Following Smallies
August 3, 2010 by admin
By Nick Simonson
It’s a jungle out there. Every man for himself. Greed is good. These mantras aptly describe the competitive drive in the world around us; natural laws that even mankind hasn’t rid from our collective psyche after millennia of becoming civilized. Whether it is in big business or the food [...]
Topwater Bass Fishing
June 17, 2010 by admin
Top Water Fishing Lures
By Nick Simonson
I still remember the first time I watched a surface lure get inhaled and taken into the depths by a largemouth bass. It was a calm, sunny Saturday morning in late May and my buddy flung his Zara Spook about twenty yards off shore over a shallow flat. [...]
Soft Plastics for Bass
June 2, 2010 by admin
By Nick Simonson
Fishing fast is a fun way of covering water and targeting active largemouth bass. Ripping crankbaits and burning spinnerbaits back to the boat triggers reaction strikes and puts a solid bend in the rod when largemouth are in a feeding mood. This fun-n-gun presentation also helps anglers key in on areas [...]
Homemade Gypsy Jig
May 21, 2010 by admin
By Nick Simonson
When I was just getting the hang of what worked and what didn’t on the water, I stumbled on what was, at the time to me, a miracle lure. It was a banana head jig with a fan-shaped skirt made from krystal flash called the Gypsi Jig. For that summer, it [...]
Fishing Diary
March 30, 2010 by admin
By Nick Simonson
There have been a lot of changes in my life over the past five years. I’ve lived in two states and three towns and have had six different jobs, with this one being the most consistent. In that time I’ve fished over 60 lakes and rivers, gaining some level of familiarity [...]
President Obama Attacking Fishing Industry
March 22, 2010 by admin
Sport Anglers Alarmed by Proposed Obama Policy
A controversy has erupted in the sport fishing community over a new federal management plan for oceans and Great Lakes waters. Recent opinion pieces circulating on the internet and reported on numerous radio stations have stoked the flames through revelations that the policy, if implemented, would prohibit recreational fishing [...]
Catch and Release Fishing
March 4, 2010 by admin
‘Swimming Pools’ for Fish
A Little Advice on Caring for Your Catch
By Tony Roach
Have you ever caught the same fish twice in a single day? How about the same fish two or three times inside a week? I’ll bet many of you have. Even on a massive fish factory like Mille Lacs in Central Minnesota, [...]
Building Fish Habitat
January 20, 2010 by admin
By Doug Leier
More than 40 years ago the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, in an effort to create structure for fish and create artificial habitat within Heart Butte Dam (Lake Tschida) in Grant County, sunk some old car bodies into the reservoir.
As you might expect, the practice of using car bodies for building fish [...]
The First Cast Curse
February 11, 2009 by admin
By PJ Maguire
The lake was calm last summer when I took one of my younger cousins, Shawn, out fishing after dinner. In mid-July the wind typically dies down in the evening, making it perfect for casting top-water lures for Largemouth bass. There was a time in my life when top-water was my favorite presentation for [...]
Big Bang Baitfish
February 11, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
In cooler waters of May and June the shallows can seem almost bare. Nothing but the occasional waterboatman or roaming bluegill disturbs the water bordering shore. Then as summer peaks, it seems the shallows are suddenly alive and teeming with small fish, as if they exploded out of nowhere! This big bang of [...]
Confidence Baits
February 11, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
The woolly bugger is a pattern that rarely fails. Likewise, a ballhead jig with a curly-tail grub will catch nearly any fish. A red-and-white Daredevle spoon will with all certainty pull a pike out of any water that holds the species. These lures are time-tested producers; they are the ultimate confidence baits because [...]
Fishing Tackle Top Ten
February 11, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
Springtime means stocking the tackle box with jigs, spinners, twisters, spoons, crankbaits and more; usually more lures than I’ll ever need. However, if it came down to it, there is a handful of them I couldn’t go without. For whatever species I was pursuing, I would forsake all other jigs, rigs and plastics [...]
Catch & Release Tools
February 11, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
Catch and release works. Whether it’s preserving a viable fishery in a forty-acre bass lake or letting a trophy-caliber muskie swim back into the cabbage after an exciting battle, the mantra of C&R resounds stronger than ever through sport fishing circles. For those looking to preserve big fish it is easier than ever [...]
The Coffee Tube
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
In the outdoors, it is tough to beat a hot cup of coffee in the morning. In the pre-dawn twilight of a fishing trip, a steaming hot Thermos-top-cup of java gears the senses up and gives an angler a reason to pause between casts, all the while adding a mountain-grown aroma to the [...]
The Fish I’ve Known
February 11, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
We should all be so lucky to fish small waters, and fish the same small waters often. Time and time again Ixve said that our affinity with a certain river or small lake helps us take stock of the resource, to treat it respectfully and to see what a conservation ethic can do [...]
The Heck with Tech
February 11, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
Some of the best days I can recall involve zipping up the Sheyenne River in an old canoe using paddle power until I reached my favorite feeder creek. With a jig and minnow, I felt for the subtle tap of a walleye or the vicious strike of a smallmouth. All the while I [...]
The Texas Fishing Rig “Texas Rig”
February 11, 2009 by admin
Nick Simonson
Summertime and the living’s easy. The fishing is pretty good too as predator species begin to enter a warm-weather pattern of eating, eating and more eating. Bass hide along weedlines, under docks and around stumps in wait for any prey to swim by. One of the most effective rigs for bass at this time [...]
Fishing in May
February 11, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” This line, an eye-to-eye plea by Matthew Broderick as the title character in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, sums up our very existence.
For anglers, month of May moves even faster. Between graduations, [...]
The Rapala X-Rap
February 11, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
Whether your treasure on the water is colored gold, bronze or silver, the X-Rap by Rapala (www.rapala.com) marks the spot for great fishing.
My experience with crankbaits has been limited; being predominately a river angler has restricted my usual arsenal to jigs and soft plastics which are comparatively inexpensive to most other lures. Crankbaits, [...]
Beginning Again
February 11, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
The orange jig and twister shot out from the tip of my rod, driven by the laws of physics and anticipation. The gray Fireline in tow spiraled wildly like the contrail of a botched rocket launch. The lure hung in the air, suspended indefinitely in the blue slivers of sky between the gray [...]
Topwater Fishing
February 11, 2009 by admin
By Jon Mitzel
Long-awaited May is a great time to enjoy catching fish on surface baits. Northern pike and largemouth bass are aggressive fish and will readily attempt to chase food on or near the surface. The action is tough to beat, and most hits are vicious in nature. What an exciting way to catch a [...]
Hot Fishing Lures for 2007
February 11, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
Hang in there, it can’t snow forever.
As if spring fever wasn’t bad enough, a fresh 16 inches of snow over the last week has put the “cabin” into “cabin fever.” But while nature-induced lockdown might dampen most spirits; anglers know that now is the time to stock up on tackle and read up [...]
Summertime Bass Fishing Tips
February 11, 2009 by admin
Nick Simonson
Slop, gunk, or matting, call it what you will, but by this time in the summer, the combination of weed tops and surface vegetation has sealed off water access for shoreline anglers and limited the area that boat anglers can work. But those anglers who overlook this green gobbledygook could also be passing up [...]
Simple Bass Fishing Techniques
February 11, 2009 by admin
PJ Maguire
The first step I took as a fisherman was from catching sunnies off the dock to casting for bass along the docks. It is true that bass are a sunfish, so in theory this is a logical step. Most of my friends, like me, first started serious fishing for bass and then transitioned into [...]
Springtime River Smallmouth
February 9, 2009 by admin
By Nick Simonson
As the last few inches of ice fade from the shorelines of area rivers, it is next to impossible not to think about springtime fishing. It is even more difficult not to think of the hundreds of bronze flashes from springtime fishing trips in the past.
In the land where the walleye is king, [...]
Long Cast Minnow
February 9, 2009 by admin
By Nick Simonson
Technology! Isn’t it grand?
Today’s advancements have not only improved the way we fish, but the way we live life.Though GPS and sonar may be the first ideas in many people’s minds when it comes to fishing technology, today’s topic is a much simpler aspect of the sport, yet it is the key to [...]
Praise for Polarized Sunglasses
February 9, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
As I pulled up the trolling motor and hoped for a clean glide over the small sandy delta leading into a back bay on my favorite lake for Minnesota’s Bass Season opener, I was disappointed to not immediately see signs of fish ahead of the Grumman.
My yellow lab, Gunnar, and my father’s new [...]
Catch and Release 101
February 9, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
A dead-weight tug on the end of my line signaled that the largemouth bass under the dock was indeed hungry. I swept the rod back and the four-pound fish rocketed up out of the water. She battled every foot of the way to my hand.
I reached down, tweaked the hook and felt it [...]
Extra Hooks Bring the Sting
February 9, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
In one of the best Simpsons episodes, Moe uses a punch-absorbing Homer to relive his glory days as a boxer. But when Homer ends up having to fight the heavyweight champion, the all too Tyson-like Drederick Tatum, Moe searches through his bag of tricks to find the weapon that will help hapless Homer [...]
Freshen Up Your Skills
February 9, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
The season for big fish has come! The snow is rapidly melting, the ice is weakening, and the fish are preparing for the spawn. It is a picture perfect time for spring angling. If you plan to take some photos of your angling success this openwater season, here are some tips for ensuring [...]
Largemouth Bass Ice Fishing
February 7, 2009 by admin
By Jerry Carlson of Ice Team
When it comes to winter time fishing, there is no question I spend most of my hours searching out crappies. I love the activity involved in catching these fish. I also enjoy the fact that I can be successful during the daylight hours without having to fish well after dark. [...]
Smallie Streamers – Flies for Bass Fishing
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
Except for a few wily grayling in the cold running streams of northern Norway, few freshwater fish have fought as valiantly on the flyrod as the smallmouth bass of my home water. These fish, from late April through October on the Sheyenne River and others like it in the upper Midwest, are happy [...]
Fishing Laydowns
February 4, 2009 by admin
Joe Zentner
Bank sloping trees that have fallen into the water, known as lay-downs, attract fish throughout the Midwest. Long-time anglers are keenly aware of the value of immersed trees. The primary cover choice of freshwater fish is, in fact, submerged wood.
A lay-down is a tree that has fallen into the water and is somewhat if [...]
Arbor Vital – Fishing Flooded Trees
February 4, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
I think that I shall never see structure lovely as a tree. Pardon the take on Ms. Kilmer’s poem; let’s consider it the angler’s version. But timber – be it live on shore, a deadfall along a river or a man-made reef on a lake – is structure that all anglers should develop [...]
Fishing Lures – What’s in a Name?
February 4, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
When it comes to marketing, a good lure needs a good name. No angler is going to buy lures called The Skunk, Zippo, or The Blanker. Lures must have two essentials to catch the attention of anglers. First they must catch fish, and second they must have a moniker to remember.
As winter begins [...]
The Legend of the Grumman Boat
February 2, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
The fisherman’s dictionary defines the word “boat” as a hole in the water into which money is thrown.
Similar to a hunting dog, the price paid for a boat is rarely reflected in the purchase. There’s winterizing, summerizing, trailer repairs, motor tune ups, depth finders, rod racks, lure holders and much more that are [...]
Fishing with Light Tackle
February 2, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
Lighten up! If I had a nickel for every time I’ve been told that I’d be a rich man. However, there is one time no one has to tell me to lighten up and that is when I am angling for panfish, trout and finicky bass.
The allure of light tackle angling is threefold: [...]
Why Do I Fish?
February 2, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
Why do you fish? Now that is a question with as many answers as there are people to ask it to. And it is likely that anglers will have more than one response when posed with such an inquiry.
I was asked this question recently, and all I could come up with (to my [...]
Best Bass Fishing Lures of Today
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
Topwater fishing for bass is nothing new. Anglers have experienced the excitement of having bass explode on lures such as the Zara Spook, Rebel Pop-R, and pre-rigged surface plastics like the Bass Rat for decades. But recent revolutions in plastic baits have bass anglers buzzing at the tackle shop and new frog baits [...]
Oh Deer, it’s Smallie Time!
February 2, 2009 by admin
By Nick Simonson
While the tension mounts as you await this year’s deer application results (enjoy the next eight weeks), take some time to relax with the hardiest fish in our waters – the smallmouth bass. Just don’t expect your heart rate to get any lower. With a few simple items of tackle and the following [...]
In Pursuit of Rock Bass
February 2, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
Recently, my fishing buddy Einar came for a visit, and in between largemouth and smallmouth bass, rainbow trout and walleye, there was one fish he hoped to tangle with that he had not landed in the states before and was not available to him in his home country of Norway.
Muskie? Nope. Catfish? Uh-uh. [...]
Top 10 Fishing Lures of All Time
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
Springtime means stocking the tackle box with jigs, spinners, twisters, spoons, crankbaits and more; usually more lures than I’ll ever need. However, if it came down to it, there is a handful of them I couldn’t go without. For whatever species I was pursuing, I would forsake all other jigs, rigs and plastics [...]
Smallmouth By the Numbers
February 1, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
What a surprise! A stretch of warm spring days shook winter’s chill off some bronze scales and more than a week earlier than last year, I landed my first smallmouth bass. There’s no better time than now, during the prespawn, to search for big brown bass for some spring catch-and-release fun. By doing [...]
Free Fishing Log – Printable Fishing Log
February 1, 2009 by admin
Our Outdoors
Nick Simonson
“Putting together the fishing pieces of the puzzle”
Fishing, no matter how good a person gets at it, is still the grandest puzzle of all. There are so many elements that have to be put into place such as weather, season, bait, lures, and so on. When looked at in hindsight, these puzzle pieces [...]
Carolina Rig Fishing
By Kevin Dahlke
The Carolina Rig is a technique that has been around for quite some time. It is used to cover an area quickly to find out what kind of structure you are fishing. Personally, I have put this technique on the back burner for the last number of years, but as of the last [...]
