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I learned how to fish from Old Man Doser. Mike Doser was an old German janitor who lived in the building across from ours when my father, Poppee got his first janitor job in Chicago on Irving Park Road.  Old man Doser and his wife Mutti loved to fish, and loved to eat fish, even more. Double-dipped in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs, then pan-fried in Crisco, was the only way to go! He taught me how to catch fish, but greasy, fried, lard-laden fish was not my way to go.  I’ve since modified his techniques for catching (and cooking) different species throughout the season.  Whe …

The ice is here, and I’m out chasing bluegill and other panfish.  It could be in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, or Minnesota. Just give me some solid ice, a shallow weedy bay, channel, or backwater, and I’m on my way! Are you catching fish? I’ve been chasing panfish for more than forty years, and it has never gotten old, even though I have.  I’ve learned a few things along the way.  The first and foremost goal is to catch a bunch of fish. There is absolutely no reason to invest in all the gear, expend all the effort it takes to go ice fishing, and be satisfie …

With the recent cold snap, ice fishing is in full swing! If it’s not happening in your area, you just have to drive farther North. If the big lake you usually fish on is still not frozen, head to the channels or smaller bodies of water tucked away out of the wind...it’s happening right now! Just do you - choose your experience Ice fishing is great because you can experience it any way you want. You can do it on the cheap or spend thousands on fishing trips, tackle, and gear. If you're happy just catching a few fish and enjoying setting up a camp, cooking some brats, indulging in a few …

If you want a Net full of fish...you got to fish around some junk! No matter where you fish, there is going to be junk in the water. Junk is good, junk is where the fish like to hide. “See that junk over there?” “Yeah, what is it?” “I dunno, but you better make a cast before I do!” Junk is cover, junk is structure, junk can be weeds, a pile of rocks, a pier, a fallen tree...you get the idea. If you’ve got a fancy locator, underwater camera, side-scan or live scope, you can really see some junk...and if you look closely, you will see game fish too! You …

Without a doubt, when it comes to ice fishing, I have put forth more effort panfishing than other larger species. Looking back on thousands of hours I have spent ice fishing and ice jig making, two things are certain, a fish is a fish as long as it is the same species. It doesn’t matter if its bluegill, crappie, perch, or white bass, each species reacts, eats and attacks prey differently. If you build the right jig...they will come! I love my Livescope I have spent a lot of time staring at a spring bobber, wondering what was going on down below the ice. I spent more time watching a …