Late fall plastics, Keyboard warriors called out, Hoyer likes Fat Bottoms?

Still plenty of fish to be caught if you’re willing to bundle up and sloooow down! No live bait needed…. 😏 This video is from 2 years ago, but it’s extremely timely for what’s happening right now on our local waters.

Water temps were in the mid-40s and I was targeting shallow rock transition areas (anywhere from 7-14′) where I’d expect to catch ’em first-ice. They were munching a 1/4-oz VMC Neon Moon Eye Jig paired with an AuthentX Ribb-Finn – here she be:

There was a dang blizzard rolling in this day and the high was 30°F – worst possible timing to completely shave the beard off for the first (and last) time in my life LOL. But luckily a few fish still decided to hop in the boat. Know the video is a little long at 20-ish minutes, but I hope you enjoy it and pick up a few tips you can slap on your local waters:

Side note: I would NOT recommend using a mono leader if you’re fishing right in lots of rocks or zebra mussels. Doesn’t have nearly the abrasion resistance of fluorocarbon, and it WILL fray and explode under pressure. But if you’re fishing in a sandy, weedy, or softer-bottom area…mono can slow down that bait even more – almost hangs it in the water column – and get you a few more bites from lethargic fish.

By breaking up the ice at the ramp so you can take one last rip in your Lund Pro Guide hahaha. Shot from last Nov when Randin Olson of Lock Jaw Guide Service was proving he was all about that #TillerLife:

Barely a week after that chilly outing ^ Randin was plucking ’em thru an 8″ hole:

It’s coming…. 🥶 Eventually…. Mother Nature can be such a tease:

You already know (and probably really love) the OG Shiver Minnow…but did you know that Moonshine has a new-ish “Fat Bottom Series” with even more gliding action? Know plenty of folks who took it out for a rip this open-water season, but it’s actually primarily designed for ice fishing:

Here’s a quick hitter from fish-head John Hoyer talkin’ how he works the bait thru the ice, and why he says it’s key to let the lure “wander back to center” when it comes time to trigger a bite:

And episode 25 got a little bit fiery, because…well…someone had to say it. 🤬

Please drop a comment under the video and let me know what you think….

1. 2023 NWT schedule announced.

• Mar 21-22: Illinois River – Spring Valley, IL
• May 17-18: Lake Winnebago – Oshkosh, WI
• Jun 22-23: Lake Francis Case – Pickstown, SD
• Jul 27-28 – St. Mary’s River – Sault Ste. Marie, MI
• Sept 6-8: Championship – Devils Lake, ND *pending permit approval*

2. Big rise in female angler participation. 🙌

> Women now account for 37% of anglers in the US, the highest level on record according to the Special Report on Fishing announced at ICAST 2022 by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF) in collaboration with the Outdoor Foundation.

> 19.4 mil women went fishing in 2021, an 8% increase in fishing outings since 2019. 1.6 mil female participants were first timers. The total number of fishing outings for females in 2021 was 288 mil.

Tons of interesting info in the full report here (58-page PDF).

3. IA: Al Lindner will be speaking…

…at Total Outdoorsmen of NW Iowa’s 6th-annual banquet on Nov 12 at the Hartley Community Center. It’s a family-friendly event, bring ’em out!

> Lineup for the evening will include pre-meal kid’s activities including the “fish simulator” and knot testing (no worries, “big” kids are not excluded). The catered classic BBQ meal with pulled pork and brisket will be served at 5:30pm. Raffles, silent auction and live auction items including fishing equipment, double digit guns (shotguns, handguns and rifles), fishing trips, outdoor hunting and camping equipment, local retail gift certificates and much more!

> Total Outdoorsmen is a non-profit, non-denominational ministry in the Midwest that strives to connect people to Christ through the outdoors.

4. Josh Lantz joins St. Croix Rod…

…as their corporate communications manager. He brings 28 yrs of fishing-industry communications experience to the newly created position. 🤝

5. OH DNR is hiring natural resources officers.

6. Waypoint TV Seeking Graphic Designer

7. LA: 3 cited for illegally catching 133 gamefish.

Allegedly used cast nets to scoop up 83 crappies, 32 bluegills and 18 bass.

8. LoopTV adds Wired2fishTV to its non-music channels.

9. Pennzoil has a new line of marine oil.

10. Few FishUSA deals happening today…

Buy 1 get 1 free on Northland Rumble Sticks.

25% off Bandit Walleye Shallow Divers.

50% off 13 Fishing Source X spinning reels…so just $22.49.

Yup, this is real life! Here’s your shot to win a $1,000 gift card from Clam so you can load up on new ice-fishing gear of your choice!!! Couple quickie shout-outs…

Stoplight Bobber: Has a lighted stem that glows green BUT when a fish takes the bait, the light will change to red as it dips below the water 😮 gonna be a wheelhouse must-have!

Feathered Gaff Treble Hook: I was literally JUST talking about how I wish someone would come out with high-quality feathered treble hooks in smaller sizes (#8, #10 and #12) for ice spoons…and BOOM 💥 Clam comes to the rescue. #Jackpot

Of course they have way too many awesome new ice goodies to list here – take a look.

Or maybe get yourself into one of Clam’s redesigned Fish Trap models with the 🔥fire🔥 XT Door System! XT = extra tall door design for easier entry, more headroom, aaaand don’t forget longer rods and bigger hooksets! Me likey.

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

How Jason Mitchell targets first-ice ‘eyes.

Just trying to get you mentally prepared and game-planned for the hard stuff! And Jason Mitchell knows his stuff. 🎯

> The very best bites for early-ice walleye in shallow water usually happen at sunrise and sunset, but by utilizing the middle of the day and to hunt for new spots with fish, you can be in a much more fluid position of staying on good bites.

> There’s a general rule of thumb that fish slide up on tops of reefs, points or move shallow when the sun gets low – keep with that mentality when you looking for walleye during the day…hit the same spots where you’d expect to find them come sunset….

> …shallow walleyes often don’t slide deeper during the middle of the day, they simply seem to lay on the bottom and quit cruising. That’s why you often can’t sit in one spot and catch multiple fish out of one hole during the middle of the day…. Come sunset when fish are cruising on the prowl, you can catch several out of one hole.

> When looking for fresh fish, focus on the money spots and hit as many as you can. …keep hitting new spots with fresh ice where there has been no pressure yet. If there are a lot of fish on a spot, there will be a few that slide up shallow much earlier than they should.

> When I’m looking for fish during the middle of the day, I like to use the same lures I expect to use at sunset. …big and aggressive because fish that are laying on the bottom must get turned around. …odds of landing right in front of a fish is slim…the odds of landing within 20′ are much better. The fish might be facing the wrong direction and laying on the bottom…finesse just isn’t going to move them…. Hard pounding can get them to respond.

Another gem from meme magician Josh Johnson on Instagram. 🤣🙋‍♂️

Vertical jigging wasn’t panning out…so Brady Kingsland switched-up to trolling Bandit Walleye Deep Divers and thwacked some big ol’ Red River, Manitoba greenbacks!

National Professional Anglers Assoc. 

MN-FISH