant bass, both largemouths and smallmouths. This scenario has repeated itself for me through the decades of chasing giant bass both in the Northeast and here in the Southwestern part of the country. Being a night fishing fanatic to begin with, I've zeroed in on this later part of summer, particularly the pre-new moon phase, to chase huge bass on any waters I've fished. Big bass seem to sense a change starting to take place, and this short two week window has produced a large number of my trophy size largemouth and smallies throughout ... [ Read More ]
Slip Bobber Nuances for Walleyes – by Jason Mitchell
As a guide, I believed that the most effective game plans just kept walleye fishing straight forward and simple. There are plenty of folks in this business who try to make fishing really complicated and you can make fishing akin to rocket science if you wish… I however made a living as a guide by dumbing the process down. I found that by keeping the process simple, I could accommodate people with a wider range of experience and skill levels without making fishing intimidating. I didn’t want to set out and prove my angling abilities or show off some superior intellect… that is not what I wanted to be. My goal was to take people out and put them in a situation where they could catch fish, not watch me catch fish or feel intimidated. Using slip bobbers to catch walleyes is incredibly ... [ Read More ]
Jig and Pig Walleye
The trend we see developing has been right in front of us for an awful long time. Pork rind has been used to tip bass jigs forever. Before the explosion of soft plastic products over the last twenty years, most bass anglers tipped both spinner baits and jigs with pork. Over the years, pork kind of disappeared from the forefront of the fishing scene but we still had a few souvenirs like the phrase 'jig and pig' which began to morph into something that wasn’t quite so much pig. Pork trailers were a closely held secret amongst a few bass pros, particularly late in the fall when water temperatures dived or after severe cold fronts and the fish had a case of the lockjaw. The durability and effectiveness of pork rind is starting to spread. This past season, the old iconic company in the ... [ Read More ]
Spinner Rig Snake Rigging Walleye
Like many anglers, I started out relying on crawlers to tip my spinner rig. Crawlers can be fished through such a wide spectrum of speeds and what walleye can resist the squirming undulating action of a big fat crawler pulled through the water? Over the past ten years, like many anglers… my rig tipping has evolved to include a lot of soft plastic and pork crawlers. Whether you are running a spread of planer boards on the Great Lakes or hitting a milk run of points with bottom bouncers on one of the Missouri River reservoirs, you would be hard pressed to find a more effective presentation than a spinner rig. The combination of vibration, flash and profile combined with the speed makes this classic walleye weapon so effective through the dog days of summer. My own personal evolution ... [ Read More ]
Downrigger Wiring Basics
Over the years I have seen just about everything when it comes to the way someone wires up a boat. From huge spaghetti messes to residential wire nuts holding wires together. Let’s just say there are a few boats that I am surprised haven’t had an electrical fire yet. The key with any gear on your boat is to protect it. It is an investment and you want to make sure that you can keep it up and running and in top shape. Whether that is your main motor all the way down to making sure your hooks are sharp. I suppose the point I am trying to get across is that if you are going to do something, then do it right. Recently I converted from manual downriggers to Big Jon Electric riggers. This was a very easy decision as cranking up a 10lb ball from the depths can get old. With the new Big Jon ... [ Read More ]
Weedline walleye, bass and pike
Weeds and fish are a mix that mid-summer anglers should take full advantage of. Weedline walleye, bass and pike are there for the taking if you just know how to locate them. Weed lines attract and concentrate a variety of species, which can make them easy to find. If you can locate the weeds, you can find the fish. The easiest edge for anglers to fish, has to be the deep weed line. That's the deepest part of the weeds, where they can no longer grow because of the lack of sunlight. An edge is created, which makes a high percentage spot for contacting just about every kind of fish. When pike, bass, or walleyes get in the snackin' mood, they'll move to an edge, in the weed line, and ambush hapless baitfish as they swim by. The thick, green stuff, makes a summer home for minnows, ... [ Read More ]
Summer walleyes are hot!
With June in full swing, the action with summer walleyes is really starting to heat up. When the sun begins to push water temps into the lukewarm range, walleye activity increases accordingly. Although some may find the going a little tough this time of the year, those that are willing to change how and where they fish for walleyes, can still make some excellent catches. As walleyes vacate early season hideouts, in favor of deeper summer haunts, there's a period of time when fish are in transition. When there aren't that many fish shallow, and there aren't that many deep, fishing can be a bit sporadic. However, as more and more fish show up at their new 'home for the summer', the action can only get better. Summer locations can include deep, offshore structure, like sunken islands, ... [ Read More ]
Pitching Drop Shotting
Author: Matt Johnson When we think of drop-shotting, we typically think of vertical, finesse fishing over a rock pile or piece of isolated structure. Or maybe even a tactic used to pick-off schooling smallmouth bass along expansive flats. Drop-shotting is without a doubt an effective way to deploy a finesse presentation. But what about casting—or pitching—a drop-shot presentation? Why be limited to fishing this rig vertically when covering water can be just as fun… this is where “pitching drop-shots” comes into play and can have a place when targeting a variety of species. The setup. Commonly, a drop-shot setup consists of lighter line, lighter rods, smaller hooks and baits—things directed towards negative fish. While this mindset is definitely true, I would also encourage you to ... [ Read More ]