Entries for 'bgustafson'

Last Tuesday I could do no wrong.  As soon as I pulled up on the first spot I nailed three chunker smallmouth on my first four casts.

The greatest challenge to steelhead fishing can be summed up in one word:  torque.  Ladies and gentlemen, if you’ve never heard the scream of a fly reel as your backing is stripped to nothing, you have a river of happiness in front of you.

For those fortunate anglers that live in areas where Mother Nature is less harsh during the winter months, their boats and lines never stay dry throughout the year, but for anglers like myself up in Minnesota, I have an “off-season.”

One of the great bones of contention (pun intended) in freshwater fish consumption is whether Northern Pike should be eaten or used as garden fertilizer.  In Iowa and Missouri, where Northern Pike are scarce, fishermen tend to prize the meat.  I’ve heard Iowans declare that pike is better than walleye!

While I can't take all of the blog readers to my favorite winter spot, I can provide you a preview of the DVD I recently produced.  The how-to video details presentation specifics on baits like paddle tail grubs, hair jigs, suspending jerkbaits, downsized tubes, slow rolled spinnerbaits and finesse jigs.  It also provides a step by step method to find the best winter habitat on your local flow.

Sometimes an ice lure that makes a lot of sound produces the best action, but other times a quieter approach works best. Here’s how to tell the difference.

Often the difference between an ordinary and a gourmet fried fish meal is the introduction of a simple fresh sauce or topping.  The use of fresh produce, whether home grown or from the grocery store, can provide a refreshing and zesty counterpoint against the oily crunchiness of the fish breading.

I can’t help but think of the buzz that surrounded Allen Iverson a few years ago on most of the sports channels for nearly a week. It was in regards to his lack of willingness to practice. For fisherman practice really does make perfect, even though we don’t think of it as that. 

I’ve been chasing a trophy smallmouth for almost 20-years now. The trophy I’m chasing happens to be a monster 22-inch bronzeback I caught back in 1994 on a trip to southern Lake of the Woods, Ontario and 19 years later I’m still trying to land one bigger.

Last Saturday was the kind of day that I have trouble finding fishing buddies willing to show up.  I watched a YouTube video that showed the Susquehanna River locked up in ice.  The forecast showed a high of 27 where I usually go, and 32 at the southernmost range of my day trips.