Fishing Report... 1/6...

[Matt Johnson]

I made it out in search of crappies with Matt Breuer, Corey Bechtold and BDR last Thursday up near the Bemidji area. The crappies were cruising the deeper holes and they didn't really start to appear until sundown. Some were very finicky while others would just slam the bait. Most fish came in somewhere from on the bottom to about 4 feet off bottom. A lot of nice sized fish and we caught them on a variety of presentations. I had luck with a 1/16 red glow jigging spoons packed with maggots. I know Corey downsized to a small jig and plastic and had very good luck as well. BDR and Matt Breuer were pulling them up on glow jigs tipped with a minnow. First fish was about a 15 incher that BDR caught, a very healthy fish! I believe that was the biggest of the day but I know Corey ended up going back the next day and landed some in that size range as well (Corey can fill us in ).

Here are a couple shots from the outting. BDR, Corey and Matt have a few pics too...

Corey and BDR with some slabs

A couple slabs I picked up on a JR's Tackle red glow 1/16 oz jigging spoon tipped with maggots

Matt Breuer knows his stuff when it comes to those pannies! Matt has a knack for ice fishing and it was great to get out on the ice with him again. Thanks for the awesome outting Matt!!

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[CrappieJohn]

Ok.....we know now that BDR and Corey can catch fish and that Matt Bruer can do so as well(you fessed up to that), but how did you do on Winnie?

[Matt Johnson]

I only fished a few hours on Winni the couple days I was up there. During the event I spent most of the time driving around talking with people. BDR and I hit the evening bite both days and caught some walleyes and a few jumbos but nothing too exciting. Fishing was tough up there this past weekend and they just started to plow roads so no one can get out to the bars/reefs unless they have a snowmobile or ATV. Some of the ice was iffy. I punched a few holes where there was only 12 or so inches of ice with some slush mixed in, not good ice for driving trucks off the beaten path. A few people made it out to some of the humps and bars and came back with some nice jumbos.

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[CrappieJohn]

Really odd how an area can have so much cold and not have really good ice. Was the so much snow that it's been pusing the water over the edges and out of cracks?

[Matt Johnson]

That could have been it. There were slush pockets all over the place that were under snow and you couldn't see them. As the day wore on your saw a lot more slush and water in the areas were the was thick snow and truck traffic. There was one point where I had my foot down on the pedal running at over 3000 RPM and I only crawled at about 2 MPH becuase the slush and ice tried to trap me. I made it out and I had to cruise at 25-30 MPH the rest of the way until I got to the plowed road to make sure that I wouldn't stuck out there. Nothing I would reccommend doing and I made it a point to stay on the plowed roads the rest of the day. Not a whole lot of snow, only 5-6 inches, but there were several inches of weaker ice and slush right below.

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Corey Bechtold]

It'll be a while till I get my computer back from the shop so I can share the pictures with you all. Hopefully I get it back this week! The fish we got the next evening were all healthy and returned to the water. I think the biggest one was between 14 and 15 inches. It fell to a 1/8 oz Go Devil spoon filled with eurolarvae and a piece of plastic.

Good Luck,

Corey Bechtold

[BDR]

Here's a couple more pics from that outing. Thanks again Matt Breuer!!

I think Matt and Matt are having too much fun,

Corey with a nice slab!

I got this one on a JR's moon glow jig.

[CrappieJohn]

Nice pics guys. Corey...you have a long arm , don't you? lol

[Matt Breuer]

It was a good night on the ice, fish were finicky, but we got a mess despite it. I think the only fish we got under 11" was Corey's, the small fish must be attracted to him...

We caught two that night pushing 15" and Corey got one the follwing night which was an absolute brute!

Anyway, thanks for coming up guys, it was a great night with great company!

[Matt Johnson]

That bottom picture of Brian's, the one with him and a crappie was a beast! I remember that one, it was a true slab!

I don't know about Corey and the size of the crappies, but I know I landed a dandy walleye

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Matt Breuer]

WHo has the picks of that 'eye?? I would love to see how they turned out!!

[Matt Johnson]

I think you took a shot with the disposable. I've never seen a walleye like that come through an ice hole before. I'm surprised the crappies didn't eat it

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Matt Breuer]

Here it is, the monster 'eye!

[BDR]

Hey MJ, can I use that for the "fish of the week" pic?

[augernaut]

geez, I thought I was the only guy with the necessary skills to catch an eye that small!!! :-)

[Matt Johnson]

The pic doesn't show up for me? Breuer, can you email it to me?

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[CrappieJohn]

Hey Johnson...are you absolutely positive you want to lay claim to that fish? You found that in the bucket, right?

[Matt Johnson]

Tom,

I just counted that towards our multi-specie competition I believe I caught three species that day, right Breuer?

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Matt Breuer]

4!