ice fishing

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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) […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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. […]

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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 […]

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It is Never to Late to Start Ice Fishing Early Season Ice Tactics that will Fill your Bucket

Early Season Ice Tactics that will Fill your Bucket

Early Season Ice Tactics that will Fill your Bucket Anglers throughout Iowa keep a keen eye on the calendar each year, especially those anglers affectionately known as “ice heads”. Iowa’s average temperatures begin to dip in October and continue the downward trend throughout the month. Halloween paves the way for November to roll in and […]

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It is Never to Late to Start Ice Fishing Early Season Ice Tactics that will Fill your Bucket

It is Never to Late to Start Ice Fishing

It is Never to Late to Start Ice Fishing I have been ice fishing since junior high school, or let’s just say, a long time ago.  I can still remember that first time stepping onto the river backwater, it was an eerie feeling, but the feeling of anticipation and excitement soon overtook that eeriness.  Dreams […]

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State record perch weighed at Kabele’s Trading Post

By Steve Weisman Little did 43-year-old Royce Krummen of Lake Park realize when he went fishing shortly after noon on Saturday, February 16 that he would end up catching the fish of a lifetime and possibly the new Iowa state record for perch. It all happened about mid-afternoon. Fishing a northwest Iowa area pond with […]

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I.O.W.A. (Ice-fisherman Out Wandering Around)

Even though most Iowans don’t realize it, Iowa is on the doorstep to the ice belt. It’s hard to say that we’re the center of the ice belt, but head anywhere in a northerly direction out of the state and you’re going to run into world-class ice fishing destinations. After traveling to fish in the […]

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Raps for Trout: Strategies Through the Ice Using Hard Baits

Raps for Trout: Strategies Through the Ice Using Hard Baits By Nick Johnson Two years ago I became acquainted with a method for catching trout through the ice that quickly developed into a go-to strategy. I found success not only locating active fish but tempting skittish biters into taking the bait. I’ve watched a fair […]

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