Late Ice Perch - Plastics Plastics Plastics! The author Jason Mitchell with a giant perch caught over a soft bottom transition using a Northland Tackle Blood Worm. There is no silver bullet with late ice perch regarding location but make no mistake, some of the most impressive catches and fishing for the whole calendar year take place in march. Late ice is prime time for jumbo perch but the tactics and patterns can run the gamut. On so many lakes, late ice perch move relatively shallow and become more aggressive as the ice rots. Large sand flats or gently sloping flats that have chara and sand grass often hold fish during late ice particularly if these locations are near the mouths of bays and other shallow water that where these fish will eventually spawn. These shallow flat patterns ... [ Read More ]
That Time of Year!
That Time of Year The season is finally beginning to make a switch and believe me it’s for the better. Last weekend was the first time I could drive my truck on the ice all season, going wherever I wanted to. This counts mid-winter resort ice roads, as the snow was too deep to get off the beaten path. I was pretty much sitting atop a snowmobile for nearly the whole ice season. If I didn’t, I was unable to get to the fishing holes of my choice. Now, however, it’s a breeze, although at the time of this writing (Sunday night) more snow is forecasted for the North Country. Hopefully we won’t get as much as they’re predicting. It’s so nice to fish out of the back of a vehicle, which is what I did last Sunday. Driving around, looking for perch, all of the necessary gear was at arm’s ... [ Read More ]
Ice Fishing Walleye After Dark – Huge Walleye
Night Shift Walleye - Ice Fishing Walleye After Dark Not all bodies of water offer solid after dark fishing opportunities when ice fishing walleye but there are so many notable fisheries where we have traditionally caught the majority of fish or sometimes the largest fish long after the witching hour when the sun sinks into the horizon. On many bodies of water, the best walleye fishing happens after dark. From Montana’s Fort Peck Reservoir to the Finger Lakes of New York with a long list of fisheries in between these two destinations, the night shift is where it is at for catching walleye through the ice. I cut my teeth with after dark walleye fishing on the east end of Lake Sakakawea and nearby Lake Audubon, both large impoundments created by the damming of the Missouri River in ... [ Read More ]
Ice Fishing Crappies & Gills – Top 10 Secrets to put Crappies and Gills on Ice
Ice Fishing Crappies & Gills If you are going to go out ice fishing crappies and gills you owe it to yourself to read through this strategic article with powerful information by by Matt Johnson We once believed that the best kept secrets for targeting winter panfish were shared at local bait shops, church meeting rooms, neighborhood coffee shops; basically those unknown locations where old-timers spend most of their time spewing the tricks of the trade. On the contrary, the modern age has drastically helped define the new set of secret shared by panfish enthusiasts when ice fishing crappies. Now, don’t go home and tell grandpa that I’m saying he can’t fish, instead just think of this article as the second chapter in the great book of panfish secrets. #1: Stay Mobile – ... [ Read More ]
7 Ice Fishing Facts To Help You Catch Early Season Panfish
Are those early ice fishing panfish eluding you? Have you ever wondered why crappies and sunfish, during early season ice fishing, aren't in the same locations as they were the previous year? Maybe you had an experience where you were on an awesome bite one day and the next everything was gone. What happened? Here are some clues and a number of facts that may help you. Factor them into your ice fishing equation, and maybe these pieces of the puzzle will make your ice fishing season more productive and enjoyable. When ice fishing, crappies, sunfish and blue gills will primarily feed on zooplankton. Crappies have large baskets for mouths with finely evolved gill rakers to trap the plankton. That is why you often catch them in the evening, because they just have to swim and ... [ Read More ]
Ice Fishing Technique – Hook, Line and NO Sinker
Using a no sinker approach in your ice fishing technique. Jim Hudson explains when, where and why you should use this approach. He also shows you how. by Jim Hudson You know that age old comedic saying – “I got ya, Hook, Line and Sinker”. Been around for years. Anglers always perpetrate their buddies into a punch line of a joke or story they are playing out, ending it with “giving them” the finale of a ribbing that only a fisherman can give. Same goes on the ice. Lots of ice anglers rig up just as the saying goes, and then carry on to fool their finned quarry. Works, yup? Always the best way? Nope, in actuality, this story is actually best played out without the sinker. When talking about bite detection and ice fishing technique while jigging for any fish we are going to pursue through ... [ Read More ]
Bluegills Secrets Revealed – Ice Fishing by Feel or Sight?
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 ]