Hello June, I thought the saying is "April Showers bring May Flowers"? I guess June will have to bring out the flowers and hopefully some warmer consistent weather as well. One thing is certain, the regular warm season colors are starting to show. We are just into cutting grass, but not picking lilacs. Further meaning, the better days are still ahead of us. Fishing in the Arrowhead region has been good and will only get better. Last weekend was the Wisconsin Muskie opener and this weekend it's Minnesota's turn. In case you didn't know, we have great opportunities to catch these Apex Predators in the region. St. Louis River has had a good bite. A number of tactics are working and fish are hun
Spring is a fun time to be on the water fishing, as many varieties of fish can be caught while fishing the same typical areas. Waters are warming and fish are moving into their spawning ritual, making for a great time to be out there catching them. Certain bodies of water harbor different species at some different times and after keeping track of these things over the last few years, this allows you to predict what they are doing and where they may be a little bit easier. Busy day planned with 3 bodies of water to fish and fishing for three different fish. Morning trip; weather has been cool, wet and windy to say the least, water temps are behind a bit compared to normal. Water clarity is ve
Another Minnesota bass opener is in the books and a very exceptional one at that! However, this weekend is more than just bass opener. This weekend represents what the outdoors is all about! Sharing quality time with family and friends and remembering those that are no longer with us. Remembering those that sacrifice the luxuries of everyday life and especially those that have given their life fighting for America! THANK YOU to all the troops that have served, are serving and will serve to keep our country free! As far as the fishing went, it was a very successful bass opener. The bass are in a transitional period right now coming out of shallow spawning grounds and heading back out to the
Throughout the past two weeks, I have done a variety of tasks including cutting, fixing or replacing pipes. This would be anything from propane lines, sewer lines, water lines, or replacing hot water elements. I’ve had to dig new trenches for lines running out of the cabins and digging new drainage ditches for water pooling up in unwanted locations. Also, I have been preparing a cabin to be repainted and this will be a multiple week project that I’ll be responsible for, and have started. The resort’s gift shop opened today, May 26th and a ton of preparation has gone into this and I’ve really noticed how this contributes to the overall “esthetics” of the resort. Through this, I’ve assisted in
Though temperatures haven't been the warmest, the walleye bite at Belle Fourche and Angostura Reservoirs continue to go full steam ahead. I went to Angostura recently on a cold and blustery day with my friend Matt to try to see if the walleyes were still hanging out around structure on the south side. Well, despite repeated snags, lost jigs and high winds, they were still there. We caught a couple dozen 'eyes, though the majority were in the 13"-14" size that have been getting caught according to recent reports with a few 16"-17"ers in the mix. The crappie were also mixed in with them and there were good sized ones, most near 15". I even managed to catch a few nice bluegills that were hiding
This past winter I took out a couple of friends who were visiting from the east side of South Dakota for some ice fishing and they invited me to come visit them in Tyndall for some shore and boat fishing near Lake Francis Case. Having never fished on it before and seeing that there was a chance of catching a sturgeon, I planned a recent visit. Seeing all the photos on Facebook last month of huge sturgeon being taken in Minnesota, had me dreaming of hauling one of those monsters in, but they assured me most of the ones they have caught were in the 4-6 pound range, not 40+ like I'd been seeing. This trip would be a new experience for me, as fishing where they did, it involved very heavy weight
Every angler looks forward to the day that the ice finally leaves their favorite body of water, with the anticipation of the first open water bite of the season. And what’s not to look forward to? After a long winter, we finally get to pull the boat out of hibernation for the maiden voyage of the season and get after it. For me, the first fish I typically target also happens to be my favorite...smallmouth bass. As soon as the ice goes, smallmouth can be found in their wintering holes and really strap on the feed bag in anticipation of their pending spawn. When you find one bass, there are typically many more and are very willing to bite. The ice left Rainy Lake about 2 weeks ago and I wou
Where: Candlewood Lake, CT Target species: Giant crappies and Bass Tactic: Small jigs under a float, hair jigs and soft swimbaits on light gear Conditions: Post cold front, unstable weather Candlewood Lake in CT, is an outstanding big fish lake, especially in the spring when water temps are still cold. So far this season the fishing has been crazy good with lots of big fish being caught. So I invited my good friend and fellow pro staff member Kevin Dahlke to come down from MA to see what we could do. The plan was to locate and target crappies over 2lbs, with fish over 3lbs not out of the question and there were sure to be some 5 or 6 lb smallies mixed in. The water temp was in the upper 50's
Most anglers are in full swing of the spring crappie bite, as the waters warm and these fish move into the shallows. Depending on how fast your waters have been warming, will dictate as to where they are in their spawning time. Our waters currently are approaching the upper 50’s and when the sun is out, these fish are positioned right in the shoreline bushes. If rain and cold temperatures move in, these fish will pull back out to the first break line and stay there until the weather gets nicer again. So with these fluctuating conditions, one day they can be in these bushes and the next their not, especially since they haven’t locked into their beds yet. Can almost predict what the bite is go
Having the same day off (which can be a rarity), my friend Matt invited myself and my other fishing buddy Steve down to Angostura Reservoir for a morning of on-water entertainment.....hopefully. While it wasn't my first open-water trip of the season, it was my first trip to Angostura for the year and it had been good to us last season so I was confident we'd catch something. For my buddy Steve, it would be his first time fishing from a boat ever and his first time going after walleyes as well. I hoped he would catch his first eyes and scratch that species off his list. As we reached our first destination, they trolled jigs with minnows on them, while I wanted to try out some new plastics tha
Can you feel it? It’s the Annual Great Fishing Opener. This week's report is going to be short and sweet. We believe all you anglers have everything ready to go, so we won't touch on that topic. We will send a tip on where to concentrate efforts for opening weekend walleyes. For us, we will be targeting post spawn walleyes near the 1st to 2nd contour lines coming from spawning areas into main lake basins. Walleyes will be hungry during their recuperation phase and will prey on bait fish in and around, these locations. Live bait and jigs will be the go-to method. We will also experiment with casting smaller shad raps and swim baits. Lake Superior Anglers are getting some Salmon while slow tro
