Was sent this shot from fish-bum Andy Nemo Winder of a 17-lb (35″ x 22″) North Saskatchewan River walligator caught from shore [!] by his buddy Travis Henderson on a homemade rig:

Was released to get even more bigger-er! Congrats dude!!

I couldn’t read that statement without doing some digging….

The fish he’s talkin’ about is an 18.3-lber (36.5″ x 22.5″) plucked through the ice [!] by a local priest, Mariusz “Father Walleye” Zajak, on Tobin Lake back in 2005.

Said it was caught on a “diamond spinner” — while praying Luke 1:46-55 — over now-submerged Birch Island where old-timers used to log trees. Wowza:

That record still stands, but Travis Henderson’s 17-lber should weigh more when she’s full of eggs next spring…or after it eats 1 sucker….

…your man-cave bathroom floor looks like THIS:

Done up by Walls of Art muralist Tony Stafki. Seriously impressive, man!

Few of my favorite comments under the post:

• I’d step over the ice hole every time just because it’s a habit.
• Wonder how many cell phones would go through it?
• My wife would hate it…would make her feel even colder in the mornings.
• Only fitting that there is a CRAPPIE in there….

Lol

Said we were gonna start bringing more wheelhouse fishin’ tips, here you go!

Whenever full-time guide Brad Hawthorne leaks a gear tweak, I listen…guy spends a TON of time on the water and ice.

Brad ditches the bobbers when rigging rattle reels and uses neutrally-buoyant fly line instead…acts like a bobber, but without the resistance. That’s the (usually) bright orange, green or blue stuff you’ll see laying on an endcap at your local bait shop. Typically comes in 30-ish yard chunks for like $4-8 and lasts forever-and-a-half. Best part = way less tangles.

He takes apart a small snap-swivel and uses the swivel portion to attach a leader (2-4 lb for panfish, 6-8 lb for ‘eyes), then slides the snap end onto his fly line to mark depth. Super cheap, fewer moving parts, and most importantly puts more fish topside:

Basking on a leather couch, shades drawn, game on…I’ve got some serious fish-house envy goin’ on, Brad! Maybe one day….

Semi-related side note: I’ll read online reviews for 2-3 hours before pulling the trigger on a $40 item — to make sure it’s exactly what I want — ‘cuz I’m a nerd like that lol. So of course I’ve been doing a pile of research on permie shacks…comparing anything and everything.

Saw that Yetti Fish Houses are on the aluminum-frame diet and weigh ’round 20% less than similar wheelhouses. Means they cut 800-1,200 lbs [!] off depending which model you’re lookin’ at, which could extend your ice-fishing season by a couple of weeks = me gusta.

Have you seen how aggressive their security systems are?

Don’t care, want one!

Uncut Angling’s Aaron Wiebe is back and his mustache vids keep getting better and better. This time he’s vertical jigging muskies outta Flag Island Resort in the NW Angle. The catch? He’s using Garmin Panoptix LiveScope.

The term “game changer” gets thrown around a lot in the fishing biz, but you def gotta see this one. Quick 3-second preview:

He and papa Uncut land multiple ‘skies, and do it in style. For sure worth a watch:

Okay I’m speechless, which doesn’t happen often.

Reminder: We cover walleye during open water and all species through the ice.

Will Pappenfus iced his first 10-incher of the season using a Northland Tungsten UV Fire-Ball Jig on a small lake near Bemidji, MN:

Said ^ he was standing on a solid 4″ of ice in this pic, but found snow-covered areas with less. Only went about 50 yards out from shore and checked (spud bar!) as he walked.

I dunno man…looks to me like you made Fish Addictions TV host Mike Olson do the hard part. 😉

Mike’s a safety-first kind of guy, so a good one to follow on the ice. He gives a pile of great info on how to stay dry in this early-ice safety video:

Thx man!