Today’s Top 5
Incredible musky under ice video.
Not brand new, but one of the sickest see-’em-through-the-ice vids out there. Must’ve been hard to keep the commentary PG:
Had that Beaver Dam Tip-Up spooled with 475-lb steel cable.
Tony Roach: Which “Raps” to fish when.
Rapala’s got a killer arsenal of baits made for calling fish in. All pull fish through the ice, but knowing which one to tie on when will for sure help you to catch more. Roach’s general rule-of-thumb is Jigging Raps for early ice, Rippin’ Raps in mid-winter, and Slab Raps later in the season:
> “Early ice in particular, you get a fair amount of young-of-the-year die-off, so those fish will really be keying in on Jigging Raps…they fall with an erratic swimming motion that matches the struggle of those minnows.
> “It’s a fantastic bait for early-ice, but also when fish are really aggressive throughout the season in the daytime hours…I’ll go to more natural colors: blue chrome, silver and perch. In stained water I will use UV colors.
> “Later in the winter…when they’re really not willing to go outside their strike zone to hit something, that’s where I like to fish more up-and-down presentations like the Rippin’ Rap.
> “The Rippin’ Rap bite really heats up when we’re fishing a little deeper and the fish are somewhat suspended…I’ll fish it a lot higher in the water column than I would a Jigging Rap.
Tony’s got a lot more info on the subject right here.
Stay warm on the ice…by not getting too warm.
Sounds goofy, but it’ll make more sense after you listen to Ice Force pro Joel Nelson:
Only seen Joel with a hat off once or thrice — did you know he had a full set of hair under there?!
Seriously starting to think it’s an Ice Force requirement to have great hair. Most of us are/were/will be balding by the time we hit our late 20s, but check out these man-manes:
Do you know how hard it is to find a pic of any fisher-person NOT wearing a hat? Sort of like the picture of 10,000 casts. Sorry Brad Hawthorne, you didn’t make the cut (unintentional pun), but you do make up for it with that walleye-attracting chin music:
#ProvenFishAttractant
Keith Kavajecz caught an octopus.
Rumor has it the new Moonshine Shiver Minnows come with octopus hooks:
Something tells us he was not in WI. Who knew octopuses (octopi?) were so confrontational:
Anglers ejected from boat!
First things first: Both guys were somehow okay — thank goodness! Hunter Bland and Conner Young get tossed from their boat while running at 57 mph, thanks to a dang steering-system part failure. Bass fishing but you don’t see this every day…on video.
Exactly why you’ve gotta get yourself a life jacket that you’ll actually wear and always attach the kill switch (good job guys!). You just never know:
Glad everyone was okay!
News
1. MN: Carbon monoxide poisoning claims life…
…and 4 others sickened in a perm fish house. Prayers to the families. RIP fishing sister. Please be safe out there.
2. MN: Mille Lacs fish house explosion.
In front of Myr Mar near Garrison. Luckily no one was home. Guess that’s another reason not to park to close to other people’s spots:
3. TN: Pending state record perch caught.
Weighed 2 lbs 3 oz (15.5″) and was caught by Trent McCoy in Lake Dartmore. Thought he had snagged submerged brush. Wowza:
How weird does green grass look right now? When the reporter asked Trent why he likes to fish he said: “People pay big bucks to find ways to calm themselves. When you’re out looking at God’s creation, you feel blessed and it relaxes you.” Yep!
4. MT: Howe/Mundel win Hebgen NAIFC.
Mike Howe and Jason Mundel took home the $10,000 payday after winning by 1/100th of an ounce, weighing 6 rainbows for 14.44 lbs:
Caught their fish on gold “Tungsten Mormishka Akara Tear Drop With An Eyelet With Big Facets and Crystal” jig (whew!). Congrats guys!
5. MN: Possible lower panfish limits…
…and/or size restrictions. Probably going to make a lot of people mad, but something needs to be done to protect those big pannies. Fishing’s about more than just filling your bucket. If you’re only in it for the meat, it’d be way cheaper to hit the grocery store.
Current limits are 20 sunfish, 10 crappies and 20 perch. Das alotta fishhh! We made fish tacos Monday night with just 4 schmedium-sized crappies and it was enough to feed a half dozen people. We’ll get you the recipe if you ask reeeeally nicely:
6. Big screen TV in your boat.
New Humminbird SOLIX comes in a 12″ or 15″ (!) touchscreen that’s got all the goods:
They’ve got too many features to list, so you can learn more about them right here or watch the Facebook live video of the unveiling.
7. SD: Mobridge Ice Fishing Tourney.
Here’s one to add to your calendar for next year — The Mobridge Ice Fishing Tournament on Lake Oahe does it BIG:
Let’s you connect two Clam Vista Link hubs together so you can fish even closer to the guy with the hot hole lol. Awesome idea:
Events
1. MN: Minneapolis Boat Show, Jan 19-22.
Stop in and check out the 2017 lineup of Lund Boats.
2. UT: Burbot Bash, Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Jan 20-22.
There’s tagged fish worth up to $10K. Gitcha ‘pout on!
3. MN: Kraus-Anderson Walleyes on Ice tourney, Minnetonka, Feb 11.
All $$$ goes to stocking 8″ to 13″ walleyes back into the lake. Love it.
Only open to 200 anglers — better jump on registering if you want the chance to support this awesome cause and have a crack at some sweet prizes.
Tip of the Day
Meme of the Day
Not trying to sound like your mother, but that stuff’s nastier than UV rays:
Today’s ‘Eye Candy
TW’s Brett McComas snuck out from behind the keyboard and caught ’em on rattle reels armed with the original Demon Jig from Custom Jigs & Spins. Hey Ron, someone besides Al can catch fish now! lol
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