Panfish rod selection, Furry bluegill caught, Jason Mitchell gets trouty

The ice-fishing rod market is chock full of amazing fish-catching tools right now. So many that it’s legit overwhelming to even know where to start. 🤷‍♂️

Earlier this year, I was cruising through Elliott’s website and trying to pick out a couple new panfish rods to try this hardwater season. Wanted something that was more of a stiffer “feel” rod, then another “noodle” style for those up-bites….

They’ve got a ton of options for about any fishy-scenario you could think of, so I reached out to ice-nut Brent Relopez because I know 1) he’s had a chance to use about every rod Elliott makes, and 2) he fishes every dang day so knows what he’s talking about.

I MADE him choose only 2 rods that he thought could cover all panfish applications, and asked that he’d go into the “why” of each rod…not just the “what.” Click the pic below to read Brent’s full write-up on TargetWalleye.com:

WARNING: If you get queasy easy, you might wanna skip this next pic….

The dude over at KTFishing caught a bluegill with some serious “uniqueness” going on — said it was fluffy like a patch of fur. 🤢 I’ll take a hard pass:

Those Vexilar FLX-28s are soooo crispy he probably knew something was up before even setting the hook (lol):

Btw he didn’t say where it was a caught, but have a feeling I know the spot:

They don’t come much bigger than this! Brett Kleisinger’s 13-lb 12-oz bruiser crushed a “red dot glow” color (my personal favorite) PK Spoon. Congrats on the new PB, dude!

This dude (@toothseeker) has been catching some freakin’ TOADS all year. Not sure what this specific ‘gill went – caught on a Clam Swirl Drop Jig – but I’ve seen him post Gilltrudes up to 11.5″ [!] this season already:

Matt Waldron (@mwaldronfishing) stuck himself a lifetime supply of salt and pepper! Snatched her out of crazy-shallow water — set the hook and they’re in the hole — fishing river backwaters in metro MN:

That slab was so tall it momentarily got stuck in the hole:

Got the whole thing on video — part of a schweeeeet new YouTube series called “The Crappie Chronicles” on Adam Bartusek’s channel that’s for sure worth checking out. They’re shooting the whole series within a 60-mile radius of downtown Minneapolis:

> Adam: The truth is…the biggest crappies and the sickest bites are all much closer than you’d think. They’re all located in the Twin Cities Metro area.

> The last 3 weeks have been an absolute whirlwind. I’ve barely slept, we’ve caught some giants, we’ve gotten skunked/humbled, and most importantly we’ve worked our tails off.

Keep grinding, fellas! #ForTheLoveOfSlabs

– That’s @toothseeker scooping up some poor-man’s lobster (burbot aka eelpout) on a recent trip. What’s more difficult: Getting burbot to hang straight for a pic, or convincing a toddler to sit still during church?

If you’re looking for a new way to cook up some ‘pout, check this vid with chef boyardee-licious Jeremy Smith — has a killer eelpout pasta recipe that he does up in just 1 pan. Says the burb nuggets look/taste/smell just like scallops when done this way. Dude seriously pulls out all the stops. Yup, you can cook gourmet meals in a wheel-house!

Almost feel bad for the next burbot I catch ‘cuz I know RIGHT where it’s going:

Not ice- or walleye-related, but whoa! From @daniels_fishing_experience who said it completely inhaled his 9cm Westin ShadTeez. European (Netherlands) of course:

Sheesh. 🤯

1. MN: Can you clean/eat fish while on the ice?

Can be tough to keep up on all the regs…but you’ve gotta! This was a Q that I really wasn’t too sure about, so did some digging and came across a post on LakeofTheWoodsMN.com that breaks it down in fish-English:

Individuals may not possess fillets in their day/sleeper houses unless:

1. They are in immediate preparation of a meal (the oil is heating) and carcasses are available for inspection.

2. Or a licensed fish packer has filleted and packaged them to be consumed while their guests are on the lake. If a licensed fish packer filets your fish, make sure to have proof (which they can provide) and know you have to cook and eat the fillets while on the ice. It is unlawful to return to shore with filets from a licensed fish packer. 

Any filleting for transport should be done on shore or at the resort just prior to individuals traveling. This means if you have fish you want to bring home, you cannot clean them on the ice. Bring them to shore whole and clean them on shore for transport.

For those who really like to dig into state law, click here for the link.

2. US boat sales reached 13-yr high in 2020.

> …freshwater fishing boats and pontoons boats — accounting for 50% of new powerboats sold in 2020 — are expected to be up 12% to 143K units…

3. MN’ers still fighting to reduce the walleye bag limit.

Current statewide regs have been 6 fish foreva — folks have been pushing for a 4-fish daily bag limit. Another bill is headed to the house so fingers Xd.

4. Registration is open for 2021 MWC events.

Full schedule here.

5. NY: DEC’s running a creel survey on Lake Champlain.

> “Lake Champlain is one of NY’s top fishing destinations and ice fishing is a very popular component of the state’s overall fishery. As such, there is a need to periodically monitor what anglers are targeting and catching so we can evaluate and adjust our management practices as needed.”

6. WI: New lake trout bag limit for Lake Michigan.

Season will now run from 3/1 to 10/31 with a new daily bag limit of 2 lake trout.

7. Remember that stubby walleyes we shared…

…a couple TW emails ago? Pretty sure @mtnmanoutdoors caught the grown-version of it on SK’s Last Mountain Lake:

8. Pure Watercraft buys MN electric pontoon maker.

PW is the electric motor company that just got $37.5 mil in funding from L37.

9. Merc HQ added more solar panels.

> The new array sits atop a segment of the company’s warehouse roof and comprises 320 panels, each measuring 6′ wide and 4′ tall…will generate enough electricity to light the company’s warehouse operation in Fond du Lac for the next 30 years.

10. Garmin buys emergency response communication company.

> GEOS Worldwide operates the International Emergency Response Coordination Center (IERCC), the nerve center for SOS rescue efforts triggered by Garmin’s inReach personal satellite communicators.

> “In an emergency, every moment matters. The addition of the IERCC to the Garmin family reinforces our commitment to helping our active lifestyle customers make it home safe from their adventures.”

11. WA gov appoints new F&W commission members.

12. MI/IL teaming up to fight invasive carp.

13. Ya hear of folks hunting “ghost bucks.”

Pretty sure @cody_lukowich caught THE 👻 walleye:

14. Fishing the Midwest gets G3 Boats/Yamaha.

15. This Vexilar commercial is absolute gold!

Super-interesting read from Scott Mackenthun on how times they are a changin’: habitat shifts, declining walleye populations, and increasing bass/bluegill populations. Few lines:

> Temperature and water clarity set the stage for what is possible in a lake.

> If a lake is getting warmer and clearer, and walleye habitat is not suitable anymore, changing bag limits or stocking more fish is not going to bring the results anglers or managers are looking for. The expectation that every lake can support a walleye fishery is not likely to be realistic anymore.

> There are going to be places in the Midwest that are going to be these great walleye fisheries for a long time…however, we may not be able to support the lesser walleye fisheries unless we want to spend an exorbitant amount of money propping them up with stocking….

> Anglers need to promote lake and watershed resilience. They can engage in local watershed planning. Change is happening right now, and we have to think beyond the lake. You can’t fix a lake by just working in the lake.

> Responsible management is needed. Resource managers need to be science-based, even if the result is something you as an angler don’t like.

Full write-up here.

Yup, this is real life! 🤯 Here’s your shot to win the all-new MarCum MX-7GPS lithium-powered sonar/GPS unit!! 🔥 GPS mapping + MarCum’s legendary sonar platform = we almost feel bad for the fishes…almost!

> Customizable HD display, industry-leading 1/2″ target separation, real-time sonar designed specifically for ice fishing, and comes standard with a MarCum Brute 12V10Ah Lithium LifePO4 battery!

Takes just 10 sec to enter and can share the link you get for bonus entries. 👊 Good luck!

Feel like I neglect the trouts when writing these TW emails (sorry!) and know it’s a big part of a lot of folks’ hardwater seasons, so I’ll try to sneak some more trout-fishing goodness in here going forward.

Whether trout fishin’ is your thing or not, this recent episode of Jason Mitchell Outdoors was pretty dang cool! He was chasing high-mountain rainbows in western MT with Target Walleye’s Jim Kalkofen.

They were basically using a “dropper rig” like you might use for perch in the Midwest. Took the hook off a Clam Leech Flutter Spoon, and added a 6-lb fluorocarbon “dropper” down to a tiny Clam Drop Kick Jig. These rainbows were bug-eaters, so the flashy spoon called ’em in then the maggots on a tiny jig sealed the deal…over and over and over again:

May be an accident, but it’s been known to ruin friendships for the day:

Get yourself a lithium battery and don’t look back!

Sorry @shorelinefisher, but no way this bazooka is making it through TSA:

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH