Today’s Top 5
Bass-eating pike frozen in ice.
Anton and Alex Babich stumbled across a pretty cool site while ice fishing in Indiana:
Frozen as is? Or did the gator get stuck snackin’ on an already-froze bass? Either way a handful of internet experts thought the pic was fake, so Anton and his brother went back with a chainsaw and cut the slimer out:
Nice find guys! That’s one funny looking trophy:
Oversized panfish jigs for pressured walleyes.
Fishing on pressured waters? Try tying on an oversized panfish jig with a finesse plastic. One of Matt Johnson’s favorite combos is the Clam Drop Jig XXL with a Maki Mino XL plastic. Sounds goofy, but some of his biggest walleyes have come on this technique while guiding on crowded metro lakes:
Also helps keep the “dinky” panfish away. Nothing wrong with stumbling across a bonus 14″ crappie or 10″ ‘gill while chasin’ walleyes.
Chippewa Flowage crappies with IDO.
The Chippewa Flowage, WI used to be closed to ice fishing, but not anymore, so James Holst and the In-Depth Outdoors crew took a little road trip to put the smackdown on some slabs. You know it’s going to be a solid show when James’ MarCum LX-9 screen is lit up like a Lite-Brite:
Fish would come through in a parade, so James was using the heavier 1/16-oz pre-rigged VMC Nymph Jigs to get back down to ’em quick.
They were fishing the stained-water portion of the flowage, so they went with the super bright colors like green orange glow, pink chart glow and glow chartreuse. Colors so bright you’ve gotta wear sunglasses inside just to open the package:
South Korean ice fishing: Just like here?
It’s an annual event that happens every January. Looks normal enough at first:
Though doesn’t look like they’ve discovered the magical powers of an Aqua-Vu yet:
Think you could catch a “mountain trout” with a fly swatter? Lol:
How bass-heads go ice fishing.
Hope for their gel coat’s sake that Humminbird HELIX 12 got loaded with some heavy arches. #OverlyDedicated
News
1. OH: Two more ice fishermen drown…
…while fishing on Sandy Pond in Oswego. RIP fishing brothers.
2. MN: World’s largest chari ice derby.
The sheriff gave the go-ahead for the Gull Lake ice extravaganza this Saturday after finding 20″ of ice throughout the contest area. Can expect 10,000+ people to fish for a chance at the $200K in prizes.
Even better, the ‘eyes are biting out there…. Must be why TW’s Brett McComas was working from his “mobile office” the last couple days:
Put those fish sticks down and unsheathe that fillet knife already! Gitcha Target Walleye/Ice apparel right here.
3. MN: Possible license fee increases.
Not a huge jump, but people are RAZZLED:
Under the proposed change, an individual fishing license would increase from $23/yr to $26/yr, or about 25 pennies per month. Skip the pop the next time you go through the drive through and you’d cover the difference for the entire year.
Of course we can understand both sides of the argument — definitely don’t want to force those on a tight budget (young families, elderly, single parents, lower-income households, etc) out of the sport that we all love so much…. Just hope if there’s an increase, it goes to help preserve and protect the resource.
4. MI: Four DNR officers honored…
…for saving multiple lives of fellow outdoorsmen/women. #Heros
Multi-species authority Brian “Bro” Brosdahl just cracked the half-century mark…sorry man, had to put it on blast lol. Of course he celebrated with a day on the ice followed by cake with…Charlie Chaplin (?):
So that’s where he got his sense of humor. Let us know if you need someone to start carrying around the auger and drilling holes for ya…. Happy birthday man!
6. Lake Erie: Businesses hurting from lack of ice.
Second consecutive year of no ice. But why not just dust off the boat like Ross Robertson and take a lap around?
> “Warm temps mean no ice, but pretty hot fishing for the middle of January. Low and slow with cranks have ruled for the bigguns:” Paunchy:
FishUSA has ’em on sale right now.
8. DC: Here’s one Trump has to repeal.
Not surprising but ridiculous:
> Director’s Order No. 219 will, “require the use of nontoxic ammunition and fishing tackle to the fullest extent practicable for all activities on Service lands, waters and facilities by January 2022, except as needed for law enforcement or health and safety uses, as provided for in policy.”
> Scott Gudes, vice president of Government Affairs for the American Sportfishing Association (ASA)…”The sportfishing industry views this unilateral policy to ban lead fishing tackle, which was developed without any input from the industry, other angling organizations and state fish and wildlife agencies, as a complete disregard for the economic and social impact it will have on anglers and the recreational fishing industry.”
Have a shot at winning this pile of Rapala loot, including a stack o’ Slab Raps, a Heavy Duty Electric Fillet Knife, and a 1,000-yard spool of 6-lb Sufix Elite!
Just gotta share a pic of a fish you caught on a Rapala under this post. Love seeing all the pics. Good luck!
1. MN: Kraus-Anderson Walleyes on Ice tourney, Minnetonka, Feb 11.
All $$$ goes to stocking 8″ to 13″ walleyes back into the lake. Love it.
Better jump on registering if you want the chance to support this awesome cause and have a crack at some sweet prizes — it’ only open to the first 200 anglers.
2. MN: Warroad ice derby, Lake of the Woods, Feb 18.
Over $30K in prizes. #ChaChing
3. MN: Ultimate Fishing Camp, Leech Lake, Jun 25-28.
Chance to hit the water with legendary Lund pros like: Ted Takasaki, Perry Good, Gary and Tony Roach just to name a few:
Tip of the Day
> “We all know the ice season rule to locate and stay on active fish by remaining mobile, but what about when you’re in a wheel house or frigid temps make it hard to move? Develop a plan to bring fish to you.
> “Up-size your lures to create more flash and noise in the water to catch the attention of nearby fish.
> “The best ‘call baits’ are big, bright, flashy, or noisy and sometimes all of the above. Large, erratically-falling spoons vibrate in the water column and also create flash. Add a rattle to the mix and the noise will penetrate even further.”
Here’s a handful of Jason’s favorite baits for calling ’em in:
> “If you are ripping a bait and get a fish to come in, slow down and take a finesse jigging approach to get them to commit. If the fish retreats, be a bit more aggressive. That aggression got them to approach your lure in the first place.
> “If they retreat again, reel up and drop something a bit smaller to see if you can trigger a bite. Having a set line nearby with a live minnow can be a great second offering that also entices finicky walleyes.”
Read the full Outdoor News article here.
Quote of the Day
Any time you’re fishing in Minnesota, chances are you’re doing something illegal — whether you realize it or not.
– That’s a fairly well-known outdoor writer pokin’ fun at MN’s extensive list of fishing regs. At least they’re upfront about it:
Headline of the Day
Today’s ‘Eye Candy
Steve Thompson wrassled in this 10-lb 6-oz SoDak slaunch that lunchboxed a purple clown Rapala Ultra Light Rippin’ Rap:
Really good one bud!
TargetWalleye.com | Rapala.com | IceForce.com
Primeau Hill
February 9, 2017 at 9:34 am
Hey guys! I’ve been struggling to get ice fishing for them walleyes, but I’ve heard it’s been a struggle. Any recommended baits you think I should use?