ice fishing

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 […]
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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 […]
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Ice Fishing Jigs
Ice Fishing Jigs By Ben Leal There is nothing more satisfying than creating something all on your own, taking it out and using it with success. Quite honestly folks, we could be talking just about anything. Farmers for example often create special tools out of necessity. At times the only one that knows about it […]
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Open Water Tactics on Ice
Open Water Tactics on Ice By Ben Leal The ice fishing season is upon us…a time of year where anglers and iceheads across the state have been itching for since the ice left area lakes last spring. Countdowns were posted across social media in anticipation of walking out of first ice…January means, hopefully, we are […]
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Pay Attention to what goes on Under the Ice!
Pay Attention to what goes on Under the Ice! By Rod Woten Every ice season, there is so much emphasis on what goes on above the ice. Are you using the newest whizz-bang this season? What portable fish house are you using? Will you be using the latest and greatest custom rod? Is your ATV […]
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Targeting Northern Pikes on the Iowa Great Lakes
Targeting Northern Pikes on the Iowa Great Lakes By Steve Weisman The Iowa Great Lakes is an ice fishing destination for both Iowa anglers and out-of-staters. After all, there is great walleye fishing and panfishing (perch, bluegill and crappie). If an angler is interested, there are also shallows teeming with largemouth bass that will readily […]
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Iowa Ice Hot Spots for Crappie
Iowa Ice Hot Spots for Crappie By Ben Leal At the time of this writing Iowa was experiencing one of the warmest winters that I’ve seen in the sixteen plus years of living here. Southern and Central Iowa ponds, lakes, and reservoirs are all ice free. Northern Iowa is starting to see some skim ice, […]
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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, […]
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Yellow Bass Iowa’s Overlooked Panfish
Yellow Bass Iowa’s Overlooked Panfish By Rod Woten Iowa has a love-hate relationship with the yellow bass. On one hand they’re plentiful, fun to catch and make delicious table fare. On the other hand, in many instances, they’re an invasive species and out-compete other panfish like crappies and bluegills…even largemouth bass. They are prolific breeders […]
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Artificial Baits for Toothy Critters
Artificial Baits for Toothy Critters By Kyle Wood When ice hits the waters most anglers jump at the chance to get out after their favorite species of fish. For many anglers panfish are usually the perennial favorite. Then there are those who like fish that get big and often can carry an attitude. Walleye and […]
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