Ice Fishing Crappies - by Sight In deep water We believe that anglers are overlooking one of the most obvious places when they are ice fishing crappies: some of the biggest crappie and sunfish can be found high in the water column, right under the ice. There are many situations when high under the ice patterns shine, especially for big fish. I have my own opinions and theories, but I believe we often have success when we are ice fishing crappies right under the ice, because the bigger fish feel more confident and safe whereas the small fish don’t seem to like to leave the security of either the school, weeds or bottom and be silhouetted. Big fish also get to you faster, so if there is a pack of twenty fish swimming say ten feet down and they rise up to investigate you… ... [ Pound this link... ]
Ice Fishing for Lake Trout – Hit list for 2020
Ice fishing lake trout is often the quintessential fish for adventure with ice fishing. And there is no doubt that more ice fishing enthusiasts are traveling further, and there aren’t as many secrets. In today’s world, word can travel incredibly fast and I still marvel at how far some anglers will travel to capitalize on a hot bite. A hot trend we are seeing among hard core ice anglers are remote adventure expeditions where teams of ice anglers will push back into hard-to-reach and remote fisheries where the ice fishing adventure resembles a back country big game hunt. Ridiculously deep snow and no cell phone service is often the norm. Expect to be covered in sweat one moment and fighting frost bite the next. The locations where big lake trout live will often push ... [ Pound this link... ]
Ice Fishing Destinations: Your Dream Trip Planner
Ice fishing destinations and adventures abound across both the United States and Canada. Some of these destinations are exotic and remote, while other hot spots are on a high cycle. This ice fishing season, make a point to expand your horizons and explore some of these destinations. For many reasons, ice anglers are beginning to travel further away from home. More anglers are traveling to destination fisheries each winter, the desire to travel fueled by information gleaned from social media and web forums. Equipment just keeps getting better and more reliable, then factor in increasingly dependable snowmobiles, GPS and more rugged and durable equipment, and it is no surprise that ice anglers today are becoming more adventurous. Today's world is indeed smaller. We have traveled across ... [ Pound this link... ]
Read Late Summer Crappie Patterns for Frenzied Action
In August, many anglers are targeting late summer crappies. By learning to read the late summer crappie patterns, you could find some hot places to fish simply because so many anglers are pursuing other species. That leaves the bluegills, perch, and crappies to become fat. Energy reserves burn faster in the warmest water of the year, so during summer, panfish need to eat the most. Knowing this, you can target your fishing to optimal spots: concentrations of fish happen where forage is optimal and pressure is negligible, which means the activity can be targeted and frenzied. Every sort of reservoir, backwater, and lake pattern is, in some ways, unique. Here are a few to key on. Crappies in Little Natural Lakes Until the big fish are gone, folks have a tendency to harvest ... [ Pound this link... ]
Getting a Grip on Transitional Bass
When trying to assess the behavior of transitional bass, we need to take into consideration not only the movements and transitions that bass make season within season, but also the daily transitions that occur throughout the entire year. Let's first breakdown the seasonal transitions and then cover all aspects of variables that cause daily or nightly transitions within these stages of each particular season. The first seasonal transition occurs during the late winter / early spring time frame, as the largest fish in the system migrate from wintering areas in main lake basins, following migration routes to eventual secondary staging zones. Consecutive fronts during this time frame create a scenario where giant bass will stall, vertically stack in various positions in the water column and ... [ Pound this link... ]
Where did the panfish go – Summer Panfish Patterns
The springtime panfish flurry doesn’t last forever, and those same aggressive-natured fish will once again become less energetic and transform into wandering nomads, only feeding when their bellies tell them to. No longer do they devour whatever presents itself, or at least not in areas where we once sat wide-eyed at springtime and early summer. Now they are on a different path - a path that leads them into the dog days of summer… Here's how to track those summer panfish patterns. Many anglers stop pursuing panfish once the shallow water bite ceases, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Locating summer panfish shouldn’t be intimidating, and many times the fish are located in areas you seek out when bass or pike fishing. Weeds play an important role in summer panfish locations and the ... [ Pound this link... ]
Why Do Walleye Spinner Jigs Work So Well?
It’s not possible to overestimate the value of flash in the general scheme of things for walleyes, and that's why, when chasing walleye, spinner jigs are often the rig of choice. The leadhead jig, the classic of walleye baits, usually gains with the inclusion of a spinner blade. Occasionally, all of the blade’s attracting characteristics aren’t instantly evident. You have the visual (flash) or lateral line (sound produced by shaking) stimulus, but you can find other less obvious gains that blades bring to the table. Into the jig-spinner group, three of my favorites are among tons of jighead choices for walleyes, and have remained go-to choices in a broad variety of scenarios. It's hard to find a situation where adding a blade wouldn't be a good idea, because there aren’t many jig ... [ Pound this link... ]
A Case for Big Pike
Pike are cool and really big pike are simply awesome. Northern pike are such an incredible predator: Smooth and sleek with the curves of the most expensive sport car... rows of teeth that resemble tooth picks... amazing acceleration. Right now in the fishing world, particularly in Minnesota where musky stocking has become controversial on some bodies of water, there has been a stigma associated with esox because these fish are such perfect predators. While big northern pike and musky capture the imagination of anglers, they obviously eat other fish. My own perspective on these big predators is that big predators - whether they be big largemouth bass, musky or big pike - almost always point to a good fishing lake. The best panfish lakes, many of the best walleye lakes… good healthy ... [ Pound this link... ]
Mean Weed Walleyes
I make no secret of my love for shallow weed walleyes. These fish are aggressive and will hit baits with force. Spend any time chasing muskies and, sooner or later, don’t be surprised to find your retrieve interrupted by a big old 'Walter' smashing down on a bucktail or spinnerbait. These weed fish don’t even act like the walleyes that many of us were groomed to catch in our youth, when we thought we had to use six pound test and fish as slowly as possible, as close to the bottom as possible. These fish play by a different set of rules and more anglers have discovered that weed walleye patterns happen throughout the entirety of each summer. The biggest challenge I find when targeting weed midsummer walleye, is that weeds can grow amazingly fast and you often have to re-learn even ... [ Pound this link... ]
5 Tips Help Avoid Nasty Weather ‘Fowl-ups’ It Is Your Duck Hunting Adventure
Enhance your duck hunting success and make each trip more satisfying and somewhat safer using the secrets of the Pros. Duck caller reeds adhere in freezing weather or occasionally freeze. Prevent gum-ups through the use of anything that is made to discourage snow, rain and ice build-up on windshields. Several drops rubbed on the reed with a fabric make the reed more unlikely to adhere on a cold weather hunt. To make duck decoys that are filthy appear just like new, allow to dry and hang them on a fence, then use an aerosol with automobile tire cleaner. The next day, the colors will be easier and brighter for ducks to find. A five-gallon plastic pail with a lid can be painted camouflage or wrapped to make a suitable dry storage container for casings, matches, your first ... [ Pound this link... ]