December 2018

Episode 48
First Ice in Ely Minnesota
Show Date: December 1st & 2nd, 2018
Location: Ely, Minnesota
Accommodations: A Stay Inn Ely [218-365-6010 | jaspercompany.com]

It’s the time we wait for all fall, first ice! We are back in Ely Minnesota, because they always seem to have the coldest temps, which is of course conducive to making ice.  We are of course making all of our moves carefully, as we have not been out on this lake yet. Spud bars, throw ropes, float suits, and having many people around incase someone goes through - all of these things are a necessity when heading out, especially early on in the season.  We are pleased to find 4 to 6 inches of good clear ice everywhere we need to fish, but every lake is different, so don’t take this to mean all lakes are ready to ice fish.

Episode 49
Laker Madness on Lake Michigan
Show Date: December 8th & 9th, 2018
Location: Lake Michigan, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Guide: Captain Caleb Zorn [Wacky Walleye Guide Service - 920-743-5731 | wackywalleye.com]

Just because the temps are dropping across the midwest, doesn't mean you need to wait for ice to go fishing. As long as the boat ramps don’t get too frozen, you can get out on Lake Michigan to open water fish for lake trout and brown trout. Captain Caleb Zorn is our guide, and he knows the ins and outs of what can sometimes be a finicky bite. We are out for 2 days, because the first day was very slow. We were rewarded on the second day because the weather was amazing, and the bite was absolutely on fire. Jigging Kastmasters & Google Eye jigs was an absolute blast - there is now way to describe how these fish fight. They take you all over the place, and everyone in the boat helps when somebody's got a fish on.

Episode 50

Ice Fishing Fun in Northern Wisconsin

Show Date: December 15th & 16th, 2018

Location: Iron River, Wisconsin

Guide: Josh Teigen [715-813-0575  | joshteigen.com ]

We’re back on the ice with this week, and we’re in northern Wisconsin fishing with Charter Captain Josh Teigen.  Josh grew up fishing in the Iron River Wisconsin area, and knows many of the lakes very well. One the the best things about this area is the sheer number of lakes that there is to choose from. Having all these options is great because you can choose a lake depending on what species you want to target, or in our case, to get out of the wind in a comfortable Bay to jig.

We're tip-up fishing, setting our Beaver Dam’s over the weeds targeting pike and walleye.  We are also jigging, looking for crappie, perch or bluegill. Panfish are usually in deeper water, schooling together, this time of year.

Episode 51

Vilas County All-Day Bite

Air Date: December 22nd & 23rd, 2018

Location: Vilas County, Wisconsin

Guide: Rob Manthei [715-477-2042 | robmanthei.com]

It’s always exciting to visit Vilas County because there are so many lakes to choose from.  Our long-time buddy and guide Rob Manthei has us on a lake that has just about everything in it. We’re jigging for walleyes and panfish, and have Beaver Dams set up for pike, bass and also walleye.  

Episode 52

Lake Winnibigoshish on Ice

Air Date: December 29th & 30th, 2018

Location: Lake Winnibigoshish, Minnesota

Accommodations: Beckers Resort [ 218-665-2268 | beckersresort.com]

Our last show of the year takes us to Lake Winnibigosh (officially “Winnibigoshish”) or Lake Winnie.  Whatever you call it, we know that the fishing has been getting better and better as the years go on. Lake Winnibigosh was well known in the 90’s for its amazing perch population, and eventually suffered because of the high bag limits.  Minnesota DNR implemented new regulations, and the lake has bounced back wonderfully.

We’re being guided by Lance Stanley, who has fished this area for his whole life.  Lance has us in 9-14 feet of water, on a ledge. We’re jigging for perch, and Pete Maina set up some Beaver Dams for pike and walleye too.  We catch just about everything on our jig rods, which we didn’t expect. We found that switching to a larger Kastmaster, we were able to weed out the smaller perch.  

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