crappie

When the going gets Tough on the Ice

When the going gets Tough on the Ice By Todd Reed The weekend is upon us and we have the green light for a trip to the ice.  The feeling can be magical on a Friday afternoon. As you drift off in your mind you can see the bluegills piled up beside your bucket, and […]

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Fishing Late Season Ice

Fishing Late Season Ice

Fishing Late Season Ice February is the time of year when, in Iowa, most outdoor sports and recreation shows are taking place, giving reason for the thoughts of open water. Reality soon sets in as you peer out the window and see a blanket of snow covering much of the ground and fishing boats remain […]

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Putting Slabs on the Ice

Putting Slabs on the Ice By Steve Weisman When ice fishing season rolls around, bluegills and crappies are two of the most sought after fish. Many anglers, myself including, find that if we target bluegills we will also run into crappies. So, on early ice we will start in the shallows, in bays where there […]

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Give’em what they want and how they want it

Give’em what they want and how they want it By Bob Jensen Whether you’re after fish in open water or through the ice, your lure presentation is one of the most important considerations for success. Since ice-fishing season is fast approaching in many areas, now is a good time to think about lure presentation as […]

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What is a Trophy Fish

What is a Trophy Fish

Trophy Fish What Makes Em’ Grow   As a lifelong angler I have had the thrill of catching some genuine trophy fish. As a boy, a trophy was anything bigger than the last fish I caught. And in one case it was one that never took the bait, but one I could clearly see as […]

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Give’em What They Want How They Want It

Give’em What They Want How They Want It By Bob Jensen Whether you’re after fish in open water or through the ice, your lure presentation is one of the most important considerations for success. Since ice-fishing season is fast approaching in many areas, now is a good time to think about lure presentation as it […]

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A Day on the Ice with… Me!

A Day on the Ice with… Me! By Rod Woten One of the questions I hear several times every ice season as I’m presenting seminars or making retail in-store appearances is, “what’s it like to be an Ice Team Pro?” Simply put, it is AWESOME! I get to travel the ice belt and talk about […]

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Backwater Hardwater

Backwater Hardwater By Rod Woten Ask any ice angler from Iowa what their favorite fishery is and you’ll hear names like Brushy Creek, Clear Lake, Spirit Lake or Okoboji. For good reason those are all near the top of everyone’s list. There’s another fishery on the state’s eastern seaboard that you don’t hear mentioned much. […]

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Navigating Big Ice

Navigating Big Ice By Rod Woten Why does it always seem that the bigger a body of water you want to fish, the harder the fish are to find? If you think about it from a statistical standpoint, the bigger lakes have more water you have to sort through in order to find fish, which […]

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Best Crappie Baits

Best Crappie Baits

Best Crappie Baits   Crappie…animals that forage for discrete, isolated resources are often characterized as either “ambush” (sit-and-wait) or “cruise” (active) searchers. Juvenile white crappie, Pomix annularis, search for zooplankton prey using a salutatory search (SS) strategy. Unlike ambush and cruise, SS involves… Had you readers going there for a moment didn’t I… Well lucky […]

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