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We’ve had many good days on the ice.  We’ve caught crappie, bluegill, catfish, walleye, white bass, northern pikexyou name it, we’ve caught it.  But, we can count days that can truly be called BIG, only a few times. A big day is one, where you can do no wrong.  Every decision you makes, leads to fish.  The weather cooperates to, the wind doesn’t howl, maybe a light snow, but never rain or sleet.  Your gear works right.  Augers start right up, lines don’t twist or break you’re your fish locators battery doesn’t run out of juice. Last year I had a big day …

Panfish are simple creatures. They eat, sleep and spawn to survive. In between these activities they look for better places to eat, sleep, and spawn; like I said panfish are simple creatures! Ice fisherman are simple creatures too, but times are changing and we’re getting more sophisticated and knowledgeable every day. Spend some time in the backwaters of the Mississippi or Wisconsin River and you’ll learn a lot. There are a bunch of anglers who do quite well using rudimentary techniques. Any kind of pole will do, a small bobber, splitshot and a lively Shiner minnow on a number eight …

Largemouth and smallmouth bass can be readily caught through the ice. They are tremendous sport fish that are ridiculously strong under the ice. Your favorite ponds and lakes that produce bluegill and crappie will also give up largemouth in the same general areas. Smallmouth bass should be targeted in gravel and rock areas of lakes that are known smallmouth producers in the open water season. If you want to ice more bass this winter, then you need my three-step plan — 3 Holes + 3 Poles + 3 Different Jigs = Bass Largemouth Bass Shallow weedy bays are prime areas that hold largemouth b …

We were just setting everything up and getting ready to fish and we knew we had to move. My buddy, Cowboy Kevin, had his permanent shack out in Pistakee Bay and he hadn’t caught many bluegill in the past few days. We decided to try this spot for about an hour and then move. Moving would be difficult since the shack was frozen solid into the ice and it was just the two of us and one ATV with the wind blowing about 40 mph! I lowered my jig, a size 8 Custom Jigs & Spins Diamond jig to bottom and raised it up a little. I checked my line; the two pound test still seemed good and the dra …

There is something mysterious about crappie. They are good fighters that are tricky to catch and even trickier to pull out the hole. Crappie will feed during low light periods and will return to popular haunts near dusk. Crappier are suspenders. They will find a spot at the weed edge, around fallen timber or even in open water, where food is plentiful and suspend there waiting with open mouths! A good crappie area in a lake is a weedy bay. Early in the season and at last ice, crappie will be in as little as a few feet of water and as long as weeds are present, crappie will be too. As t …