Panfish

Wonderboy

Story of Wonderboy While many may disagree, one of the greatest sport’s movies is the 1984 masterpiece, The Natural, starring Robert Redford. It is a movie not about baseball, but of fulfilling lost dreams and redemption. Throughout the film, the protagonist, Roy Hobbs, incredible talent, was due to his bat “Wonderboy”. Something made carefully by […]

Farm Ponds at their Finest

Farm Ponds at their Finest Fishing in Iowa is a diverse experience. Two heavyweight rivers set the borders on the East and West banks where 100 pound flatheads and extraterrestrial looking paddlefish wait for willing anglers. Flowing in stark contrast to those monstrous border waters are the pristine cold water creeks of the driftless northeast […]

Preparing Your Boat for the Season

Preparing Your Boat for the Season Hopefully the spring fishing season has treated you well here in the great state of Iowa. I have been out many times traveling through the state with a boat in tow. No matter if you have a 12-foot jon boat, or a 21-foot fiberglass boat. Boating season is just […]

Fishing New Water Under The Ice

Fishing New Water Under The Ice One of the challenges we all face, whether you’re fishing from a boat or standing on the ice on a new body of water, the question becomes, “where do we fish?” With the advent of modern technology, and much of it portable now, we can make some very educated […]

Is A New Fishing Boat in your Future

Is a New Fishing Boat in your Future Over the past year Iowans have been spending more time together as a family in the outdoors. Fishing and boating have become popular activities where families can unwind, relax and enjoy each other’s company in the setting of nature. Perhaps you have been debating about getting a […]

Things That Ruin Ice Fishing Success

Things That Ruin Ice Fishing Success Ice fishing has been a passion of mine since 1990, it doesn’t seem possible, but the allure of cutting a hole in the ice to catch fish gets my blood pumping every winter. Growing up during my school days I eagerly awaited Sundays when we would trek out to […]

Chasing Late Season Bluegills In Clear Water

Chasing Late Season Bluegills In Clear Water For years and years ice fishermen from across the Midwest have headed to northwest Iowa’s West Lake Okoboji to sight fish the finicky bluegills which West Okoboji is famous for. Late ice toward the end of February and into March can be incredible. Once in a while, for […]

Ice On! – Podcast

Ice Fishing Fundamentals

Ice Fishing Fundamentals Every year I give lots of ice fishing seminars over the course of the winter. LOTS of seminars. So many in fact, that I used to find myself wanting to up the ante with each seminar I presented, tackling increasingly more complex subject matter with each new presentation. A few years ago, […]

Early Tactics for Full Buckets

Early Tactics for Full Buckets Once the calendar turns to November, anglers in the Ice Belt begin praying for several sub-freezing days and nights to get that first sold ice on fishable waters. Here on the Iowa Great Lakes that can be early as Thanksgiving but most usually around the middle of December. Now that […]