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Have you ever been catching bluegill like crazy and the bite shuts down? Have you ever been pounding the perch, and then the pounding just ends? Well, chances are a predator has moved into the area, been attracted to all the commotion, and is looking for an easy meal. The predator could be a walleye, bass, pike, muskie, or catfish. I’ve known this was true for the forty-some years that I’ve been ice fishing, but I’ve never really seen it happening live and haven’t capitalized on it enough, until now. Watching for big predator fish with a scope Livescope, better known as …

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 …

There are a multitude of ways to catch a fish through the ice. Once you find the way that works best for that exact moment you are fishing for whatever species you are after, then BINGO, you’ve solved the fish puzzle for one day, because tomorrow that puzzle might change. I can’t tell you how many times that I thought I had it figured out before I got to the lake. I’ll have a plan, a spot, a species that I’m after and when I get there, everything I believed would happen, didn’t. I’d get to my spot and someone was on it. Which jigs do I need? Should I use my favorite lead jigs or try out t …

When it comes to ice fishing, a big fish will hit a little bait more often than a little fish will hit a big bait. This is where a tungsten jig may fit the bill. It doesn’t matter what species you are after; perch, bluegill, walleye, bass, trout...when the water is cold a fish's metabolism slows and they just don’t feed as aggressively as they do in open water, but that doesn’t me that they don’t like a little snack now and again! Obviously, you can still catch a pile of fish in the winter, if not, why would millions of anglers around the world ice fish every day! Fishing with minimal gea …

If all you are catching is little fish...you better have a back-up plan! I’ve learned a lot over the years on the hundreds of ice fishing adventures that I’ve been on, but nothing is more important to fishing success than having a back-up plan. Reason being, a fish's moods will change from day to day, their location changes, their feeding time varies and they just get downright ornery. Because of all this and of course Murphy’s Law (anything that can go wrong, will go wrong)...you need a back up plan every time you go ice fishing. I’ve done it all, once I left my minnow bucket full of …