Today’s Top 5
Frosty stump knockers of the week!
Joe Koors stuck this 15″ Devils Lake stump-knocker while fishing out of Woodland Resort. Weighed 1.83 lbs and was caught on a Northland Buck-Shot Spoon:
Is YouTube phenom Scott Mackner’s bluegill about to pop?! You know they’re big when the scales get all stretch-ified like that. Couple more down there on his Humminbird ICE 45 waiting to join the party too:
Forrest Leitch snared himself this slab-opotamus on a Clam Blade Jig:
Hillary Knutson iced this gaw-jus Lake Winnipeg greenback on a (possibly discontinued?) Blue Fox Rattle Flash Jiggin’ Spoon. She said the bigguns have been coming in suspended 6-7′ off bottom in 12-15′:
Nick Lindner popped this tall hen on a “metallic rainbow” VMC Tungsten Fly Jig tipped with a Trigger X Mustache Worm. Knew those were your favorite lol:
New Off Shore Tackle tip-ups?
Hey planer board guys: Would this mean a bite, or not:
Flag’s down!
Ice fishing with crankbaits for BASS…on purpose!
Embrace the largies! We like to poke fun at “green carp” in the summer, but they can put up one heck of a fight on light gear through a 8″ hole. Even better, you’ll probably have the spot to yourself:
Another rod-bending use for the Rapala Slab Rap — it’s one mean lil’ dude. For those of you that aren’t a fan of catching larry’s through the ice, the same technique can catch the biggest panfish in the lake. Works.
How dads babysit.
Now that’s fishin’ man! But you better let the little buggers outta their kennel before momma finds out lol:
That’s an Aqua-Vu Multi-Vu HD makin’ those real-life video games. Plugs right into any TV with an HDMI port. Nothing beats watching ’em come in and hit the bait.
Now you know how fish sticks are made.
Okay, not quite. That’s a “winter kill” at Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge in SD — caused by a lack of oxygen. Looks like mostly suckers and other rough-’em-up fish.
News
1. NY: Near state-record crappie caught.
Evan Walsh iced this Chautauqua Lake slab that was just a half ounce shy of cracking the state record. He caught the 3.69-lb slab (17.25″ x 16″) while using 2-lb fluorocarbon! Scary:
3. MN: Gov Fishing Opener seeks hosts…
…to take media guests fishing at the St. Cloud event…because you media guys/gals can’t fish lol. Must be the other kind of media:
Asked her to check the tip-up to see if the overly-shiny minnow was still alive. Said there’s lots of pike in the lake and he was getting nervous a fish would bite after the ring was soaking for about 10 minutes:
Even more impressed she said “Yes” if you’re using snap-swivels THAT big. Lol congrats you two!
5. New Lund LX Series pontoons.
Things are straight-up sharp. Up to 200 ponies, luxurious, and priced right — start at under $20K:
7. UT: Too many Lake Trout in Flaming Gorge.
Want you to release your limit of smallish lake trout right into the grease:
> “An eight-year-old lake trout was about 30″ long in the 90s — today an eight-year-old fish is only about 23″ long. The number of lake trout in the reservoir has increased 89% in the last two years, so we’re concerned the situation may only get worse.”
9. Could isobutanol replace ethanol??
Can’t be worse….
Fishing Reports
> Ice fishing has been great in 28-31′ with glow red, pink and gold jigging spoons. Walleyes and saugers are mixed together along with a few jumbo perch, eelpout and sturgeon. Most areas have 20″ of ice or more.
> The Rainy River has had a good morning/evening bite for walleyes. Know the river, or use a resort or guide for safety.
> Fishing has been great up at the Northwest Angle — there’s a nice walleye and sauger bite in 21-28′ with the best colors being glow red, pink and gold. Big crappies (12- to 16-inchers) are being caught in good numbers on the Ontario side in 28-34′.
> There’s reports of 20″ of ice in areas traveled by resorts. The ice road from Young’s Bay to Flag and Oak Island is open to vehicles.
> Focus on finding sunken rockpiles, old shoreline breaks and submerged trees for walleyes. Northland Buck-Shot Spoons and Clam Rattlin’ Blade Spoons have been working. Start with the 1/4-oz size. If you start marking fish but can’t get them to bite, downsize to 1/8-oz. Orange/white, pink, blue/white, and firetiger have all been working.
> Slide out deeper for jumbo perch as the sun starts to rise. These guys are basin roamers — drill, drill, drill! Downsize to small tungsten jigs or jigging spoons with wax worms and minnow heads.
Korey Sprengel finessed this Devils Lake 29-incher up from 30′ on perch tackle while chasin’ jumbotrons. Those things must just follow him around:
Tip of the Day
Probably. Overworking ’em can turn the fish right off. Here’s some awesome info on how In-Depth Outdoors host James Holst likes to work baits like the Rapala Ultra Light Rippin’ Rap and the Slab Rap. #LiftTwitchTwitch:
Quote of the Day
Catching big fish from a private lake is like shooting a high-fenced deer.
– That’s He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named venting ’bout how anyone can catch (or shoot) a biggun once they’re in there, it’s the whole getting access thing that’s the tough part. What say you?
The same guy that’s hardly blinking at 10.5″ bluegills probably passed up this buck the night before — on the same property:
Today’s ‘Eye Candy
Not big up on meat pics, but this is a pretty cool you-shoulda-been-there snap:
Brett McComas is the main man for Target Walleye/Ice. He was discovered in Brainerd, MN after years of wondering how in the heck people break into the fishing biz. He’s in it now, but still can’t answer that question…. Brett is one of those guys who quit sports in high school because they were interfering with his fishing time. Get him at brett@targetwalleye.com
