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 ]
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 ]
Avoid a Deadly Mistake For More Midsummer Walleyes
You Want More Midsummer Walleyes? There are lots of huge walleyes in more lakes than you know. There are instances when baitfish are suspended within the lake and those midsummer walleyes won't be far away in deep water. So you can get some deep pelagic walleyes but this article is about making it easy in a location many avoid or don't believe there are walleyes to be had in this location during midsummer. The warm water and extra light cause many to believe the walleyes aren't there. But there are schools of overlooked walleyes in shallow water because of this reasoning and lack of pressure due to that line of thinking. The yellow perch is among the primary forage species for walleyes in several of these lakes, the schools are inclined to follow the edge of the weeds. It is a time ... [ Read More ]
Bass fishing at night The Hunt For Giant Night Bass
Season within season, chasing giant large mouth and small mouth bass during night hours offers you the chance to increase your total numbers of the largest bass in any system more than 60% no matter where you fish. Brett's bass fishing at night In this piece, veteran trophy bass hunter and stealth night fishing specialist Brett Richardson, examines the predominant season with season aspects of targeting monster bass taking you through an entire season on the water. Migrations, Locations, weather elements, bite window increments, vertical post-front bassing and the stacking factor, zoning A-D column bass locating throughout the entire water column, along with calculating prime time pre- moon phase bite windows are all pieces of the puzzle to boat huge bass ... [ Read More ]
First Spring Bass Migrations – Giant Bass
Just weeks after ice-out (May in Northern Minnesota), or frigid open waters, the first spring migrations of giant bass begins. I’ve been following these first movements of giant bass for five decades, and specifically target the largest bass in any systems I fish during this time frame of initial migrations. Largemouth bass and Smallmouth bass annual movements take place from main lake basins to migratory routes, and eventually to secondary staging areas. Many anglers fail to realize the potential of the off-shore main lake basin program for early season giants. In states that have open bass seasons early in the year, or special catch and release programs, targeting these first initial big bass movements can bode well for boating some of the heaviest bass of the year. The instinct to ... [ Read More ]
Minnesota’s Lake Vermilion
This Northwoods gem offers world-class muskie fishing, plus great opportunities to catch walleyes, northern pike, crappie and more. The channel that separates Lake Vermilion's Ludlows Island from Lake Vermilion’s south shore isn’t terribly wide, but when you step aboard the classic wooden boat that shuttles guests to Ludlow’s Island Resort, you step into another world – a world strangely distant from modern day worries. A self-contained island resort with waterfront cabins connected by woodland trails, Ludlow’s has been operated by the Ludlow family for more than 70 years. Despite stretching over more than 40,000 acres, northern Minnesota’s Lake Vermilion seems intimate in most places because of the 365 islands and 1200 miles of shoreline that break up the lake’s clear but dark waters. ... [ Read More ]
Secrets to Spring Slabs – by Ron Anlauf
Taking on big slab sided crappies is a respectable challenge and can be a real gas when you put it all together. Catching early season crappies is simple and easy enough but we’re talking real slabs (those in the thirteen to fifteen inch and beyond range), and they’re not everywhere. But the fact is they do exist and they can be caught if you have a little inside information. When it comes to producing behemoth crappies less is usually more. The lakes that hold big numbers are more likely to produce smaller fish. Probably big enough to put in the pail and that’s perfectly fine, but were not looking for the run of the mill keepers here. Our target is the largest of the species and it’s the lakes that have fewer fish that harbor the real monsters. Some of the best include medium to clear ... [ Read More ]