December's Flurries

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
                                                              

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