Clayton Schick’s new PB, Jason Mitchell rocks silk, How Tom Boley finds new lakes

I think you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who snatches more BIG fish thru the ice than Canadian wonderboy Clayton Schick 💯 so when he says he caught his new PB (personal best) walleye…you know it’s going to be massive.

And in typical Clayton Schick fashion, he had cameras rolling from all of the angles…including screen recording his Humminbird MEGA Live so you can see the giant come thru suspended 10-15′ off bottom (roaming for ciscos) and scarf-up his 2.4″ Frostbite Tantrum Rattlebait in the “frosty clownfish” color:

Clayton’s full videos are always worth watching – can hit the full video here, but if you’re crunched for time you can skip to when he caught that fish here.

BIG congrats, Clayton! 🙌 Well-deserved.

Btw if you want the chance to meet Clayton in person and chat grown walleyes 😅 he’ll be at the Fargo Ice Fishing Show all weekend. The show kicks off today (Clayton posted his schedule here) tomorrow he’ll be doing a Q&A with the “Game of Inches” crew at 4pm:

Because I’ve been running out of things to blame LOL. But for real this is an interesting viewpoint/observation and photo from Luhmann’s River Guiding:

> Captain Jeremiah: “People often wonder why fishing the Mississippi River can be so difficult at times….well, when they have unlimited amounts of bait and forage to feed on they have no reason to eat your bait. It doesn’t mean the fish numbers are down which has never been the case for walleye or sauger on the Mississippi.

> “This particular 20″ Walleye had 9 large gizzard shad in its stomach yet still was feeding or I just happened to trick it into biting.”

Fishing the same lakes each time out can get a bit stale…plus you’ll probably never stick that new PB (personal best) if you’re pokin’ around the same community holes day after day! Gotta step outta your comfort zone.

There’s a whole bunch of research you can – and should – do before you ever leave your house….

If you fish in MN: LakeFinder is probably one of the biggest not-so-secret secrets of diehard ice-heads. Can search most any lake in the state (by name, or searching the map on the mobile version) and it’ll kick out tasty info like:

• Whether there’s a public access or not, and where it’s at.  • Fish stocking info: when, what and how many.
  • Water clarity, quality and levels.
  • And my personal favorite…the DNR’s trap/net data.

That trap/net data (under the “Fisheries Lake Surveys” tab) breaks down the weight and length of all fish sampled by the DNR. It’s a KILLER tool for finding lakes with above-average size fish.

Of course this isn’t just a MN thing. No matter what state or province you’re in, there’s likely some sort of DNR survey info out there that can help you find productive water.

Here’s how fish-head Tom Boley goes about snoopin’, and how he tackles those lakes that do NOT have great mapping. #10’contours? 🤦‍♂️

> “Utilizing a patent-pending silk thread technology, the Silkie provides movement like nothing else. This elicits increased fish strikes over conventional synthetic trailers. By absorbing water, the natural silk material gives a unique action over other non-porous trailers.”

Lot of folks swear by ’em – they were virtually sold-out everywhere the first year-ish they were “available.” Finally got my hands on a few packs the back half of last season and caught fish. Super versatile little dealio that is a fun way to tweak/mod your favorite presentation.

Here’s a video from Jason Mitchell showing how he likes to rig them – little underwater tank footage to go with it as well:

…while going to and from his ice-fishing spot 👀 because the critters are feasting!

> Justin Soffa: “Paws and claws are a little sturdier on ice than hooves are, and this guy paid the price.”

1. MN: New detailed map of the NW Angle.

> There is a brand new Detailed Map of the NW Angle (pdf)! It is the northernmost point of the contiguous United States, it is where the 14,552 islands of Lake of the Woods begin, it has 15 lodging facilities who cater to anglers and the area is full of walleyes. And now, it has a brand new map to discover all of its key locations and points of interest.

> Local resident and explorer, Joe Laurin, led the way on this project, working with Lake of the Woods County. With help from a specially formed NW Angle Committee, and the feedback from resorts, residents and other area stakeholders, the map went through multiple revisions and is now complete.

> We believe this is a great resource for visitors to the Angle. It lays out in good detail where resorts, harbors, restaurants and other points of interest around the Angle are. The intent is to not only have this map online (feel free to use it by the way), we will have a physical sign located at Jim’s Corner once the warm weather returns to the area next spring.

2. “The Griz” talks river jigging.

3. IA wants your comments on their lake plan.

> IA DNR’s Lake Restoration Program is accepting comments on the newly released draft 2022 Lake Restoration Report and 2023 Plan through Dec 21.

4. ZEBCO School of Fish completes 10th year…

> “…of hosting fishing classes for kids, parents, and other adults. The ZEBCO School of Fish taught 25 Schools in 2022 graduating 577 ‘water-ready’ kids and 227 adults attended as well.”

5. Yamaha dedicates $116K to restore trails damaged by wildfires.

6. Brunswick made another fancy list. 📈

They were named one of America’s Most Responsible Companies by Newsweek

7. MN: Arrowhead Ice Fishing & Winter Show, Dec 9-11.

At the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.

8. WI: Want to teach others how to fish?

> Pass on your love of fishing by becoming an Angler Education Instructor, certified through the WI DNR. This training [free workshop Jan 26] will certify you as an Angler Education Instructor or Fishing Coach and provide you with tips and materials to lead fishing programs.

9. New 17′ all-electric boat.

> Electric [outboard] motor manufacturer Elco has joined up with Rock Proof Boats to produce new factory-rigged all-electric outboard models. The companies say the 1760R center console, the first in Rock Proof’s ePro Series, can top speeds of 25mph (40kmh) with 2 anglers on board.

10. MA establishes an office of outdoor recreation.

The 18th state to do so.

11. Little deal from Academy’s recent 10-Q filing.

> We anticipate that the increased popularity of isolated recreation, outdoor and leisure activity products brought on by customer demand during the Covid-19 pandemic will continue and will result in a long-term increase to our customer base.

> Additionally, we have benefited from recent shifting of customer spend
towards in-home health and wellness and dedicating more time to memory-making experiences.

How Jason Mitchell targets shallow-water walleyes.

Some of the very best walleye patterns on many different systems across the Midwest – particularly at early-ice – are happening in less than 6′….

As always, there’s a lot more info in Jason’s full Virtual Angling write-up here, but gonna plop a few excerpts below to get you started:

> Jason: Shallow is relative…10′ might be shallow on some bodies of water…other fisheries the basin or deepest water available might only be 10′. We often catch walleye in shallow water, but how shallow? A mistake I’ve made over and over in my own life is sometimes not fishing shallow enough.

> …if you see extremely shallow patterns unfold on a fishery during the open water period, you better anticipate some of the same skinny water patterns under the ice.

> The toughest conditions seem to line up with a little bit of clear ice in clear water. These fish seem to be the most sensitive. Catching fish in shallow water during these conditions is often a low light affair and you must make a conscious effort to be quiet. Drill your holes ahead of time and keep your lights limited to head lamps that you can turn on and off. Take your ice cleats off and try not to make a lot of noise, settle down into an area and let the fish come to you. Tip-ups and extra lines set remotely can be important. The bite will often occur in the dark.

> Stained water, cloudy ice and simply more ice however can make these fish much more tolerant of noise and what you can get away with. Not all shallow walleye patterns require stealth mode but universally, a lot of big vehicle traffic seems to shut down every shallow walleye bite we have ever seen. Therefore it is so important to be the angler that finds the fish first. With shallow walleye, you won’t get there in time if you are waiting for reports.

> …these fish are often simply aggressive. You’re not working with much water so when these fish come in and punch a spoon or glide bait 3′ from the end of your rod, the hits feel electric. The fish fight hard and are still full of energy when you bring them topside.

> A challenge when fishing for walleye in such shallow water is simply dumping fish at the bottom of the hole when they hit the ice. Can also be a challenge navigating big fish up a hole when dealing with less than 6″ of ice. These fish can back up and leverage their tails against the bottom of the ice. Almost must just plan to get your hands wet for big fish where you reach down below the ice and simply pin them to the side of the hole or get ahold of the gill plate.

Couple of Jason’s favorite skinny-water baits are the Clam Tikka Mino (top/right) and the Leech Flutter Spoon (bottom/left). Would love to know how many fish he’s caught on these specific ones! #ChewedUp

> …upsize those treble hooks on your lures. Take about any spoon or glide bait and double the treble hook size. Seems like overkill but that larger hook and wider gap will keep fish pinned up much better when they hit the bottom of the ice. When dealing with a few feet of water, these fish will often hit the bottom of the ice basically when you set the hook. This isn’t a situation necessarily for finesse unless you are using live minnows below tip-ups and are simply letting the fish swallow the minnow.

Full Virtual Angling write-up here.

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH