Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2025 i In-Fisherman

Pickling remains a nice change-of-pace for dealing with some of the fish we take home. We’ve published a couple recipes over the years, which have been popular. An update is appropriate given Food and Drug Administration and Canadian Food Inspection Agency suggested changes to the pickling process. My most recent pickle patrol was for whitefish on an ice fishing trip to Green Bay. They’re beautiful fish with delicate flesh—brining firmed them up nicely. They’re also mild tasting and have a distinctively long line of epiplural bones (pin bones) that disappear during the pickling process. I cleaned and trimmed 17 fish that produced 7.25 pounds of fillets. Among In-Fisherman readers pike remain the gold standard for pickling as the process can dissolve the Y-bones (epiplurals). I’ve always removed those bones before…

If there’s a lure style in walleye fishing that qualifies in the proverbial sense—no brainer—it’s the crankbait. Catching fish can be as easy as snapping on a Shad Rap and running it along a weededge. Or along a drop-off. Or along the edge of a rockbar—or a timber edge. You snap on a #5 to run shallower, a #7 to run deeper. You speed up, you slow down. You start with one color while your partner tries another. Pretty soon you have something going. You catch pike and smallmouths as well as walleyes. Perhaps a white bass or two. A jumbo perch. A slab crappie. Are we having fun yet? How do you spell fish-fry? Happy camper? World’s greatest angler? While it can be that simple and often is, especially…

It’s been a while since I’ve needed a tow on the water, and also a few years since I’ve towed another boat. Whether on the receiving end or the person doing the dragging, there’s definitely some dos and don’ts. Of course, both instances are predicated on willing parties helping in either direction. That may not be an option on remote waters, and even where there are plenty of options for a tow, fellow boaters may not have the right equipment to help you in a pinch. That’s where tow services may come into play. No matter the situation, an ounce of prevention—and in this case preparation—comes into play. Tools for the Job When towing a boat, having the right gear can mean the difference between a smooth recovery and a…

There’s no shortage of top-shelf trout fisheries in the West that are perfect for kayak anglers. In fact, so many amazing opportunities and hidden gems exist there. Whether you want to explore a lesser-known locale for plump rainbows or bask in the glory of famed western fisheries, the presentations below put big, beautiful trout in your net. Trout eat flies. You can sometimes watch them gently sip mayflies off the placid canvas of a calm western reservoir. Dignified, fancy, and delicate are a few words that come to mind when trout are eating like that. That’s one side to the octagon of terror that trout inflict on the food chain anywhere they’re present. They also can be fierce predators that attack prey much larger than many anglers realize. The same…

Can Bass See Line? From the Field—Some years ago a classic experiment proved once and for all that largemouth bass could see line. The fish were conditioned by training them to eat food attached to one color (clear, yellow, or fluorescent blue) 8-pound-test monofilament, while shocked into avoiding identical food on lines of the other colors. Although avoidance of the clear line was less easily/rapidly learned by the young adult bass tested, all bass learned to avoid negative lines and select food from the positive-conditioning line. The tests were made before flourocarbon line became common. More on that in a moment. Does this mean that bass won’t bite if they see line? No, it means they can learn to avoid lines if they have a chance. Fish killed and creeled…

2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the first edition of In-Fisherman. In light of this historic milestone and the wonderful recollections it summons forth, I thought it appropriate to consider the way the softbait market and the lures themselves have changed over the decades since Nick Creme poured his first plastic worm in 1949. The Early Years In the earliest issues, Ron and Al Lindner outlined the foundations of the In-Fisherman fishing systems without focusing on lure choices. In the Bicentennial summer (1976), a “Study Report” was devoted to “Bass on the Breaks,” in which several top presentations were described for fishing deep edges of vegetation in summer, with what were termed “jigworms”—mainly stand-up heads backed by pork eels, which were soon replaced by plastic worms and reapers. In 1965,…

In past Screen Scene columns I’ve written a lot about all the modern sonar equipment you can add to your rig, but without considering price. The focus has certainly been on the best products each brand has to offer, and there’s a good reason for that. If you’re going to invest in the latest electronics, why not go all-in? Each of us has a unique perspective. So, what’s best for you? One of the most common reasons I hear why people refrain from updating graphs to units like the Lowrance HDS Carbon, Humminbird Apex and Mega 360, or Garmin GPSMap and LiveScope are the high price points. Indeed, top-of-the line options aren’t cheap, but there are many other modern options that can be had at more affordable prices. First and…

A smallmouth hears a delicate “plop,” followed eventually by an almost inaudible “click.” It approaches the sounds, hearing nothing else. Feeling subtle vibration it finally sees something small, gray, and nondescript, swimming slowly, quietly around boulders and rockpiles, blending in. It approaches. The closer it gets, the more excitement it feels. A smallmouth knows something is there as soon as your lure hits the water or touches a rock. It doesn’t have to see it right away. In fact, if it can’t be seen, active and even neutral bass can be overwhelmed with curiosity. Hunting for the source of those sounds elevates primal instincts. If bass can feel, hear, or somehow sense the presence of prey without being able to see it, curiosity leads to salivation. Not that bass can…

Pike and muskies are among the most savage fish on the planet. They strike without pause, attack baits over half their size with reckless abandon, show up out of nowhere to steal a smaller fish attached to your line, and are known cannibals. They attack trolling-motor props, eat ducks, thrash, tear, jump, eat and refuse to eat, fear nothing—and make dreams come true. Despite the tendencies and voracious appetites, big pike and especially muskies aren’t easy critters to catch. Most anglers encounter them by accident. In the North Country, pike are often a by-catch when targeting other species, but big ones are impressive. Since the gear is basically the same for both species, and for the sake of our discussion here, I focus mostly on muskies, yet pike are indeed…

I have a friend who fishes. In truth somewhat more than fishes. My friend impersonates water, he sprouts gills and a swim bladder, heads upstream, his underbelly turns red. My friend melds with water, molecule for molecule. Some fishermen are like this, endlessly, compulsively without end or diminution devoted to fish. I understand why the CEO of the New Testament Corporation chose fishermen as junior executives. Okay, so throw in a tax collector for the sake of brevity, add a carpenter for household repair, for literature’s sake a legal secretary; but for the grunt work of the franchise go with fishermen. On this planet there is no single phenomenon, personal habit, or kinky pathology more devoted, more faithful, more loyal to cause, more punctual to the evening rise than is…