Fishing Reports by Jeff Jensen
Jeff Jensen is an avid fisherman.  He has shared his experience and fishing adventures with all on the InDepthOutdoors.com website.  In cooperation with the InDepthOutdoors website, Jeff has agreed to make this information available to the Cassville website.  His experiences on the Cassville area waters show the excellent potential for trophy fish of all species.  Enjoy Jeff's experiences and feel free to email any questions to Jeff at Jensen3@chorus.net.
 
FISHING REPORTS

Lake Vermillion fall muskies

by Jeff Jensen on 10/26/2009

Mikes new 50 inch pb tank!
One year ago, Bob Bowman invited me to fish Lake Vermillion in northern Minnesota. Not one to pass up "once in a life time" offers, I accepted. That trip will always be remembered as the gasoline that was tossed on the musky fire! Big fish seen, a few netted for Bob and fishing a lake that looked like it came out of a Canadian fly in brochure. Had to go back!!


Toms new pb 53
incher.......there's always
a story Tom!
Talking(shaming) my long time best friend, Tom, into making the run, this time pulling my rig, a good start was made Wednesday afternoon. Things were running smoothly until the sun went down. No running lights on the trailer! Had brake, directional and flasher lights but zip for runners. Pulled off, checked it out but couldn't find the hidden broken wire. Not a good thing, especially running a busy interstate with fast flying- bumper riding semis sharing the lanes with you.
Not wanting to lose any time, a quick remedy was brought into play. Never over estimate the power of two Rayovac flashlights with red Sharpie markered lens covers transfixed (electrical tape) directly above your trailer lights. Running the rest of the way in the rain and snow did make for some white knuckle wheel time but we did arrive in one piece. Now it was time to check in, have a sip of something and catch a few hours sleep before Bob and the crew arrived early the next morning.

Thurday morning, Bob and Mike pulled in dragging that familiar nice looking Ranger behind them. Joining them were Tim and Max pulling another rig. After the quick greetings and how are ya s it became evident, this crew was ready to huck their arms off while looking for that monster of a life time.......you could see it in their eyes! Pretty awesome to be present with a group like that, I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. Finally, the boats were slipped and ready to run the short river leading to musky waters.


Great release Mike!
First area was a big reef complex that held fish last year. Bob and Mike starting on one end, Tom and myself on another. Seeing one fish in deep water shot my hopes up right out of the gate, didn't get a great look at him though and as it turned out that was the only fish seen on that particular pile of rock. Bob and Mike took off, Tom and I stayed and made another circle. About an hour later my cell rang, when I saw Bowman on the caller ID it could only mean good things. Mike had just drilled a big fish! Getting a few directions and punching in a waypoint the Tuff was planed and on a mission. Getting the great story from Mike and seeing the pic off of Bobs digital was quite the moment, one of them "fire a guy up" moments if you know what I mean.
We did see a few more followers around that area(one bruiser) but for the most part it was turning into be a pretty tough day..... beautiful sunny day, but tough sledding for bites!

Day two will always be remembered as the "why the heck aren't they destroying our baits" kind of a day. Picture this, late fall, big musky waters, steady water temps at 46deg., dark skies with a chance of precipitation and a good healthy chop. A day esox junkies dream of right? Sorry Charlie, the musky gods stacked the deck and threw you a seven-deuce. One absolute tank seen on my third cast that morning shooting my "game on" hopes right to the moon. Yep, you guessed it, not another fish seen the entire rest of the day...WHAT THE HECK!! ......stupid musky gods!
After getting back and talking to the crew is when we found out it was tough hucking for everyone. The only thing we could really nail down as an explanation(or good excuse) was the steady, two day east wind we were having. Never did like east winds, not on the lakes nor the Mississippi river. The old time saying, "winds east, fish bite the least" showed it's ugly faced truth and tried throwing a wrench into our water works. Lucky we had one more day to turn the tables!


Geared up and ready
After two days of hucking huge baits with out a hook up the mind tends to play little tricks on you on where to go next. Basically, there was only one option....go back early and throw to the hoss that was spotted the day before. Got on top of that fish at first light and threw him the full menu, that fish was a big no show.
After letting the breeze float us around for awhile the new Lowrance H2OC was brought out and a search for some shallow stone fields began. Spotting a point that looked like it had some type of shallower structure, a short trek was made. Running the Terrova over some nice looking boulders is when I happen to glance up at Tom right when he inhales a muffled, "OOOH"!!. That fish was sitting in less than 4ft. of rocks and came up and destroyed Toms big white Sue. Good hook set, the fish came in nicely but forgot to stop, easily gliding right under the boat. Tom, doing a good job of turning the beast and me with shaky net in hand watched as the girl came out of hiding, slowly turned and slide right into the net. What a sight and even a better feeling netting my best friends new personal best 53"! After the usual chaotic hook removal and pics the girl was slid back to boatside and worked over. Took about a minute but she slowly started to move then gave that tail whip that shot her back to the darks. Oh yeah!!
The rest of the day went back to being the usual tough stuff. Fishing new stones, throwing the rack at them...just plain couldn't get them to go.

Bob Bowman, thanks a ton for the invite again. Best of luck the rest of the season and I hope you have a chance to shatter that pb......now that would be a hell of a fish!
Nice to meet you Mike and big time congrats on that tank of a pb. Catching it on a bait made by yourself had to be very sweet. Glad we were in on your day!
Tim and Max....what can I say, you guys are absolute musky maniacs. A real good time chatting with you two.Keep your hot streak going Tim, hoping to see a few more pics before ice ruins the dance.

Driving south on the eight hour drive home is when I started thinking about those musky gods again. Dealing us rags the entire trip was their plan all along but for one hand they screwed up and dealt us bullets. Sorry boys but don't you know that it only takes winning one huge pot to come out ahead?

Have a great fall everyone!


Location : Minnesota
Water Body : Vermillion
Species : muskie
Water Temp : 46
Technique : casting


Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers report

by Jeff Jensen on 08/15/2009

Dels 28"
Only two things were clear last week.

1. Vacation was going to be based out of the camper at River of Lakes resort.

2. Thorough knowledge in that the solo, four day game plan was going to be......... I had no idea!


.
Arrived Sunday night, the temps were on the rise ...finally. What a strange year it has been. Seriously, never sparking the central air up once for the month of July, are you kidding me? Great for comfort, strange for predictable patterns.

Seeking a little nostalgia, a bee line was made to the fish cleaning shack, see what the heck is happening.
Peering in to the two barrels after hearing the familiar brick-weighted screen door slam showed little encouragement. A few small gills, some smaller channels and a bass or two were knifed with plenty of the plastic barrel bottoms exposed. Looked like a challenging week was ahead!
This report will cover the lower Wisconsin river walleye bite and then jump back to the Mississippi pike, bass and panfish status.


29"
Lower Wisconsin river
---------------------

A few months back my good friend Del mentioned how much he liked the looks and potential of the quoted "hardest working river in the nation", the Wisconsin river. Plans were drawn.
Wed. am.
Anyone who knows the Wisconsin can relate to this. The river has been low, shallow sand bars and exposed wood were making for navigation nightmares. Under this premise I was having second thoughts in the logic on why I ditched my flat bottom earlier this season while replacing it with the Alumacraft 16ft. lunker. This river loves to abuse V bottoms not to mention the inflicted abuse on props and lower units.
Arriving however, I noticed the water was running higher than just a few days before. A little on the dirty side but that was okay.
Running a familiar stretch of deep wood with cranks produced zip, the current was too harsh. Time to change it up! Priority one, find cleaner water. Two, find the seams with less current.
Finding a small chute up river that usually has just a trickle flow in low water was now running well. Not only that, the vast expanse of a sand flat feeding this cut filtered out some grime. Looked right! Game plan...anchor up and cast. Pull anchor, slip down, repeat.
Del started out with a shallow x rap, myself a jointed shad rap. Dels second cast gets crushed! Okay, been fooled before by flatheads on this river but deep down I had a hunch this one was a big marble. Anchored and in good current the 28" eye put on a fight to remember. Nice start. A few more saugers and eyes fell to Dels X rap in that chute before things tamed down with yours truly not getting a bump. Grumphhh!
Knowing we had all day to explore made making the next move a little easier.
Next stop, a small creek outlet with a small seam behind a small point. Remember, sometimes big things can come in small packages. After changing up to a 1\4oz.black Draggin jig
http://www.bfishntackle.com/draggin_jigs.html with a purple lizard, a cast was made to the point. Dropping off down to 10ft. is when that familiar strong twitch was felt. One of those electric twitches that leaves little doubt that your rod WILL bend after sweeping the stick...man does a guy live for that or what?
This fish was strong and in big time current! The Avid mlxf along with the Pfleueger supreme held up flawlessly and after a ten minute show down the second big fish of the day, 29", was netted, taped and released. Two great fish with two memorable battles.
Things went a little south for the rest of the day, alot of waters explored but with the sun gaining intensity the bite tapered.
A fantastic day shared with an old friend, one not ever to be forgotten.


.buddy Jim with a nice
fanged beast
Pike
-----

Back to old man river. The big pike for my boat were elusive. Good numbers however with the majority in that 25" class. Guessing that around thirty pike came to the boat all being caught on oversized spinnerbaits and remanufactured chatter baits.
Never hit the bass too hard this week but always liked taking my chances knowing that a monster bass could take the huge pike offering at any time. Come on fall!!

Panfish
-------


Think deep wood with a little flow. Took a few days of chasing but finally found some fish.
My father came down on Thursday wanting a few for his and my moms supper. Boy, talk about pressure to try and feed the family. Noticing a root system exposed in the middle of an 8 ft. running chute a few days prior while hucking big baits drew me back with the long rod and crawlers, ice jig box and plenty of ice cold 12 oz.ers.
Dad started popping gills right away with a mini mite while I started to get bit by thick sided crappies with a moon-glo. A nice bag of 15 panfish were iced. Talk about another special outing! Yep, owe it all to Dad, if it wasn't for him then this report would no doubt never exist. What a pleasure catering to Dad. Taking him out in MY boat while cleaning and bagging up his fillets. My reward? Being enlightened by the old stories of family, his wonderful comedic timing while telling a joke and just seeing the look of pride and deep satisfaction on his 79 year old face while enjoying the passion of fishing, the same passion that he so wonderfully taught us at the University of River of Lakes.

Have a great season everyone!

Location : Wisconsin
Water Body : Pool 10- Wisc. river
Species : walleye
Water Temp : 78
Stage : 9.99
Technique : casting

Mississippi river panfish-pool 10

by Jeff Jensen on 05/26/2009

Stealth rewards!
There was a question last week in the "general discussion" forum, relating to the blugill spawn down here on pool 10. At that time, my boat had yet to chase the shallow bulls so an effort during the holiday w-end was in order.


Sneak attack
During the spawn, one of my favorite and more relaxing ways to hunt down brawny gills is to slowly cruise inviting looking shorelines with the shallow boat while making mental notes to key locations. After a few inviting areas are pegged down is when the flat boat is beached, the long rod-spinning combo is broke out and the chest waders put on.


Once found,see what they
WON'T eat.
Setting up like this the last few seasons has produced some of my more enjoyable and satisfying outings during the shallow water spawn.
Pinning it down to one specific reason on why to wade is hard to do, the advantages and rewards are too many.
Senses seem to magnify the second you slide out of the boat, sounds become a little more acute, enhanced sights and aromas then follow suit leaving you with that rare feeling that nothing is more important than being exactly where you are at that time in your life. Simply put......Great fun!


"Eagles lookout"
spawning bed.
While slowly making your way from spot to spot, be sure to stop often, look and listen. The first located bed was heard first and not seen. Hearing that familiar pop-slurp of a feeding gill nearby made it easy to hone in on the area and connect with a dozen purple bull bug eaters.

Finding finicky gills during any other time of the season would usually lead me to discuss what bait presentation was used. At this time of year however, as many of you know, it simply doesn't matter what you drop in front in front of nest guarders. Jigs, bare hooks, worms, plastics.....you name it. Colors? Forget about it! The main question would be....what is it in your ice jig box that they won't hit?

When searching in stealth mode I do like to start off with a moon-glo with a healthy piece of fresh crawler. After a bed is found is when I'll switch over to gulp maggots, just a little quicker is all.
The set up used is actually a versatile 9ft. Zander rod matched up with an Okuma spinning reel. Like to load up fairly heavy for line to deal with the occasional bass and pike so have stuck to 8lb. power pro. Line diameter seems to be of zero importance. These bad boys, I'm sure, would hit a bait attached to bailing twine if dropped into their living room.

Seemed that the males are in the early stages right now, a few fat females were caught out in the deeper 4ft. area so it's just a matter of time before it gets wild. A little late this year so with the waters warming quickly the spawn won't last long. A good solid week and these fish will have things wrapped up so if a shot at some mean gills is what you're after then you better make a move.

Catch and release? This of course goes without saying, everyone knows how simple it is to wipe out a school this time of year......please be very selective. The gills on the mighty river are in pretty good shape, population wise, but numbers of larger gills have been hard to come by. Hopefully with selective harvest those 8-10 inchers will become more abundant.
Do yourself a favor, if you love big gills as much as yours truly, set yourself up with a pair of waders and reconnect yourself to simpler times. Silent, sneaky but most of all.......deadly!

Good luck and get them kids out!



Location : Wisconsin
Water Body : Miss. river
Species : panfish
Water Temp : 70
Stage : 8.00
Flow : 384
Technique : jigging

Opening day , SW.Wisconsin

by Jeff Jensen on 05/04/2009

Garys first walleye.
Our much anticipated opening day canoe run is now in the books. Hitting a popular major stream in lower Grant county were myself and good friend Tom along with 3 other canoes.


The old originators, Mush
and Del.
For 30 plus seasons our little tradition has always helped us kick off the inland season while being served up a warm slice of Ma Nature.
The greens just starting to show, turkeys gobbling, migrating warblers making their presence known in the sparse foilage. What a perfect set up!


Gary, Tom, Jessie, Mush,
Jeff, Del, Jimmie and Fish.
Thanks again guys!
The river on this day was in pristine shape. Good clarity with warming temps replaced the less than ideal scenario the week prior. Heavy rains produced a mud bath of flow just 5 days earlier leaving our crew to wonder if conditions would be less than ideal for our brown bass pursuit.
The rains did us a favor and conditions dried up quickly however. Amazing how streams are capable of such speedy recoveries.
After launching our time worn canoes early morning , handing out the normal warm greetings and good to see ya s is when the snoopy patrol took over.
Always check out what is on the business end of the rods when floating with a group of wiley ol vets. Better yet, when the unsuspecting wade off for a few more casts or while they are popping the cooler lid, that is the perfect time to innocently rifle through their prized smallie box. Not that I would be capable of such mayhem but have heard of such under handed tactics being displayed


Memories await.
As far as the fishing..........a really good bite! Female smallies were not present yet but the males were starting to gang up well. Small cranks in natural patterns, spinners of different types and of course the plastics all produced.
A few of the guys started pitching the draggin jigs for the first time with rave reviews. Plastic of choice-ringworms!
For clean water the new gold cracker- chartreuse tail is gaining popularity fast.
Strange how some bites vary through the years. Earlier in the morning I was dragging live crawlers on the draggin jigs with limited results. After switching over to gold cracker it was bronze on baby!
The river walleyes were hard to come by this year but a few were caught by our new comer Gary. Gary , a Maine boy, has always wanted to nab a walleye. Falling short of this feat last year on the Mississippi is what made watching him catch two on this trip all the more special. Nothing large but watching these Canada gold like river eyes slide into awaiting hands makes for unique little memories.
Another awesome trip, the canoes lost a little more paint, one or two extra dents perhaps, but what a small price to pay.
Shore lunch? All fish released, didn't want them to get in the way of the marinated tenderloin on a fresh onion roll, topped off with a well melted slab of 5 yr. aged cheddar. Washed down with ice cold beverages from Milwaukee made it perfect.
Good luck everyone and if you ever get in the mood for something relaxing, float a stream. You never know, traditions have to start somewhere.



Location : Wisconsin
Water Body : Major stream
Species : bass
Water Temp : 59
Technique : jigging

Mississippi river, pool 10 bass and more

by Jeff Jensen on 04/20/2009

Outlet toad!
With water temps spiking into the mid to upper fifties this past week end the blade baits and 3 way set ups were placed to the back of the storage boxes while being replaced with spinner baits, plastics and other assorted bass and pike baits.


post spawn ring worm fish
Setting up in a new location with our camper at River of Lakes resort, south of Prairie Du Chein, Wisc. injected a fresh batch of enthusiasm for the clan. Friday was, without a doubt, the longest work day of the year.
Leaving the Tuffy behind, the flat bottom was pulled from storage to help out with the task of navigating the shallow back bays. The 25 hp.Merc started instantly and quickly two boys and myself were off to knock the rust off of our long casting skills.


Spring......gator time!
Hitting our familiar sloughs the bass weren't cooperating until getting closer to the farthest back reaches of the warmest waters. Most fish were caught very shallow with weeds and lumber being used for cover. White and chartreuse, single colorados were the boys bait of choice.

The improvement in casting skills the boys have made the last few years has been a pure joy to witness. A little competion from an 11 yr.old brother remarkably can hone a nine year olds hucking ability. Not just the casting either, I can see Cams ability in recognizing cover is improving while also waiting for certain angles before casting. Cool stuff!

Along with the shallow bite, there is another alternate pattern this time of year that should never be overlooked. A location that will not only school up the bass in huge numbers but attract post spawn walleyes and saugers as well.


Always fun to watch this
kid!
Creeks!

This is the time of spring that minnows start to congregate in the cleaner, warmer outlets. Hungry fish await!
Like stated, pre spawn bass and post spawn walleyes and saugers will be stuffing their bellies on the same school of bait fish. The best part, doesn't matter what you select for baits. Rattle traps, cranks, any type of spinners and plastics of course. With the clean water, natural colors are the first to get tied on.
While fishing with the boys and niece on Saturday a secret plan was being laid out in my mind.
Waking to the first hint of light Sunday morning and being very sneaky - quiet as to not wake the troops, my other boy, Max the lab, and myself jumped in the lowe and headed out.
Anchoring slightly above an outlet and working the new color ringworm, gold cracker- chart. tail on an 1\8oz. gold draggin jig produced instant results. Swimming the bait shallow and knowing it was getting close to dropping into the main ditch is where that familiar tic took place. Sweeping the rod and hooking up felt great. After a few seconds this fish told me she wasn't a bass. Deep fight with slower head shakes told me that I just tied into the first post spawn sauger of the season. After a very short struggle a twenty in. sauger slid into the net. Wow, did she look tired! Pencil thin and in pretty rough shape. Took a while to revive her but she finally swam off.

The bass on the other hand were in beautiful shape. Very aggressive with the smaller fish making themselves airborn upon hookset. Nothing enormous on this morning but the numbers were unreal. A few in the 16" range but most hovering in that legal range. Big fish do hangout in these outlets with my younger brother Steve proving that later in the day. Sneaking back and throwing slightly larger baits is when the bass of the week-end destroyed Steves white Terminator.
Really had an enjoyable week-end. After a less than stellar walleye bite in my boat this spring it was great to slow down, relax a bit and get the sticks bent with regularity. Love the springs rejuvinating powers!



Location : Wisconsin
Water Body : Mississippi river
Species : bass
Water Temp : 56
Technique : casting

Pool 11 backwater panfish report

by Jeff Jensen on 12/13/2008

Cams first of the year.
After being trapped in an ice shack last week-end our wish for today was to get out and face the ice gods without a nylon roof overhead.


Playing with long stick
bulls
Waking up to increasing temps and overcast skies were all the signs needed to help pick up the pace, double check my son Cams gear and fly out the door before that first hint of light.

Meeting up with JD Welder our initial target was going to be a small secluded bay that we hoped would be semi-protected from wind and roving eyes. Turned out that the fish that were caught in this spot last season didn't care to renew the lease and left us with a vacant pond.

Gathering our gear we headed to a large area that can be productive one day but ultra tough the next.
With a handful of other ice guys scattered around we stayed off of the edge of a 3ft.shallow flat and concentrated on the taper dropping into 5-7ft. of water.
A few specks were nailed off the bat but the two lx5s that Dan and I were using told us to consider a move.


11 years old and hooked for
life!
Grabbing gear and heading to the opposite side of the flat turned out to be the last set up of the day. Drilling a run of holes, starting in 3ft. and eventually dropping out to 6-7ft. is where the hungry gills awaited.
Being quickly joined by Cam and Dan, the Marcums got cranked up, the long stix came out and the hole hopping fun began.
When hitting the gills today, the Marcum lx5 proved its worth once more. Viewing the screen you would seldom see higher riding marks. What you would see is very faint yellow slashes on the very bottom reading. Working the jig deep, pounding the mud then lifting the bait slowly would often produce that green bar which in turn would turn to that wonderful hot red with the follow up thump.


Cam was our technician. What
great fun for a kid when
things slow down!
Had a chance to try out a new long stick today too. Yesterday I picked up a 5ft.ul Lightning Rod, matched it up with an Okuma Hardstone spinning reel spooled with 2lb.Trilene ice. Attached a small frabil spring on the business end, balanced it out and presto, another sweet little number added to the gear!
Plenty of action with more than enough for a mess or two with countless pannies going back down the hole.

Sitting along side Cam toward the end of the day is when he looks me in the eyes and says..."man I love ice fishing."
By the look and huge smile on his face I could tell he meant every word.

Location : Wisconsin
Water Body : Mississippi river
Species : panfish
Water Temp : 33
Technique : ice fishing

Mississippi river pool 11 walleye report

by Jeff Jensen on 11/17/2008

Long time friend Rodney and
myself with a fast double.
Waking up Sunday morning the first thing accomplished was a wind check. A morning walleye trip was scheduled with a long time friend and I wasn't sure if I felt like getting the daylights kicked out of me as I did on Saturday.

Saturday was a day of frustration; raw, howling north winds made it tough. Working wingdams with the elecric has always been my favorite method but when you can't hold, even on high power, it makes a guy start to question his game plan. Getting out of the wind and working a deep secondary chute produced a few smaller, vertical saugers but my heart just wasn't in it. Knowing that tomorrow was another day made it easier to go back , load up the fireplace and channel surf college ball.


Purple white tail ring worm
victim.
Rejuvenation time Sunday morning, flat calm! For all of you river guys who love to hammer the wingdams you'll know where I'm coming from. When north winds gust it makes it hard to see rocks. When it is flat calm it can also make it tough locating the structure. There is a small remedy that I have used through time that can quickly turn things around on flat days.
Approaching one end of the winger from down river at roughly half throttle, turn your rig and run down stream side parallel with the dam. The wake made by your rig will roll over the dams creating that perfect turbulence. Stay at least 50ft. below the dams when throwing a wake and please, by all means know where you're at at all times. The scour behind most dams is usually deep but being comfortable with a familiar location is a must. Never try this on an unfamiliar rockpile! Creating your own visual aid I believe can have more than one benefit. Going on pure speculation mind you, it seems that rolling turbulence can move and scatter bait making walleyes go on little feeding runs. Could a guy catch as many walleyes without making waves? Probably, but the sight of the structure is not present, making a guy rely entirely on his electronics and land marks. Do you think it scares feeding fish? Not from my experience. Simply, just a sneaky little trick that gives a guy another option on reading the river.


What a bonus, hard to leave
fish like this!
On with the bite! Hooking up with Rodney, an old walleye crony of mine, both of us were antsy to pitch the plastic and dance with the blades.
Lately the blade bite has been good but today ,with the water temps on a steady decline, the steel took a back seat to the subtle swim of the ringworms. Staying above the rock with the Terrova and moving along at a snails pace kept the 1|4 oz. draggin jigs in the eyes face all day. Rodney had a good day making long casts and sweeping the faces. Most fish caught were right at the base with only a few riding up on the stones. Not huge numbers caught but a dozen golden walleyes made it to the net by days end. Every fish today were in that 20-22 in.range. Nothing bigger-nothing smaller. Putting big walleyes in the boat this fall on pool 11 has just not happened yet. Staying away from the tail races this time of year , concentrating on size, not numbers has been good for me in the past....not this season. Good quality fish have shown from time to time but nothing in that 28-30 in. range. Times running out!


Very hungry when you find
em!
Along with ol marble eyes there were two different schools of smallies that we stumbled into yesterday. One wingdam had fish stacked from the far inside all the way out to the depths of the main channel. Voracious appetites!
Walleyes were at the top of the list today but believe me, it was hard to vacate these fish. Talk about powerful! Alot of bass coming in at the 18-19in. mark with the bulk in that legal 14-16in. range. What a hoot!
Having mentioned that, this leaves me with a question to all of IDO...........when finding tons of bait and an aggressive school of smallies, do you believe that the bass will drive the eyes off of the rocks? Remember, talking big time fall smallie schools here. Could almost picture them brown meanies hogging all of the shad to themselves. I guess the real question would be........have you ever caught quality bass and quality walleyes off of the same autumn fished wing dam at the same time? Curious to hear everyones opinion when it comes to smallie-walleye cohabitation.

Good luck to all of IDO and best of luck to my fellow Wisconsinites in next weeks deer opener. I'll be on stand of course but with the forcast of 40 degrees for Saturday I'll no doubt be thinking of white tips instead of white tails!



Location : Wisconsin
Water Body : Mississippi river
Species : walleye
Water Temp : 41
Technique : pitching / flipping

Mississippi river pool 11 walleyes

by Jeff Jensen on 11/01/2008

Blade fish
When a person thinks of Halloween it's usually thoughts of dark, blustery skies with cold, windy temps. Not this year!

Friday brought on a rare fall day indeed with warm temps and glassy waters. Not the most productive type of conditions for chasing wingdam walleyes but a guy just has to suffer through it. With my school shut down for the day (Why.... didn't care- didn't ask) the plan was to run and gun a few rockpiles looking for aggressive fish.


Neutral fish?.....rip a
blade!
Having called Dave Koonce, former owner of BFishN tackle,and asking if he wanted to drop down a pool and be my co-pilot for the day, arrangements were made. Dave was at my doorstep before first light, giving us a great head start.
Hitting a dam that has been holding a huge number of shad and pin minnows was our first stop. Staying above the winger with the Terrova and making long casts with the cranks produced a few nice walleyes. As the morning grew older the stripers moved in providing some nice action, just not the action we were looking for so a move was made south to grind on some different rock.


Another eye , orange has
been hard to beat!
Still going with the assorted crankbaits and covering the shallow tops just plain didn't cut it for the next few hours. The bass were there along with the usual sheephead, carp and other sorts but Dave and I knew that the walleyes were in hiding deeper on the rocks. The weatherman predicted slight winds for the day but the smooth, polished water remained, leaving us with little option but to change up our presentation.


BfishN blades save the day.
Running back into Cassville for a quick burger and beverage(which was an adventure in itself) is where Dave and I decided to break out the blades after lunch and aggressivley attack the faces and bases of the structure........good choice!
Casting to the tops and pumping the blades upon bottom contact stirred up some walleyes in a hurry. Be sure to cover the top, face and base of the rockpile. When working the base spend a little extra time, not too much but a few extra rips then quickly reel in and pitch again. Dave and I didn't get into the bruisers that everyone hopes for this time of year but we were tagging walleyes that were coming on something different, walleyes that responded to a totally different presentation.

Dave brought along some great looking blades from BfishN Tackle. With the water clarity taking a slight turn toward the dingy side I opted to start out with the bright orange-red tiger in 1\2 oz. Dave was working the 1\4oz.firetiger but changed up quickly after seeing two fish come to the net within minutes apart on the orange. Two other fish were nailed down off of the same rockpile before we had to leave for trick or treat festivities but not before realizing that an alternate pattern was found for the rest of the fall.
It was a pleasure having Dave Koonce in the rig with me for the day. For anyone not knowing Dave personally, I can assure you that this guy really knows the game and can quickly adapt to what the walleyes are looking for. His arsenal of tackle along with having that "finicky bite" touch was a blast to witness first hand.
Thanks for bringing the awesome proto-type colors on those draggin jigs Dave, we certainly have to do that again!



Location : Wisconsin
Water Body : Mississippi river
Species : walleye
Water Temp : 47
Stage : 4.50
Flow : 24
Technique : pitching / flipping

Mississippi river, pool 10 bass report

by Jeff Jensen on 09/14/2008

Jack and Dan Tessman
"JD Welder" with a
nice double.
Friday evening, after a pretty warm and sticky day, my youngest son Jack and I were carrying out plans to hit the southern end of pool 10 for a week end of top water bassin.

The river was looking terrific with the pads and moss still holding on to that deep September green color. The water clarity was the best I have seen all season making it easy to spot schools of bait being chased and recognizing castable structure.


Jack and a
spinnerbait.....fun to
watch!
Setting my youngest up with a 6 1\2 ft.MH spinning out fit with 20lb. power pro provided Jack with a good casting rig ,light enough for his comfort but strong enough to horse the bass when he needed to. Jack had some good action with an all chartreuse spinner bait, single silver blade with the a bright green K-Grub trailer. Other baits that provided on and off action were the green scum frogs, Moss Bosses and 1\2 oz.swim jigs. Usually white or chatreuse are comparable but this week end the fish were really on the brighter green pattern.



Jack was a trooper this
week end, he earned every
fish!
Sunday morning, Dan Tessman came along for the ride for a half day of bassin. Heavy rains the day before tinged the channel and running chutes a bit but nothing too bad.

Wanting to find the cleanest water possible we headed south to a huge backwater and tucked ourselves in on the far north end for our starting point. Great water clarity!

With the morning being overcast and a good NW wind blowing, the bass seemed to be a little spread out. We found the fish to be cruising the open water a little more not having to relate to the heavier cover. Casting to the smaller clumps of pads instead of the main weed lines seemed to work about the best.
Watching Jack in the middle and Big Dan in the front of the flat bottom was very exciting. (ok, dangerous!) How either one of those two never recieved a spinnerbait nose ring is way beyond me. After a few casts, both Dan and I were on full alert while playing Jacks favorite game called "ChuckandDuck". All turned out well, no serious body piercings on this day.


Pool 10 has been great this
season for teeth! Gotta
love their attitude!
A great week end with my little guy! For all of you out there who have kids I'm sure you would agree how special it is when you can get them out.... one on one! Not having to be the boat referee while breaking up sibling quarrels is kind of nice too.
A few nice bass came to the boat, quite a few pike too but the larger schools have not developed yet. The water is still in the mid sixties but you know how fast that can change. The fall colors are starting to appear on the bluffs, the jet skis and week end partiers are vanishing leaving the river wide open. What a great time of year!
Now, for the all important question. What should a guy do this fall? Walleyes, panfish, bass and pike? Mabe try for some fattened up catfish? Hit the smaller wooded streams for some great action? Did I say woods? Great, how about some bow hunting? Should take the boys after squirrels this year too! Oh crap, haven't pheasant hunted for awhile, that sounds like fun! Ducks are flying, better get the lab ready! Whoa..........I need help!



Location : Wisconsin
Water Body : Mississippi river
Species : bass
Water Temp : 66
Stage : 7.10
Technique : topwater

Pool 10, Mississippi river Pike

by Jeff Jensen on 08/03/2008

8 year old Jacks new PB!
After a long, hot and humid work week I packed up my two boys and made the short trip north to our camper on lower pool 10. Reports were coming in from family that the Pike were on a tear with the above 80 degree water temps. Yes! One of my absolute favorite times of the open water season!


11 yr.old Cams smallest of
the night. Ha Ha little
buddy,you finally didn't
outfish us.
Usually, right around the 4th of July is when the "teeth" get ornery but as many of you that fish the Mississippi know, things are a little behind this year.
Heading down river, my trusty flat bottom and the ever popular 25hp.Mercury were creating that perfect late summer breeze.
I could see from my two boys faces that they were just as excited as the old man with my youngest boy Jack already "white knuckling" his rod, anticipating that first cast.
Mentioning earlier that the river is behind a bit this year brings up another point.That is the lack of the huge lily pad fields that are usually prevalent.I don't know if it is too late in the growing season for them to recover but one things for sure, the back waters look a heck of alot bigger without them! Hopefully the floods of 08 only did some seasonal damage to this vital growth and that next year the pads will be back, strong as ever.

Question to my IDO River rats........Have you noticed the lack of pad fields up and down the board on the river?
If so, in your view, what has this done to fish locations and how have you adjusted in fishing different structure?


Hot summer night pike, thats
the good kind of slime.
Sliding into one of my favorite spring fed bays, my boys and I were thrilled to see, or not see, another boat around. Quietly poling the flat boat through the dense duck wart and heavy moss is when the true summer time smells of old man river took hold and like magic sent me back 40 years. Back to when I was only 8 and MY Dad was the one pushing the boat. The same man, who at the time, was casting almost the same identical rig that I had tied on just a few minutes before. I always looked at Dad with admiration when he hucked that big old Johnson spoon and pork frog using a heavy rod, black braided line spooled on to a big baitcaster reel.
Looking down I noticed that I had along my side a baitcaster with black braided line, attached to a 7 1\2'heavy rod and a big Johnson silver spoon. Wow,full circle thing going for sure!


When an 8yr.old releases his
pb pike and it gives him a
tail splash,this is the look
you get!
My oldest son Cam was the first to say, "Dad, nobody has been here in awhile". When casting Pike in weedy backwaters the first thing you notice are the tell tale signs of lines in the moss from other peoples baits. Our bay was devoid of these depressing lines giving me a hunch that this could be a night that my boys would remember for a lifetime.
The action started a little slow but knowing the pike were there I just told the boys to keep on casting. After the first fifteen minutes Cam finally rolled a good fish deep in the weed mat.Then Jack had a hit on his new favorite lure, the kid friendly Moss boss. For the next hour the Muskies little cousins went on a plain ol hit anything that swims feeding binge!
After the bite slowed down we ended up with five pike in the net for photo ops and release with tons of blow ups! Jack ended the night with his new personal best 32"er that missed his bait at least 6 times before finally gettting hooks.
I tell ya, if you've never taken a kid out after these water wolves you should really think about it.You will find out that putting them in the net is only a bonus, just watching these short fused fish blow up a weed mat when there is a little kid on the other end of the stick is big time excitement.
Leaving the bay and traveling into an awesome sunset is when Jack said, "Dad,that was the best fishin ever, I Love you Dad". What can you say to that? I do know one thing for sure, I knew exactly how he felt.......Thanks Pops!



Location : Wisconsin
Water Body : Mississippi river
Species : pike
Water Temp : 81
Technique : pitching / flipping

Mille Lacs Lake Minnesota Smallmouth Bass Report

by Jeff Jensen on 06/23/2008

Tom with his new pb!
I'd like to take you back to a conversation between my best friend Tom and I four years ago on a return trip from Canada.
"Well Tom, suppose the boys are old enough to start taking our annual trips with us?
After a long pause Tom replied, "yeah, I knew it was coming but wasn't ready for it to be so soon."
A few miles down the road I looked at Tom and said, guess what buddy, it's not about us anymore!
Little did we know how much truth was in this off the cuff statement.
Gone are the days of getting up at first light, fishing around the clock and in general, just worrying about yourself.
Now it's a whole new ball game!
Two young novices now share the boat with Tom and I.
Toms son, 14yr.old Justin and my 11 yr.old son Cam.
Two outstanding boys who get along well and are slowly turning into be pretty good fishermen.
Two young boys who have replaced the solitude of big waters with constant chatter and questions pertaining to everything under the sun.
Chaotic? Yes,at times.
Frustrating? You bet!
Worth the trouble? A million times,Yes!


Cams new ,and one of many
personal bests!
Arriving at Hunters last Sunday to blue skies and calm waters, we were surprised nicely by an accommodation up-grade. A cancellation made it possible to stay at Georges old house instead of staying at the two bedroom cabin at the East Side Marina. Four bedrooms with plenty of storage area made it easy to spread out but the X-Box adaptable big screen clinched the deal for the boys.
Stowing our gear quickly we rushed out to the lake only to find out the wind had picked up, putting a damper in our pursuit of the big smallies. The boys were rigged up with spinner baits and different crankbaits but no smallies came to the boat the first night out. The waves were a little tough on Cam so we decided to call it a day and regroup .
Earlier, the week prior, I recieved some tremendous info from Ron B-"Sliderfishn" on some smallie locations for the pond. This info, along with biting the bullet and picking up a pound of jumbo leeches proved to be the main catalysts in putting the boys on some terrific bass action! Normally, Tom and I would never consider live bait on our trips but we really wanted to get the boys in on something special.
Finding a shallow boulder flat along with glassy waters, the boys were entertained in flipping their slip bobbers in front of these nest guarding hogs. Sight fishing these cruisers were the highlight of the week! Watching two youngsters trying to get that first cast in in front of the other made for some of the best laughs in a long time. After awhile, while on the deck operating the trolling motor,I had Cam and Justin on both flanks keeping a sharp eye out for "cruisers". Tom had the back of the boat all to himself chuckling to himself while enjoying refreshments and once in awhile picking his spots and casting to nice structure.Yep,the man was stressed out. You have to learn to take it a little easier pal.


Justin with his new stormy
pb!
Tube baits produced through the week of course but when the smoke cleared it was the jumbo leeches that saved the day. Boys being boys and not having that feel for the jigging game yet, slip bobbers with leeches turned out to be very kid friendly. Gone were the constant snags and re-tying of lead.
My son Cam, still being very leech sensitive, put on a clinic on snaring leeches out of a pail with needle nose pliers and sticking them on a hook. Knowing Justin was quick to re-bait all but made Cams mechanical skills improve dramatically throughout the week. Cam took the ribbing very well and after awhile I decided to just let it go, afterall, I don't think I was that fond of leeches either when I was eleven.
In one days time, both boys had their personal best smallies. The highlight of the trip came when the lads brought in a double that were netted in one scoop. Did I say net? You're darn right! There was no way that these bronze footballs were going to have the upper hand (fin) on us. It was just too important in getting these beauties into the boys hands so they could feel the weight,get their picture snapped and be able to release them to watch them swim off. Good stuff,a day Tom and I will never forget!


These Mille Lacs smallies
are incredible.Take the kids
and have a hoot!
A big Thank You goes out to Ron B (Sliderfishn)for pointing us in the right direction. You cut the learning curve down greatly for us Ron! "Just staff helping staff" is how Ron described it during a phone conversation. Now there's a stand up guy for ya! That statement alone really shows how important this site is for fishermen needing info on strange bodies of water. I owe you one Ron,you single handedly made the pond fish just a little smaller for us and that is huge!
I had the pleasure of meeting Bob Carlson before Hunters take off Friday morning. Thanks for taking the time to chat for awhile Bob and letting me in on some terrific smallie structure.Best of luck on the rest of your season.

A week to remember for sure! The weather was perfect, accommodations were first rate, incredible fishing and the meals ranking up there as the best of the year. Did I mention the crew, well,let's just say that more great memories were made with my son Cam and my other family, Tom and Justin Hore. Tom and I have been through alot on our solo fishing trips before the boys came along but after their arrival they actually have made the said statement,"it's not about us anymore" a lot easier to live with. Thanks guys!



Location : Minnesota
Water Body : Mille Lacs
Species : bass
Water Temp : 67
Technique : jigging

Pool 10 up-date.

Jeff Jensen 05/27/2008

Finally had a chance to get a day in at the camper yesterday.
The bassin guys are doing pretty well with fish coming on just about everything.Good quality fish.

Panfish have been hit and miss.The water continues to drop making it tough for the guys to stay on a consistant bite but big bulls are starting to show.The spawn is a few weeks behind this season.

Had a few hours to chase some walleyes yesterday .Most wingdams are still having strong current ripping over them but a few chutes did produce some quality fish. Looking for the seam with wood around were the areas that held fish.
This one attacked a minnow rap which has been a very impressive crank thus far.The action and profile of this bait should make it a go to crank in many situations.On a lighter set up they don't cast too bad either.

1211893876_stevedayeye.jpg


Small river canoe run

by Jeff Jensen on 05/18/2008

Tom with a fast water
scrapper.
Following a tradition going on 30 years a group of friends and family met with canoes and gear at our usual spot on a small,south west Wisconsin stream.
This has been the latest start we have ever had,our Wisc.opener was pushed back (by our choice) due to the high and very dirty water on the first Sat.of May.
Targeting smallies with the plastics and crankbaits has produced some exciting times on these smaller streams through the years with this week-end being no exception.
Greeted with a cloudless,warm morning the crew started to pick up fish right away.


Battle of the day!
The river is running very high at this time but the water clarity is exceptional.
Keys for picking up fish on these trips is making sure you have an adequate anchor that can stop you quickly.Reading the waters ahead and picking out the small seams and slower spawning areas then fishing them thoroughly led to alot of fiesty males.
As many of you know,smallies are a scrappy lot but added to that,fighting them while anchored along with the rapid current made for some great battles.
The females were another story.These girls are a little late showing this year,I believe out of 6 groups only two fat females were caught and released.As the water continues to drop and warm at the same time the small stream fishing should start heating up.



Bonus "white tip"!
A few bonus fish made their way into the canoe this year along with the smallies.
With the high flow, walleyes can migrate up this river chasing minnows along the way.Plenty of deep water along with unlimited bait supplies the eyes will set up camp and hopefully stay around for the season.
Usually,when the water cools in the fall the walleyes will head back to the big river but in the mean time make for pleasant surprises when smacking your crank bait.Catching a small river eye will usually have you stretching your tape in the 12"-16" range but yesterday I did connect with a 19 "er.This walleye smacked a jointed shad rap in Blue-silver 3 times before getting hooked up directly underneath the anchored canoe.A great fight with the "white tip" pounding the deep gravel in traditional walleye fashion.


Multi-species is the norm
for small stream trips.
Stopping off in a large, hard pan flat,my partner Tom and I heaved weight and set up to play with the many carp and white suckers that swim these waters.
Not really having any heavier gear I decided to take my chances with my 5 1\2 ft.light action spooled with 4 lb.power pro.After a short wait with a lively crawler I set the hook on a heavy fish that instantly made a huge bull run.I knew it was a carp but for 15 minutes I really had no way to tell of it's size. After finally getting the beast to lay on it's side next to the canoe, then getting both hands on her only then did I see the mass of this underfished and ill treated specimen.A fight to remember for sure!
Making a guess this fish came in around the twelve pound mark.Sorry guys,didn't give this one a farewell kiss but was proud to slide her back into the cold, clear water to do her thing.

Meeting up with the crew for our standard afternoon shore feast is when the stories started rolling about the great day everyone was having.
Sizzling steaks along with plenty of ice cold refreshments made for another perfect run for our crew.

Amazing how quickly the day can fly by,you never want it to end,but laying awake at the end of the day and thinking back is when you realize how special traditions can be and how fortunate you are to be able to go along for the ride!


The baits that produced the most action today were 4'ring worms and other plastics.Black and purple producing well.Crank baits,especially the jointed shad raps did well also with a few of the guys doing their best on no.2 and 4 mepps in the brown bucktail.Get it close,slow it down and bang.....you've got action!
Remember fellas,catch, photo and release.These small streams are great but treat them right,your kids will thank you.



Location : Wisconsin
Water Body : Southwest Wisc.stream
Species : bass
Water Temp : 60
Technique : casting

Pool 11 Tailwater Walleye report

by Jeff Jensen on 04/12/2008

Jared with a tail water eye.
With the water on a steady rise and the temps hovering around the 43 degree mark my fishing partner,Jared Junk and myself decided to take the 10 mile run up to the tail waters of pool 11.
Cold and windy would be a slight understatement in describing the conditions today,the steady north winds made for a frosty ride.
Hitting a few nice looking slack areas on the way up river produced very little action on our ringworm and K-grub presentations so I wasn't anticipating a hot bite after arriving at Guttenburg.


Sooper doo eye.
When arriving at the dam I wasn't quite sure what to think.
The usually packed parking lot was void of the countless trucks and trailers and the waters ahead revealed only a few hardcore fisherman scattered throughout the system.
Jared and I glanced at each other,not quite sure if the fish were on a bad spin or the nasty conditions were keeping the week-end warriors off of the water.

Seeing the lack of boats made it easy for me to opt for some shallow presentations while anchoring up in a few prime areas.
Usually,fishing tailwaters amongst a crowd of people,anchoring in prime waters is not a welcome practice for my boat as it takes away alot of area for fellow boaters to fish.Today was an exception.
Dropping anchor two or three different times to get that perfect angle proved to pay off quite well!


Todays ticket.
Starting off with the usual suspects-ringworms,K grubs,and 1\4 oz.blades, the bites were coming but not hot by any means.You could feel the fish grabbing hold but for them to inhale it consistently just wasn't happening.
Time for live bait!
Slimming down to an 1\8th oz.sour apple h2o jig matched up with a chartreuse superdoo with a lively fathead was the ticket for boating some very nice eyes.
Tossing up to the bank in 2 ft.of water and popping it down the shelf into 8-10ft.worked out well.
With the heavy,dark skies,it seemed the fish were steadily working shallow for most of the day. After catching a few fish things would slow down,but after a short time it seemed that a small school would relate to the bank again resulting in more caught and released fish.
15-20 eyes came to the net today,all ranging from 18-25"inches with a few saugers mixed in as well.


The sno-suits aren't just
for ice fishing.....total
comfort all day!
Before heading out this morning,I traveled to Prairie Du Chein to meet up with Dave Koonce at his shop.It still amazes me at the amount of plastic Dave can fit into his "little slice of heaven" store house. Not only will you walk away with some of the hottest baits on the walleye trail but you will also know that you just had a conversation with a truely dedicated fisherman too. Thanks Dave! BfishN tackle rocks!



Location : Wisconsin
Water Body : Pool 11 tail waters
Species : walleye
Water Temp : 43
Technique : pitching / flipping

Pool 10 shallow water slabs

by Jeff Jensen on 03/15/2008

My Dad with one of his many
fine slabs
With the slow March melt and rising waters on pool 10 our group today figured we could be in for a good shallow water long stick bite.

Getting an early start, it did not take long for the slabs to show and let us know that they were hungry.


Pink cecil slab!
The first hour of daylight was by far, the hottest bite of the day.When the warm sun finally broke over the trees the first run was over.Many nice crappies were caught throughout the morning,jut not as furious as the first hour.

It seemed that everyone was using something a little different, but for myself,the hot pink lil cecil by BfishN tackle was the ticket.

One thing about crappies,when you do find them shallow in the melting period of late winter they usually leave no doubt when they hit.Watching your spring go from horizontal to vertical in a lightning second was the kind of action our group had today. With the slow,lethargic bite we have witnessed the last month of this cold winter,it was a welcome sight to have fish hit the way they are suppose to.


Mark-Rembrandt-Lang with his
role model,"Crazy
bell"
Finding his way back to the river after last weeks gtg was Mark (Rembandt )Lang.I think after a cold day and a slower bite last week,Mark had something to prove.I do know that Mark iced some really nice slabs today .Nice seeing you again Mark,hope we can make it out once more before open water season!


JD Welder wrapping up an
outstanding season.....it's
been great big guy!
What a special time of year for hard core ice heads.
Hole hopping with the long sticks,listening to the returning flocks of waterfowl while chatting with friends and family.This is just the kind of therapy we were looking for after that insane,ugly winter we went through!

Thoughts of open water walleyes are really coming into the picture but with days like these it's really hard to quit!

Now to go find some aloe for my sun burned face.



Location : Wisconsin
Water Body : Mississippi
Species : panfish
Water Temp : 33
Technique : ice fishing

White out Mille Lacs Jumbos

by Jeff Jensen on 02/11/2008

Off to a great start.These
boys were bruisers!
On Friday afternoon, a group of friends and family arrived at Hunters point.
After reading Calvin Svihels report and getting great advice from Bobber and other members, the trip north was filled with excitement, the entire crew anticipating getting in on some hearty Mille Lacs jumbos.


Now that's gold!!
As a group,we knew of the severe conditions predicted for the area .Fierce winds with dangerous wind chills were to be knocking on our three, six man shack doors in less than twenty four hours after our arrival.

Quickly getting settled in and firing up the camera and flashers it became obvious that the perch were not in our area.
Grabbing my Strike Master Lazer Mag, holes were cut
outside, in search of that big school.Still nothing marked......Grrrr. Feeling a little anxious and starting to get concerned is when I heard the news of my brother James icing a jumbo out of his shack that was set up over a hunred yards away.
Grabbing my gear,I headed in that direction and cut a quick series of holes in that area.
What happened after that was exactly the reason we were there to begin with.
Watching my jig fall I was instantly rewarded with the thrill of seeing a healthy "red slash" sky rocket, greeting my Moon Glo jig four feet up from the mud.After a great clear water tussle the first mega perch was iced!
Remembering Calvins advice,I quickly got my bait back down, trying to stay on the school before they roamed off.WHAM BAM THANK YOU MAAM! Another pond jumbo was iced and the weight of the world,the tensions of the trip and everything negative in my life were brushed aside.
Being joined by a few of the crew,this area ended up producing the main bulk of our week-end catch.
Knowing that the bite would not last long with the impending weather coming in,we worked this area hard and were all satisfied with the quality of these dynamite little fighters.


This was just the
beginning.That's my brother
Steve checking his tip-up.
Saturday morning arrived with a short, fish catching window behind it.Jumbos were taken early but as the winds picked up and the temps on a steady decline,it was becoming clear that phase one was ending and that Mother nature was going to make damn sure we all paid attention to phase two!


Buddy Tom with a Flamingo
beauty.
I have seen storms through the years,been out in alot of them,fished through my share,always in awe at some of the conditions that are thrown ones way but,........never in my life have I ever seen the likes of Saturday night and Sunday morning!
Winds topping in access of forty mph.with a wind chill in the area as low as fifty below.
Staying overcast for the first part of the storm made for a complete "White out".
Thoughts of Jumbos were being replaced with the concern of everyones safety.
It's kind of funny in a way when a guy starts to re-evalute certain conditions that are potentially lethal. For instance,let's just say,if a person were to walk out side,slip on the icy entrance step and crack his noggin. If not found,chances of a good outcome are slim.
Getting lost was a huge concern too.Hearing the stories about people getting turned around quickly by just doing the simple task of walking from one shack to the next was becoming very easy to understand.
A conversation that evening regarded to having to wear a life line of 80lb.fire line tethered to ones body if having to venture outside.The idea was met with a little humor but slowly,all agreed that it wasn't the worst idea in the world.
Reading a thread last night about white out Mille Lacs,Chris Tuckner made a comment on the importance of assigning a shack leader .Great tip Tuck and down the road that is exactly what our group plans to do.
As the storm howled throughout the night it was becoming quite clear how safe we were in our Hunters point 6 man shack.Not once did I hear the creeking and cracking of a poorly constucted fish house.All three shacks handled this storm well ,attesting to their hardy construction.
A big Thank you goes out to George and his entire crew.
After losing heat in one shack,the crew from Hunters were Johnnies on the spot and had the place up and running before it lost it's core temp.
They also did a great job maintaining the roads to make sure everyone could safely get off the lake the next day.
Sorry we couldn't talk longer George but it was obvious how busy you were.Top notch accomodations all the way!
What a week-end!!
The crew this year had a great time despite the weather,the food and drinks were good,conversations and laughter were non-stop and the company was terrific along with the great fishing.

Never have I seen a body of water that wears so many different faces. She has the ability to smile at you one second then turn around and try to kill ya the next.
I loved every last second!



Location : Minnesota
Water Body : The Pond
Species : panfish
Water Temp : 33
Technique : ice fishing

Pool 10,weed edge crappies

by Jeff Jensen on 01/07/2008

Twi-light double
After a long week end and not being able to get out,I had a chance today to hit pool 10 for some weed edge crappies and gills.Reports were coming in that the crappies were sliding onto the edges of a large lily pad field that is adjacent to a running slough.


A few more
Focusing on the edge of the pads,I started drilling along the face for well over a hundred yards while popping a few sporadic holes into the pad field itself.
As it turned out,fish were taken out of almost every hole that was cut as these crappies were spread out and at times very aggressive.
When fishing these shallow waters and finding a hungry school, the electronics get turned off and the long stick hole hopping begins.


Tom P with a hefty bottom
hugger
Lure selection today was actually pretty easy for a change.
Little cecils,purests,and rembrandts all produced well with fish being nabbed on the diamond jigs and gill pills also.Pink was the ticket!Today was just one of those days where color played an important role.


Slab weather for sure!
In January,when you are lucky enough to get out in glove-less weather and you know the crappies are active,drill as many holes as you can.Next,shed a layer or two,grab the sticks and hole hop your troubles away.With the heavy fog and the continuous mist rising from the ice it was one of those mystical old man river days.

For more info on these long rods a short article has been written
http://www.in-depthangling.com/forum/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/619244



Location : Wisconsin
Water Body : Pool 10
Species : panfish
Water Temp : 32
Technique : ice fishing

Pool 10 gills 12\22\07

by Jeff Jensen on 12/23/2007

Gotta love em!
The fog was thick with mist as we headed out at first light to a familiar backwater on pool 10.
I met TJ91 and JD Welder for a day of big gill searching in an area that,with a small amount of current,has been producing some nice fish.


JD Welders one of many
The weather for the past few days had been pretty wet and warm so we made sure the ice was solid with our spud bar on the way out.Reading about Blues cold water mud bath the day before was enough to keep us on high alert.As it turned out, the ice was not affected by the mild temps so everything was good to go.
With the Marcum LX5 and TJs vex 18 it didn't take long to figure out that the fish were still there.We knew that we had a short window before the crowds started to show up so we knuckled in and went to work.I first dropped my reel weeds in an area a short distance away from the community hole making sure I was still in the ditch that these gills have been using.The Marcum was lit up constantly but the fish just slid on by with out so much as a look.Hmmmm.
Packed up the gear and went on a search mission for the next few hours but as time wore on it was becoming obvious that I would have to join the pack to get in on some action.


Mixing it up.
For me,it's better to get on a few nice fish by yourself than to catch a limit in a crowd but fishing with a mob can be fun if you are mixed in with friends and family.Paying very close attention to the hot sticks in the group is always a good idea.This day,JD Welder had it going on.It was fun watching Dan hole hop between the group while icing alot of gills on a consistant basis.Dan was getting "that look" from alot of guys,including myself,who no doubt were wondering what he was doing right or what we were doing wrong.After watching Dan for awhile I started to imitate the exact motion he was putting on his jig and the bite slowly but surely got better.It wasn't so much as a jigging motion or a bounce he was putting to his spring bobber but a very tight quiver that was triggering bites.
Small fiskas,diamond jigs and purests were the best producers of the day with bait being an option but not needed. Red,pink or natural gulp grubs produced the most bites.


Hey Dan,forget something
yesterday?Nice dipper!
Later in the day Dan dropped the camera down inside my circle of weeds only to quickly discover that the shad were drawn to the weeds.
Moving away from the weeds we also so that the gills were laying tight to the botom with their noses pointed up stream. For the rest of the day we concentrated on that small strike zone with even better results.The camera did it's job proving how effective they really are.

Fishing areas with a little bit of current can be effective at times.The gills and crappies that are holding in these areas,I believe, are there for a reason,and thats to lay low and wait for those easy meals to come drifting to them instead of having to roam the slow backwaters searching for food.
A great day to be out and when you are stuck in the crowd make sure to keep your eyes open for that hot stick in the group.Humbling?-Yes. Effective?-Oh yeah!



Location : Wisconsin
Water Body : pool 10 backwaters
Species : panfish
Technique : ice fishing
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