Late in the 1980s my family moved from LaMoure to Valley City. I’d fished the Jim River and Lake LaMoure prior to the move, and enjoyed an array of fish, from pike to perch and even the lowly carp.

In Barnes County around Valley City, I spent a good chunk of time fishing Lake Ashtabula and the Sheyenne River, and found a few favorite bluegill ponds. In fact, looking at my time living in towns from Bismarck, Stanley and Bottineau to Moffit, Kulm and now West Fargo, I’ve always enjoyed the small-fish bite – not 10-inch walleye, but bluegill, perch and even bullhead.

In my experience, and I suspect that of most everyone else, perch and bluegill taste better than bullhead, so I now find myself and the family seeking out a steady bluegill bite as first priority. Right about now is a good time to start looking, as water tempertures heat up and turn on the bluegill spawning effort.

Crappie, bluegill and pumpkinseed and green sunfish are often slapped with the catch-all label of “sunny” before an angler takes the time to discern the correct association. Bluegill are members of the sunfish family and do vary in coloration, but usually are  dark olive above, with dark vertical bars on the upper sides and orange or yellow on the throat and belly. Its gill covers are blue – hence the name – with a black tip on the flap.

Beneath the shallow depths this time of year, male bluegill select nest sites and prepare the spawning grounds, moving away mud, sand and vegetation, with the final goal of a plate-sized depression in the lake bottom.

After the site is ready, the male begins the process of attracting a female with an assortment noises. Eggs hatch in a matter of days after they are deposited in the nest.

The peak of the bluegill spawn in North Dakota is from mid-June to about the end of the month. Male bluegill are on call the entire time, guarding eggs from any disturbance or threat, and continually watching over the nest and using fins to disperse unwanted mud and removed unfertilized eggs with no chance to hatching from the nest. Scientists say that several females typically spawn in one nest and hatching success is high. But despite the best efforts of diligent males guarding eggs and newly hatched fry, mortality of young is correspondingly high.

I’ve learned through a few decades that prime time bluegill fishing comes during the spawning season, as male bluegills will attack most any type of bait. The only real skill you need is the ability to cast a bait within striking distance of a nest. The fish don’t seem to care what is in the water. A hook tipped with a bit of nightcrawler, or a small spinner or jig and twister tail, all can generate attention from fiesty bluegill.

I’m not trying to convince anyone that catching a bluegill is like fighting pike or bass, but those of us who appreciate a bobber popping the water have nothing to apologize for.

Odds are you won’t find many best-sellers on tips and tactics for catching bigger and more bluegill, but a quick search around the area and odds are you’ll find panfish just a few casts from any corner of North Dakota.

Leier is a biologist with the Game and Fish Department. He can be reached by email:dleier@nd.gov

Related Articles

• The Fishing Preseason – Spring Crappie Fishing (0)
• Fast & Easy Fish Cleaning Tips for Walleye, Perch, and Panfish (10)
• Winter Crappie Tips and Tactics – Q & A Session (3)
• When Perch Won’t Bite Through the Ice (3)
• Unlocking the Perch Fishing Limit Theory (0)

Have you ever watched the way minnows move? When I was in Grand Forks, N.D. attending “The School that Shall Not Be Named” I had multiple chances to jump the Red River into East Grand Forks, Minn., and watch as trout, bass and pike preyed upon minnows that the staff had dumped in the large central aquarium at the Cabela’s store. My observation of these baitfish, and others in the wild, revealed a distinctive behavior of most minnows that changed the way I fish.

Rarely, if ever, do baitfish swim in a vertical direction. Horizontal hovering and quick darting make up about 99 percent of a minnow’s movements. Sure, they might angle up or swim downward from time to time, but never is it a straight turn of 90-degrees. It is more like 10 to 15 degrees, tops. Most of the time baitfish are belly-down, back-up and holding horizontal, balanced by their flitting pectoral fins and tails. From these observations, I adapted many of my angling presentations to trigger fish like walleye and crappie, which feed predominantly on baitfish. These adjustments have been made across presentations, using jigs, soft baits and stick baits alike.

Twelve O’Clock High
To get the most horizontal presentation when using a standard ball head jig, or a specialty jig like a banana head jig, the key is to make sure the knot is placed at the 12 o’clock position. Whether tied with a Palomar or an Improved Clinch knot, the connection point should be made and repositioned as needed at the top of the jig eye. This distributes the weight evenly from a balancing point. When dressing a jig with a curlytail grub, or other plastic which might weigh the back end of the lure down, consider adjusting the knot to the 11 o’clock position. This repositioning counteracts the added weight, and depending on how the jig is worked through the water column, keeps it more horizontal.

When casting a jig to a known school of fish, like white bass or crappie, it is best to cast beyond them and allow the jig to sink almost to the level of the school. Start the retrieve just before the lure reaches the level of the fish. The vertical fall of the lure will level out with just a few turns of the reel handle, and the lure takes on a more natural horizontal presentation as it approaches the school. Keep the bait moving just fast enough to remain horizontal with the rod tip high as the bait goes just over or through the waiting fish. Slight twitches will mimic the darting movements of minnows as the lure glides through the feeding zone. Swimming a jig horizontally often out-produces a jig that just hangs vertically and is twitched occasionally.

Low weight Soft baits
Horizontally presented soft baits have been all the rage in recent seasons – Berkley Swim Baits, Case Plastics Sinkin Salty Shads, even going way back to the Lunker City Slug-Go which started it all; these baits that fall horizontally with a tantalizingly subtle wiggle are proven fish-catchers. For most of them, it is as simple as Texas-rigging on a 3/0 worm hook with little or no weight. These baits can also be darted along like a jig and given a slow horizontal glide, like a dying minnow. Even tubes can be rigged with a tiny bullet sinker of 1/64 ounce to give them a little bit of sink without compromising a horizontal presentation, or try using wide-gap worm hooks with lead affixed to the belly portion of the hook. Silver and pearl tubes worked in this fashion can be very effective on smallmouth bass from late spring through fall.

Find Some Balance
Rarely does a stick bait like the Smithwick Rogue or Rapala’s Husky Jerk and Original Minnow come perfectly balanced out of the box; the nose might ride high or low on a suspending bait, or the rear rises just slightly faster than the front on floating models. Affixing some lead tape, like Storm’s SuspenDots, helps balance these lures out, attaining a more horizontal profile which triggers largemouth, smallmouth, pike and walleye. Jerk, twitch and pause your balanced stick bait through likely haunts to find fish, or troll it over a school of bait-chasing predators like summer walleyes. The horizontal presentation will look much more natural and entice more bites. If you do find a true-running stick bait that holds horizontal straight out of the box, mark the lip with permanent marker so you know it’s your go-to lure in the future.

If your favorite game fish are keying in on minnows or young-of-the-year perch, keeping your presentation horizontal will give you an edge and look much more like the real thing. Experiment with knot positioning, presentation methods and lure tuning this openwater season and expand your horizons…in our outdoors.

Related Articles

• Free Fishing Log – Printable Fishing Log (4)
• Fast & Easy Fish Cleaning Tips for Walleye, Perch, and Panfish (10)
• Catch and Release Fishing (0)
• Winter Current Walleye Fishing (0)
• Winter Crappie Tips and Tactics – Q & A Session (3)

By Nick Simonson

There’s something special about taming a charging bull bluegill on line as thin as a spider web. Few fishing sensations are wilder than a white bass tearing up the sunset reflecting off of the evening water. Even a ten-inch trout brings a wondrous battle as it twists and turns in the current with a tiny jig in the corner of its mouth.

Ultralight fishing tackle provides a great fight for fish of all sizes.

Fishing with ultralight tackle provides a challenge and even the smallest species put up an honorable fight when hooked on light line. With panfish making their first forays into the shallows after ice out and a new crop of stocked trout hitting local waters, spring is the perfect time to join other anglers enjoying this increasingly popular angling niche.

While there is no definitive line in the sand that separates ultralight tackle from standard tackle, generally, ultralight rods are five feet in length or less and the monofilament is four pound test or lighter. Jigs in weights from 1/16-ounce down to 1/64-ounce are the standard presentation, but over the last ten years or so, the ultralight tackle market has grown by leaps and bounds. Now there are many alternatives to tying on a crappie jig or doll fly, including small crankbaits like the Rapala Size 1 Countdown, Rebel’s Crickhopper and the Yo-Zuri Snap Bean. For around fifty dollars, anglers can gear up with rod, reel, line and a selection of light jigs, spinners and crankbaits.

Ultra Light Fishing Tackle Advantages
The allure of ultralight angling comes from the fact that any fish hooked fights like a champion. With modern graphite rods able to detect the subtlest bites and withstand the charging runs of even the biggest panfish, sensitivity and strength are combined to give the angler an awesome encounter. But the benefits of employing ultralight equipment go far beyond the experience after the hook set.

Even big panfish eat small things. Tiny creatures, like daphnia, scuds and bloodworms are sizeable snacks for bluegills, perch and crappies. Lighter rods and small-diameter line allow anglers to cast tiny jigs, even those down into the 1/100-ounce range, and present them effectively to fish. The fish that inhale these petite imitations are ones that would not be caught on standard tackle. Downsizing will result in more strikes and more fish, particularly on days following cold fronts, which are a common springtime occurrence in the upper Midwest.

What’s more, ultralight angling helps with fishing techniques above the water. When wading a stream choked by alders, buck brush or other vegetation that can limit a cast, a compact ultralight rod can be used without snagging on bushes and trees. This setup allows anglers to flip, pitch and short-cast their jigs, spinners or flies in cramped quarters to the holes where stream fish like brook and rainbow trout hide.

Ultralight Fishing Tackle Challenges
The challenge when a big panfish or moderate-sized bass is hooked on ultralight tackle is managing drag and line angle in order to win the battle. The drag should be set to hold firm on the hookset, with just enough give so that the line does not break, and then be loosened to compensate for the runs of the fish. A smooth drag mechanism that is easy to adjust without a whole lot of fumbling around is an important feature on ultralight reels.

Fishing with ultralight tackle will also teach anglers to keep their rod tips high to maintain leverage on the fish at all times. Firm line tension keeps the hook in place and the fish on. Ultralight angling is a true test of an angler’s attention to detail in the heat of the battle.

The most obvious shortcoming of ultralight equipment is that it is not designed for large fish. Light lines are easily broken, and when they aren’t, the tackle requires that big fish be worn down to exhaustion to be landed. But if a fish can be played properly and landed quickly, the threat of overstressing it is reduced. Try to match your tackle to your target, and when the occasional big bass or pike takes your ultralight offering, have a net handy for an early landing.
While not recommended as a primary method for catching big fish, hooking the occasional monster can produce quite an ultralight memory. A friend of mine once battled a 37-inch pike on his four-foot ultralight until I was able to get my shoes off, wade into the river and net the fish. With a quick revival in the cold spring water, the fish shot off toward the main channel with a splash.

Between now and the major fishing openers, there are countless opportunities to target panfish, trout and other small species in our local waters. Try rock bass, creek chubs and other less heralded fish on ultralight tackle as well. You’ll find them all to be a challenge when you join the charge…in our outdoors.

Related Articles

• Winter Crappie Tips and Tactics – Q & A Session (3)
• The Old Crappie Fishing Hole (0)
• The Fishing Preseason – Spring Crappie Fishing (0)
• Standard Fishing Knot – The Palomar (0)
• Slip Bobbers for Crappies (0)

“Slow and steady wins the race.” I’m a disciple of the philosophy. In real life, the examples are countless. Consider the marathoner. The guy who paces himself for 26.2 miles is sure to pass the jackrabbit before reaching the tape. Same can be said of investing. Principle plus interest plus time is a proven formula. Speculative get rich quick schemes seldom succeed.

Slip bobbers for crappies is always a winner in the spring. Think it’s hard to teach the “deadly drag” method to an adult? Try a kid... As evidenced by Calvin Vick’s humungous cold water crappie, though, patience has its rewards. Photo courtesy of Frabill (www.frabill.com).

This principle applies to fishing as well. Sometimes, neurotically motoring from spot to spot in whirlwind fashion produces fish – sometimes. More often, though, I adhere to the premise that you can’t get bit without a line in the water. Again, the turtle trumps the hare.

Same can be said of the retrieve. The tendency for many anglers, no matter the circumstances, is to burn the bait back to the boat, already envisioning the next cast before the current cast is fully realized. And in no situation is this more glaring than when battling cold water, springtime panfish.

Maybe the reason for all the rush is as basic as pent-up energy from a winter’s worth of ice fishing, or perhaps not fishing at all, electing to read about it in a recliner – shameful behavior. Regardless, fishing-feverishly-fast in the spring accomplishes nothing more than burning a bait over the snouts of fish that would have likely accepted something slower, more catchable.

Well, say hello to “dragging” and goodbye to speed fishing. As the name implies, the presentation is “dragged” past the fish, not rocketed like the mechanical rabbit at a dog track. The purpose is to offer a tantalizing, almost mesmerizing morsel to lethargic crappies. And everyone knows they’re notoriously stationary and moody in the spring.

Superstar guide Tom Neustrom is a staunch advocate of dragging. Decades on the water has taught him its effectiveness. Doggedness gives him the patience to produce the action, or more appropriately, lack of action.

“It’s probably the easiest technique you’ll ever use, but honestly, it’s one of the hardest to actually execute,” said Neustrom recognizing mankind’s nature to do things hurriedly. “Cast it out there. Take a deep breath. Set the rod down if you can’t help yourself from reeling.

Patience is one of the hardest things for an angler to learn…”

The Rig
So we know crappies are on the radar. (Note that the technique is effective on bluegills, too.) We also understand that patience is required to make it happen. Now it’s time to define the rig.

The fundamental rig is something you’ve definitely thrown before: a sliding or fixed float with a small jig or tube – nothing revolutionary. But, again, it’s the manner in which you play your hand that makes the difference.

Depending on the overall depth, Neustrom sets the distance between the bobber and bait anywhere from one to four feet. He explains: “The key is keeping the bait at or above the level the fishing are holding. If it’s eight feet deep, crappies will be suspended somewhere in the middle, and probably in the upper half of the water column.”

In this scenario, Neustrom sets his depth at two feet works his way down to four, if necessary, based on results. If crappies are in four feet of water, which isn’t unusual on a warm spring day, he fixes the float to a foot, maybe 18-inches, splitting the difference.

Back to the action – the “kick-back-and-relax” action. The rig touches down at the tail of a long cast – Neustrom operates as far from the boat as possible to keep from spooking the fish. He lets the bait settle, up to even a minute if he’s convinced fish are nearby, just terribly sluggish.

Assuming nothing’s disturbed the peaceful bobber, Neustrom turns the first round of the reel in what looks like slow motion. “Don’t think of it as cranking, but more like winding. It should be so slow you can actually see the line wind around the spool.”

The bobber, under minimal force, tilts on its side, creates a modest wake, and slides back toward its rightful owner. No jerks. No snaps. Not even a pause.

Down below, at the prescribed depth, the jig tracks along on the same linear path and at the same sleepy speed. At first, it’s easy to question the lure’s potential while creeping along so lifelessly. Trust, though, that beneath the surface micro moves are underway. On a hair-jig, like Northland’s new Bug-A-Boo Finesse Jig, the cilia-sensitive marabou feathers throb ever so subtly. On a straight pull, in cold water, that’s plenty of animation to get the job done.

The tubular, squid-tailed Slurpies Small Fry imparts similarly subtleness as the individual tentacles waft lightly.

Strike detection is as equally as crucial as bait selection. Sometimes, the bobber plunges and a swift yank of the rod tip finishes things off. But just as often, though, given the reaction time of springtime panfish, the bobber sinks ever so faintly under the light resistance of a papermouth. If it starts to dip, or deviates from its straight course, Neustrom says to calmly tighten the line and set smoothly.

Earlier, I referenced both slip-bobbers and fixed-position bobbers. Depth is what influences the ultimate call in Neustrom’s mind. “If I’m only fishing a couple of feet down, a fixed spring float is the way to go. Keep it simple.” Any deeper and he prefers the casting-control of a slip-bobber. In deadly dragging mode, that puts the base of the bobber in direct contact with the head of the jig. It casts like a missile, but be watchful so the jig-eye doesn’t stick in the shaft, preventing the bait from falling.

In a fixed format, Neustrom gives the nod to Northland’s new “Classic” Lite-Bite Slip Bobber series. The elongated, 100% balsa float drags with determination. When depth calls for a slip-bobber, it’s Northland’s pear-shaped, “Super Pro” Lite-Bite Slip Bobber. The high visibility “Red Alert” FireBulb™ takes sensitivity to a new level.

It’s no question that the years take their toll on one’s reaction time, and general athleticism for that matter. But on the flip-side, putting one in the win column for us middle-agers, patience and time go hand in hand. That should make me a world class deadly-dragger in, oh, say, another decade or thereabouts.

Related Articles

• Winter Crappie Tips and Tactics – Q & A Session (3)
• Ultralight Fishing Tackle (2)
• The Old Crappie Fishing Hole (0)
• The Fishing Preseason – Spring Crappie Fishing (0)
• Standard Fishing Knot – The Palomar (0)

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, these daily doubles occur more often than we probably realize. Last year, for instance, fishing a particular shallow weed flat, we caught a hungry 27-inch walleye with an odd black spot on its tail. Only reason I remember it is because the very next day, a client caught what had to be the exact same walleye. Three days later, when the marked fish ate my Fire-Ball jig once more, it was like seeing an old friend—Dottie the hungry walleye. Hope she’s still swimming out there— chomping on perch and the occasional jig and leech.

Catch and release fishing is a very good practice.

You’re probably wondering why I’m telling you this. It really isn’t to convince you that you actually are smarter than the fish (most of us). Instead, I want to tell you that the next time you pull one of these daily doubles, you ought to pat yourself on the back. You’ve done your job well— not only as a skilled angler, but even more as a caretaker of fish.

Catching and releasing larger individual fish like Dottie isn’t just a great idea. In more and more lakes each season, special length and slot limits require it. Even when you’re selectively harvesting smaller, more numerous fish, enjoying them at dinner means caring for the catch. Keep them healthy in your livewell, or fresh on ice, all the way up to the fillet table. Harvesting a limit of small walleyes or crappies, then allowing them to spoil in the sun is a tragedy.

Still, much of the time these days, we’re releasing most of the fish we catch. And that means doing everything possible to assure their health and survival. Released fish can be hurt in a number of ways, but they all relate to stress and wounding. Most stress occurs between the hookset and landing. Wounding, on the other hand, can result from hooks, as well as poor handling practices. We can’t always prevent fish from stressing themselves during a long fight, but we can certainly prevent problems related to improper handling. Whether I’m fishing for bass, walleyes, muskies or even big crappies, I almost always rely on a landing net. Frabill’s Conservation Series nets are like big swimming pools for fish. Slip a big walleye into one, and just keep the net draped over the side of your boat, fish calmly paddling around inside. Keep the fish in the water, while you quickly remove hooks. If it’s a pike, say “AH” and get the Mouth Spreaders.

Now, if you want a photo, leave the fish safely in its “holding pen,” and ready the camera. The fish remains in the water and happy while you prepare. You’re doing everything necessary to assure a safe, healthy release. When you’re ready, wet your hands, and then lightly grip the gill cover with one hand, supporting its lower abdomen with the other. Snap your shots, and immediately lower the fish back into the water. If it doesn’t immediately swim away, hold the fish gently by the tail, and just let it pump its gills and draw oxygen. Do not thrust the fish back and forth. Fish don’t swim backward, and they’re gills aren’t able to extract oxygen from water when you do this. Simply hold them in place underwater, and they’ll do the rest. If you’re in a river, face the fish upstream, not down.

In summer, consider that when surface water temperatures surpass the 70-degree mark, it’s best to minimize the time you spend fighting fish, handling them boatside. If possible, avoid removing them from the water altogether. Again, a fish-friendly net like my Conservation Series is the best catch-and-release tool in my boat. The net’s special design keeps the catch relaxed in soft, padded netting. While a spacious interior and flat bottom panel supports their entire body, protecting its anatomy and preserving fin structure.

If I’m fishing for panfish, I usually set my own release size standards. I never keep bluegills over 8-inches. And for crappies, anything over 11-inches goes back. There’s this really cool device called the Grip ‘N Check (it’s also called the Crappie E-Z Checker) that greatly eases the measuring process. Slide the fish into the measuring basket and you get an instant accurate length. A lot of states now have crappie size limits, and this little gadget makes quick work of accurately measuring panfish. It also assures that fish can’t flip-flop away, causing damage to gills, fins or scales.

Few other things I like to do to care for my catch. One involves hooks. Excessively large barbs on some hooks can do plenty of damage to fish. First, though, consider that rarely are three treble hooks required on plugs—particularly those on big crankbaits. Consider removing one set of trebles, the middle set, in particular. Lots of times, an extra set simply means a greater chance that one tine will lodge into an eyeball or penetrate a gill.

Beyond that, I like to reduce the size of the barb on hooks. File a three-sided knife-edge on larger single or treble hooks, reducing the barb by half or more. Reduced-barb hooks penetrate easier, still hold plenty firm, and pop free with much less effort or damage to fish. It’s a small step that can make a huge difference, not only in terms of fish survival, but also in hookset success.

A little about fish caught from deepwater. When certain fish are brought up from depths greater than 40 feet too fast, their swim bladders— which control buoyancy— can overinflate. You see a bubble in their throat, and the fish has trouble swimming back down. Sometimes, you can get fish to release (burp) air from their swim bladder by massaging and gently pressing on its abdomen. Some anglers do what’s called fizzing—puncturing the bladder with a hypodermic needle to relieve air pressure. I highly discourage this practice. Fizzing (puncturing) often does more harm than good, even if you know exactly what you’re doing. The third option is to burp fish with a small, smooth end tube. Take a 14-inch section of ½-inch PVC pipe, and sand the end smooth. Gently insert the tube into the fish’s throat several inches, until you hear (or feel) that the air has been released. Again, improper or forceful procedure here can damage fish. This may, however, be the safest, most effective means of burping fish.

Finally, a tip for deeply hooked fish. Holding the line in one hand, keep the hook eye exposed in the throat. Using a set of long, curved forceps, slide the closed grips through a gill opening. Frabill offers a slick catch and release tool kit, perfect for this scenario. Grasp the upper portion of the hook shank, then twist and push it back outward, completely freeing it. Using a hook with a reduced barb, this procedure has been shown to greatly minimize damage to fish. Fish swallow sharp spiny things all the time, and wounds in the larynx usually heal quickly. Certainly, this is safer for the fish than cutting the line, leaving a hook lodged in its throat.

The beauty of fishing today and that we have the knowledge and tools to care for the very fish that make what we love to do possible. Not only are things like the right net an insurance policy against lost boatside brawlers, they’re also invaluable for keeping fish healthy, happy, and hungry enough to bite again tomorrow.

Related Articles

• Horizontal Jigging (0)
• Free Fishing Log – Printable Fishing Log (4)
• Fast & Easy Fish Cleaning Tips for Walleye, Perch, and Panfish (10)
• Winter Current Walleye Fishing (0)
• Winter Crappie Tips and Tactics – Q & A Session (3)

As winter blankets, and blankets, and blankets the region with snow, it is becoming more apparent that it will be a long season indeed. That’s not a bad thing if you need some time to get your tacklebox ready for one of open water’s early quarries – prespawn slab crappies! If you remember the excitement of picking huge specks out of the reeds in April, those memories of last spring should spark your efforts at the vise!

Once active crappies are found, a quality crappie jig is all that is required to catch them. I don’t recall an outing in the past year where I needed live bait to haul in a dinner’s worth of crappies; they all came on custom crappie jigs and doll flies which are easily replicated at home. What follows is a tutorial on how to make your own custom crappie jigs for use on your favorite water. From here, you can tie walleye jigs, bass jigs, or big bucktail jigs for pike – just let this column serve as a gateway to a winter full of fun lure-making projects!

Custom Crappie Jig Materials (Figure 1):
Jig – 1/16 ounce jig, with no barb or collar
Thread – 6/0 to match pattern
Body – Medium Chenille
Tail – Marabou and Krystal Flash

In this example we’ll be tying up a jig with a chenille body and marabou tail with Krystal Flash accent. I’ve included some pictures of other modifications and combinations that you can put together as well. Use this pattern as a guide and then test the limits of your imagination.

Secure the jig in your vise and form a base layer of thread next to the head (Figure 2). Take a pinch of strung marabou and tie it on the top of the hook shank, wrapping several times along the shank to secure the material to the hook (Figure 3). You can shorten or lengthen the marabou tail by using a shorter or longer pinch of marabou.

Rotate the vise and select another pinch of marabou the same length as the first. Tie it in on the bottom of the hook as you did the first portion (Figure 4). Once completed, wrap the marabou down firmly, forming a thread bed. Select a couple strands of Krystal Flash material to accent your marabou tail. In this instance, I’m using silver.

Pinch the Krystal Flash strands on either side of the hook shank and tie them in place securely. They should run down the middle of the marabou tail. Wrap the tail materials into place one more time and advance your thread about half way down the hook shank (Figure 5). Apply head cement to the tied-down area to secure the marabou and Krystal Flash in place.

At this point, cut a four-inch piece of medium chenille to wrap around the hook in order to form the body. You should be able to pinch and scrape one end clean, revealing the string in the middle of the chenille. Tie the chenille in by this string, advancing your thread right up to the jig head (Figure 6).

Wrap the chenille evenly up the hook shank, each wrap sitting against the other, until you reach the head of the jig. Tie down the tag end of chenille with the thread several times near the jig head and trim the tag end of the chenille as close to the hook shank as possible (Figure 7). Whip finish and apply a drop of cement to the back of the head, it will sink into the thread and the last wrap of chenille, binding them to the hook. Your jig is ready for action (Figure 8).

There’s more than one way to dress it up, as there are a lot of different materials to work with (Figure 9) and a variety of jig styles and sizes. For even smaller crappie jigs, you can skip the chenille body. Shorten or lengthen the tails to adjust to what the fish want. See what fish-catching combinations you can come up with this winter to try on those hungry slabs next spring…in our outdoors.

Related Articles

• Winter Crappie Tips and Tactics – Q & A Session (3)
• Ultralight Fishing Tackle (2)
• The Old Crappie Fishing Hole (0)
• The Fishing Preseason – Spring Crappie Fishing (0)
• Standard Fishing Knot – The Palomar (0)

Making your own custom fishing rods can be a fun experience. Each rod normally takes about 2-3 hours to manufacture, and the finish drying time can take from a few hours to a few days depending on the type of finish, temperature and humidity. We have learned through trial and error and I hope this will save you a few errors while building your fishing rod.
Let’s start with the tools needed. This will be very basic, but essential to rod building. A lot of this stuff can be purchased at hardware stores. Some can be purchased at the big name stores, or through online rod building web sites. We recommend trying a fishing rod kit the first time around. Most kits come with all the components needed, excluding a few household items. This is the list we’ve accumulated of the essentials.

	1. Sharp, thin knife (we use an exacto knife) 2. Lighter 3.Thread (size B or C) 4. Guides (eyelets) 5. Blank (a bare rod) 6. Color saver 7. Cork handle (and reel seat if needed) 8. Winding Chuck (plastic ring, goes on top of handle) 8. Masking tape 9.”rat tail” file 10. Epoxy (5 minute drying time) 11.Tiny paintbrush 12.Finish (epoxy that goes on the thread to hold) 13. Rod tip glue 14. Rubber bands 15. Tape Measure 16. Paint Thinner 17. Magic Marker
	The next thing that will need to be done is to build, find or buy something that will hold the blank horizontally. We built our own, and added velvet in the valleys to prevent scratching.
	Also something will be needed to hold the thread with some tension on it, we did build ours, but a very heavy book or a small brick will work.
	The last item that is needed is a “dryer”. This is the device that spins the rod at a very slow pace, so that all the epoxy does not end up on one side. We did purchase ours, but an old record player spinning on it slowest setting could work.
	Ok, let’s get started. The first thing is to find the backbone of the blank. To find the backbone grab the blank and put the bottom (the thick end) on a hard surface. Then grab about two feet down from the tip and bend just a little and roll back and forth when the blank snaps, or rolls quickly you have just found the backbone. Mark that spot with tape or a marker, this is the side of the blank you will wrap your guides on.
	The next step is to apply the handle. Grab the cork and the “Rat Tail” file, and file the interior of the handle until it’s able to slide all the way down to butt of the blank. Most handles come in three pieces; this allows less time for filing.
	Next slide the reel seat down; there will be some extra space. Take the masking tape and wrap tightly around the blank this will fill in that void. File the top portion of cork so it’s slides down to the reel seat, keep the opening as small as possible, this will help hold the cork in place. Then mix the epoxy together, and apply to the blank, with the handle and reel seat off. Slide the handle back on and line up the pieces so they fit. Remove excess epoxy by wiping down with a rag and some paint thinner. Secure with rubber bands to keep the handle tight. Let set for 10-20 minutes.
	Now that the handle is on, it’s time to apply the guides. The length of the rod will determine were the guides will be located. You can measure an existing rod, or I think some kits come with a sheet telling the measurements. Mark each spot with a small piece of tape, or a magic marker like we have.
	Start with the largest guide, which will be place closest to the handle. Take the rod tip glue and the lighter, heat the bottom of the guide for 5-10 seconds and run over the top of the glue, by applying the rod tip glue it will hold the guide in place without the thread.
	Now comes the fun part. Get your thread ready and make sure it has some tension on it, and wrap around the guide 5-6 times, then start winding over those 5-6 threads to hold it in place.
	Make sure the thread is tight and lines up side by side.
	After you have wrapped the entire foot wrap a few more on the blank, with about 5 wraps to go you will need to take a separate piece of thread, make a loop and lay down where you will wrap over the top of this loop keeping the loop pointed in the direction you are wrapping.
	Hold the last wrap in place and cut the thread. Take the cut end and run through the loop.
	Now hold the cut end in one hand and pull on the opposite end of the loop.
	The thread should pull back under to hold in place.
	Trim the extra, but don’t cut what you have wrapped or it will all un-ravel. Finish by wrapping the rest of the guides like the first. Make sure they all line up. This is the hardest process and takes some practice, but be patient, it’s like blowing a short reed goose call for the first time, each time you will get better.
	After all the guides are on, then comes the tip. Place the tip on the end of the blank and mark with tape or chalk. Take the tip off and wrap a ½ inch area on the blank before the mark with thread. To apply the tip you can either use epoxy, or the rod tip glue. We like the epoxy because it’s stronger. If you ever need to pull the tip off, heat with a lighter for 5 seconds and pull it off. Apply glue/epoxy to the tip of the blank, slide guide/tip onto rod, line up with the other guides, and let dry for 10-20 minutes.
	The last two steps are to apply a coat of color preserve, and finisher to the thread on the guides. Place butt of handle into the dryer, or rig to an old record player and attach securely.
	Turn the drying device on and apply color preserve. Depending on the type it will go on white, but will dry clear. Let it dry for a few hours, but check by touching if not “tacky” your on to the last step. Keep the dryer running and apply finish according to the directions of the type of finish you choose. We have found if it’s a runny type of finish do not touch the threads, just spread the bead at the bottom of the blank as it’s turning. Two or even three coats will be needed if it’s the runny type.
	Another type you can glob on and heat with a lighter until it’s runny. This is the type we prefer since one coat usually will do it. Let dry until no longer “tacky”, do not bend for at least two days some of the finishes out there need a long time to cure.
	I hope this article helps simplify the process in building your own fishing rod. These processes we have found to work best for the two of us. There is no right or wrong way in building a fishing rod, so experiment with all of the processes. You will find a greater satisfaction in catching fish when you know you built the rod your fishing with. Have a safe and enjoyable season. Waterwolf (Taylor – on left) Browndog (Todd – on right)

Related Articles

• Standard Fishing Knot – The Palomar (0)
• Perch Recipe List (0)
• Free Fishing Log – Printable Fishing Log (4)
• Fast & Easy Fish Cleaning Tips for Walleye, Perch, and Panfish (10)
• Catfish Recipe List (0)

Another April is upon us and I can’t help but get excited! What a great month: the Twins play meaningful games, the NFL draft, snow melting, longer days, and the start of what I consider my preseason fishing. Giving normal ice out, in the middle of April, crappie fishing is my preseason of fishing. It is a time to get the rust off and spend some quality time on the water. For me catching crappies ranks right up there with walleyes, and the few weeks before walleye opener can be great for crappies (again taking into account normal ice out). It takes some patience and a lot of movement to find where the fish are at, but when you catch one crappie you can bet there are a lot more there. So what works for me?

Crappies normally move into the reed beds to spawn when the water temperature reaches around 50 degrees. The lake I spend a lot of time fishing in the spring peaks at 51 degrees. The areas that will receive the most activity early on are the mud flats on the north side of the lake. That is the part of the lake that receives the most sun, and the mud bottom will absorb the sunlight. If you’re having a problem finding fish, try to target these mud bottom reed flats. The first place I go it the reed lines in the morning or a few hours before sundown. I will anchor off the reed lines and work different depths, but as sunset gets closer the shallower I go. I will use a slip bobber and a jig tipped with a minnow. Now I don’t endorse one brand over another, but I have found that Northland’s Gypsy jig really works well in the reeds. I use the 1/64 to 1/32 ounce and have found that the best colors seem to be yellow-green and white. Of course each lake is different and the fish may take orange or pink better so I usually have a variety of colors and see what works best. I cast in and let the wind work the jig around to find where those crappies are hiding. It is also a good idea to rig up and have three or four rods with you. The reason is that pike and bass can hit your jig and take the whole works with them. Nothing is worse than finding and getting into crappies and then having to take time to retie your line because jaws just hit your rig.

A key element used in all this is the wind. When I am looking on where to start fishing I will target the reed line that the waves are sweeping into. There is a pretty good chance that the crappies will come into the reeds searching for the baitfish blown up in there. My favorite situation is where you have had a 15 mph wind and it dies to almost nothing going into the evening. With the light wind cast to the edge of reeds and let the wind carry you rig in a ways. If crappies are in the reeds you will know in a few casts or if you will have to move to a different spot. If the wind is really blowing hard then I will fish in the calmer areas on the lake. My reason is that I hate trying to fight big waves and keep control of the rig. On a dead calm night you’ll want to use the trolling motor and move just a little bit to find the fish. You also want to be quiet because a lot of noise in shallow water can really scare the fish. Don’t be afraid to go back to places you tried and hour earlier because sometimes crappies will move in from deeper water and you might have left 10 minutes before they came in.

The crappie fishing gets better each week in the spring and can stay that way well into May as far as fishing in reeds goes. There are other methods that work well such as casting beetle spins but I seem to have better luck in June when it comes to spinners etc. There is something about watching that bobber sink that really gets the heart pumping. There are some nights in the spring when you really can’t get the line out fast enough. So when the ice goes off get out there and give crappies in the reeds a try, it can be a great time. Oh yeah, don’t forget to bring a facemask and gloves with because that ride across the lake early in the spring can be a cold one. Tight Lines!!!

Related Articles

• Fast & Easy Fish Cleaning Tips for Walleye, Perch, and Panfish (10)
• Bluegills for Kids (0)
• Winter Crappie Tips and Tactics – Q & A Session (3)
• When Perch Won’t Bite Through the Ice (3)
• Unlocking the Perch Fishing Limit Theory (0)

Baked Crappie Recipe

This is another extremely quick and easy way to make crappie, as well as healthy.

• Cut up crappie fillets in 2 strips and lay out on a cookie sheet
• Spread some melted butter over the top of each crappie fillet
• Shake on Cavender’s Greek Seasoning (try experimenting with others)
• Lightly cover each fillet with mozzarella cheese
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes
• 1 cup shredded provolone and mozzarella cheese

Yogurt Baked Crappie Recipe

If you’re looking for “something different” you have to give this crappie recipe a try.

Ingredients:

8 – 10 crappie fillets
1 cup plain yogurt (cold)
1 cup flour
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. Creole seasoning
1 tbs. old bay seasoning
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
Cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Evenly coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Place yogurt in a bowl. Toss all breading ingredients in a plastic bag and mix well. Dip crappie fillets in yogurt and then in breaded mixture. Coat each of the crappie fillets and place on the baking sheet. Bake 15 to 20 minutes on center rack.

Related Articles

• Fast & Easy Fish Cleaning Tips for Walleye, Perch, and Panfish (10)
• Winter Crappie Tips and Tactics – Q & A Session (3)
• Venison Sausage Recipe (8)
• Venison Recipes Come in All Forms (0)
• Ultralight Fishing Tackle (2)

These top-notch tips should help you ice more crappies this season.

Q: I have a hard time locating crappies under the ice. Are there any simple rules about their winter location?

A: So much depends on exactly how a lake lays out––in other words, what it has for water depth, how clear the water is, and what kind of weed growth. Especially at early and late ice, crappies can be found in relatively shallow water, in the weeds, if there is decent weed growth.

But in midwinter, crappies are probably more over the basin of the lake.

Chris Hustad with a nice catch and release crappie

Crappies are not typically found over hard bottom. They’re over soft-bottom areas. Every lake builds up sediment in the deeper basin areas, even if it’s dominated by hard bottom.

It’s common in many lakes to find humps, made up of clay and mud, in the mainlake basins. Crappies are known to relate to those features. Look for those midlake humps, and once you find the hump, look for breaks (dropoffs) along the sides of them. How do you know when you’re over a ‘softer bottom’ break? When you don’t get a second echo on your Vexilar.

Q: In one of my local lakes, I fish a bay off the main lake every year at first ice for panfish and do pretty well. The maximum depth in the bay is 13 feet, dropping to about 30 feet in the main lake. But last winter was a bust for me. Where do you think they would be, if not in the bay? There is a nice flat adjacent, but that didn’t produce either. I was bit off several times in the bay and managed to land several pike. Could the high numbers of predators move the panfish elsewhere?.

A: The presence of predator fish certainly affects the behavior of panfish, but it probably hasn’t moved them out of the bay. The panfish would probably have to be there, in fact, or the pike wouldn’t be there. The abundant numbers of pike and other predators could easily have pushed the panfish tighter into the cover.

But at early ice, the panfish should still be in the bay.

The crappies (and bluegills) could be holding right down in the thick weeds, close to the bottom. They can be so tight to the cover that they become difficult to pick up on a Vexilar. Sometimes you just have to fish down in the weeds, down in the red bottom signal on the depthfinder. Try that, and you’ll probably find the fish.

But as winter progresses, the weeds die off, and that will force fish into the deeper water in the mainlake basin.

One thing that really helps you see fish in thick weeds on an FL-8 is to rig an S-cable (an accessory available at many good tackle shops). The S-cable reduces the amount of ‘clutter’ you see on the display, making it easier to pick out your lure amongst the thick vegetation. When you hook up the S-cable, you might find you have to turn up the gain in order to see your lure. (Note: this same feature is built in to the new Vexilar FL-18 flasher.)

Q: Many times when I’m ice fishing, I find small crappies. Do the larger fish hang out with the smaller ones? It seems as though you rarely catch the big ones if you are on to smaller fish.

Nice pail of crappies

A:

Here’s a question, like so many fishing related questions, that’s difficult to answer in a few words. The question of whether ‘big fish hang out with small fish’ is asked a lot.

In some cases they do; in others they don’t.

It seems pretty common for larger crappies to be either above or below the school of smaller ones. The main school is made up of crappies of smaller size, and the bigger ones are generally not with them.

If you start catching small crappies, try jigging at different depths, both below and above the small fish. And any time you’re after crappies and you see fish come through your hole at a depth other than where you’re fishing, adjust quickly. Make sure you fish those fish. See if you can get them bite, and find out what they are.

And here’s a fact we all have to face: Some lakes just don’t have big fish in them. You might be fishing in lakes that have decent numbers of stunted crappies and very few bigger ones. In those waters, no matter how good a fisherman you are, you aren’t likely to catch big crappies. So sometimes it’s a matter of moving to another lake that you know has a population of at least decent-size crappies.

A lot of novice anglers think it’s going to take some kind of magic act to find out where the nice crappies are, but it doesn’t. State natural resources agencies use test nets and other means of sampling the fish populations in many lakes. That data, which show how big the fish are, are available for the asking. Your local fisheries biologists––whose phone numbers are available in the phone book––can tell you which lakes in your area have decent crappies.

Realize, too, that the dynamics of a lake and its fish populations change over time. Just because a certain lake used to kick out nice crappies when you were a kid––or even just a few years ago––that doesn’t mean it does right now. Lakes and regions go through high and low water cycles, and fish populations peak and bust. When a certain lake is going good, we humans are not famous for our self-restraint. It’s common for a lot of nice fish to go home in our buckets, if we don’t practice catch-and-release.

We need to learn that fish populations are not like an apple tree loaded up with a crop that’s going to spoil if it’s not picked right away. Fish can be caught and released, and caught again. If we keep just enough for one meal at a time, there will be decent fishing on most lakes for years and years, barring natural forces.

Q: When fishing for crappies and using minnows for bait, what size hook should I use and also how should I hook the minnow?

Crappie minnows

A:

For crappies, one good way is to hook a crappie minnow through the back on a plain hook, size #6 or #8. To be successful on crappies consistently, you need to bring along different size crappie minnows, too, from small to large. Crappies prefer different size minnows on different days.

It’s also effective to fish minnows on an ice jig, generally a vertical jig, not a horizontal jig. You might use a #8 or even a smaller, #10 ice jig. In the ‘Dave Genz’ line from Lindy/System Tackle, that means a Pounder or Coped.

How you fish with minnows depends on the mood of the fish. When the fish are less active, use the ice jig, which tends to slow the minnow down and limit its movements. But on days when the crappies are more aggressive, they often like a minnow that’s struggling more, moving more. So then, use the minnow on a plain hook. Experiment with both, each time out, until you see what the fish want.

Generally speaking, minnows are often the ticket at night, after dark. But during the daytime hours, a horizontal jig like the Fat Boy or Genz Worm, tipped with maggots, will usually outfish minnows.

Q: I’ve begun to catch crappies, but I have been catching them by holding the jig and waxie completely still. I’m unable to catch them jigging, and I’ve tried many variations. Why don’t they seem to like any jigging action?

Dave Genz with some nice crappies

A:

Dave Genz himself handles the reply to this one:

“I haven’t seen you jigging,” Genz begins, “but I’m guessing you’re pumping the bait, which a lot of people do. You need to make that lure dance. I’ve always called the motion a ‘kicking’ motion, but I’m learning that a lot of people come up with a lot of different images in their mind when I say that. So from now on, I’m going to call it a ‘dancing’ motion.

“You want that lure to not move far up or down, or side to side, but you want the jig to ‘dance’ in place, almost vibrating, as rapidly as you can make it happen. We talk about our wrists moving, quickly, but almost in place. It should look like you’re ‘nervous’ while you’re jigging. The head of the ice jig stays almost in place, and the hook part, that has the bait on it, kicks up and down, like a bucking bronco. There I go again, calling it a kicking motion. Kicking, dancing, whatever you want to call it, that’s the motion you’re trying to achieve.

“Once you learn to achieve that dancing jig, then you have to make it move slowly upward and downward as you keep it kicking. Picture this in your mind: the jig is kicking, or dancing, in place. Almost vibrating. Now, slowly lower the bait as you keep the thing dancing. When you get it to as low as you want it to be, now raise it back up. Up, up, up you go, all the while keeping the jig dancing. By fishing ‘up and down,’ in this manner, you’re checking different depth levels. Also, the up and down movement is often needed to get daytime crappies to chase the bait. If you just sit there and pump that thing, at one depth level, don’t be surprised if you catch nothing.

“Get those daytime crappies to chase that dancing jig up or down, and that’s the key to triggering bites. Sometimes, you get them to chase it so far, then you have to hold it still before they’ll bite it. But it’s usually that dancing motion that pulls them into your hole.”

Related Articles

• Vertical Ice Fishing (1)
• Ultralight Fishing Tackle (2)
• The Old Crappie Fishing Hole (0)
• The Fishing Preseason – Spring Crappie Fishing (0)
• Standard Fishing Knot – The Palomar (0)