Fishing

Using Your Eyes to Catch Fish

Using Your Eyes to Catch Fish By Steve Weisman My favorite ice fishing occurs when I can sight fish, actually watch the action below the ice with my own eyes. To me, it’s the ultimate. To be able to watch the fish approach the lure, to see its response to the presentation and then (hopefully) […]

Method to the Madness

Method to the Madness: Drilling Patterns for Successful Ice Anglers By Rod Woten Ice augers have come a long way in the past 20 years. From the old hand-crank spoon augers to today’s lightweight ice eating machines, making holes in the ice has continued to get easier and easier. Along with that progression, the way […]

Icey Eyes

Icey Eyes By Ben Leal Iowa is in the heart of the ice belt and anglers throughout the Midwest will venture North, South, East or West to test their ice fishing skills on our local waters. Some areas like West Lake Okoboji for instance are on many a hit list for large bull bluegill. Other […]

Winter Panfish Preview on the Iowa Great Lakes

Winter Panfish Preview on the Iowa Great Lakes By Steve Weisman With the entire open water panfishing so outstanding on the Iowa Great Lakes, ice fishermen can hardly wait to see what the hard water season will bring. Big Spirit, East Okoboji, Upper Gar, Minnewashta and West Okoboji consistently produced excellent panfishing action all summer. […]

Become a Better Hardwater Angler

Become a Better Hardwater Angler By Rod Woten Are you new to ice fishing and want to shorten the learning curve? Are you a seasoned angler that wants to take your game to the next level? Are you frustrated with catching few or small fish…want to catch more and bigger fish? When I first started […]

Early Ice Crappies

Ahhhh…nothing like your first trip out to the ice. Days prior to your first trip you go through the list, Vexilar battery…check; auger…check; load new line on your ice rods…check; ice jigs and bait…check; ice shack…check; lantern and heater tested…check; everything seems to be in order and ready to go. Reports are coming in that […]

Let’s Go Ice Fishing w/ Rod Woten – Podcast

Late Fall Strategies for Cold Water

The bite of cold has overcome Iowa by now, whitetail bucks are in rut and waterfowl hunting is picking up. With so many outdoor related distractions the thought of fishing takes a back burner to many. Even I find myself trading the rods for a shotgun at this point and celebrate the excitement of ice […]

Fire Making Skills Tune Up

Picture this. You are at a remote camp ground as a guest and you notice that your friend is having a really hard time getting the campfire going. He has a huge pile of wood in the fire ring that is giving off a little white smoke but he just can’t get the wood to […]

Iowa River Monsters: The Quest for Flatheads

It’s not too often that I get to write an article about an actual fishing story. I’m not talking about the tale of Catfish Hunter or a story that grows with age, but rather a story of adventure, taking place right in the heart of Iowa. An annual adventure that started a few years back […]