A trip North

After the cold blast that hit Iowa last weekend, the ice has been growing quit nicely.  Reports of 6-12 inches of ice in Northern Iowa sent my friend Jacy and I on a trip before the Christmas holiday to that area.  Clear Lake was the destination, and the turnout was fantastic.  Clear Lake, Iowa is not only a great little town to stay in, it offers quite the variety of fish to chase after.  After doing some Internet searches and talking with friends we made a plan to hit several lakes in this area.  The number of lakes within a 30 minute drive of Clear Lake is pretty amazing.  It gives an angler ample opportunities to catch whatever species they desire.  In the two days of fishing our Vexilars were lit up quite often, we caught the following species; perch, yellow bass, crappies, bluegills, walleyes and bullheads.  The Bullheads were quite a surprise, as each time we thought we had a nice perch on, but the smooth-skin slimer came through the hole instead.  Beside the snow storm we fished through on Friday, leaving us soaking wet, it was a great few days in the Clear Lake area.  If you haven't been to Clear Lake lately, plan a trip.  Clear Lake Bait and Tackle is the place to stop for all your needs, live bait, shack rental, and guided trips for a variety of species.  Kevan Paul will help make your stop to Clear Lake a great one if you don't know the area.

Fall to Winter

I have lived my 4 decades in Iowa, yet each and every year Mother Nature makes it feel different this time of year.  A year ago, there was no ice in site in this great state, however this last weekend many anglers, especially in the northern half of the state made their annual pilgrimage to the ice.  I was eager like many, but I am always very cautious this time of year.  This year there will be plenty of ice by the holidays, last year I had to travel to South Dakota to find some ice to scratch the ice fishing itch.  Not this year, Mother Nature has been kind, and I love the 10 day forecast!!!

Be safe out there and be sure to take the proper safety materials with you each and every time on the ice:

Buddy System~~~Rope~~~Flotation Device~~~Ice Picks

First Ice: December 11th

Last open water fish: November 26th

Time to Brush-Up on what your VEXILAR is telling you

Fall wasn't here long in Iowa, and I sure hope that winter shows up quickly.  Neighboring states are on the ice or getting very close as I publish this.  Iowa ice anglers, our turn will be next.  It is time to get the gear ready and brush-up on our electronics that will help us this ice season.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to present a seminar at the new Clear Lake Bait and Tackle shop representing Vexilar.  At this event I presented to about 60 anxious ice anglers trying to gather as much information as they could to help them land a few extra fish this upcoming ice fishing season.  Each and every time I present tips and tricks about using a Vexilar to its fullest, I see the same "ah-ha" looks in the crowd.  I want to pass along the biggest items that anglers at my seminars learn from so you too can learn and catch more fish using your Vexilar.

VEXILAR Tip #1

As ice anglers we choose to use electronics to help us tell us many things.  In this illustration we can see a Vexilar read-out with the bottom being at about 12 feet.  We also see that our jig is at the 10 foot level in the water column.  The part that is the most important is the green line showing us a fish is below us.  Remember, green and yellow lines are signals that are away from the center of the signal from the Vexilar transducer.  So, the fish signal shows up at about 11 feet of water, but as we can see in the picture the fish is actually swimming at 10 feet.  This illustration shows/reminds us that we always need to fish above any green or yellow mark on the Vexilar.  If you need more information about this picture or tip, just drop me an email.  I will also be at Hank's Bait and Tackle Ice Fishing Open House November 30th.  

Photo Credit: www.vexilar.com

Fall river fishlng

As November fades away, so does another season.  Fall has come and gone but it wasn't without some fantastic river fishing.  Largemouth started the fall season, but when the calendar turned to November, the smallmouth showed up and they were plentiful.  Depending on the current of the river and the weather for the day smallmouth found there way into the boat time after time.  The Hot Rod Baits tubes were fantastic and when the weather wasn't the best, small finesse worms fooled the smallies.  It was a blast sharing the Ranger and the small jon boat on the river with family and friends.







As Thanksgiving approaches my attention has once again turned towards ice fishing.  I'm not saying that all my Quantum rods and reels are put away, but the time is certainly right around the corner for just that.

Late October Fishing

Fall is in full force, and so is the fall bite for bass.  Like clockwork each year as the water cools, the rivers around the Midwest heat up!  I have shared time at the Mississippi River and Wapsipinicon River this last month and I wouldn't have it any other way.  Whether it was a quick couple hours after work, or an entire afternoon, these rivers have not disappointed once.  This past weekend I have the privilege to hit the Wapsi on Saturday for a little while and targeted smallmouth bass.  They have been hitting well and hanging near the current seams.  Spinnerbaits, and Texas rigged tubes have worked really well all month long.  It was no different for these smallies today.  Fish after fish came aboard the boat on this beautiful day, it isn't often you can fish in a t-shirt on October 29th.

The following day on the Wapsi I hooked up the jon boat and went in search of largemouth bass.  I never caught one the previous day, and I figured the smaller boat would get me into some backwaters to search out the green bass.  I used the same exact 2 Quantum PT combos from the previous smallmouth trip, but today it was all green bass.  It was so typical of fall river fishing.  Get out of the current, but close to it and you will find largemough bass.  Today though, the largemouth bass were really wanting the Hot Rod Baits tube, they wouldn't chase the spinnerbait like their smallmouth cousins did the day before.  I never caught a smallmouth all day long, totally different habitat was focused on, which led to totally different fish living there.  One day hooking smallmouth bass, the next hooking largemouth bass, river fishing...it is simply the BEST!