Electric auger takeover, Stop fishing memories, Billboard smack talk

At the largest ice-fishing derby in the world: The Brainerd Jaycees $150K Ice Fishing Extravaganza on Gull Lake near Brainerd, MN. In case you hadn’t heard…every single hole for the contest was drilled with a StrikeMaster Lithium 40v = CRAZY cool! I didn’t hear the final count, but they were anticipating 16,000-20,000 holes when all was said and done. #LithiumSmokedSwissCheese

Every year, more than half of the prize-winning fish caught are tullibees (aka ciscos, lake herring, whatever you wanna call ’em) so we went out on a little tullibee mission of our own after checking out the contest area.

Those darty little buggers can be an absolute blast to catch thru the ice! Also a great way to kill time during the day while waiting for the evening walleye or burbot bite. Here’s what I look for and how I target ’em. 👊 Really hope you enjoy the video!

The tullibee bite gets way better later in the year as they school-up harder.

Even included an email addy so ANYONE could chime in – can’t make this stuff up. 🤣

And they had the billboard running on HWY 371 near Brainerd, MN the same weekend as the big ice fishing extravaganza with 10,000 people coming to town…so no doubt a whole pile of eyes saw it.

Don’t feel too badly for Troy, though…he brought it on himself after hiring Christoper McDonald (aka Shooter McGavin from the movie Happy Gilmore) to chirp at his buddies, recording a video that said:

> “Hey Dave, Tom, Chappie, Clint, this is Shooter McGavin here. You guys really think you’re going to beat Troy on your ice fishing trip this year?”

And apparently it ended with that hearty laugh only Shooter McGavin can do LOL.

Enter revenge billboard hahaha. Full story here on how it all went down.

Climate change, and invasives, and water clarity, oh my! Bob Jensen of Fishing the Midwest dishes out some interesting insight in his newest write-up talking “changes in the fish’s world.” Full write-up here, but I’ll drop the CliffsNotes version below:

> “…average air temperature over the past few years has increased. …those couple of degrees have changed water clarity in many bodies of water. The warmer the water…the more algae growth…. More algae makes visibility in the water less. Lakes that used to have clearer water and strong walleye populations now don’t have as many walleyes, but they have higher populations of other species of fish.

> “The warmer water also makes life difficult for some baitfish. Tullibee are found mostly in deep, clear water lakes. They need cooler water temps to survive. With water temps getting warmer, the tullibee have a smaller range of water to live in…. That means the gamefish will need to adapt to survive.

> “Zebra mussels have established strong populations in many waters across the Midwest. Zebra mussels filter plankton and other suspended particulates out of the water. That makes the water clearer. Clearer water allows sunlight to penetrate deeper…allows vegetation to grow deeper. That makes the fish reposition. …walleyes aren’t where they used to be. There are just as many walleyes, but they’re not where they used to be.

> “Some state agencies are re-thinking regulations such as size limits and how many fish you can keep. In many states, the regulations vary from lake to lake. …although we as anglers need to know the rules, the rules shouldn’t be too hard to understand.”

By now you’ve probably seen or heard about Uncut Angling’s video where he was attempting to catch jumbo perch long-enough to have 7 stripes along their side. Ever since the vid, I swear it’s literally the first thing anyone looks at when catching a perch hahaha.

I’m not sure who to credit for this next picture, but it was sent in from TW reader Nicholas C. who came across it floating around the interwebz. Apparently they’re doubling down on the 7-stripe perch hype. 🤯

Mother nature, you crazy!

Don’t think I ever shared a picture of my longest central-MN burbot from last season, so here it is! She was 32.5″ and had freshly spawned-out as of Feb 26. 👀

What I find super interesting is how the burbot spawn is clearly impacted by moon phases – like many other species – where I guess I had previously thought it was more so calendar-based. I’m not talking about when you can catch ’em (you can go out and catch one in Dec if you really want to), but when they are actually down there “dropping the kids off at daycare.”

This specific fish was caught late at night on Feb 26, just a few hours before February’s full moon (Snow Moon) reached peak illumination. We came across numerous “spawn balls” that night and the rest of the weekend, and caught fish that were in all stages of the spawn: super fat pre-spawners, some fish dropping eggs or milking, and others with sunken-in bellies that had clearly just dumped their eggs.

Typically Mar 7-14 has always been when we consistently catch burbot during the middle of the day and have seen the majority of actual spawn balls happening. And that window has been pretty consistent each year regardless of the weather. Some years we’re walking out on foot because it’s 50 degrees and the ice is already honeycombing. Other years it’s still plenty cold and we are driving trucks on 22″ of solid ice.

I don’t really know where I’m going with all this, just spewing some random thoughts and observations about a fish that I am absolutely infatuated with.

We’ve already been seeing quite a few…you don’t have to wait until prime time (end of Feb to early march) to target them.

I’m trying to enjoy the extra sleep right now LOL before I go into full-on burbot mode for basically the rest of the season. ‘Cuz once I dive-in I know my mornings are all going to be looking like this:

Love me some walleye fishing [!!] but it’s getting to be that time of year = #BurbotSZN. And once you catch that first burbot while actually targeting them on purpose, it becomes an absolute addiction. Or obsession? Whichever is “worse” lol:

1. MI: Midwest Open Ice Fishing Tournament is back Feb 6.

After nearly a 4-yr absence due to bad weather/covid. 150 teams will be hitting Wamplers Lake in an attempt to bring home the $20,300 1st-place prize = the highest-paying purse of any ice fishing tourney in the U.S.

Heaviest combined weight of 8 crappies and 8 bluegills wins. Joe Thornburg and Marc Melson won the last tournament (in 2018) with a total weight of 10.35 lbs.

Good luck to all!

2. Pure Fishing acquires Svendsen Sport.

> “The acquisition adds several well-known and widely distributed brands in the European market, broader sales coverage, and complementary product development and marketing capabilities that enable Pure Fishing to deliver against its global expansion goals. This strategic acquisition is the fourth for Pure Fishing in 3 years under the ownership of private equity firm Sycamore Partners.”

3. Mack’s is ultra famous for…

…their Smile Blades that “provide lifelike action at speeds as slow as 0.25 mph and is easily tuned. Adjust to a wide-angle blade for a slow, rolling wobble or a narrow-angle blade for a vigorous shake and spin.”

…but that’s not all they have that catches fish. One of those other fish-catchers is the super-versatile Sonic BaitFish that comes in 7 sizes and has 3 different attachment points for you to change the action of the bait:

More on that later….

4. Yamaha announces new president/CEO.

Craig Hewitt, COO, was promoted to president/CEO.

5. Lowrance software release delivers new Ghost 360 sonar feature.

For folks that have the Ghost Trolling Motor with Active Imaging 3-in-1 Nosecone.

6. MN: Hey Twin Cities folks….

Twin Cities Walleyes Unlimited is having Nicole Stone speak TOMORROW at their Thur, Feb 3 meeting.

I’ve met Nicole numerous times at media events and gotta say she seems like a genuinely GREAT person, and she can catch ’em. Should be a fun one!

7. NPAA teams with Traditions Media.

> “Quite simply, the NPAA’s purpose is to grow and protect sportfishing while giving our members tools to increase their professionalism and meet their individualized goals.

 

> “We estimate there are 100,000+ anglers in this country who should be considered ‘professional anglers,’ meaning they have monetized their passion for angling. Our partnership with Traditions Media should really help us reach these potential members.”

8. BeatDown Outdoors partners with NPAA.

BeatDown Outdoors specializes in high-quality electronics mounts, especially for forward-facing sonar where you’re staring at the screen all day ‘cuz they 1) get the units up more in your face, 2) can accommodate bigger or more screens if you want/can afford ’em, and 3) the unit swivels, is removable, or you can fold the whole thing down.

9. Yamaha’s adds power trim and tilt models to their F25 line.

I’m liking updates like that ‘cuz you don’t need a 200-400 hp motor to catch fish.

10. Brunswick released its Q4 and full year 2021 info (pdf).

Couple snippets:

> Mercury gained 160 basis points of US retail market share in 2021, with more than 500 basis points of share gains in each horsepower category over 200hp. We anticipate our previously announced significant additional investment in capacity for higher horsepower outboards will enable increased production for international, commercial, repower, and new OEM customers, with full effect in the fourth quarter of 2022.

> …our Advanced Systems Group enjoyed the first full quarter with Navico [Lowrance], RELiON Battery, and SemahTronix in its portfolio, with each contributing to the strong results and Navico outpacing expectations.

How to catch jumbo perch (location/lures/technique).

Video guru Jay Siemens hopped in a SnoBear (balmy -20°F day) with John Hoyer on Devils Lake, ND and extracted as much perchin’ knowledge as he possibly could out of Hoyer’s massive, fishy brain:

This gem’s coming in hot from @karlsbaitandtackle on Insta:

6 more weeks of this chilly madness we all love so much! 🤣🥶

Guess those new Busch Light ice-fishing cans weren’t wrong – long rods are in lol:

That’s the 🔨 @sj_roller_fishing bouncing around and tracking down mid-winter walleyes with his Elliott Rods “Evolution Ice Series” 42M-F 👀 – a 42″ solid carbon, fast-action blank that’s a master at working rattle spoons, Jigging Raps or any reaction lure presentation.

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH