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In Search of Sunfish… North or South?
Both Northern Minnesota and Southern Minnesota lakes have the potential of growing pound-plus sunfish. Many Northern lakes that are "untapped" will see some excellent large sunfish populations. However, these populations can fluctuate and produce trophy sunfish one year and not produce any the next. Some lakes will experience year classes of stunted sunfish, and sometimes the effects seem to be irreversible. So just how do Northern areas compare to Southern areas when looking to land a trophy sunfish… Many lakes that once produced big sunfish might now find themselves falling short because of over harvesting, biological factors, or environmental factors, especially in the smaller lakes. The larger Northern lakes seem to withstand some of the negative variables that are thrown at them; ... [ Read More ]
How to merge
If you are not 100% positive how to merge posts please read the following. So you have found a post or thread that needs to be merged into another thread. They are located in the same Forum (#1 in the pictures) 1) To determine the post which needs to be moved Look at the Post date or Post # (#2 in the pictures) of the first post in each thread. Always move the newest post (highest Post#) into the older (lowest Post#) The post above is numbered 2438651 2) The post above is the oldest of the two posts. Copy the post number, you will need it in step 4. The post number is 1914356 3) at the newest post click "Manage Topic" then "move/merge this topic" 4) Use the post# that you copied in step 2 and place it in the input box and check the dot then click "submit" ... [ Read More ]
Minnesota Fishing Guides
FREE - Do you Want your Business advertised here? Click here & Contact Us to find out how Canada Iowa Fishing Guides Minnesota Alexandria Crane – Elephant – Kabetogama – Namakan – Pelican Lakes Duluth – Two Harbors – Grand Marais – Thunder Bay Leech Lake-Hackensack-Longville Metro Mille Lacs Lake Mississippi River Upper Red Lake Lake Vermilion Winnibigoshish – Island Lake – Ball Club Lake Wisconsin Alexandria Battle Lake, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Ottertail, Pelican Rapids, Perham Areas Bemidji – Blackduck – Cass Lake – Tenstrike Area – Northome – Hines Brainerd – Deerwood Area BWCA – Ely – Gunflint Trail Crane – Elephant – Kabetogama – Namakan – Pelican Lakes Grand Rapids ... [ Read More ]
Saving Money on Spring Fishing Tackle
As spring weather arrives and lakes become ice-free, most anglers start seriously thinking about purchasing new or replacement tackle. Purchasing new equipment can put a dent in the pocket book, so here are a few ideas that can save you some money. Rods It would really be nice to have a different rod for each kind of fishing… one for jigging, one for trolling, one for rigging, and so on. For most of us that is just not practical and it can be very expensive. One way to stretch your dollar is to pick and use rods that can be used for more than one application. One good example is a long rod, one that is over 8-feet long. You see them listed as mooching rods, noodle rods and salmon rods. Something like the Okuma Celilo or Connoisseur line of rods. Both are considered specialty ... [ Read More ]
Staff Referral Submission Page
Please Use the following To submit your Referral. To qualify For the $25 Gift card: 1. You must have spoken with the business referred. 2. The decision maker must be expecting us to call. 3. The business must come on board as a sponsor within 30 days of your referral. 4. Business cannot already be working on advertising with us at time of submission. ... [ Read More ]
Gunning Late Ice Crappies
We started out on a small lake that is known for having some some good sized sunfish. After all my years of chasing fish through the ice and open water it still amazes me the amount of excitement, anticipation, and anxiety that I get from the start of a new day of fishing. I pray those feelings stay with me forever! We worked really hard to find the fish on this lake but it didnt pan out. We easliy drilled a couple hundred of holes with our Strikemaste solo's from one end of the lake to the other looking for these fish. What a pleasure it has been this year cutting holes with this auger. It has allowed me to be much more mobile and willing to find active fish instead of waiting for them to find me. At 10am with only a few smaller sunfish caught our group decided to pull the plug and ... [ Read More ]
Off the beaten path
Sometimes you just have to take a chance and explore some new water. This past weekend my wife Wanda and I decided to fish some small hidden gems that generally don’t get a lot of attention in the Chippewa National Forest . I had spent some time checking out the Minnesota DNR’s Lake Finder site for the area we were staying in looking for any clues to a possible hidden gem. Many of the lakes listed on the Lake Finder site do not have a “modern” access. Some have no access at all which really limits the pressure these lakes receive. These lakes are often more easily accessed in the winter with a snowmobile or ATV. Wanda and I picked a lake we had fished before a few years ago with some success. We had a recent warm spell that melted much of the nearly 3 feet of snow that had ... [ Read More ]
Little Big Fish
Big Muskies, big pike, big cats, big sturgeon, big walleyes, what angler doesn’t want big fish? Many of us hit the ice with the thought that today I’m finally going to get the big one. That one big fish that will make us complete. The movie “Grumpy Old Men” summed it up, 2 guys on a quest for the fish. The one fish they’ve been after for a lifetime, “Catfish Hunter.” They did what they had to do to get a shot at the infamous catfish. If I can only do battle with the big one is what a lot of anglers think. But take a step back, pause for a minute, and ask yourself, “Does size matter?” Over the years I’ve learned that no matter what we do for fun, we all eventually find our niche. I have plenty of friends whose quest is for the 32 inch walleye. Other good pals of mine are on a mission to ... [ Read More ]
Testing the Waters
After Saturday’s “truck trip” to Upper Red Lake for another shot at the walleyes, it was time to get back to doing what I do best, catching crappies. This meant there would be no easy-driving plowed road to travel on. We would make it out there by snowmobile, maybe. I had heard far too many horror stories this season about snowmobiles being bogged down and left out on the ice. Maybe I should say left in the deep snow and slush, as that’s normally the demise of many an unprepared fishing trip. I’ve been there and done that. Some of them have been stuck so bad that they had to be cribbed up and left, with hopes that the slush wouldn’t rise any higher. Meanwhile, waiting for the trail to freeze up, snowmobile owners would indulge in the daily ritual of trying to pack the trail, in ... [ Read More ]