Innholdsfortegnelse for March/April 2023 i In-Fisherman

Kayak Transport The Malone MegaSport LowBed has 86-inch load bars only 25 inches from the ground to make loading and unloading kayaks easier. Galvanized construction, submersible LED lighting, and 10-inch pontoon tires allow for backing down ramps into the water. An easy-to-reach second tier provides transport for additional gear like a cargo box, extra boat, or pair of rod tubes. The MegaSport LowBed lineup starts at $3,599. Check maloneautoracks.com for trailer models, accessories, and pricing. Snack Happy A tasty protein snack, Old Trapper Beef Jerky is lean cuts of steak with a bit of brown sugar for sweetness, and wood-smoked. Bucking the industry norm of smaller bag sizes, these are 1/4-pound bags, in choices of Old Fashioned, Hot & Spicy, and Peppered recipes—from $10 (in stores) or $80 for a…

► Depending on your success at finding and triggering walleyes, fishing the Postspawn Period can be incredibly rewarding, extremely frustrating, or somewhere in between. Time-tested patterns for pinpointing postspawn fish and tripping their triggers still hold water under the right conditions. But change is a constant, and keeping up with the latest lines of thought on postspawn fish behavior and location, and productive tactics, are key to catching the most fish possible on every trip. In-Fisherman Field Editor Steve Ryan sums it up. “Part of becoming a better walleye angler is staying on top of current trends and tactics. It’s all about knowing where to fish, when to fish, and how to fish,” he offers. “On a large system such as Lake Michigan’s Green Bay, those parameters are constantly changing.…

There’s little difference between 35°F water under lake or river ice and T38°F water in that lake or river just after ice-out, but catch rates of channel catfish before and after ice-out can be significant, as demonstrated by Wisconsin catfishing fanatic Jim Lepak and friends several years ago. The anglers had caught channel cats through the ice on the Wisconsin River all winter. After hearing reports about exceptional catfishing in other parts of the country immediately after ice-out, they decided to test their local waters as soon as conditions allowed them to safely put a boat on the river. “The local river flow was reasonable, so we gave it a try,” Lepak says. “We focused on an area where we’d caught channel cats all winter, where there’s a 20-foot-deep hole…

Effects of High Walleye Harvest Fishery Science—Angler harvest of walleyes has—although maybe based more on intuition than good science—always been a concern as evidenced by decades of length and possession limits. More anglers equipped with more knowledge, better tackle, and advanced marine electronics and declines of some walleye fisheries have increased concern about the effects of exploitation on walleye populations. A recent study by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission fishery scientists adds new information to the walleye management playbook.* Through a combination of liberalized angler harvest regulations, tribal spearfishing, and, as necessary, physical removal, 50 percent of the adult walleye population was harvested for 10 successive years from Sherman Lake, a 123-acre natural lake with a naturally reproducing walleye population. The 50…

Anticipation accompanies every new fishing expedition. The excitement builds as the timing and location of the trip draws nearer. Such was the case during our most recent TV filming trip to Alaska. This would be my first visit to the fabled Yukon River drainage, where pike grow to the size of fence posts by cannibalizing each other and eating any aquatic or terrestrial creature that fits in their mouths. At most locations, a trophy pike is 40 inches. At premier Far North fisheries, the trophy mark is 42 inches or better. Where we were heading, 40-inch fish are commonplace and those from 40 to 44 inches draw little attention. For guests of Midnight Sun Trophy Pike Adventures (MSTPA), the focus lies on tangling with mega-size pike surpassing 45 inches, and…

When it comes to precision boat propulsion, anglers for decades have relied on the power of bowmount trolling motors. While you can mount a trolling motor in a variety of locations, the age-old adage of “easier to pull a chain than push it” applies well here. Backtrollers love stern-mounted versions with a positive-ratio steer advantage, pulling a short distance at the stick to turn a much greater radius, but they’re “pulling” the boat, too, just backward. Their ranks seem to be shrinking on account of the popularity of wheel boats as well. For that reason, it’s more common to see trolling motors on the bow, but that’s often where similarities from boat to boat can fade. On bass rigs, for example, manual-deploy systems with precision cable-drive steering are powered often…

Two years of watching fish, bait, and vegetation generate surprises at every turn has convinced all of us that forward-facing live sonar is here to stay. After rigging (and re-rigging) sonar units, black boxes, poles, batteries, and more, it’s time to take a closer look at optimum setup options for all anglers. The major trends gleaned from watching fish include their movement and positioning. First, fish move more than traditional tactics have assumed and can be at every level in the water column. The movement is not just horizontal. Watching a fish rise off the bottom 5 or 10 feet to intercept bait wows an angler. Fish buzzing across the screen inches below the surface, halfway down, and along the bottom looks like a Los Angeles freeway at times. Those…

“No angler merely watches nature in a passive way. He enters into its very existence.”John Bailey, Reflections On The Water’s Edge ► It slithers through weed tops and boulder fields. It slips alongside deep weededges and reefs. It glides through open water and skims over weed humps and deep rock-piles. Vulnerable and seductive, it rarely goes unnoticed. Bass rise to inspect the bold little traveler. It waves at them. It winks. Some kind of emotion akin to “That does it!” must reverberate in the skulls of those following fish. “It” is a skirted grub. Few lures are more universally addictive for smallmouth and largemouth bass. They must bite. Must have it in their mouths. They’re strung out. Which is great. We let them all go, anyway. They come back for…

Pitching for crappies in the early season is really a multispecies event. Bass, pike, crappies, bluegills—every kind of predator gathers in the warming shallows because every kind of baitfish and emerging insect is there. Distracted perch stage and spawn nearby. It’s a cornucopia—a feast for beasts with teeth. PIn spring, the right tool for crappies often has to deal with those other fish, some of them brutishly large and focusing on smaller-than-usual prey—like little panfish swimbaits pitched on ultralight gear. Tossing plastics and bobber rigs for crappies is something I’ve done every spring for well over half a century, with rods from every major manufacturer. Rods have improved exponentially over those decades, and the following represents the modern best around. While it’s fun jousting with dragons armed only with ultralight…

“How about this?” Doc said. “This morning I was standing at the kitchen sink with a Phillips screwdriver in my hand, and I can’t for the life of me remember what I was going to do with it.” “I can come up with guitar chords and words to songs I played in 1974,” I said, “but I can’t find the car I parked at Costco an hour ago.” “On the other hand, some things I’ll never forget,” Doc said. “Like the road to Sioux Lookout. We’ve been to Knobby’s so many times I could drive there in my sleep.” “Doc, the way you drive, I’m pretty sure you already have.” Doc mumbled something that was a physical impossibility, and I heard a clunk. He must have laid his phone on…