Blog

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 …

“One pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small and the pills your mother gives you don’t do nothing at all”...Grace Slick, The Jefferson Airplane, 1977. If you want to catch big panfish, you’ve got to think small. A number 4 hook rigged with a big nightcrawler, sitting under a bobber the size of a baseball won’t get the job done, not if you want to be a panfish machine. Think Small Jigs for Catching Bluegill Mick Thill, a man instrumental in bringing groundbreaking panfishing methods to America from England and who once beat the USA over the head with our own crude overs …

Kids go fishing for one reason, to catch some fish. I guess I’m still a kid. I always thought fishing was supposed to be fun, so I really don't get it when fancy pants anglers in big shiny boats pull up, cut right in front of my path and turn their backs as if I wouldn’t notice. Sometimes, I lose my cool and yell a few obscenities. “We’re in a tournament”, they yell back. Watch out for these boys...they’re in a tournament, LOL Oh my...a tournament...I didn't know that being in a tournament was so important that a prerequisite was to wreck my fishing spot and be rude to me. …

I icefish for two reasons; to catch fish to eat and to catch fish to release! I don't go for the camaraderie, to cook a pot of chili or to drink beer and shoot schnapps, I can do that at home or in the garage. I've been ice fishing for more than 30 years now and I might be more excited about it than ever before. I've got my areas I like to fish, some secret spots and all the tackle and gear to make me successful. I like to go ice fishing to get away from the crowds, LOL! Some spots I fish are shallow, no need for a flasher, drill a dozen holes real quick and hop around until I …