Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2016 - January - February 2017 i In-Fisherman

JANUARY 2 Happy Days Are Here Again > Jean Lafitte Redfish in Action > Seal River, Manitoba, Grand Slam > Yukon River Giants, Target Pike JANUARY 9 Magnificent Sportfish in Action > Wilderness Lake Trout on Ice > Sight-Fishing Texas Largemouths > Great Slave’s Magnificent Pike JANUARY 16 Unique Fisheries & Fishing Situations > Destination North Knife Pike & Lakers > Icing Cinder Block Perch > Mexican Secrets for Giant Bass JANUARY 23 Stock Strategies Supreme > French River, Ontario Muskies > Multispecies Magic on Ice > Big River Blue Cats JANUARY 30 Giant Sportfish Gone Wild > Biggest Flathead Catfish Ever on Film > Spooning Up Lake Winnipeg Walleyes > Wollaston’s Pike & Lake Trout FEBRUARY 6 Prime Time Patterns & Presentations > Lloyd Lake’s Fishing Paradise > Prime…

“‘NEVER TRUST A SPOON WITH A BIG BUTT’” I have a deep curiosity about catching fish and, to that end, have spent hundreds of hours over 30 years, looking at how various lures work in the big tanks we have had in our In-Fisherman offices. I surmised early on that one has to put an ice lure through the paces in a tank to see how it really works. Of course, eventually, promising designs still need the fish to approve in vivid practice out there with your back to the wind. Success is a matter of a combination of fundamental ice lure design factors; but there is a tactical side to the issue, too. Some anglers do better than others at playing the game of illusion. These days, the talent…

Aside from ice fishermen, many anglers hope for a rising thermometer to trigger improved fishing. Blue catfish anglers take a different view. ¶ “Fifty degrees is the magic number,” says Texas Guide Chad Ferguson. “Once the water temperature falls below 50°F, blue cats start to congregate in specific areas and you can pattern them. The fishing keeps getting better as the water cools. When it’s cold enough that it’s miserable to be on the water, that’s when the big blues are easiest to catch. I like a week of consistently cold weather, with enough wind to move and concentrate baitfish in certain areas. The blues follow and you can hammer them when there’s a consistent pattern.” That pattern is consistent, if somewhat confusing to some anglers, in lakes across the…

The first fish you ever caught when you were a kid might have been a pumpkinseed or, it could have been a bluegill. Or it might have been a cross between the two, known to the panfish crowd as a “pumpkingill” or “gillseed.” Sunfish species of all kinds spawn in the shallows of lakes, ponds, and rivers in spring and early summer, nationwide. This usually translates to easy fishing in shallow water. And as can happen in many environments, sunfish species can cross, making a hybrid that differs from either parent. Such is the case with the pumpkingill, a natural hybrid between a pumpkinseed and a bluegill. It’s typically a cross between a female pumpkinseed and a male bluegill, and the resulting offspring are dominated by males. Such is the…

“WINTER BEHAVIOR IS LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM OTHER SEASONS EXCEPT BASS MOVE LESS” Ironically, deer season is my favorite season for bass fishing. Lakes are empty and that’s when I usually catch my biggest fish. The water is cold, their metabolism slows, and they feed less often. They react and swim more slowly, but they still react, and they can catch any lure you care to throw. They’re cold but not catatonic. ¶ Catching often starts with knowing where to fish, and bass’ cold-water whereabouts seem a mystery to many bass anglers. In this article, I’ve tapped into current biological research, as well as the minds of some highly experienced winter anglers from around the country. Biological Findings In rivers, bass go to backwaters. Radio-tracking studies in several systems indicate bass…

What better excuse for a road trip than the chance to chase giant pike. North America is blessed with a bounty of fine pike waters, and winter is an excellent time to sample some of these fisheries. Buckle-up and leave the driving to us. Madison Chain, WI The Madison Chain, consisting of five distinct lakes, is one of Wisconsin’s best managed pike fisheries. Each basin offers different options. Lakes Monona and Mendota are big pike powerhouses. They have every type of structure, from shallow weedflats to deep cabbage, rock reefs, extended points, and fast breaks into deep basins. Plus, with a one-fish, 40-inch minimum-length limit on Mendota, big fish abound. Here I connect with Kevin Yeska, a University of Wisconsin alumnus and Madison resident, who pursues trophy pike on the…

Hooks in Sturgeon Field Science— White sturgeon are highly sought after for their large size, fighting ability, and acrobatic leaping. Popular fisheries occur in the Pacific Northwest from California to British Columbia, in rivers such as the Willamette, Columbia, Snake, and Fraser. Sturgeon over 6 feet in length are common, with chances of catching giants, such as the 650-pound 10-footer caught from the Fraser River this past summer. White sturgeon are slow to mature, periodic spawners, and long-lived—up to 100 years or more—making populations of this species highly sensitive to overharvest, which requires more protective management strategies such as stringent harvest regulations, hook-type restrictions, and handling rules. In a study of hooks in white sturgeon, the authors report that in the Hell’s Canyon reach of the Snake River in Idaho,…

On a broad expanse of Great Lakes ice, wind snapped the sides of our shelters like flags left out in a hurricane. A thick layer of clouds dimmed midday to create a late-evening atmosphere. But over the din of flapping tents came the constant hoot-and-holler of fishermen hooking up. First to my left, then my right, and suddenly my Thorne Brothers Professional doubled over. Everybody was catching bass. Big ones. Most were over 4 pounds. I remember thinking, this is easier than bluegills. We should be able to duplicate action like this every year. But in the 15 or so winters that have passed since, bites like that have been few and far between. Unlike crappies, walleyes, pike, and other northern fish, bass have a metabolism that doesn’t demand regular…

If you ever doubt humans have herding tendencies, travel by air over Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota, or Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, on a clear January day you can spot clusters of ice shelters crowded into specific sections. Stretching for acres and miles between are white expanses of lonely ice. But if you look closer, you might spot a single shelter off in the distance, all by itself. Does that angler know something the crowds don’t? Or is he a non-conformist sitting over an unknown school of bluegill beasts? Psychological research has revealed that humans do indeed flock, similar to sheep and birds, and subconsciously follow a minority of individuals. Scientists at the University of Leeds (UK) determined that it takes a minority of just 5 percent to influence a crowd’s…

Winter is a long time—and the fishing opportunities make for some glorious days on ice and on open water. I prefer my lifestyle, which is a mix of both, as I travel throughout the ice belt, as well as across the South, where waters usually don’t freeze. Some of the coldest fishing in the universe I swear, though, is on open water, where a brisk northeast breeze delivers intermittent rain and sleet in near freezing temperatures. We fished in such weather on January 13, 2015, on Lake Fork, Texas, with Guide Jason Hoffman, pitching jigs to timber cover. It is the only time I have been on Fork, which normally is the world’s busiest bass fishery, when there was not another boat in sight. Indeed, we put in and out…