Sorry boys, short write up today due to celebrating Thanksgiving, watching my Nebraska Huskers on Friday, and deer hunting the weekend.
Be sure to check out some of your retailers for "Cyber Monday" deals; there are some pretty good one's to be had. Many stores offering free shipping too! I will include a list of outdoor related stores (with links) offering Cyber Monday sales and if there are any i missed, please "comment" below.
Mills Fleet Farm
Cabelas
Bass Pro Shops
Scheels
Sportsmen's Warehouse
We're almost to ice fishing here in Iowa!
Monday, November 28, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Safety First!
In my humble opinion, first ice offers ice fishermen some of the best fishing of all season. Oxygen levels are high, weeds are still green, and there is an abundance of food; what more could a fish ask for?! Many anglers talk about that late ice bite and while I do not disagree that it can be phenomenal for some species, it is pretty tough to beat early ice for panfish. The first three weeks of the season can be down right "lights-out" since the fish haven't been bothered for a few weeks on most lakes.
With the conditions being ideal for catching fish on early ice, many anglers trek out onto the ice in late November and early December all throughout the ice belt in the United States. Sadly, though, there are instances where people fall through thin ice and pass away due to drowning or hypothermia during this early ice period. I'm as big of an ice fishing fanatic as there is, but let's be serious, no fish is worth dying for. So, what steps can anglers take to limit the possibility of falling through the ice? I've laid out seven suggestions below and I hope everyone takes a chance to read and put them into practice.
1. Fish with a buddy. If one person falls in, there is a much greater chance of getting out with assistance.
2. Fish shallow water. Ice forms closest to shore first and is much thicker there than it is in the middle of the lake. Try some of your shallow water spots first as they will probably still be holding fish if there are weeds present.
3. Wear your ice picks. They are inexpensive, they aren't heavy, and they can save your life. Wear them around your neck and not packed away.
4. Take along a rope. Pack a rope in your shack which can be used to either help pull your shack or to help pull someone out of the water.
5. Walking protocol: Stagger yourselves when walking on the ice as it distributes the weight more evenly.
6. Use a spud bar. This is probably the most important piece of early ice equipment. Always check the ice with the spud before you take a step while you're walking.
7. Buoyancy: Some suits like the Arctic Armor and Mustang survival suit are buoyant which is nice. Otherwise either fish in a life jacket or bring along a floating seat cushion.
I've linked a great webpage to look over about hypothermia and cold water survival; you can find it HERE. Take a look at it and be sure to follow some of the suggestions if you are to fall into icy water. Speaking from experience, one of the worst things you can do when falling into cold water is panic. Have your wits about it and figure a way out as quickly as you can.
Finally, I have included a graphic below which gives you a ball park on ice thickness and what it can hold. While the numbers aren't exact, they will give you an idea of what is safe and what is not. The numbers they are using are for pristine, clear ice and not honeycombed or snow laden ice. Remember that ice thickness and quality isn't uniform through out the entire lake and to pay attention when traveling across it.
Everyone please be safe this early ice; tight lines and good fishing!
With the conditions being ideal for catching fish on early ice, many anglers trek out onto the ice in late November and early December all throughout the ice belt in the United States. Sadly, though, there are instances where people fall through thin ice and pass away due to drowning or hypothermia during this early ice period. I'm as big of an ice fishing fanatic as there is, but let's be serious, no fish is worth dying for. So, what steps can anglers take to limit the possibility of falling through the ice? I've laid out seven suggestions below and I hope everyone takes a chance to read and put them into practice.
1. Fish with a buddy. If one person falls in, there is a much greater chance of getting out with assistance.
2. Fish shallow water. Ice forms closest to shore first and is much thicker there than it is in the middle of the lake. Try some of your shallow water spots first as they will probably still be holding fish if there are weeds present.
3. Wear your ice picks. They are inexpensive, they aren't heavy, and they can save your life. Wear them around your neck and not packed away.
4. Take along a rope. Pack a rope in your shack which can be used to either help pull your shack or to help pull someone out of the water.
5. Walking protocol: Stagger yourselves when walking on the ice as it distributes the weight more evenly.
6. Use a spud bar. This is probably the most important piece of early ice equipment. Always check the ice with the spud before you take a step while you're walking.
7. Buoyancy: Some suits like the Arctic Armor and Mustang survival suit are buoyant which is nice. Otherwise either fish in a life jacket or bring along a floating seat cushion.
I've linked a great webpage to look over about hypothermia and cold water survival; you can find it HERE. Take a look at it and be sure to follow some of the suggestions if you are to fall into icy water. Speaking from experience, one of the worst things you can do when falling into cold water is panic. Have your wits about it and figure a way out as quickly as you can.
Finally, I have included a graphic below which gives you a ball park on ice thickness and what it can hold. While the numbers aren't exact, they will give you an idea of what is safe and what is not. The numbers they are using are for pristine, clear ice and not honeycombed or snow laden ice. Remember that ice thickness and quality isn't uniform through out the entire lake and to pay attention when traveling across it.
Everyone please be safe this early ice; tight lines and good fishing!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Creating a Proper Fishing Report
This topic may be foreign to some people, but having and maintaining good fishing reports can be a great educational tool. It can improve you as an angler and your overall understanding of fishing. Many anglers do not take the time to write these reports because they find it tedious and time consuming. However, once you become accustomed to writing the reports, it only takes a short amount of time to complete. Below is an example of a fishing report and what useful information it may contain. The reports are always adaptable and user specific so certain information may be added or omitted depending on the individual.
Location: Big Creek 2/27/2011
Time Fished: 2:00 - 5:30 pm
Water Clarity: 2 FOW
Water temp: ICE BABY!!!!! 11" of good, hard ice. Edges perfectly fine too, skiff of snow on top of the ice
Depth fished: 23-25 FOW
Presentation: 4 MM Fiskas Wolfram (Yellow), 1/16 oz Northland Forage Minnow (Glow Rainbow), Little Atom Micro Nuggie (Glow, Glow Blue)
Species Sought: FISH!
Fish caught: 46 Gills (4 7/8"-9.25”), 6 Crappie (7.0-10.25")
Day three of my ice fishing binge took a little bit of motivation to get out the door; I can tell that it's starting the late ice season. The weather was overcast with a slight breeze out of the north with warm temps when I arrived at Big Creek. I decided to fish a location which doesn't get a bunch of pressure and sure enough when I arrived I didn't see any holes drilled since at least the thaw last week. In fact there wasn't anyone fishing within 250 yards of me minus one guy who stopped by and said that he wasn't having much luck.
The fishing was phenomenal when i arrived and i attribute that to the lack of pressure on these fish as well as the cloudy water. I had my "limit" of 8"+ gills within 40 minutes of fishing but about an hour and a half into the trip the wind started to pick up out of the north and the temps started dropping and the fish started to get tight lipped.
In the report above, you can see that I always include a couple of key pieces of information in the beginning and put it in bold print. I always follow this format to keep it consistent and easy to identify when scanning through reports. Other helpful information might include barometric pressure readings, weather/conditions, GPS coordinates, etc. Obviously, if you are posting these reports online you might want to keep the GPS cords to yourself! LOL!
The second part of the report just gives a short synopsis of the outing. It may include observations, strategies, thoughts, etc. If you fish the same lake over and over this part allows you to differentiate each outing so you can keep them straight in the future. You can also put together some ideas in this section as a way to "connect the dots" for the next time you are out fishing and experiencing similar conditions or results based on your success (or lack thereof). You can also include pictures, which is always nice, as it makes it easier to recall the outing.
You can create these reports on just about any program or software you like. Some guys use Microsoft Word or Excel, I've found Blogger to actually work quite well too. One nice feature about Blogger is the report can be either private or public; which ever you please. If you make a template, it really speeds up the time it takes to create reports and the above mentioned programs each allow you to do that.
So, with the ice season knocking on the door, try to implement this protocol into your routine and see how much it benefits you in future trips.
Location: Big Creek 2/27/2011
Time Fished: 2:00 - 5:30 pm
Water Clarity: 2 FOW
Water temp: ICE BABY!!!!! 11" of good, hard ice. Edges perfectly fine too, skiff of snow on top of the ice
Depth fished: 23-25 FOW
Presentation: 4 MM Fiskas Wolfram (Yellow), 1/16 oz Northland Forage Minnow (Glow Rainbow), Little Atom Micro Nuggie (Glow, Glow Blue)
Species Sought: FISH!
Fish caught: 46 Gills (4 7/8"-9.25”), 6 Crappie (7.0-10.25")
Day three of my ice fishing binge took a little bit of motivation to get out the door; I can tell that it's starting the late ice season. The weather was overcast with a slight breeze out of the north with warm temps when I arrived at Big Creek. I decided to fish a location which doesn't get a bunch of pressure and sure enough when I arrived I didn't see any holes drilled since at least the thaw last week. In fact there wasn't anyone fishing within 250 yards of me minus one guy who stopped by and said that he wasn't having much luck.
The fishing was phenomenal when i arrived and i attribute that to the lack of pressure on these fish as well as the cloudy water. I had my "limit" of 8"+ gills within 40 minutes of fishing but about an hour and a half into the trip the wind started to pick up out of the north and the temps started dropping and the fish started to get tight lipped.
In the report above, you can see that I always include a couple of key pieces of information in the beginning and put it in bold print. I always follow this format to keep it consistent and easy to identify when scanning through reports. Other helpful information might include barometric pressure readings, weather/conditions, GPS coordinates, etc. Obviously, if you are posting these reports online you might want to keep the GPS cords to yourself! LOL!
The second part of the report just gives a short synopsis of the outing. It may include observations, strategies, thoughts, etc. If you fish the same lake over and over this part allows you to differentiate each outing so you can keep them straight in the future. You can also put together some ideas in this section as a way to "connect the dots" for the next time you are out fishing and experiencing similar conditions or results based on your success (or lack thereof). You can also include pictures, which is always nice, as it makes it easier to recall the outing.
You can create these reports on just about any program or software you like. Some guys use Microsoft Word or Excel, I've found Blogger to actually work quite well too. One nice feature about Blogger is the report can be either private or public; which ever you please. If you make a template, it really speeds up the time it takes to create reports and the above mentioned programs each allow you to do that.
So, with the ice season knocking on the door, try to implement this protocol into your routine and see how much it benefits you in future trips.
Monday, November 7, 2011
New Product Spotlight: Cold Snap Reel Wraps
One of the more overlooked aspects of ice fishing setup are what is used to attach the reel to the rod. Most guys don't give it a second thought and do what their fathers or buddies taught them to use. Most ice fishermen attach the reel to the rod with electric tape; other anglers use self-adhesive silicone tape or other various types of tape. There are also some ice fishing rods that come standard with a reel seat, such as the St. Croix Legend series rods, which work okay too. However, what if I told you that there is something better; something that will blow all those other applications out of the water? Well, there finally is...
The guys at Cold Snap, makers of such products as the Snap Cap and the Rod Clamp, introduced a new system this fall that attaches your reel to the rod via bands. These are not your normal, everyday rubber bands, folks. These bands are heavy duty and were originally intended for a more sinister purpose.
The Cold Snap Reel Wrap attaches your reels to the cork handle with four heavy duty bands. I will be the first to admit I was a little skeptical of the whole process. Before getting the bands, I envisioned relatively loose fitting bands with a lot of "give". Upon handling the bands I knew I was completely mistaken by my first impression of the product. The size of each band is approximately that of a cheerio but it has enough elasticity to fit on your standard cork handle. The handy applicator makes it a cinch to put the bands on your handle. Honestly, without it the process would be a chore.
The process is quite simple. All you need to do is load up four of the bands on the applicator and put the large end of it on the butt of your cork handle. Roll two of the bands off the applicator and down towards then top of the handle. WORD OF CAUTION: DO NOT ROLL THE BANDS OFF THE FRONT OF THE CORK HANDLE. I "might" know a guy who did this with his very first band and it took him five minutes to get the SOB back on the cork! After those two bands are on the cork, place your reel on the handle in which ever location you please. If you are using spring bobbers, you may want to place the reel a little further forward. If you're using spoons you may want to place the reel a little further back. Ultimately, that decision is up to you and makes the process a breeze using these bands. Once you have the reel seated, roll the first band onto the handle of the reel, followed by the second. If you are not happy with the location of the reel or it moved some, just reposition the reel and do it over. Once the top two bands are on, all that is left is taking the remaining two bands and rolling them off the applicator and onto the other side of the reel foot. Simple as that!
So, the next question ultimately is: I have been using tape for years, why change? In my opinion, the answer is three-fold. The first reason is that these wraps will not damage your cork, nor leave a sticky residue like many of the adhesive tapes will. The second reason is that the reel wraps provide easier mobility of the reels on and off the rods. If your reel freezes up or the anti-reverse junks out, switching the reel is out very simple. For the anglers using their ice fishing reels for double duty during the summer, it makes even more sense. Roll the four bands off the reel foot, take the reel off, and put it on your summer rod. Finally, and possibly the most important reason, in my opinion, is that it allows for a more direct connection between your hand and the rod blank. This allows for a better feel when fishing since there are not multiple layers of tape between you and the rod blank.
So check them out when you get a chance and see if it's something you might like and use. Tight lines and see you all next week!
The Cold Snap Reel Wrap attaches your reels to the cork handle with four heavy duty bands. I will be the first to admit I was a little skeptical of the whole process. Before getting the bands, I envisioned relatively loose fitting bands with a lot of "give". Upon handling the bands I knew I was completely mistaken by my first impression of the product. The size of each band is approximately that of a cheerio but it has enough elasticity to fit on your standard cork handle. The handy applicator makes it a cinch to put the bands on your handle. Honestly, without it the process would be a chore.
So check them out when you get a chance and see if it's something you might like and use. Tight lines and see you all next week!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)