Ice Fishing Tips
- Start with small jigs like #12 or 14 Diamond Jigs when starting out, you can always upsize!
- Hang 2 or 3 Maggots straight off your hook or thread on a waxie to start. Sometimes a T-boned Waxie is good. Make sure the waxie is on TOP of the hook by the barb, not in the middle of the "U" of the hook.
- If there is snow on the ice, walk or drive your ATV on the contour. Others can drill the the break you mark
- Use Optimax Oil in your Auger. Less smoke and runs better.
- Vados Bait is great for quality waxies and maggots. Maggots in the fridge, Waxies at 50 deg for storage.
- Mark your skimmer handle in inches, easy way to measure ice depth
- You CAN use one flasher for two holes in water say 8' or deeper!
- Glow Red Glow Red Glow Red as one of your "go to" colors for walleye & perch
- Crystal Fireline is just plain awesome stuff. You only need 75' on an ice reel
- Yes, Genz Rods are awesome too. I also love the Frabill Panfish Poppers but the best ice rod of all is clearly, far and away, no one is close - Thorne Bros. Custom Ice Rods.
Oahe Tips
Fishing on Oahe this last trip using 1/2 of a crawler on a #1-#2 gold aberdeen hook was the ticket. The 1/2 crawler was a must. Run this set up on a 4 foot snell off a bottom bouncer and hold on!!!!!!!!!!
Walleye Flashers!!!!!!!!!
Just in. WALLEYE FLASHERS ARE NOW AVAILABLE IN 1/2 oz. !!!! We asked for it and now we have it. A Great Jig just got better. We can't wait to get these baby's on the water this fall not to mention this year. They are going to be a big hit this fall on the Red and Winnipeg Rivers in Manitoba. Get these and all your walleye tackle at www.reelbait.com tell them reelwalleye sent you.!!!!!!!
Dog Training
I took a new pup of mine over to TLC Labs in Stanton, Nebraska. Mark and his brother did a great job with my puppy "Cabo". They had her for a couple of months and reinforced obedience, broke her to gunfire, introduced her to dead and live birds, etc. They did a VERY professional job for not a lot of money. First time I've used a trainer and can really see the benefits.
Sharpie's
Make a habit of carrying a big pack of permanent markers with you. That way if a certain color or pattern is hot you can "doctor" your lures, spoons or jigs instantly.
Tortilla's
Instead of using bread all of the time for sandwiches try using tortilla's. They taste good, don't get soggy easily, and pack great. A good way to use them is to make your sandwich then just wrap it in saran wrap.
Line Selection
Use Fireline or superbraids where "feel" or "diving depth" is critical. In almost all other situations, stick with monofilament. Examples that are good for superbraids include fishing jigs vertically in 25' of water, trying to get your shad raps to dive deeper without weight, or bobber fishing in the weeds when you need something "tough". Remember to use lighter rods with superbraids, there is NO stretch!
Setting the Hook
A lot of people struggle with setting the hook on river fish this time of year while you are jigging. Some good ideas include make sure you reel AND set the hook, really get that rod tip up in the air, and remember - it's free to set the hook! Don't try to guess if that "tic" is a rock, set the hook! Walleye can inhale and exhale baits extremely fast, also remember to maintain your hookset pressure - until a fish opens it's mouth and allows the hooks to imbed, it's simply "holding" your bait and the bait will come right out without hooking if you don't maintain good pressure.
Carry Waterproof Matches a few Ponchos and a Space Blanket or two in your boat
It's easy to get stranded, especially on big water like the Missouri River, just be safe!
Gas
Remember that if you haven't stabilized your gas your boat motor may not run too good this spring. Contrary to what seems logical (running out the old gas), it's suggested that you keep adding fresh gas to your tank as it empties if it's leftover from last year.
Lindy Rig Beads
Hobby Lobby and stores like that are great places to get "cheap" and even better - oddball beads for lindy rigging.
Planer Boards
Change the standard spring on the Off Shore Tattle Tail Flag kits to a C-73 spring made by Century. They really improve the reliability and versatility of the kit.
Planer Boards
For holding line better, especially superline, change the black or red clips that come standard on most Off Shore Boards. The best two options are their "Snapper" release or better yet, to the "Mr. Walleye" clips from Church Tackle.
Rod Storage
If you are like us, you like to protect your valuable rods and save the hassles of trying to untangle lines when rods are stacked in the rod lockers. A great way to do this is to use rod "socks". We use socks from ReelBait Tackle. www.reelbait.com
Trolling
Have you ever noticed a trolling set goes from good to bad as soon as you start switching lures to the "hot" one? Our theory is that sometimes you want to leave your set "as is". Many times it seems walleyes want to hit a certain lure, but perhaps they are also drawn by other lures in the set. For example, when trolling in Lake Winnipeg, it seems we do much better catching fish on Shad Raps but if we leave one lure in the middle of the set with a "rattle" (deep husky jerk, Jr. Thunderstick, etc.) it seems we do much better than just having all Shad Raps.
Crawler Care
A great way to keep crawlers in the boat is to fill a small cooler with about 1/2-2/3 ice then lay strips of brown paper bags on the ice. The crawlers stay great!!! At night on a trip, dump out the ice and put the crawlers back in bedding or leave them in the paper in a refrigerator.
|
