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Welcome to the articles. These articles are written and posted by our Pro Staff, Field Staff, registered members and other elite outdoorsmen and women. These articles are published to inform our members about the latest trends, tricks, hot spots in today's outdoor world and to share/learn about other sportsmen's outdoor experiences. If you would like to share your outdoor experience and have it published on just follow our helpful hints.
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Walleye and Wind
By: Jason Mitchell | May 23, 2008 7:31AM
The affect of wind on walleye is almost cliché. Follow the wind or fish the windy shore. Wind stacks up baitfish and then the walleye follow. The reality is however that this cliché is only right half the time so this theory is just another half truth. There are so many scenarios where wind has a negative affect on walleye location and movements. There are many times where we are more productive avoiding the wind and the more we can recognize just when wind is...
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| Fishing for the Future
By: Mark Bry | May 14, 2008 12:12PM
A young boy went fishing with his dad on Beaver Creak Bay of Lake Sakakawea. It was a clear and sunny North Dakota day. The boy sat at the back of the boat as his dad fished getting ready to pull lindy rigs tipped with leeches. As they fished along a point in 14 to 17 feet of water the boy began catching walleyes as his lindy-rig hit the bottom of the lake. The feeding frenzy continued as the morning went forward…
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| South Dakota's Missouri System Set For Banner Year
By: Carl Madson | May 1, 2008 9:14AM
While walleye attract most of the notoriety and while Lake Oahe is known far and wide as one of the nation’s top walleye fishing destinations, Riis admits that there are other opportunities for anglers that are awfully good right now. “The salmon fishing on the lower end of Lake Oahe should be really good this year.” Also, Lake Sharpe and Frances Case both are top walleye producers but often get overshadowed by...
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| Our Outdoors: Stay Bite Free
By: Nick Simonson | Aug 18, 2006 2:05PM
The nice thing about mosquito season is that there is no limit. Unfortunately there isn't much meat on the little buggers. Furthermore, in January here in the upper Midwest, I almost find myself longing to hear the buzzing of these pests in my ear during the humid dusk hours of summer.
All kidding aside, it is getting pretty vicious out there. The state health department has confirmed this year's first...
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| Top Water Bass Fishing Techniques
By: Paul Reinbold | Aug 1, 2006 2:38PM
Top water bass fishing is probably the most popular way to catch big bass during the hot days of summer. During the months of July and August the growth of aquatic vegetation is at full force. This is a great time to use top water baits to catch big bass.
One of the most popular baits around the country to use for top water bass fishing is a “buzzbait.” This lure has been around for decades and has been catch very large bass ever since it hit the market. However, this lure is not used by many bass fishermen, especially up here...
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| Our Outdoors: The Legend of the Grumman
By: Nick Simonson | Jul 20, 2006 10:42AM
For my college graduation in 2001 I received the amorphous gift from my parents of finding and selecting a moderately-priced used boat. For a month I examined the classified ads in the newspaper and on the internet looking for an inexpensive craft that would move me up and down the river with a passenger or two and not break the bank. Finally, I was alerted by my buddy that just such a boat was for sale...
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| Lead Core Basics
By: Jason Mitchell | Jul 5, 2006 2:16PM
Over the past ten years, trolling with lead core line has gained in popularity amongst the walleye crowd. Lead core enables anglers to put any crankbait in the tackle box in front of fish regardless of how deep. This in itself is a huge advantage but you can also accomplish the same task with snap weights, Dipsey Divers and downriggers. There are many ways an angler can put a number 5 Salmo Hornet into 25 feet of water. Anglers like lead core line however because the whole process is easy, inexpensive yet incredibly effective. This article will discuss the basics of trolling with lead core and will also offer a few tips for refining the trolling process even further...
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| Our Outdoors: Why Do You Fish?
By: Nick Simonson | Jun 29, 2006 11:49AM
Why do you fish? Now that is a question with as many answers as there are people to ask it to. And it is likely that anglers will have more than one response when posed with such an inquiry.
I was asked this question recently, and all I could come up with (to my surprise) was "just to fish." I left the conversation at that, but each night since, while feeling for the whirl of my spinner in 18 feet or working a jig around some shoreline rock, I've asked myself "why DO I do this?" Apparently, deep down, tripped up by the yin and the yang of this hobby, even I don't know.
But at least I know what I'm not out on the water for...
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| Our Outdoors: Summer Presents Plentiful Panfish Options
By: Nick Simonson | Jun 23, 2006 11:04AM
Panfish - be they sunfish, crappies, perch or white bass - are present throughout the upper Midwest. They comprise the midsection of most lakes' biomass and present a sure-fire fishing opportunity for anglers young and old. If you are new to fishing, or already a panfish aficionado these species are right up your alley. Enjoy the heat of summer, and the hot fishing panfish present throughout the upper Midwest...
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| Our Outdoors: Oh Dear, It's Smallie Time!
By: Nick Simonson | Jun 1, 2006 10:03AM
While the tension mounts as you await this year's deer application results (enjoy the next eight weeks), take some time to relax with the hardiest fish in our waters - the smallmouth bass. Just don't expect your heart rate to get any lower. With a few simple items of tackle and the following tips, anyone can find constant excitement with these acrobatic brown bass...
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| Our Outdoors: Walleye Fever
Nick Simonson | May 18, 2006 2:56PM
Working the jig along the bottom, and pausing every so often, I felt for the telltale tap that walleyes are well known for. In the past, this spot was also well known, for its fast action for both walleyes and bass. A quick whack from a 16-inch smallmouth got the fishing off with a bang.
After releasing the fish, I cast out again, this time to the front of the break and slowly hopped my staple jig-and-grub combo along the break. I paused briefly for a quick conversation and picked up my rod tip. Tap…tap…tap.
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| Yar-Craft Boats Pro Team Fishing Tips
By: Sheldon Meidinger | May 11, 2006 8:24AM
Not too many anglers can say they make a living fishing. Both tournament angling and guiding are a tough business. Yar-Craft Pro, Jason Mitchell of Devils Lake, North Dakota has carved out a living as a professional fishing guide and makes fishing for a living look easy. Mitchell's reputation as a guide has become legendary. Jason Mitchell's Guide Service has established itself as one of the largest and most predominate guide services anywhere for a reason. Jason has a knack for putting fish in the boat day after day and here are some of his secrets besides the fact that he runs the smoothest and driest fiberglass boat on the market...
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| Big Day at the Hatchery
Nick Simonson | Apr 30, 2006 7:48PM
The fish are collected in large nets each spring with the help of the North Dakota Game and Fish Department and its staff. The males and females of each spawning species – pike early in spring and walleye a week or two later – are sorted, separated and placed in holding tanks on large boats. The females are then stimulated to release their eggs by a firm squeeze and slide along the stomach. Males are then milked to provide the proper fertilization of those eggs. The fish are then released back into the water.
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| Spinner Baits 101
By: Paul Reinbold | Apr 23, 2006 1:22PM
Spinnerbaits have been among the most popular bass lures for decades, and I have used them for many years. They are probably my most favorite bait to use during a tournament. The reason why I like them so much is simple; they catch fish day in and day out. In this article I am going to give you a crash course on how to select and use your spinnerbait properly.
For starters I would like to talk about choosing the right blade style for the right water condition. There are a number of different types of blade shapes out there on the market but I am going to focus on the three most popular blade shapes. The first one is the...
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| What a Wonderful Year: Part II
Trent Thomas | Apr 14, 2006 9:43AM
On the way back to the camper I went and scouted out one of the game and fish’s corn fields. There, not seventy-five yards in front of me was a nice 4x4 bull elk. I swear I was floating on cloud nine! I thought nothing could go wrong at this point. Wrong!
That night, North Dakota gets hit with the earliest and largest snowfall on record! I am officially snowed in with no power! Thank goodness for the kind family that took me into their house which had electricity supplied by a generator. If not for their kindness my hunt would have been ruined.
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| What a Wonderful Year!!
Trent Thomas | Mar 14, 2006 5:52PM
Let me start off by introducing myself and telling you a little about what made me the kind of outdoorsman I am today. My name is Trent Thomas, I grew up in the little central Minnesota town of Litchfield. This is the place I hold a special place in my heart for, and the place I will always call “home”. My dad had a farm on the south side of Lake Ripley and my Grandfather had a farm that bordered my dad’s place. It was a dream place, with around 400 acres for me to run around and explore!
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| Fishing with Spring Bobbers
Nick Simonson | Mar 8, 2006 9:02PM
What I learned was surprising. Many times, especially in the case of finicky panfish like perch and crappie, the fish will hit without even sending a vibration up the line. A quick inhale and exhale of the bait and the fish moves on, knowing something isn’t quite right with the glowing blue hook or the funny-acting minnow. This action doesn’t budge a bobber and rarely moves a rod, leaving anglers in the frustrating situation of asking themselves why the fish didn’t hit when in reality, it did.
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| Crappies Through the Ice
Tony Mariotti | Feb 14, 2006 7:43PM
Chances are if you live any where in the upper Midwest that you are only a short drive away from crappie infested waters. The Midwest has a large number of crappie fisheries due in part that crappie waters don't need to be huge expansions of water because the little "backyard pond" you drive by everyday probably has all the ingredients to make itself a good fishery. A lot of times the backyard ponds provide more action than the large bodies of water but don't have the true "slab" crappie...
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| Our Outdoors: Unlocking The Limit Theory
By: Nick Simonson | Jan 26, 2006 12:19PM
A friend of mine in college, who was a part-time locksmith and adept at his trade was the first person to tell me the adage, "locks keep honest people honest."
It almost seems hard for me to believe that in the 1980s there were no limits, no controls, no locks on panfish. I can recall two instances where a group that I was with took a five-gallon bucket full of perch from Lake Ashtabula. It happened once in the summer and once in the winter. The older members of the group cleaned for a couple hours or so, and we had a nice batch of meat to eat that night. One five gallon bucket wasn't bad; in fact it was enough for two families to have that night and the fish...
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| Triggering Ice Walleye
By: Jason Mitchell | Jan 12, 2006 3:02PM
Walleye are often underrated as a predator. Perhaps the unpredictability and changing “moods” of these popular fish mold our ideas and thoughts to the point where we sometimes forget that walleye are indeed very efficient and vicious hunters. On so many frozen lakes, the bight revolves around low light conditions. On Devils Lake, North Dakota where we make our living as guides, the bite usually happens in the morning and at dusk. On some lakes, the bite might be better at night and a few places with stained water like Lake of the Woods offer a good bite during the middle of the day. Timing is everything because when walleye are “on” they are hunting and eating and when they are “off” they are tough for anybody to catch...
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| Vex or No Vex?
By: Tim Sandstrom | Jan 5, 2006 7:53AM
I wrote an article titled the "Misery of Ice Fishing" a year or two ago touching on how ice fishing has evolved through the years. Not so much the gear involved, but the actual "challenges" of ice fishing. This article, you could say, will be much the same proving just how spoiled we are today.
Oh I bet it was about six years ago when my brother and I went half and half on a used FL-8 SLT Vexilar. We bought it from a friend of his who swore up and down we'd love the new gadget. Of course, being two broke and hard headed kids, we weren't too fired up about the purchase. However, you could say we were susceptible to persuasion because EVERYONE seemed to have a Vexilar. So there it was...
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| This Winter's Approach - Calling All Panfish
By: Jason Mitchell | Dec 28, 2005 7:29AM
Many trophy panfish anglers are starting to realize that some of the most consistent fishing for truly impressive perch often takes place on large bodies of water. That isn’t to say that small bodies of water can’t grow big panfish because they do... just that when big panfish are discovered on small water, they become more susceptible to over harvest and fishing pressure. Thousands of acres of ice can often intimidate anglers but size also acts as a buffer against fishing pressure. There is no doubt in this day and age that some of the largest populations of truly large panfish indeed swim the untapped basins of large lakes that host strong forage bases.
While big water with ample food can be the ingredients where old humpbacked panfish can flourish, this environment can also be a double-edged sword. Perhaps nowhere is this double-edged sword more apparent than...
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| Early Ice = Great Fishing
Tony Mariotti | Dec 15, 2005 6:28PM
Traveling as light as possible is the norm this time of year. A five gallon bucket will hold your gear and a hand auger is all you need to run and gun these early ice fish. I grab my Vexilar, set it in a bucket, throw a couple of rods in and I am good to go. I love using either Vexilars “Pro Pack II” or their “Ultra Pack” with my flasher, simply because both “packs” come with a built in tacklebox and rod holder, allowing me to carry everything I need for the day in one small unit!
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| Light Lines & Heart Breaks
By: Paul Reinbold | Dec 12, 2005 8:31AM
Put away the boat and bring out the ice augers, cause this ice fishing season is coming fast! One of the most important things that you should do before heading out onto the ice is to change your fishing line. It's important to remember that your ice fishing line has been susceptible to all sorts of elements for an entire year. I don't know about you but when I lose a big fish because of bad line it's a heart breaker.
The title links the above mentioned heart break with what I wanted to talk about today, or light line. For quite some time, I've fished with lighter pound test line and it has produced awesome results. In fact, it's is a known fact that anglers who use lighter lines will get more strikes and catch more fish. However, the down side of using lighter lines is that they...
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| The Hunt for 'eyes...Applying Electronics to ice fishing
Jay Weinecker | Nov 23, 2005 7:20PM
Time spent on the water has given this group of anglers an incredible mental picture of what types of structure lay below. They can drive out to the middle of nowhere, open the door and drill a hole and be sitting right on top of a rock pile that hasn't seen a fisherman all winter. The wealth of spots these guys know is amazing. When it comes to walleye fishing on Devils Lake I learned that nothing becomes more important than the "spot."Finding these "spots" is the key to the Perch Patrol's amazing success at finding the walleyes Devils Lake is famous for.
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