Happy Holidays !!
With Christmas 2012 come and gone , hope you all have something to be thankful for.
I personally had a wonderful Holiday Season, and have been fortunate enough to hit the hardwater quite often. The fishing has been very good up in the "Great North" of Minnesota.
The crappies have been very aggressive as of late and seem to be en grained in there deep water patterns.The key to cashing in seems to be drilling alot of holes and covering a large area of a main lake basin, then go through each hole with your depth finder to locate the fish. I have had very good results with both vertical and horizontal presentations.
Let me explain that statement, vertical being small jigs tipped with small plastics that on rest lay on a vertical plane and horizontal being small jigging spoons tipped with plastics riding horizontally.Rigging a rod with one of each will usually let you know what the panfish have a preference for.
I have the privilege of having a friend that provides a guiding service on Red Lake about an hour north of us called Bearpaw Guide Service. Steve and Tyler Brasel are the proprietors of this business and I have known Steve for some 30 + years. Anyhow, I have been lucky enough to chase walleyes on the popular Red Lake a number of times this year with very good results. The walleyes have been hitting small spoons tipped with a minnow head or dead-sticking with a plain hook and minnow combination.Currently, they are fishing 3-4 miles out from the east shore in 11 - 12 FOW. Another thing that has been working is the small vertical jigging baits such as a Salmo Chubby Darter.It has been my experience (up there) that these baits seem to produce better on the evening bite, again the smaller sizes being better.If you have the urge to fish Red and need a house rental or guide give Bearpaw a call, you won't be disappointed.
I have been looking up alot of test netting reports this last week or so and have been gathering lakes to explore for big gills. This means an exploration trip to virgin ( to me ) waters is coming up very soon. I always enjoy the challenge of new waters, sometimes the thrill of the chase is as much fun as the catch. I'll keep you posted on the explorations.
Have a great New Year and make more fishing trips a resolution of yours!!!!
Shawn
What We Do
- Chasing Leviathans: Patrick Olson & Shawn Anderson
- We are chasers of trophy fish (Leviathans if you will). We devote as much time as we can to the thrill of the hunt, the success, and the failure of fishing the waters of Northern Minnesota. We are stewards of the land and water. Conservation is a top priority to us because the future of tomorrow is what we decide today. Catch-Photo-Release is practiced along with selective harvest.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Sunday, December 2, 2012
The Big Show
This weekend we (Patrick and I ) had the opportunity to attend the 20th Annual St. Paul Ice Fishing and Winter Sports Show at the River Centre in St. Paul.The experience was incredible, to say the least. Thousands of us die-hard ice fisherman ( and women) converged on the River Centre to take in all of the latest products, services , and cutting edge techniques we all are looking to learn to better our catch rates. Powered by hundreds of vendors, all the names in ice fishing you see on TV or read about in magazines were there, and all willing to talk fishing.
This was a golden opportunity for learning little tips and tricks of the "pros". I always say if you listen more than you talk you will come away with something learned, and I didn't have alot to say.
If hanging around the pros in the fishing world isn't your thing, all the "sparklies" ( new products) would've started your heart racing. I personally purchased a new auger for the up-coming ice season, so I was hanging around listening to the improvements in the auger world.
One thing I noticed was all the manufacturers have come out with improvements in their respective brands, and we the fishermen and women all benefit by these improvements.This was not limited to augers by no means as fish houses, depthfinders, rods, reels, lines, floats and even the baits have had dramatic changes.
If you have the opportunity to attend this ice fishing gala, I strongly urge you to go.The "Big Show" was an incredible experience in more ways than one, all those on-line friends I chat with but have never met seem to migrate to this event as well. Just a great experience.
Now, getting into the actual fishing aspect, we here in Northern Minnesota are kind of in between seasons.There is good ice on Upper Red Lake and the walleyes seem to be willing, but other area lakes are pretty sketchy due to the warm weather. Please use EXTREME caution when heading out on the ice thus far, Patrick and I would prefer to read about you in the " Big Fish" column rather than the front page under daring ice rescues! Common sense and a strong knowledge of the lake your fishing is crucial before you venture out. A buddy system is my preferred method for heading out on the lakes during early ice, just in case.
Be safe and get out there and enjoy!!!
Shawn
This was a golden opportunity for learning little tips and tricks of the "pros". I always say if you listen more than you talk you will come away with something learned, and I didn't have alot to say.
If hanging around the pros in the fishing world isn't your thing, all the "sparklies" ( new products) would've started your heart racing. I personally purchased a new auger for the up-coming ice season, so I was hanging around listening to the improvements in the auger world.
One thing I noticed was all the manufacturers have come out with improvements in their respective brands, and we the fishermen and women all benefit by these improvements.This was not limited to augers by no means as fish houses, depthfinders, rods, reels, lines, floats and even the baits have had dramatic changes.
If you have the opportunity to attend this ice fishing gala, I strongly urge you to go.The "Big Show" was an incredible experience in more ways than one, all those on-line friends I chat with but have never met seem to migrate to this event as well. Just a great experience.
Now, getting into the actual fishing aspect, we here in Northern Minnesota are kind of in between seasons.There is good ice on Upper Red Lake and the walleyes seem to be willing, but other area lakes are pretty sketchy due to the warm weather. Please use EXTREME caution when heading out on the ice thus far, Patrick and I would prefer to read about you in the " Big Fish" column rather than the front page under daring ice rescues! Common sense and a strong knowledge of the lake your fishing is crucial before you venture out. A buddy system is my preferred method for heading out on the lakes during early ice, just in case.
Be safe and get out there and enjoy!!!
Shawn
Monday, September 3, 2012
Fall Float Tubing!!!
Saturday, Septmeber 1:
Float tubing in the fall, LOVE IT! The sad part is, this was the first time I had my float tube out all open water season!
The mission was to get back on some panfish. The mission was complished! Having fished this lake many, many, many times, I knew exactly were to start my quest. Deep water was the destination. When I say deep water, I mean 25-40 feet deep. That is exactly where I started my deep jigging dance. Lure selection of choice were small crappie and bluegill soft plastic baits by Micro Spoon and Jigs. I ran a 1.75 STB grub on a 1/16oz round ball jighead as well as Munchies withe eyes on the same jighead. I chose the bigger 1/16oz size because of the depth I was fishing at. i wanted the bait to get there as fast as possible.
The rods of choice were both designed for icefishing. This method of using ice rods for open water fishing has proven itself before. It is a perfect set up for verticle jigging, like I was doing today! The reels were both fly reels spooled with 20lb braided fly line backing and then joined by using a blood knot, with 3 lb Ice Line From Berkley. I get excellent feel for what the jig is doing and these rods pick up and transmit the lightest bites. Deadly, simply DEADLY!
Float tubing in the fall, LOVE IT! The sad part is, this was the first time I had my float tube out all open water season!
The mission was to get back on some panfish. The mission was complished! Having fished this lake many, many, many times, I knew exactly were to start my quest. Deep water was the destination. When I say deep water, I mean 25-40 feet deep. That is exactly where I started my deep jigging dance. Lure selection of choice were small crappie and bluegill soft plastic baits by Micro Spoon and Jigs. I ran a 1.75 STB grub on a 1/16oz round ball jighead as well as Munchies withe eyes on the same jighead. I chose the bigger 1/16oz size because of the depth I was fishing at. i wanted the bait to get there as fast as possible.
The rods of choice were both designed for icefishing. This method of using ice rods for open water fishing has proven itself before. It is a perfect set up for verticle jigging, like I was doing today! The reels were both fly reels spooled with 20lb braided fly line backing and then joined by using a blood knot, with 3 lb Ice Line From Berkley. I get excellent feel for what the jig is doing and these rods pick up and transmit the lightest bites. Deadly, simply DEADLY!
All fish were released.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
New Water...Going in BLIND!!!
Today was a day for trying new water! I had received a tip earlier this spring about this lake so, we were game to give it a shot! This new body of water, that shall remain nameless, of course, has no information on it what so ever. There are no lake maps, water clarity, weed grow, history...nothing! ZERO. ZIP. NADA!
The day started with my ignition switch not working so, Shawn had to drive. Off to a great start, right? Well, we arrive at the landing and the fun begins. This "public access", if you want to call it that, is washed out and, is basically a steep drop from the bank to the water's edge. Looking very sketchy! Getting the boat in isn't that big of a problem. It's getting her out that is! After some debate, the decision is made to go for it.
We are on the water. No issues but, we want to be off this lake before darkness can wrap us in her swaddling arms. Man, there is cabbage weeds everywhere is this lake! Smiles all across the board! We found an inside turn on a break line of cabbage. Let the casting commence! I decided that I was going to go with live bait and Shawn wanted to pitch Micro Spoon & Jigs Luv Nubs. We always switch it up when fishing new waters. It's a good way to find fish fast. With Shawn working plastics and myself, a slip float, jig and crawler chunk, we are both hitting fish. Small bluegills, small bass, and a few decent perch. This was the theme all over this lake, every single spot! We did manage 2 nice bluegills, 8" fish.
One last ditch effort was conceived before it was time to get off the lake. Lets have a look for some deep water. We are both in ice fishing info gathering mode now. Shawn with a watchful eye on his Hummingbird found 20, almost 21 feet of water and some fish! It's Northland Buckshot Rattle spoon time! We tipped the Buckshots with Luv Nubs and started vertical jigging over the fish he located. Bam! 12.5" perch! I follow up with a strong 11" perch! Both fish released and this spot now resides in both our handheld gps units! Darkness is closing fast and its time to go. That damn landing will be put into submission. Yeah, we made it out. No problem. Still nerve racking though.
OH YEAH! Tested the new GoPro Hero2 in the alley since we didn't get any fish worthy of filming! LOL! Two monkeys in the zoo!
The day started with my ignition switch not working so, Shawn had to drive. Off to a great start, right? Well, we arrive at the landing and the fun begins. This "public access", if you want to call it that, is washed out and, is basically a steep drop from the bank to the water's edge. Looking very sketchy! Getting the boat in isn't that big of a problem. It's getting her out that is! After some debate, the decision is made to go for it.
We are on the water. No issues but, we want to be off this lake before darkness can wrap us in her swaddling arms. Man, there is cabbage weeds everywhere is this lake! Smiles all across the board! We found an inside turn on a break line of cabbage. Let the casting commence! I decided that I was going to go with live bait and Shawn wanted to pitch Micro Spoon & Jigs Luv Nubs. We always switch it up when fishing new waters. It's a good way to find fish fast. With Shawn working plastics and myself, a slip float, jig and crawler chunk, we are both hitting fish. Small bluegills, small bass, and a few decent perch. This was the theme all over this lake, every single spot! We did manage 2 nice bluegills, 8" fish.
One last ditch effort was conceived before it was time to get off the lake. Lets have a look for some deep water. We are both in ice fishing info gathering mode now. Shawn with a watchful eye on his Hummingbird found 20, almost 21 feet of water and some fish! It's Northland Buckshot Rattle spoon time! We tipped the Buckshots with Luv Nubs and started vertical jigging over the fish he located. Bam! 12.5" perch! I follow up with a strong 11" perch! Both fish released and this spot now resides in both our handheld gps units! Darkness is closing fast and its time to go. That damn landing will be put into submission. Yeah, we made it out. No problem. Still nerve racking though.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
A little "plastic practice"
Hey all,
Another week has gone by and we have been looking forward to another visit .
As I had mentioned in my last post, Patrick and I were going to act on the dreaded "hot tip " for local crappies and bluegills.What I had not mentioned is that also last week Patrick and I have joined forces with a fantastic company, Micro Jigs and Spoons .com.
This will NOT be a shameless plug for the company, as I wouldn't use or vouch for something I don't believe in, I'll save that for those snake-oil salesman out there.
BUT, I did have the opportunity to actually use them as they (Keith Pace, owner) had sent us a plethora of plastics (when is the last time somebody used the word "plethora" in a fishing blog?).These baits were the only baits in my boat so I had to get to learn them or die trying.Here's how it went on a day by day rewind ......
DAY 1-As per my usual , I trolled near weedbeds and points until I came in contact with my first fish, a 12 inch crappie. Now I'm excited, 5 minutes in and I'm on fish.Anchor down, I fan cast my point working this 1/8 oz. jig and STB grub with a variety of drops, retrieves and pauses, no more fish.
Deciding to down-size my jig (1/32 oz) and plastic(1 inch Luv-Nub) to slow down the drop rate, my 3rd cast, a great 13 incher.
AH HA!! now we're dialed in, 45 minutes later and no more fish.
I decided to up-size again going heavier and larger and let the jig fall deep into the weeds, only to find another crappie waiting on me!!Long story short the fish had moved deeper into the weeds as the sun came up and I proceeded to catch another 12-15 crappies.
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DAY 2-Now that I have the previous days knowledge with me I can just go and hammer the fish, right?Wrong! Fished same area as previous day and nothing doing .I'm off to troll again.
Finding a mid lake hump with plenty of weeds, I started circling it and a solid 9-9 1/2 inch "gill".Anchor down, fan cast , nothing.Change color and down-size ,boom another gill!!Next 4 casts...crappies!!
Again a little adjustment to the drop rate of the bait and location change produced numbers.
Tally for the day, 15+ crappies and 6-8 gills in roughly 2 hours.
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Day 3 and 4- As I had mentioned earlier, Patrick were going to investigate a" hot tip".We met up with buddy of ours south of home and we all jumped in his boat. As we got to the "spot on the spot" he had mentioned he was using crawlers and leeches only, and catching some big gills and a few crappies.
We anchor down in 12 ft of water and our buddy drops down with a jig and leech, and in 2 seconds.."there's one"!! This sequence repeats itself quite often and Patrick and I are slow out of the gates with our plastics, being outfished 5 to 1 conservatively.But instead of being frustrated, it forced us to keep changing colors, body styles and shapes. you see, with our friend still catching fish, we knew they were down there and active so we had to keep changing.About 45 minutes in, Patrick started catching fish,a gill, then a crappie, then a gill, then a crappie.I was staring to get more fish too, as time went on, Patrick was using a little larger plastic than I, and he was into a few more crappies, where I was using small plastics and turning on the gills. After it was all said and done plastics were outfished overall, but made a huge comeback once we got dialed in on what they wanted.Roughly 60+ fish were caught that night with 15 ish crappies and the rest gills.(Oh, and Patricks fave..1Bullhead)
The next day we all used larger plastics and boated another 10 ish crappies and 20+ gills before the weather drove us off.
The photo above shows some of the hot plastics we used this week by Micro-Spoons and Jigs.The 2 on top produced mostly crappies(roughly 2 1/2 in ches long), the next 2 closer to the middle produced a nice mix of crappies and gills ( about 1 3/4 inches long),and the bottom 3 produced a majority of the gills( 1-2 inches long).In the past week these baits produced ALOT of panfish..Check them out and tell em Shawn sent ya, Good Luck on the water!!!
Shawn
Another week has gone by and we have been looking forward to another visit .
As I had mentioned in my last post, Patrick and I were going to act on the dreaded "hot tip " for local crappies and bluegills.What I had not mentioned is that also last week Patrick and I have joined forces with a fantastic company, Micro Jigs and Spoons .com.
This will NOT be a shameless plug for the company, as I wouldn't use or vouch for something I don't believe in, I'll save that for those snake-oil salesman out there.
BUT, I did have the opportunity to actually use them as they (Keith Pace, owner) had sent us a plethora of plastics (when is the last time somebody used the word "plethora" in a fishing blog?).These baits were the only baits in my boat so I had to get to learn them or die trying.Here's how it went on a day by day rewind ......
DAY 1-As per my usual , I trolled near weedbeds and points until I came in contact with my first fish, a 12 inch crappie. Now I'm excited, 5 minutes in and I'm on fish.Anchor down, I fan cast my point working this 1/8 oz. jig and STB grub with a variety of drops, retrieves and pauses, no more fish.
Deciding to down-size my jig (1/32 oz) and plastic(1 inch Luv-Nub) to slow down the drop rate, my 3rd cast, a great 13 incher.
AH HA!! now we're dialed in, 45 minutes later and no more fish.
I decided to up-size again going heavier and larger and let the jig fall deep into the weeds, only to find another crappie waiting on me!!Long story short the fish had moved deeper into the weeds as the sun came up and I proceeded to catch another 12-15 crappies.
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DAY 2-Now that I have the previous days knowledge with me I can just go and hammer the fish, right?Wrong! Fished same area as previous day and nothing doing .I'm off to troll again.Finding a mid lake hump with plenty of weeds, I started circling it and a solid 9-9 1/2 inch "gill".Anchor down, fan cast , nothing.Change color and down-size ,boom another gill!!Next 4 casts...crappies!!
Again a little adjustment to the drop rate of the bait and location change produced numbers.
Day 3 and 4- As I had mentioned earlier, Patrick were going to investigate a" hot tip".We met up with buddy of ours south of home and we all jumped in his boat. As we got to the "spot on the spot" he had mentioned he was using crawlers and leeches only, and catching some big gills and a few crappies. We anchor down in 12 ft of water and our buddy drops down with a jig and leech, and in 2 seconds.."there's one"!! This sequence repeats itself quite often and Patrick and I are slow out of the gates with our plastics, being outfished 5 to 1 conservatively.But instead of being frustrated, it forced us to keep changing colors, body styles and shapes. you see, with our friend still catching fish, we knew they were down there and active so we had to keep changing.About 45 minutes in, Patrick started catching fish,a gill, then a crappie, then a gill, then a crappie.I was staring to get more fish too, as time went on, Patrick was using a little larger plastic than I, and he was into a few more crappies, where I was using small plastics and turning on the gills. After it was all said and done plastics were outfished overall, but made a huge comeback once we got dialed in on what they wanted.Roughly 60+ fish were caught that night with 15 ish crappies and the rest gills.(Oh, and Patricks fave..1Bullhead)The next day we all used larger plastics and boated another 10 ish crappies and 20+ gills before the weather drove us off.
Shawn
Thursday, August 2, 2012
What Crappie weather
Hot weather, rising water temps and insane algae bloom has made some of the smaller lakes around here pea-soup green.Although it isn't my favorite conditions for fishing slabs, the show must go on, as we are Chasing Leviathans...I have had the opportunity to FINALLY get caught up with the honey-do's, I have gotten the chance to get out a little more and get back on the trail of the panfish and a few walleyes.
The last week has found the mornings after panfish and nights for the walleyes with mixed results.
I have had some consistent action on the crappies working deep in the weeds with small jigs and plastics,but the size has been inconsistent and the Bluegills have been closer to the outer edges.
Walleyes have been consistent trolling stick baits on shallow sand flats but seem to be a little more aggressive late into the night and makes for a long day!
I received the dreaded " hot tip " a couple days ago from a reliable source , so I have convinced Patrick we should make the trip for some "bull" Gills and heavy walleyes this weekend and make a day of it.
We will let you know how it goes and throw in some pics so you can tell us if it was worth it.Let us know!!
Here is a thumbnail sketch from this week, I hope you enjoy it.Good Fishing to ya!!
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The last week has found the mornings after panfish and nights for the walleyes with mixed results.
I have had some consistent action on the crappies working deep in the weeds with small jigs and plastics,but the size has been inconsistent and the Bluegills have been closer to the outer edges.
Walleyes have been consistent trolling stick baits on shallow sand flats but seem to be a little more aggressive late into the night and makes for a long day!
I received the dreaded " hot tip " a couple days ago from a reliable source , so I have convinced Patrick we should make the trip for some "bull" Gills and heavy walleyes this weekend and make a day of it.
We will let you know how it goes and throw in some pics so you can tell us if it was worth it.Let us know!!
Here is a thumbnail sketch from this week, I hope you enjoy it.Good Fishing to ya!!
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Saturday, July 28, 2012
I like other fish too!!!!!
Ok. This is Chasing Leviathans, we chase and and attempt to catch true trophy fish right? The key words here are TROPHY AND FISH! Bullheads are fish. Bullheads can reach trophy proportions right? Well, in my head they do!
As a young angler, around 10 years old, I was introduced to bullheads. I thought they were the neatest things with fins, and I still do! Over the years I have been so wrapped up in the popular fish, i.e. Bluegills, Crappies, Bass and what have you, that I have kind of forgotten about the bullhead. Sure, it's not super technical, advanced, need a million dollar sponsor type operation but, it's still fishing and still looking for the biggest, baddest, dude in the lake. As a matter of fact, it has been some of the most relaxing fishing I have done in a long time! I really needed this relaxing outing too.
Fishing for bullheads is very simple. I have been looking for weedbeds, preferably cabbage, on main lake points. I anchor the boat in 10-12 feet of water and rig up a 6 ft St. Croix ultralight panfish rod with a size 4 aberdeen hook, some splitshot sinkers, and thread on a big, fat, juicy nightcrawler. With a nice soft cast towards the outside face of the weedbed, I let the crawler rest on the bottom and wait. The bite comes hard and fast! The ultralight rod tip acts as a spring bobber, much like in ice fishing. When that rod tip starts dancing, grab the handle and hang on!
I love all the fish Minnesota offers! I relived some childhood memories, and had loads of fun! I had so much fun that I went out twice in one week after these giants! I'm hoping to get one that qualifies for a Minnesota Master Angler award this summer. For this species of bullhead pictured, the Brown Bullhead, I need one 20" or bigger. This lake has the potential!
Giant fish aren't always the pretty and most popular ones, but giants none the less! All these big boys were released!
As a young angler, around 10 years old, I was introduced to bullheads. I thought they were the neatest things with fins, and I still do! Over the years I have been so wrapped up in the popular fish, i.e. Bluegills, Crappies, Bass and what have you, that I have kind of forgotten about the bullhead. Sure, it's not super technical, advanced, need a million dollar sponsor type operation but, it's still fishing and still looking for the biggest, baddest, dude in the lake. As a matter of fact, it has been some of the most relaxing fishing I have done in a long time! I really needed this relaxing outing too.
Fishing for bullheads is very simple. I have been looking for weedbeds, preferably cabbage, on main lake points. I anchor the boat in 10-12 feet of water and rig up a 6 ft St. Croix ultralight panfish rod with a size 4 aberdeen hook, some splitshot sinkers, and thread on a big, fat, juicy nightcrawler. With a nice soft cast towards the outside face of the weedbed, I let the crawler rest on the bottom and wait. The bite comes hard and fast! The ultralight rod tip acts as a spring bobber, much like in ice fishing. When that rod tip starts dancing, grab the handle and hang on!
I love all the fish Minnesota offers! I relived some childhood memories, and had loads of fun! I had so much fun that I went out twice in one week after these giants! I'm hoping to get one that qualifies for a Minnesota Master Angler award this summer. For this species of bullhead pictured, the Brown Bullhead, I need one 20" or bigger. This lake has the potential!
Giant fish aren't always the pretty and most popular ones, but giants none the less! All these big boys were released!
A Late night...sTROLL!!
One of Shawn's favorite summer activites is trolling at night for walleyes. He has started getting me hooked on it as well! I'm not a walleye fisherman at all. Don't get me wrong. I like to fish for them when I'm with someone that knows what they are doing. I have never really taken much time to understand the walleye's behavior or seasonal patterns, like I have with bass, bluegill, crappies, and pike.
It doesn't take much convincing on Shawn's part to get me to go trolling after dark for some 'eyes. He has been doing this for quiet sometime now and is very proficient at it. The idea here is to troll shallow main lake humps, and bars adjacent to deep water. Using original floating Rapalas in the #7 size, trolling speeds average 1.7-2.2 mph is the tacic of choice! And it pays off!
It doesn't take much convincing on Shawn's part to get me to go trolling after dark for some 'eyes. He has been doing this for quiet sometime now and is very proficient at it. The idea here is to troll shallow main lake humps, and bars adjacent to deep water. Using original floating Rapalas in the #7 size, trolling speeds average 1.7-2.2 mph is the tacic of choice! And it pays off!
19" Released!
25.5 Released!
Sunday, July 15, 2012
On the water with my little Brother!
This weekend was my family reunion. What a great time it was. I was able to reconnect with some family members that I haven't seen in 20 years or so! One of the best parts of this reunion was the fact my little brother, Eric, was able to attend. Eric is an officer in the United States Marine Corps and has been deployed for most of his career or stationed too far away to make it home.
When Eric told me he was going to be able to attend the reunion this year I asked if he would want to wet a line before it started up Saturday. He was more than thrilled for the invite! We haven't fished together in 20+ years either! So, needless to say, I was super excited for this outing!
We were lucky enough that the reunion was being held at the Wynne residents, just north of Bemidji, MN, on the beautiful Crookston Lake. This lake is fun cause it has no public access, which makes the fishing out of this world! I wanted to keep the fishing as simple as possible. Eric likes to fish but, rarely gets a chance to do so. We targeted bluegills and largemouth bass.
Eric and a nice Bluegill!
A little hook removal!
First MN Largemouth Bass!
Me with and handful of Hen!
Eric and I both had a great time. It was a short little trip, about an hour and a half but, it was quality time together! All fish were released and a great memory never forgotten! Thanks bro for a good time!
Friday, July 13, 2012
Every day is a great day on the water!!
It's been a great week to be a fisherman, I got the opportunity to get into the panfish and "eyes" a couple times this week.
Tuesday night I had the opportunity to fish with a long time friend of mine from Iowa. We were targeting walleyes after dark and decided to hit some offshore structure on "Area Lake" (my favorite lake) , after working various humps and points with minimal success we headed back to shoreline structures to find some very aggressive "eyes" .Small minnow baits in 8-10' of water trolling slow (1.7-1.9 MPH) turned out to be the ticket boating 13 and missing a few more!!The biggest that night was a hefty 26 with 3 more over 20" (released) all in all pretty good fishing for just 2 1/2 hours.Unfortunately,I have no Walleye pics as my phone decided to go for a swim and now I am the proud owner of a "smart phone".... not by choice but necessity.
My mornings have been in search of bull "gills" and crappies, and this being my first trip out in the Bemidji area since post spawn, I decided to fish deep to shallow as the morning progressed hoping the gills would move up as the sun heats up the shallows.Deep water produced a few fish but the bite was slow , and by late morning fish had started to get aggressive in the shallows and found a few "bulls". biggest being roughly 10 1/4 inches. The Crappies were active as well and found good numbers but only average in size.
The presentation of choice (by the gills) was a small bobber and leech, with the Crappies wanting a small jig tipped with plastics.
Gotta run!! Tight lines and fast action to ya!!
Tuesday night I had the opportunity to fish with a long time friend of mine from Iowa. We were targeting walleyes after dark and decided to hit some offshore structure on "Area Lake" (my favorite lake) , after working various humps and points with minimal success we headed back to shoreline structures to find some very aggressive "eyes" .Small minnow baits in 8-10' of water trolling slow (1.7-1.9 MPH) turned out to be the ticket boating 13 and missing a few more!!The biggest that night was a hefty 26 with 3 more over 20" (released) all in all pretty good fishing for just 2 1/2 hours.Unfortunately,I have no Walleye pics as my phone decided to go for a swim and now I am the proud owner of a "smart phone".... not by choice but necessity.
My mornings have been in search of bull "gills" and crappies, and this being my first trip out in the Bemidji area since post spawn, I decided to fish deep to shallow as the morning progressed hoping the gills would move up as the sun heats up the shallows.Deep water produced a few fish but the bite was slow , and by late morning fish had started to get aggressive in the shallows and found a few "bulls". biggest being roughly 10 1/4 inches. The Crappies were active as well and found good numbers but only average in size.
The presentation of choice (by the gills) was a small bobber and leech, with the Crappies wanting a small jig tipped with plastics.
Gotta run!! Tight lines and fast action to ya!!
Finally back !!
Hey All,
Sorry we 've not been in of touch but extreme weather has left us dealing with downed trees and roofers and insurance claim adjusters .YUCK!! Anyhow,I have managed to sneak out a few times, ( not NEARLY enough) but have manged to make the best of it.
The past 2 weeks I have been on vacation although be it a working one mostly, I have had the opportunity to take out my relatives from New York on their first Bluegill/Crappie trip, hoping to give my future fisherman a little exposure to catch and release and conservation of larger panfish.
I think I had very good success as my 10 yr old nephew after 1 trip told the other 11 yr old, " That is a bull gill and that needs to swim again to protect the other fish in the lake!"not EXACTLY how I explained it but the principle stuck, well done nephew, well done.
Most of the gills have been coming off the weed edges near faster breaks using either bobber and leeches or 1/32 oz jigs and plastics.we rounded up a few 10 inch + gills but alot were between 9-10 inches. As my nephew from New York said after landing a 9+ incher, "that was the best fighter EVER".
The walleye bite was not fast and furious last week for me but we did manage to find some "eyes on off-shore structure finally, as most fish were shoreline related up to 2 weeks ago, not what I would consider the norm.Trolling stickbaits after dark in 9-12 ft near rock or transition areas from sand to rock was the most consistent bite,with a modest 24 1/2 incher being the largest.
As all family is gone now and reparations to our home get closer, my fishing will hopefully get back on track so I can provide a little more info and alot more pics!! I know as well as you do a picture is worth a thousand words.Tight lines to you all and teach a kid to fish please, the rewards will put a big smile on their face as well as yours!! LATER my fishing friends!!
Sorry we 've not been in of touch but extreme weather has left us dealing with downed trees and roofers and insurance claim adjusters .YUCK!! Anyhow,I have managed to sneak out a few times, ( not NEARLY enough) but have manged to make the best of it.
The past 2 weeks I have been on vacation although be it a working one mostly, I have had the opportunity to take out my relatives from New York on their first Bluegill/Crappie trip, hoping to give my future fisherman a little exposure to catch and release and conservation of larger panfish.
I think I had very good success as my 10 yr old nephew after 1 trip told the other 11 yr old, " That is a bull gill and that needs to swim again to protect the other fish in the lake!"not EXACTLY how I explained it but the principle stuck, well done nephew, well done.
The walleye bite was not fast and furious last week for me but we did manage to find some "eyes on off-shore structure finally, as most fish were shoreline related up to 2 weeks ago, not what I would consider the norm.Trolling stickbaits after dark in 9-12 ft near rock or transition areas from sand to rock was the most consistent bite,with a modest 24 1/2 incher being the largest.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Sheep Hearder!!!
Yes, another late entry...I'm trying to stay on top of things but, it's been so busy at work this summer, I just haven't been able to keep up. I'll keep trying!
June 14th, I set out after work to fish some walleyes with a good friend, Bill Hendricks. Bill is a very good walleye angler on his home lake and seems to have them walters dialed in at all times. Early in the year, until July, he slip floats walleyes with a plain hook and leech on main lake points that are adjacent to deep water. We usually anchor in 14 feet of water, cast to 11, with the leech 1 foot off the bottom...works real good!
On this night we did catch some walleyes, nothing huge but, some good fish for a meal. The real treat came when I set into a very large sheepshead or freshwater drum! I knew within a few seconds that what was on the recieving end of my slip float set up was not a walleye! The drag was singing a sweet and long tune! Bill had ask me if I wanted to cut my line and I said with a confused chatter in voice, "Are you nuts!", "Any fish that can do this is worthy of battle to the end." Bill, did not seem amused. He did however, do a great job netting the biggest sheepshead I have ever caught so far!
June 14th, I set out after work to fish some walleyes with a good friend, Bill Hendricks. Bill is a very good walleye angler on his home lake and seems to have them walters dialed in at all times. Early in the year, until July, he slip floats walleyes with a plain hook and leech on main lake points that are adjacent to deep water. We usually anchor in 14 feet of water, cast to 11, with the leech 1 foot off the bottom...works real good!
On this night we did catch some walleyes, nothing huge but, some good fish for a meal. The real treat came when I set into a very large sheepshead or freshwater drum! I knew within a few seconds that what was on the recieving end of my slip float set up was not a walleye! The drag was singing a sweet and long tune! Bill had ask me if I wanted to cut my line and I said with a confused chatter in voice, "Are you nuts!", "Any fish that can do this is worthy of battle to the end." Bill, did not seem amused. He did however, do a great job netting the biggest sheepshead I have ever caught so far!
18 pounds 5 ounces!
Released
Only a few, and I mean a very few, anglers around my area target these hard fisghting behemoths! Well, its safe to say that I now am one of those few you will go on the hunt for them! Just way too much fun for this guy to pass up. I will admit that I don't know much about the habits of sheepshead but, I will be figuring it out for the rest of the summer.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Reed Bustin' Bass
I'm a little late with this entry, for that I apologize. All this work and nice weather doesn't make blog entries easy!
This entry is relative to my last enry, "Extreme Backwoods Panfish." This is about day number 2 of that weekend with Andy Mott and fishing northern Itasca county.
Being that we are older than we used to be when we started fishing together, we needed to have a much easier day. We chose to fish largemouth bass on one of our favorite lakes. This lake has a public access so, that makes it a whole lot easier! Busting the reed beds for these largemouth bass is something that we taught ourselves many years ago. As far as we know, we are the only ones that take advantage of the excellent fishing these reed beds have to offer!
The presentation for this type of cover is quite simple. 1/2 - 3/4oz spinnerbaits with willow leaf blades, 7' heavy action casting rod, heavy monofilament line (17lb - 25lb). I used to use braid but, found that I was breaking spinnerbait arms trying to winch these bass out of the thick cover.
Casting the spinnerbaits with the "grain" of the reeds is important. When I say "grain", I mean the direction the reeds are bent over. This allows the spinnerbait to stay consistant in the water, without hopping out because the line is riding on top of the reeds. On this particular lake the blade color can vary. At times the wind can cause the water to turn up and make it cloudy because it it is shallow, 5-7ft deep. When the water is cloudy we found that colored blades like chartruese or orange work very well! Using willowleaf style blades is important. The willow leaf shape allows the the bait to slip through the dense cover much easier than a colorado blade.
Reed bed fishing is fun for another reason...it's a multi-species affair! Often pike of all sizes lurk in the beds, along with bluegills, rockbass, smallmouth and the occassional waleye! Although we didn't get any smallies, walleyes, or bluegills, we did find some rockies and pike!
Bustin' the reeds is always a good time and usually ends with a nice workout! happy hooksets to you all and next up I will tell ya all about the Sheepshead...another fun fish that gets no respect!
This entry is relative to my last enry, "Extreme Backwoods Panfish." This is about day number 2 of that weekend with Andy Mott and fishing northern Itasca county.
The presentation for this type of cover is quite simple. 1/2 - 3/4oz spinnerbaits with willow leaf blades, 7' heavy action casting rod, heavy monofilament line (17lb - 25lb). I used to use braid but, found that I was breaking spinnerbait arms trying to winch these bass out of the thick cover.
Casting the spinnerbaits with the "grain" of the reeds is important. When I say "grain", I mean the direction the reeds are bent over. This allows the spinnerbait to stay consistant in the water, without hopping out because the line is riding on top of the reeds. On this particular lake the blade color can vary. At times the wind can cause the water to turn up and make it cloudy because it it is shallow, 5-7ft deep. When the water is cloudy we found that colored blades like chartruese or orange work very well! Using willowleaf style blades is important. The willow leaf shape allows the the bait to slip through the dense cover much easier than a colorado blade.
Reed bed fishing is fun for another reason...it's a multi-species affair! Often pike of all sizes lurk in the beds, along with bluegills, rockbass, smallmouth and the occassional waleye! Although we didn't get any smallies, walleyes, or bluegills, we did find some rockies and pike!
Monday, June 11, 2012
Extreme Backwoods Panfish!
It's mid-winter to late winter, I don't know, around Feb/Mar of 2012, and my cell rings up. It happens to be my very good friend Andy! Andy and I met in 7th grade and have been fishing buddies ever since. Andy must be calling about your 2nd annual Bull Bluegill Bust. I was completely correct. As the re-telling of stories gets my blood pumping, June can't come soon enough. Well, that day came.
I headed to Side Lake, MN on the evening of June 7th to meet up with Andy at my parents place. Good ol' Mom and Dad's as and probably will always be base camp for this trip. It just works perfect. Andy beat me to the "base camp" cause I had to stop in Blackduck at the Shell station and get some bait and gawk at tackle. It's now 8pm and it's time for some grub and shut eye, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.
7am...we are up and out the door by 8. Andy's truck finally comes to rest at our drop site and gear is unloaded. This year we are going to debut a new boat, motor and a new way into this lake. The boat is a 12ft Pelican jonboat and clamped on the transom is a 3.3 hp Mercury "camp" outboard. This a much better set up for the remote access to this lake. The boat and motor is clamped, strapped and secured to a custom rack built for his ATV. This quite the rig! all the fishing gear was loaded in a Otter Wild Side trailer. This was a much easier rig to get to the lake with!
I headed to Side Lake, MN on the evening of June 7th to meet up with Andy at my parents place. Good ol' Mom and Dad's as and probably will always be base camp for this trip. It just works perfect. Andy beat me to the "base camp" cause I had to stop in Blackduck at the Shell station and get some bait and gawk at tackle. It's now 8pm and it's time for some grub and shut eye, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.
7am...we are up and out the door by 8. Andy's truck finally comes to rest at our drop site and gear is unloaded. This year we are going to debut a new boat, motor and a new way into this lake. The boat is a 12ft Pelican jonboat and clamped on the transom is a 3.3 hp Mercury "camp" outboard. This a much better set up for the remote access to this lake. The boat and motor is clamped, strapped and secured to a custom rack built for his ATV. This quite the rig! all the fishing gear was loaded in a Otter Wild Side trailer. This was a much easier rig to get to the lake with!
Let the journey begin!
2 hours to go 1-1.5 miles...so worth it! It didn't take long and were hooking up with some good fish!
The technique used was a small jig, tipped with plastic or Northland Tackle's Impluse Waterbug. Absolutely deadly! Hair jigs such as Jim Gronaw's River Critters and Lindy Tackle's Little Nippers were also killer on these fish! Slipfloats were also employed to keep baits from snagging in timber.
What a fantastic trip this was! We didn't find any super freaks but all the fish were in the 8.5"-10" class! We spent a total of 9 hours back there and loved every second of it. Day two of the trip was spent casting for largemouth bass and pike, as well as keeping a keen eye out for sumo gills, on a different body of water. I will have more on that day tomorrow!
Thanks for reading and have a good day fishing, Patrick
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Hey all!!
Just reporting in.
It has been a week since we 've hooked up and I got back from the Grand Marais (MN.) area late Thursday.
The fishing was great all 4 days and alot of fish were caught.We had some awesome walleyes caught the first night, biggest being a HEAVY bodied 23 1/2 incher that inhaled our shalow running stick bait.We proceeded to catch another 11 fish not as large but were happy with there size and scrappy attitude.
The next morning Brookies were the target species but unfortunately my 4 WD went out on the trip up so we adjusted our game plan and fished Smallmouth bass instead, again great numbers with fish up to 18 inches, all with a bad attitude, what a blast!!
The afternoon found us fishing Rainbows on a nearby lake and seeing fish rise as we were landing our boats, indicated the "Bows" were shallow even over deep water.Long-lining spinners and minnow imitations made for a great afternoon of 30 + fish being caught.
As night fell we decided to go after walleyes on the same lake as the night before, catching only 9 decent fish, but the full moon was fabulous and the company second to none!
Our Brookie trips were limited to over populated areas that the landings were easily accessible to the general public and fished hard.Although we caught fish, they were not of the size and quantity we re accustomed to.Although we didn't get to our "hot spots" the brookies were still beautifully colored and the fight spectacular.I love Brook Trout fishing!!
Day 3 found me determined to meet my personal "Grand Slam" of a limit of 4 species of fish in a 12 hr period. I unfortunately came up just short on Brookies to make it a reality,but that goal will continue onto next year.
I hear I missed out on a hot panfish bite last week so I plan to make up for lost time starting tommorrow.Bluegills beware!!
Thanks for stopping by and tight lines to you all !!.........Shawn
Just reporting in.
It has been a week since we 've hooked up and I got back from the Grand Marais (MN.) area late Thursday.
The fishing was great all 4 days and alot of fish were caught.We had some awesome walleyes caught the first night, biggest being a HEAVY bodied 23 1/2 incher that inhaled our shalow running stick bait.We proceeded to catch another 11 fish not as large but were happy with there size and scrappy attitude.
The next morning Brookies were the target species but unfortunately my 4 WD went out on the trip up so we adjusted our game plan and fished Smallmouth bass instead, again great numbers with fish up to 18 inches, all with a bad attitude, what a blast!!
The afternoon found us fishing Rainbows on a nearby lake and seeing fish rise as we were landing our boats, indicated the "Bows" were shallow even over deep water.Long-lining spinners and minnow imitations made for a great afternoon of 30 + fish being caught.
Our Brookie trips were limited to over populated areas that the landings were easily accessible to the general public and fished hard.Although we caught fish, they were not of the size and quantity we re accustomed to.Although we didn't get to our "hot spots" the brookies were still beautifully colored and the fight spectacular.I love Brook Trout fishing!!
Day 3 found me determined to meet my personal "Grand Slam" of a limit of 4 species of fish in a 12 hr period. I unfortunately came up just short on Brookies to make it a reality,but that goal will continue onto next year.
I hear I missed out on a hot panfish bite last week so I plan to make up for lost time starting tommorrow.Bluegills beware!!
Thanks for stopping by and tight lines to you all !!.........Shawn
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
On the water!!!!!
The R.P. Mc Murphy is now ready for the water! His maiden voyage! We (Steph and I) decided on the name R.P. Mc Murphy after the classic movie, one of our favorites, One Who Flew Over The Cookoo's Nest.
Jack Nicholson's character in that movie is the best! Anyway... on to the fishing business.
It is Sunday, May 29th and we have over cast skies and calm winds. Perfection for the big debut on the water! I decided to bring Steph to a body of water that was shown to me last winter by a good friend, Adam Forsythe. That winter we had pulled some very good quality crappies and big gills through the ice and Shawn and I hit the same body of water this spring and scored some big crappies. Needless to say I was pumped!
The new Yamaha run perfect and it felt real good to have a good quality, strong running motor, for once! It didn't take long and I was used to it. I have never had a 4-stroke before so, things are a tad different.
I don't have a graph on him yet but, I knew right where I wanted to start my hunt for big crappies. We set up with colored hooks and slip floats, and a pail of crappie minnows! I was the first to strike with this beautiful female gill!
10" class hen released!
We continued to catch small perch and lost a few hooks to some toothy critters. It has been a couple of hours, some moving around and, finally...BLACK CRAPPIE GOLD!!!!
This 12" fish took down a live minnow, dancing under a slipfloat! That was the one and only crappie caught this evening. It didn't matter to me if we slayed them or not. Just getting out with the new boat and spending the evening with my wife was just as great!
As I am typing this, Shawn is in the Grand Marais area of Minnesota, chasing trout. I will be heading to Itasca county in search of big gills and pumpkin seeds with good friend Andy Mott. Stay tuned....
Jack Nicholson's character in that movie is the best! Anyway... on to the fishing business.
It is Sunday, May 29th and we have over cast skies and calm winds. Perfection for the big debut on the water! I decided to bring Steph to a body of water that was shown to me last winter by a good friend, Adam Forsythe. That winter we had pulled some very good quality crappies and big gills through the ice and Shawn and I hit the same body of water this spring and scored some big crappies. Needless to say I was pumped!
The new Yamaha run perfect and it felt real good to have a good quality, strong running motor, for once! It didn't take long and I was used to it. I have never had a 4-stroke before so, things are a tad different.
I don't have a graph on him yet but, I knew right where I wanted to start my hunt for big crappies. We set up with colored hooks and slip floats, and a pail of crappie minnows! I was the first to strike with this beautiful female gill!
We continued to catch small perch and lost a few hooks to some toothy critters. It has been a couple of hours, some moving around and, finally...BLACK CRAPPIE GOLD!!!!
12" crappie released!
As I am typing this, Shawn is in the Grand Marais area of Minnesota, chasing trout. I will be heading to Itasca county in search of big gills and pumpkin seeds with good friend Andy Mott. Stay tuned....
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