Surprise! I’m writing a post! Better yet. I went fishing! Yes, after four months of not touching a rod (except to put them away for the winter), I actually got out and baited a hook. Vince was in town for Christmas and we hit the ice the day after the holiday. It was a bit of a risk because it’s been unseasonably warm so far this winter. We’ve had multitudes of day above freezing and many of the larger lakes have thin ice, and even open water. Check out the story about the... (more...)
I saw my first open water near the shore of one the bigger lakes yesterday. The ice lost its grip on shallow ponds almost a week ago. I’ve been seeing a lot of ducks hanging out on those ponds. So with ice fishing season over, it’s time once again to do an ice season review. Looking back at last year, I actually got out one day less. It felt like I got out a lot more, but I think that was just because I had a lot more action this year. Days fished: 6 Fish caught: 22 (5 perch, 17... (more...)
Mark, Rob, and I decided to try Bluegill Bill‘s lake to see if we could catch some of the slab panfish that has been reported to be in that lake. In our three hours out there, we managed less than 10 fish total. I caught two crappie, Mark caught somewhere around 6, and Rob got none. We tried everything. Euro larva, small minnows, large minnows, hooking through the mouth, hooking through the back, you name it, we pretty much tried it. It was a lot of work for the few fish we got. And not... (more...)
In my last ice fishing report, I talked about a technique Mark used to catch more than 20 crappie in less than 2 hours. As promised, I am going to describe his technique now after delaying my initial commitment due to a special post. I thought about titling this post “Ice Fishing 101,” but this technique is really beyond the basics into more intermediate skills. It’s more of an upper-classman lesson than one for a freshman. It uses a fish finder known as a flasher because of... (more...)
A few weeks ago, I dubbed my brother the Master of Ice Crappie because he had caught 13 crappie in just a few hours of ice fishing. That was an impressive feat considering the conditions. We essentially drilled some random holes near some other ice fishermen and he jigged his way to success with no electronics. We were essentially blind to what was below us, but he was still able to catch all those fish. However, having a Vexilar (fish finder) and knowing how to read it and use it effectively... (more...)
I was at a neighborhood gathering tonight where the guys were in the living room talking fishing and the ladies were in the kitchen playing Yahtzee. I was definitely in the right room. During our conversation, one of the guys mentioned that one of his co-workers brought in an article for him about a local panfish fisherman known as Bluegill Bill. Much like Kermit Wick, Bluegill Bill has been fishing for most of his life. And he’s been ice fishing for 75 years. He’s seen a lot of changes... (more...)
I had opportunity to participate in an Ice Fishing Get-together sponsored by a local bar on Saturday. It wasn’t called a tournament because of the legalities of such a moniker, but it had all the makings of one: an entry fee, prizes for the biggest and smallest fish, and a raffle. The Get-together started at 10am, but I was late due to being a chauffeur to little boy to a play date. I didn’t get on the ice and start fishing until just before 11. I found out about this event through... (more...)
The local weathermen were all in a tizzy the past few days because they were predicting a storm to rival the one that hit us last Dec 11. By 1:30pm, the snow was supposed to be coming down in full force, but it wasn’t snowing that heavily. It was just windy. The snow was falling sideways. But that wasn’t going to deter us true Minnesotans from venturing out to try to catch us some fish. My 3 neighbors and I went out to Lake Owasso for the afternoon to see if we could land some walleyes. When... (more...)
I was finally able to do some ice fishing last Friday afternoon with my brother, Vince, and a friend of his. Vince was in town to surprise my dad for his milestone birthday. Vince and I spent some time with family (my aunt flew in for the surprise as well) in the morning and met up with his friend later in the afternoon. The three of us didn’t get on the lake until 4pm. When we got to the lake, we found several makeshift ice fishing towns. We picked the one with the most houses and set... (more...)
This past weekend, I had an opportunity to fish two different ice fishing tournaments. The problem was, they were at the same time. So I had to make a choice. I opted for the closer tournament that looked like it might have fewer people. Not to mention that it was for a good cause. The tournament I picked was the Holes for Heroes tournament on Medicine Lake in Plymouth. It was mainly a fundraiser for the Fishing for Life organization, but was also intended to highlight the armed forces and... (more...)
