Reflections 2014-2015

With the close of my 2014-2015 ice fishing season, I find myself taking time to look back and reflect on the highs and lows of the previous ice season.

First fish of the season!

This winter was ushered in by colder than normal temperatures in November that allowed me to fish the earliest I have ever been out; November 22nd, 2014 in northwest Iowa.  Unfortunately that cold weather did not last and above average temperatures in December melted the majority of the ice in central and southern Iowa during the month.  Thankfully the warm weather did not last into January and normal temperatures resumed finding many anglers venturing out onto the ice in central Iowa around New Years and the ice staying till early March.

My travels this season found me spending the vast majority of my time preparing for and fishing the Team Extreme Ice Fishing Circuit for Iowa.  This winter, I was able to log 30 trips on the ice to 16 different bodies of water; 4 of which were new to me.  These figures are far less than most of my previous ice seasons; but I attribute that to poor ice conditions in the month of December and the early exit of ice in March.

My tournament partner, Todd Reed, and myself made a pact prior to the ice season that we would fish all four tournaments in the Iowa Division of the Team Extreme Circuit in hopes of earning team of the year honors.  Fishing this many tournaments in one season took me a little bit out of my comfort zone, as in most years I only participate in one or two ice fishing tournaments.

Our first stop in the tournament trail took us to Emerson Bay on West Okoboji Lake.  West Okoboji means sight fishing in shallow water for finicky bluegills and this year didn't disappoint as the water was crystal clear.  I was familiar with Little Emerson bay from fishing tournaments there in years past, but this year offered a unique challenge as the entire bay was opened up to fish.  I was able to locate a couple of areas holding some nice gills on Friday and when Todd joined on Saturday, we narrowed down more water and formulated a game plan for the following day.

Tournament day saw us competing against twenty two other teams, many of which were well versed in the skills of sight fishing bluegills at Okoboji.  Todd and I ended up in 5th place with a weight of 6.94 pounds with our limit of twelve bluegills and we were able to cash a check and also earn valuable team of the year points.  Results from the tournament can be found HERE.

Gin clear West Okoboji water

Our second stop in the tournament trail took us to Big Creek Lake, a lake I know pretty well, the following weekend.  The short turn around didn't allow the teams much time to prefish the lake and reports coming from there had been less than encouraging.  Friday afternoon and Saturday was spent narrowing down water and coming up empty on the flashers and cameras on many of our usual "go to" spots, which left us a little disheartened.  After talking with many of the teams during the rules meeting, it appeared that others were also struggling to find fish as well.

Tournament day came and found us fishing in pretty mild temperatures and sunny skies.  The same conditions presented itself as it had the previous two days and found many of the areas we fished void of fish.  We were able to catch many of our fish at a spot found on Saturday and this proved to be a valuable location for our team.  

2:00 pm came and from conversing with many of the teams of their struggles that day, we felt better about our bag of eight crappies and two bluegills.  Todd and I had a final weight of 5.09 pounds between the eight crappie and two bluegills and helped us earn more valuable team of the year points for the season.  Pleased with our finish, it still left me wondering where all of the bluegills were hiding in a lake I knew pretty well.  Results from the tournament can be found HERE.

Our next stop of the tournament trail, Brushy Creek Lake, found us at a lake I had only ice fished once before and which my partner had never ice fished.  Todd however was familiar with Brushy Creek from fishing bass tournaments there in the summer.  This tournament was our biggest concern as neither of us had spent much time on the lake during the winter months.  Thankfully we had a span of four weeks between this tournament and Big Creek, so it afforded us the opportunity to get more familiar with the lake and start to develop our patterns.  For those who are not familiar with Brushy Creek, it is a 700 acre lake with a lot of standing timber, sharp channel swings, and depths reaching almost eighty feet.

Tournament day welcomed us with temperatures below zero and strong winds, which would challenge the teams both mentally and physically.  Todd and I were able to hit our primary spots for both crappies and bluegills and the good fishing at these spots did not warrant us to hit our other spots for both species.

Feeling pretty confident with our limit of eight bluegills and eight crappies, we headed to the weigh in with high hopes of finishing well.  Our limit of crappies and gills ended up weighing 8.71 pounds which was good enough for second place out of fourteen teams.  Our second place finish at Brushy Creek also helped extend our lead for team of the year to six points going into the last tournament of the season.  Results from the tournament can be found HERE.

Our last stop in the tournament trail took us to Rock Creek Lake.  Rock Creek is a lake which Todd was very familiar with and one I had spent some time on from fishing previous tournaments at.  With expectations high for a good finish on the season, our confidence level was trending upwards.

Unfortunately, the tournament found us catching plenty of fish but not the quality of fish we need to place as highly as we wanted.  Todd and I came in fifth place out of 17 teams with a total weight of 5.90 pounds for our limit of eight bluegills and eight crappies.  Despite our disappointing finish, it was enough to solidify team of the year and also cash a check.  Results from the tournament can be found HERE.

I want to thank my fishing partner Todd Reed for teaming up with me to earn team of the year this year.  Todd is a heck of a fisherman, a consummate professional on and off the ice, and a good friend.  I also want to thank my wife and my mother in law for helping look after our girls while I was away preparing for or fishing these tournaments.  Our girls can be more than a handful to say the least!

I also want to thank all of the folks who helped with Team Extreme this year; we appreciate all that you do.

Finally, I want to personally thank all of the Sponsors of Team Extreme who were gracious enough to donate prizes to the circuit as well as team of the year.  Your generosity goes above and beyond and we are thankful for all that you do for the circuit!

Final Team of the Year Standings

Team Extreme Team of the Year prizes and plaques

Not all of my time this winter was slotted for tournaments and I was able to get out a handful of times and "fun fish".  Targeting bluegills and crappies most of the season left me in search of larger quarry and I was able to find some walleyes and catfish in central Iowa who wanted to bite.  They sure put up a heck of a tussle on light line and short rods and were a welcomed change of pace from your standard hand size crappies and bluegills.

Some nice eater walleye (16" 18.5" 20")

18.5" walleye

A nice 17.5" walleye caught during the tournament at Brushy Creek

10 pound one ounce channel catfish

9 pound three ounce channel catfish

Remember to put the big ones back so others can enjoy

I was also able to check off a new species, caught through the ice, this past winter.  This particular species is somewhat special to me as I have fished many bodies of water through the years which harbor them, but never landed one.  It wasn't the biggest, but it sure meant a lot to me.

My "Golden Unicorn"

21.25" Common Carp

I have to say that this winter has provided me one of my best years competitively I have ever had on the ice.  I was able to cash a check in each of the four tournaments I fished, earned team of the year honors, checked a fish (caught through the ice) off of my bucket list, and spent time on the ice with good friends.  

I would also like to take time and thank my sponsors Clam Outdoors and Sportsmen's Direct for helping me achieve some of those goals; without their assistance and support, it would have been much more difficult.

With that said, that puts a wrap to another fun season.  See you all next year!