Innholdsfortegnelse for December/January/February 2026 i In-Fisherman

I was a kid obsessed with fishing, by way of spending time with both grandfathers. Life on a southern Minnesota crop and livestock farm in the 1980s and 90s was labor intensive; getting away for fishing trips was a rare luxury. This time period was also before the Internet; learning about fishing, sans instruction, was informational and relegated to what your local library possessed. So I begged my parents for trips to town to check out every book I could find on fishing at the local library and peruse the periodicals for every fishing or outdoor magazine. My Christmas gift in the second grade was a subscription to In-Fisherman, and I looked forward to seeing a shining copy in the stack of mail that had been dominated by letters, postcards,…

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One could say new technology has brought us back to the future. As it was, so it is again for winter walleyes. Thus, we begin with our understanding of where and how walleyes travel under ice and key spots to set up to ambush them, typically in the evening as the sun begins to set, although that depends on the characteristics of the body of water. Mind you we can’t illustrate every potential scenario. But we can leave you with fundamentals to apply in various situations. A bit of history to begin our narrative. Longtime In-Fisherman Editor In Chief Doug Stange’s interpretation of how walleyes use what we have long called pivot points began with observations from fishing in Northwest Iowa in the 1970s. Stange: “The Iowa Great Lakes Region…

At first, I didn’t know that little Lawtonka even held blue cats, much less any this big. The scale proved that each fish weighed over 50 pounds. Secondly, I didn’t know that catfish would bite in the winter, yet here hung the evidence of a potential trophy fishery. I took a picture of the guys and their blue cats, and the photo slide is still in a dusty file back at the office. Usually, the only thing biting deep in an Oklahoma in winter are stocked trout or deep-water crappies. For a biologist, it’s a time to write reports, draft budgets, and plan projects for spring. But in December 1999, another angler came to the office to officially weigh an 85-pound blue catfish that set a (then) state record. Of…

As I scan the obits, my eyes are drawn to photos of those passed who are holding up a fish. Fish of any size. It matters not. To me it’s an indication that fishing was important in the life of the person now deceased. And I wonder how it all began? A passion for fishing has to start somewhere, sometime, right? Ever think about that? How does fishing become important in one’s life? And so, with that question in my head, I reflect on my own beginnings as a fishing enthusiast. How and where did I get the fishing bug? And I wonder how my passion for angling has not withered as the seasons passed, regardless of my fishing successes or failures. In conversations with others, you often hear, ‘’Well,…

Thrash, Dash, and Roll From the Field—For anglers, underwater cameras help verify what’s happening in the undwater world and also reveal new insights into fish behavior. So, too, has the technology been valuable for fishery scientists seeking to better understand biology and behaviors of many fish species. Fishery researchers in Saskatchewan recently put underwater cameras to use to study strike behavior of pike and their responses to retrieval when caught through the ice.* By installing down-viewing GoPro cameras outfitted with wide lenses about 3 feet above baits set under tip-ups, researchers were able to determine behaviors of pike as they approached and struck baits as well as how they behaved from the time the hook was set until landing. Tip-ups were spooled with braided line and fluorocarbon leader and tied…

As are the observations of astute anglers who pursue this toothy critter important to becoming better at catching them, so too is science a guiding light on how to better understand them. Since the beginning, In-Fisherman has been about connecting the two in meaningful ways, most notably in the Bits and Pieces column, where “science is blended with everyday fishing,” in order to, as Editor In Chief Doug Stange, who started the column would say, serves as a “bridge between fishery science and anglers . . . to cut through some of the complexity relative to what was important to anglers in a language they can understand.” The same philosophy has also often crossed over into feature articles, where incorporating new science discoveries on fish behavior and biology so often…

Adam Christianson of Adrenaline Angling has been fishing the backwaters of the Mississippi River near La Crosse, Wisconsin, his entire life. For the last several ice seasons, airboats have been his preferred means of transportation and he’s fully committed to them for his guiding business. When asked what his customers thought of their first airboat experience, he says “People often comment that it’s the wildest ride of their life, and the jumbo perch are simply a bonus.” First and foremost, Christianson’s decision to run airboats on the Mississippi River is a matter of safety. “We’re dealing with ever-shifting currents on the river and backwaters. You can’t take safety for granted when bringing anglers out in an environment like ours. With an airboat, if you break through the ice, you simply…

The controversy has raged in the role of psychology since Sir Francis Galton, Charles Darwin’s cousin, penned Hereditary Genius in 1869. Victor Klatch, professor emeritus at the University of Michigan, explains the difference: “‘Nature’ refers to the biological/genetic predispositions that impact one’s human traits—physical, emotional, and intellectual. ‘Nurture,’ in contrast, describes the influence of learning and other ‘environmental’ factors on these traits.” Were the best smallmouth fishermen simply born in a region rife with bronze bass, eventually teaching themselves how to catch them through observation and trial and error? Or were they taught by a father, uncle, or other mentor. Or do the best simply grow up in smallmouth country? “Where you come from has a lot to do with ability in smallmouth fishing,” says four-time Bassmaster Classic champion Kevin…

We tapped the knowledge of renowned guides across the country, revealing a mix of commonalities and regional distinctions. Their insights capture both time-tested tactics and innovative fishing techniques anglers can use to catch more crappies, right now. Northern Perspectives “In fall, I classify crappie fisheries into two categories: deep vegetation lakes and basin lakes,” says Brian “Bro” Brosdahl, a year-round guide and panfish savant who targets central Minnesota to southern Canada. “On some lakes, crappies don’t drop deep; they just hold to the deepest weeds or (structural) edge possible. In other lakes, they drop into the basin, but they don’t just directly move into the deepest areas. It’s a stair-step thing. When the water drops into the 60°F range, fish slowly work their way down, and it’s mostly a response…

I thought I could finesse a half-ounce jig out of the speeding current toward the calmer pool. I was wrong. Somewhere down there among the 2.5-billion-year-old rocks was my brand new jig sporting a chartreuse twister tail. It no longer had my line attached as I had yanked the rod like Aunt Lucy pulling the starter rope of her ancient Briggs & Stratton for the first yard work of the season. My line went snap. Re-tie time. I motored to flatter water, selected another jig from my tackle box, and attempted to tie it on. It was like threading a needle wearing oven mitts. Doc was busy casting. Between puffs on a cigar that smelled like the inside of a 30-year-old bicycle tire, he said, “You need some help?” I…