1/21/12:
Not much has changed in the area regarding ice conditions, in spite of colder temps the past week. Was out again on a small lake because the bite is good and because I am leery of hitting the big, deep lakes. Ice conditions may have been about an inch or two more than last week - still less than a foot - meaning foot and atv travel is still advised.
Panfish bite was dynamite today as a partner and I caught over three dozen fish - bluegills and crappies. We are finding these fish in the lake basin in about 15-feet of water (again this is a shallow lake). The small Mooska Jig (tungsten jig) continues to be an awesome fish producer. Today the color did not seem to matter and it did not seem to matter what the jigs were tipped with - eurolarvae, waxworms, or plastics. Best bite was from 3-5 pm
1/15/12 - After a couple of weeks of warm weather and questionable ice, we did have a couple good days of cold weather and it seems like ice conditions are better. Finding anywhere from 6-inches of ice to a foot on some lakes. I am still traveling by foot, however, as inconsistency seems to be the best word to describe the ice.
Have spent the past weeks chasing panfish with good success. Have found a good bite on a couple small, shallow lakes in the area. Big bluegills, occasional crappies, and some northern pike have all been caught. Best depths are 10-16 foot on mud bottom. We are taking lots of fish on the new Northland Tackle Mooska Jig tipped with various baits including Impulse soft baits, wax worms, and eurolarvae. Been fishing these tungsten jigs on 2-lb Bionic Ice Fluorosilk with great results. This line and these jigs get down to the fish quickly and the line is very smooth handling. Have been catching fish periodically throughout the day, with a peak often occuring around 5 pm.
1/6/2012- Fished Red Lake recently with Duane Peterson from Northland Tackle. Duane and I had a couple of dynamite days catching walleyes. We targeted the first drop in 10.5 - 12 foot of water using aggressive jigging approaches. 1/8-ounce Macho Minnows and Buck-Shot Rattle Spoons both produced good numbers of fish, with the Super-Glo Perch pattern producing the best. Duane switched to a 3/8-ounce Live-Forage Rippin' Shad in the carppie pattern the second day and quickly put several fish on the ice. Interestingly, Duane fished his baits on Bionic Ice Braid and clearly outfished me. I did catch more fish upon switching to the braided line, however. The fish seemed to want the baits worked very aggressively and we surmised the no-stretch braid allowed us to work the baits with more action, thus attracting and triggering more fish! Lots of fish below the protected slot size of 17-inches, with a bunch of "overs" mixed in as well. A great couple days fishing!
12/24/11 - The ice bite is good on lots of lakes in the Alexandria area. Anglers are taking walleyes and crappies on the Alex Chain of Lakes. The weedlines out to 30-feet are productive. As usual, the magic hour in the evening is the peak bite. Lots of other smaller lakes are also producing perch, walleyes, bluegills, and crappies. I was on a small shallow lake last night fishing crappies and experienced a good bite using a variety of finesse jigging baits in 12-foot of water. Today, I fished the same lake in 14-foot of water and found a bunch of perch, lots of little guys with a few nice ones mixed in. Also, caught a 1/2-dozen big bluegills. These fish weren't numerous but made up in size for what they lacked in numbers. Northland Tackle's new tungsten Mooska Jig has quickly proven to be a very, very good panfish jig! Ice thickness is 10-12 inches on this lake. I walked out again today, though I did see a pick-up truck drive across the ice. Not sure that's a wise move just yet!
The walleye bite is also good on Ottertail! Productive areas include shoreline breaks and some of the shallower main lake humps and islands in 18-25 foot depths. Good times are the morning hours from 6-9 am and again late afternoon into evening, though some fish can be caught during mid-day for those willing to stay on the move. Shiners and small suckers on jigs or plain hooks fished beneath bobbers will take fish, though jigging with spoons, etc. is probably the most productive way to ice walleyes. As a bonus, anglers are also finding some quality perch mixed in with the walleyes. Ice conditions vary greatly, so anglers are advised to be cautious. 8-inch ice is present, though 2-inches are reported in some areas as well!
12/15/11 - The ice bite is on! Anglers across western Minnesota are on 6-8 inches of ice on many smaller lakes and some bigger lakes and they are catching fish! The traditional early season bite in 6-10 feet of water on shallow lakes is producing walleyes, 12-30 feet on the deeper lakes. The Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon tipped with a minnow head is a proven producer. Super-Glo Perch in the 1/8-ounce size is my favorite. The Macho Minnow tipped with a minnow head is also producing fish. The "magic hour" of 4:30-5:30 pm is most productive. Head to Barrett, Ten Mile, Pomme de Terre, and Pelican and you should be on the fish! NE South Dakota in the Waubay area also has a bunch of smaller slough/lakes that are full of jumbo perch right now as well. Lots of good winter options right now!
11/12/11 - Did some late fall fishing recently. Spent a couple hours on Ottertail and found some walleyes on a very sharp break in 35-45 feet of water. Fish were not real aggressive but would hit a redtail chub fished on a Roach Rig fished very, very slowly. My Humminbird sonar/GPS units do a great job helping me find these deep water fish and then stay right on top of them. Water temps were in the 44-45 degree range. Another couple hours were spent on a small, shallow lake fishing smallmouth bass. Cheated by bassin' standards by fishing redtails again on Roach Rigs. These fish averaged 2 1/2- 3 pounds and really liked the redtails, though they do not fight nearly as much in 42-degree water temps at they do in 72-degree water! Open-water fishing may be over the year, however, as forecasts for the next week calls for highs in the 30's. Time to get the ice rods ready!
10/30/11 - Fall fishing has been good. Lots of small shallow lakes here in western MN are producing walleyes, though this bite appears to be waning the last few days. Big deep lakes like Ottertail and Miltona are producing fish in a variety of water depths. Weedlines - whats left of them - are producing fish as are the very deep breaks. Roach Rigs and Fire-Ball Jigs tipped with suckers and redtail chubs are producing fish. Bowhunting is heating up now as well. Starting to see some signs that the rut will be starting soon here in western MN. Mid-week last week I saw a young buck attempt to chase two does to no avail. That same night another young buck worked a scrape near one of my stands. Friday night an eight-pointer and borderline shooter 10-point sparred "semi-seriously" for several minutes. Yesterday, while scouting I found a very fresh scrape line along which I hung a set to be hunted early this week. Should be an interesting week this week as we head into Saturday's MN firearms season.
9/28/11 - Been doing quite a bit of fall bassin' lately. Been fishing weed clumps on flats and keying on what is left of the green, liviing weeds. Best baits have been 5/8-ounce Jungle Jigs which I have been "dropping" into the weeds using short pitches. Also, have caught fish on the new IMPULSE Brush Beavers which I have been fishing on Texas Rigs. Hope to pursue some deep water fall walleyes in the near future as well..
9/7/11 - Fall fishing patterns are starting to emerge in western MN. Caught some deep water walleyes (34-feet) on Lake Ida recently. The fish came on redtail chubs fished on Roach Rigs, a classic fall pattern. I look for Ida to really take off this fall, as will Miltona, I believe. Bass fishing has also been good. Finding some deep rock fish on a couple lakes that have been susceptible to jig-worms and also drop-shot rigs. The new IMPULSE baits from Northland Tackle have proven to be dynamite baits fished on the jig-worm setups. Also, a variety of cranbaits are also catching good numbers of largemouth on the weedlines as well. It is shaping up to be a great fall!
8/8/11 - The bass bite remains very, very good! Fished the Reel Team bass tourney on Lake Ida over the weekend, 50-fish day! See the Tournament Fishing page for a full rundown. Have been catching fish on inside weed lines and outside weed lines on big jigs - Jungle Jigs- and on Dip-Stick Worms fished jigworm style. Hooked a bonus big pike yesterday as well. Won't be long and it will be fall walleye time again! Oh yeah and some bowhunting too!!
7/26/11 - Mid-summer bassin' is awesome right now! Have fished various lakes with several 30-plus fish days. My bass fishing mentor once told me "find the best weeds, find the best bass" and that advice has served me well again recently. Fish seem to be right up in the best weeds I can find and have been caught on Jungle Jigs, Dip-Sticks, and Jungle Bugs. Awesome!!
7/12/11 - Evening guide trip for walleyes tonight on Ottertail Lake. Fished from 5:30 until dark trolling shad-style crankbaits on top of flats in 6-10 foot of water. Decent bite, with walleyes and lots of perch coming to the boat. Fun evening for the Jacobson clan who are regular customers and have become good friends!
5/29/11 -
5/28/11 - Bass fished today for the Minnesota opener. Found largemouth in remnant reeds and they were susceptible to Slurpies Dip-Stick Worms fished weightless. Fished two different lakes, one produced good numbers and the other a half-dozen fish in the three-pound range. Good way to start the bass season. So far, walleye fishing has been spotty. Some good days, but not real consistent action yet. Jigs and shiners are still the best pattern.
5/6/11 - Crappie fished a couple times this week with good success. Tuesday evening my daughter Hannah and I caught lots of small crappies and several bluegills on a lake near Fergus Falls. Today, a partner and I caught several crappies on a lake near Alexandria. I am hesitant to name lakes as both lakes are small and susceptible to overharvest. Gypsi Jigs below bobbers tipped with minnows or wax worms has accounted for our good catches. We are concentrating our efforts on shallow bays and channels.
5/1/11 - Fished the Border Water Walleye Challenge on Big Stone Lake on Saturday. High winds in the 30-45 mph range plus post-spawn walleyes made for extremely difficult fishing conditions. Well over half the 119-boat field failed to bring a walleye to the scales. My partner and I claimed 35th place with one fish just under 3 pounds. We caught that lone fish very late in the day in very rough water in a spot we had visited 2 times earlier in the day. We also lost two fish right after catching our lone fish. One escaped when I slipped in the boat while going for the landing net! The two that escaped probably cost us a check, but that's tourney fishing! Did have one very good day pre-fishing earlier in the week catching several fish on 1/16-ounce Fire-Ball Jigs tipped with minnows and pitched to shoreline rocks. That presentation also accounted for our tournament day fish. We started the day on our shoreline jig pattern, tried some other tactics mid-day, before returning to the shorelines. Probably made a mistake in abandoning the shorelines mid-moring as several of the top teams reported catching their first fish on jigs on the shorelines after 10:00 am.
1/18/10 - Cold weather, deep snow, and lots of slush on the ice has really made ice fishing difficult lately. Anglers are having trouble moving from spot to spot because of deep snow and are finding lots of water and slush on the ice. Because of this and other commitments, I have not spent much time on the ice lately. However, I do hope conditions improve as I hope to get out and chase mid- to late-winter 'gills and crappies in the coming weeks. For now, check out my new story on the Articles page about chasing open-water walleyes during the coming season!
12/30/10 - The end of another year is on us, meaning the closing of several hunting seasons too. Did a little late season pheasant hunting, but not a lot. Deep snow made walking cover very difficult, plus the birds already appear to be stressed from the winter. Did get the young pup, Baily her first bird the other day following a storm. Daughter Hannah and I joined Bailey on a walk. She flushed four hens and then a rooster, which I downed with two shots, and she made a very nice retrieve on. She shows good promise as a hunter!
Ice fishing has been good as well. Have been on some very good panfish bites for both crappies and bluegills. Hexi Fly jigs continue to be dynamite for panfish. Have also caught good perch and walleyes. Have been experimenting with the new Live-Forage Baits with very good results. I really like the Moxie Minnow and the Fish-Fry Minnow Trap. The Moxie Minnow is a flutter spoon and the 'Trap is a blade bait. I like the aggressive action of the Minnow Trap at peak bite times like right at dark, while the Moxie Minnow seems to be a bit more of a finesse style bait that works good on pressured fish or after fronts. Both baits have fish appealing action and come in color patterns that replicate bait fish that predators are used to feeding on.
12/5/10 - Spent an awesome evening on the ice with two partners tonight. We caught 5 different species! Lots of bluegills, several crappies (up to 14-inches), largemouth bass to 3 1/2 pounds, northern pike, and a 26-inch walleye. Hexi Fly jigs tipped with plastics caught lots of fish, as did Doodle Bugs tipped with minnows. Incidentally, fished the new Bionic Ice Line and am very impressed with its smooth performance in cold weather.
Thanksgiving 2010 - With cold and snow in the forecast for tonight, I decided to hunt a property with standing beans that have been seeing lots of feeding activity lately. Shortly after getting on stand, several does and fawns entered the field. Eventually, a big-bodied 8-point buck walked by at 30- yards into the beans. I was not sure he was a "shooter", so I allowed him to walk. He fed in the beans along with several other deer for several minutes allowing me to look him over good. I estimated him at 3 1/2-years of age and decided to take him if offered another chance. Eventually, he ended up downwind of me. However, my Scentblocker clothing and Ti4 spray both did their jobs and he never detected me. Finally, he wandered back and offered me an 18-yard shoot which I took and connected on. Though not a "wallhanger", he is a nice deer and I am happy to end my season with him. Incidentally, I test-shot several bows last spring and decided on the new Quest Heat. It's smooth, has a solid backwall, and very accurate. And. most importantly, did the job on the 8-point!
10/10/10 - Spent the afternooon on Ottertail Lake today walleye fishing today with my parents. We quickly located fish in 13- to 18-feet and caught several on Roach Rigs tipped with redtail chubs. Unfortunately, we ran out of redtails and could only turn a couple more fish on other minnows. I have been using the new Bionic Walleye Line and have been very impressed with how smooth handling it is and its strength as well. It was a great day on the water fishing with mom and dad in great weather conditions!
10/9/10 - Fished Leech Lake for walleyes today with a partner and experienced good success. Started in Walker Bay where we found a tough bite. We then moved to Kabekona Bay and quickly found a school of fish in 25-feet. We landed several fish in the protected 18- to 26-inch size slot. Used medium-sized minnows on Roach Rigs to catch these fish. We then headed to the main lake where we snap-jigged in 8-10-foot of water using 1/16-ounce Stand-Up Fire-Ball Jigs to take several "eaters'. This was my first walleye fishing experience on this massive lake and was impressed with the quality of fish and varied patterns available.
9/13/10 - Spent a few hours on Lake Geneva in the Alexandria chain today fishing bass. Found lots of biters, some caught on crankbaits, some on jig-worms and others on big Jungle Jigs dropped into coontail and cabbage clumps. Once again, the green weeds seemed to hold the most fish.. I use the crankbait to find bass, but also the good weeds. Once a fish is caught or good weeeds are found, I like to slow up and fish the jig-worm and Jungle Jig to catch as many fish forom an area as I can. Then, I pick up the crankbait and continue the search.
9/12/10 - Was on another small lake in the Fergus Falls area and fished the deep weedline with crankbaits and jig-worms for largemouth bass. Only found one school of active fish, but was able to catch several from the school which happened to be located in an inside corner with good, green coontail. As fall progresses, green, living weeds become key holding spots for the bass.
8/29/10 - Was on a small Fergus Falls area lake last night and the bass were really biting. Pitched and flipped pencil reeds with Jungle Jigs for several fish and then, an hour before dark starting swimming a Jungle Jig/Slurpies Swim'n Grub combo and found a school of largemouth in a reed pocket. After catching several on that combo, the bite slowed and I went to a Slurpies Dip-Stick Worm rigged wacky style on a unweighted Lip-Stick Wacky-Worm Hook and it was game on! I got bit on nearly every cast. The fish were all between 14- and 16 1/2-inches. Not monsters but good fish that were lots of fun to catch and release!
8/23/2010 - Have been very busy guiding lately with numerous trips in the Alexandria area. Have taken mostly a multi-species approach concentrating on the deep weedlines with various baits leading to a variety of fish coming to the boat. Lake Ida has produced some good walleye action on some days fishing crawlers on bottom bouncers. Largemouth bass and panfish like those rigs as well. The Alex Chain has also produced bass, crappie, and an occasional walleye to crankbaits,jig-worms, and crawler/bouncer rigs. Have been using Northland Tackle's new species specific Bionic fishing lines and have been impressed with their manageability, strength, and their new camo color patterns.
7/31/2010 - Have been guiding in the Alexandria area a great deal lately with good results. Have targeted mostly largemouth bass with some northern pike and crappies thrown in as well. Lots of action on the deep weedlines from 10-22 feet of water. Jig-worms, rattle baits, and drop-shot rigs have all produced fish. Have been using the new Bionic fishing line from Northland Tackle and really like it! It handles very well on spinning gear (have not used on casting yet), is sensitive and strong as well. Comes in species specific styles -walleye, bass, panfish and ice - and comes in odd sizes like 5- and 7-pound test. Plus I really like how the csmo line color blends in with the water. Good stuff at a very affordable price!
7/26/2010 - Saturday was the 2nd stop of the Silverado Pro-Am Bass Tour and I experienced a very frustrating day! Even though I was tired, I needed to get a "better taste in my mouth" regarding fishing and so Saturday evening a buddy and I headed to one of our favorite bassin' holes near Alexandria. We caught several small bass, but also about a half-dozen 3-plus pounders. Caught fish on several presentations, but our best big fish bait was a Jungle Jig-Loc tipped with a Slurpies Dip-Stick Worm. We would cast the combination to shallow weed clumps on top of flats. The Jig-Loc is a weedless head and works perfect for pulling big fish from heavy cover. The Dip-Stick Worm has accounted for lots of fish coming to my boat the past several years. It can be fished in various ways and the bass really slurp it up!
6/18/2010 - Had a pair of guide trips today in the Fergus Falls area. Battled brutal winds to manage good catches. First trip was for largemouth bass. We headed to the deep weedline and caught numbers of bass on jig-worms from deep coontail. The second trip involved a couple young boys and their grandfather. We jig-wormed a few bass and then headed for some big bluegills spawning on the inside of a reed patch. Caught and released several nice 'gills on Fire-Fly Jigs tipped with waxworms fished below Lite-Bite Slip Bobbers.
6/13/2010 - After a disappointing Silverado tournemant day on Saturday, I was eager to get back on the water today to try to back on a good fishing roll. I headed to one of my favorite lakes in the Fergus Falls area and the big bass on this small lake were really on the bite. I landed 15 fish in a five-hour excursion, with 13 being 3-pounds or better! To top the day off, a 5 1/2-pounder ate my Jungle Jig on my last flip in a reed patch. Reeds, cutbanks, and docks all produced fish on jigs and my trusty wacky-rigged Dip-Stick Worm.
6/12/2010 - Fished the Silverado Pro-Am bass tourney on Saturday on the LHD Chain in Alexandria. As usual, lots and lots of bass were caught with the real challenge being finding bigger fish. Last year, Jim Bakken and I finished second in the event running a shallow water pattern in Lake Geneva and Lake Victoria. This year, Victoria was deemed off-limits due to the zebra mussel threat. That combined with a very good day of prefishing Friday in Lake Darling had me convinced to abandon the shallows for a deep bite. My amateur partner, Jaron Wicht, and I had a slow start to our tourney day catching numbers of small fish only. I did have two heavy fish break off, however, just after the hookset. Late morning, however, things started to look up when a 2 1/2-pounder ate my jig. That combined with the fact that a strong afternoon bite for bigger fish occured the previous day gave us optimism. However, bad luck struck minutes later when our cranking battery died. Later we also lost our trolling battery power. We spent the last part of the tourney day drifting across Lake Darling. We did a get a tow to the weigh-in from fellow pro Jeff Johnson to avoid disqualification salvaging our day by finishing a disappointing 35th place. Though not a good finish, it was important to avoid disqualification as we did earn 16 points in the year long standings toward qualification in the Tournament of Champions in September on Lake Minnetonka. Only 20 pros will qualify for the championship, so I will have an uphill battle but hopefully will be up to the challenge. I always set a goal of making the end of the season championship and have been fortunate to reach that goal in my first two years on the circuit. If I want to make it three-for-three, I will have to get on a roll in the final three events!
6/8/2010 - Spent a day on three lakes today filming television segments with Bob Jensen of Fishing The Midwest television. We caught walleyes, largemouth bass, crappies, sunfish, rock bass, and northern pike! Caught the 'eyes on redtails and crawlers on Roach Rigs, the bass and crappies on jig-worm combinations, and the northerns and other panfish trolling crankbaits. Long day on the water, but lots of fun with lots of fish landed!
6/5/2010 - Fished a small lake today near Alexandria known for its big bass and was not disappointed. Caught and released a bunch of fish with several over 4-pounds and the biggest topping 5-pounds. Fish came on wacky-rigged Slurpies Dip-Stick Worms and Jungle Jigs fished along shallow cover areas like docks and under trees. Got a chance to fish the new Abu Garcia Vendetta rods and was impressed with their light weight and sensitivity.Fishing action in this region remains good. Have been on a couple small area lakes the past couple days and did very well fishing largemouth bass. Have targeted a variety of locations - weedy humps and the edge of flats - that have been loaded with active largemouth. Caught them on various baits with the best being a Lip-Stick Jig-Worm Jig tipped with either a Dip-Stick Worm or a traditional 7-inch Power Worm. On one trip, an eight-year old guide client caught his first ever bass (and several after) and completed his day by hooking a fat 19 1/2-inch bucketmouth on the day's last cast!
Walleye fishing has slowed somewhat, but fish are still being caught. Ottertail Lake still has the best bite I have encountered, though you do have to search for active fish. Bottom bouncers, Roach Rig snells, and nightcrawlers has produced the most fish with active fish being in depths from 22- to 38-feet of water.
Panfish action is still good with the bigger fish found on the edges of deep weedline areas and being caught on small jigs/soft trailer combinations.
6/27/2010 - Fished a small lake Friday evening and Saturday morning with good success for largemouth bass. Numbers of bass weren't great, but several fish in the three- to four-pound range were caught. Some fish came in the shallows off of docks, but the best numbers were in and along weed clumps in the five- to eight-foot water depth range. Pitchin' jigs and creature baits worked good around the docks, Lip-Stick Jig-Worm heads tipped with green pumpkin Slurpies Dip-Stick Worms caught the deeper bass!
Panfish bite was dynamite today as a partner and I caught over three dozen fish - bluegills and crappies. We are finding these fish in the lake basin in about 15-feet of water (again this is a shallow lake). The small Mooska Jig (tungsten jig) continues to be an awesome fish producer. Today the color did not seem to matter and it did not seem to matter what the jigs were tipped with - eurolarvae, waxworms, or plastics. Best bite was from 3-5 pm
1/15/12 - After a couple of weeks of warm weather and questionable ice, we did have a couple good days of cold weather and it seems like ice conditions are better. Finding anywhere from 6-inches of ice to a foot on some lakes. I am still traveling by foot, however, as inconsistency seems to be the best word to describe the ice.
Have spent the past weeks chasing panfish with good success. Have found a good bite on a couple small, shallow lakes in the area. Big bluegills, occasional crappies, and some northern pike have all been caught. Best depths are 10-16 foot on mud bottom. We are taking lots of fish on the new Northland Tackle Mooska Jig tipped with various baits including Impulse soft baits, wax worms, and eurolarvae. Been fishing these tungsten jigs on 2-lb Bionic Ice Fluorosilk with great results. This line and these jigs get down to the fish quickly and the line is very smooth handling. Have been catching fish periodically throughout the day, with a peak often occuring around 5 pm.
1/6/2012- Fished Red Lake recently with Duane Peterson from Northland Tackle. Duane and I had a couple of dynamite days catching walleyes. We targeted the first drop in 10.5 - 12 foot of water using aggressive jigging approaches. 1/8-ounce Macho Minnows and Buck-Shot Rattle Spoons both produced good numbers of fish, with the Super-Glo Perch pattern producing the best. Duane switched to a 3/8-ounce Live-Forage Rippin' Shad in the carppie pattern the second day and quickly put several fish on the ice. Interestingly, Duane fished his baits on Bionic Ice Braid and clearly outfished me. I did catch more fish upon switching to the braided line, however. The fish seemed to want the baits worked very aggressively and we surmised the no-stretch braid allowed us to work the baits with more action, thus attracting and triggering more fish! Lots of fish below the protected slot size of 17-inches, with a bunch of "overs" mixed in as well. A great couple days fishing!
12/24/11 - The ice bite is good on lots of lakes in the Alexandria area. Anglers are taking walleyes and crappies on the Alex Chain of Lakes. The weedlines out to 30-feet are productive. As usual, the magic hour in the evening is the peak bite. Lots of other smaller lakes are also producing perch, walleyes, bluegills, and crappies. I was on a small shallow lake last night fishing crappies and experienced a good bite using a variety of finesse jigging baits in 12-foot of water. Today, I fished the same lake in 14-foot of water and found a bunch of perch, lots of little guys with a few nice ones mixed in. Also, caught a 1/2-dozen big bluegills. These fish weren't numerous but made up in size for what they lacked in numbers. Northland Tackle's new tungsten Mooska Jig has quickly proven to be a very, very good panfish jig! Ice thickness is 10-12 inches on this lake. I walked out again today, though I did see a pick-up truck drive across the ice. Not sure that's a wise move just yet!
The walleye bite is also good on Ottertail! Productive areas include shoreline breaks and some of the shallower main lake humps and islands in 18-25 foot depths. Good times are the morning hours from 6-9 am and again late afternoon into evening, though some fish can be caught during mid-day for those willing to stay on the move. Shiners and small suckers on jigs or plain hooks fished beneath bobbers will take fish, though jigging with spoons, etc. is probably the most productive way to ice walleyes. As a bonus, anglers are also finding some quality perch mixed in with the walleyes. Ice conditions vary greatly, so anglers are advised to be cautious. 8-inch ice is present, though 2-inches are reported in some areas as well!
12/15/11 - The ice bite is on! Anglers across western Minnesota are on 6-8 inches of ice on many smaller lakes and some bigger lakes and they are catching fish! The traditional early season bite in 6-10 feet of water on shallow lakes is producing walleyes, 12-30 feet on the deeper lakes. The Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon tipped with a minnow head is a proven producer. Super-Glo Perch in the 1/8-ounce size is my favorite. The Macho Minnow tipped with a minnow head is also producing fish. The "magic hour" of 4:30-5:30 pm is most productive. Head to Barrett, Ten Mile, Pomme de Terre, and Pelican and you should be on the fish! NE South Dakota in the Waubay area also has a bunch of smaller slough/lakes that are full of jumbo perch right now as well. Lots of good winter options right now!
11/12/11 - Did some late fall fishing recently. Spent a couple hours on Ottertail and found some walleyes on a very sharp break in 35-45 feet of water. Fish were not real aggressive but would hit a redtail chub fished on a Roach Rig fished very, very slowly. My Humminbird sonar/GPS units do a great job helping me find these deep water fish and then stay right on top of them. Water temps were in the 44-45 degree range. Another couple hours were spent on a small, shallow lake fishing smallmouth bass. Cheated by bassin' standards by fishing redtails again on Roach Rigs. These fish averaged 2 1/2- 3 pounds and really liked the redtails, though they do not fight nearly as much in 42-degree water temps at they do in 72-degree water! Open-water fishing may be over the year, however, as forecasts for the next week calls for highs in the 30's. Time to get the ice rods ready!
10/30/11 - Fall fishing has been good. Lots of small shallow lakes here in western MN are producing walleyes, though this bite appears to be waning the last few days. Big deep lakes like Ottertail and Miltona are producing fish in a variety of water depths. Weedlines - whats left of them - are producing fish as are the very deep breaks. Roach Rigs and Fire-Ball Jigs tipped with suckers and redtail chubs are producing fish. Bowhunting is heating up now as well. Starting to see some signs that the rut will be starting soon here in western MN. Mid-week last week I saw a young buck attempt to chase two does to no avail. That same night another young buck worked a scrape near one of my stands. Friday night an eight-pointer and borderline shooter 10-point sparred "semi-seriously" for several minutes. Yesterday, while scouting I found a very fresh scrape line along which I hung a set to be hunted early this week. Should be an interesting week this week as we head into Saturday's MN firearms season.
9/28/11 - Been doing quite a bit of fall bassin' lately. Been fishing weed clumps on flats and keying on what is left of the green, liviing weeds. Best baits have been 5/8-ounce Jungle Jigs which I have been "dropping" into the weeds using short pitches. Also, have caught fish on the new IMPULSE Brush Beavers which I have been fishing on Texas Rigs. Hope to pursue some deep water fall walleyes in the near future as well..
9/7/11 - Fall fishing patterns are starting to emerge in western MN. Caught some deep water walleyes (34-feet) on Lake Ida recently. The fish came on redtail chubs fished on Roach Rigs, a classic fall pattern. I look for Ida to really take off this fall, as will Miltona, I believe. Bass fishing has also been good. Finding some deep rock fish on a couple lakes that have been susceptible to jig-worms and also drop-shot rigs. The new IMPULSE baits from Northland Tackle have proven to be dynamite baits fished on the jig-worm setups. Also, a variety of cranbaits are also catching good numbers of largemouth on the weedlines as well. It is shaping up to be a great fall!
8/8/11 - The bass bite remains very, very good! Fished the Reel Team bass tourney on Lake Ida over the weekend, 50-fish day! See the Tournament Fishing page for a full rundown. Have been catching fish on inside weed lines and outside weed lines on big jigs - Jungle Jigs- and on Dip-Stick Worms fished jigworm style. Hooked a bonus big pike yesterday as well. Won't be long and it will be fall walleye time again! Oh yeah and some bowhunting too!!
7/26/11 - Mid-summer bassin' is awesome right now! Have fished various lakes with several 30-plus fish days. My bass fishing mentor once told me "find the best weeds, find the best bass" and that advice has served me well again recently. Fish seem to be right up in the best weeds I can find and have been caught on Jungle Jigs, Dip-Sticks, and Jungle Bugs. Awesome!!
7/12/11 - Evening guide trip for walleyes tonight on Ottertail Lake. Fished from 5:30 until dark trolling shad-style crankbaits on top of flats in 6-10 foot of water. Decent bite, with walleyes and lots of perch coming to the boat. Fun evening for the Jacobson clan who are regular customers and have become good friends!
5/29/11 -
5/28/11 - Bass fished today for the Minnesota opener. Found largemouth in remnant reeds and they were susceptible to Slurpies Dip-Stick Worms fished weightless. Fished two different lakes, one produced good numbers and the other a half-dozen fish in the three-pound range. Good way to start the bass season. So far, walleye fishing has been spotty. Some good days, but not real consistent action yet. Jigs and shiners are still the best pattern.
5/6/11 - Crappie fished a couple times this week with good success. Tuesday evening my daughter Hannah and I caught lots of small crappies and several bluegills on a lake near Fergus Falls. Today, a partner and I caught several crappies on a lake near Alexandria. I am hesitant to name lakes as both lakes are small and susceptible to overharvest. Gypsi Jigs below bobbers tipped with minnows or wax worms has accounted for our good catches. We are concentrating our efforts on shallow bays and channels.
5/1/11 - Fished the Border Water Walleye Challenge on Big Stone Lake on Saturday. High winds in the 30-45 mph range plus post-spawn walleyes made for extremely difficult fishing conditions. Well over half the 119-boat field failed to bring a walleye to the scales. My partner and I claimed 35th place with one fish just under 3 pounds. We caught that lone fish very late in the day in very rough water in a spot we had visited 2 times earlier in the day. We also lost two fish right after catching our lone fish. One escaped when I slipped in the boat while going for the landing net! The two that escaped probably cost us a check, but that's tourney fishing! Did have one very good day pre-fishing earlier in the week catching several fish on 1/16-ounce Fire-Ball Jigs tipped with minnows and pitched to shoreline rocks. That presentation also accounted for our tournament day fish. We started the day on our shoreline jig pattern, tried some other tactics mid-day, before returning to the shorelines. Probably made a mistake in abandoning the shorelines mid-moring as several of the top teams reported catching their first fish on jigs on the shorelines after 10:00 am.
1/18/10 - Cold weather, deep snow, and lots of slush on the ice has really made ice fishing difficult lately. Anglers are having trouble moving from spot to spot because of deep snow and are finding lots of water and slush on the ice. Because of this and other commitments, I have not spent much time on the ice lately. However, I do hope conditions improve as I hope to get out and chase mid- to late-winter 'gills and crappies in the coming weeks. For now, check out my new story on the Articles page about chasing open-water walleyes during the coming season!
12/30/10 - The end of another year is on us, meaning the closing of several hunting seasons too. Did a little late season pheasant hunting, but not a lot. Deep snow made walking cover very difficult, plus the birds already appear to be stressed from the winter. Did get the young pup, Baily her first bird the other day following a storm. Daughter Hannah and I joined Bailey on a walk. She flushed four hens and then a rooster, which I downed with two shots, and she made a very nice retrieve on. She shows good promise as a hunter!
Ice fishing has been good as well. Have been on some very good panfish bites for both crappies and bluegills. Hexi Fly jigs continue to be dynamite for panfish. Have also caught good perch and walleyes. Have been experimenting with the new Live-Forage Baits with very good results. I really like the Moxie Minnow and the Fish-Fry Minnow Trap. The Moxie Minnow is a flutter spoon and the 'Trap is a blade bait. I like the aggressive action of the Minnow Trap at peak bite times like right at dark, while the Moxie Minnow seems to be a bit more of a finesse style bait that works good on pressured fish or after fronts. Both baits have fish appealing action and come in color patterns that replicate bait fish that predators are used to feeding on.
12/5/10 - Spent an awesome evening on the ice with two partners tonight. We caught 5 different species! Lots of bluegills, several crappies (up to 14-inches), largemouth bass to 3 1/2 pounds, northern pike, and a 26-inch walleye. Hexi Fly jigs tipped with plastics caught lots of fish, as did Doodle Bugs tipped with minnows. Incidentally, fished the new Bionic Ice Line and am very impressed with its smooth performance in cold weather.
Thanksgiving 2010 - With cold and snow in the forecast for tonight, I decided to hunt a property with standing beans that have been seeing lots of feeding activity lately. Shortly after getting on stand, several does and fawns entered the field. Eventually, a big-bodied 8-point buck walked by at 30- yards into the beans. I was not sure he was a "shooter", so I allowed him to walk. He fed in the beans along with several other deer for several minutes allowing me to look him over good. I estimated him at 3 1/2-years of age and decided to take him if offered another chance. Eventually, he ended up downwind of me. However, my Scentblocker clothing and Ti4 spray both did their jobs and he never detected me. Finally, he wandered back and offered me an 18-yard shoot which I took and connected on. Though not a "wallhanger", he is a nice deer and I am happy to end my season with him. Incidentally, I test-shot several bows last spring and decided on the new Quest Heat. It's smooth, has a solid backwall, and very accurate. And. most importantly, did the job on the 8-point!
10/10/10 - Spent the afternooon on Ottertail Lake today walleye fishing today with my parents. We quickly located fish in 13- to 18-feet and caught several on Roach Rigs tipped with redtail chubs. Unfortunately, we ran out of redtails and could only turn a couple more fish on other minnows. I have been using the new Bionic Walleye Line and have been very impressed with how smooth handling it is and its strength as well. It was a great day on the water fishing with mom and dad in great weather conditions!
10/9/10 - Fished Leech Lake for walleyes today with a partner and experienced good success. Started in Walker Bay where we found a tough bite. We then moved to Kabekona Bay and quickly found a school of fish in 25-feet. We landed several fish in the protected 18- to 26-inch size slot. Used medium-sized minnows on Roach Rigs to catch these fish. We then headed to the main lake where we snap-jigged in 8-10-foot of water using 1/16-ounce Stand-Up Fire-Ball Jigs to take several "eaters'. This was my first walleye fishing experience on this massive lake and was impressed with the quality of fish and varied patterns available.
9/13/10 - Spent a few hours on Lake Geneva in the Alexandria chain today fishing bass. Found lots of biters, some caught on crankbaits, some on jig-worms and others on big Jungle Jigs dropped into coontail and cabbage clumps. Once again, the green weeds seemed to hold the most fish.. I use the crankbait to find bass, but also the good weeds. Once a fish is caught or good weeeds are found, I like to slow up and fish the jig-worm and Jungle Jig to catch as many fish forom an area as I can. Then, I pick up the crankbait and continue the search.
9/12/10 - Was on another small lake in the Fergus Falls area and fished the deep weedline with crankbaits and jig-worms for largemouth bass. Only found one school of active fish, but was able to catch several from the school which happened to be located in an inside corner with good, green coontail. As fall progresses, green, living weeds become key holding spots for the bass.
8/29/10 - Was on a small Fergus Falls area lake last night and the bass were really biting. Pitched and flipped pencil reeds with Jungle Jigs for several fish and then, an hour before dark starting swimming a Jungle Jig/Slurpies Swim'n Grub combo and found a school of largemouth in a reed pocket. After catching several on that combo, the bite slowed and I went to a Slurpies Dip-Stick Worm rigged wacky style on a unweighted Lip-Stick Wacky-Worm Hook and it was game on! I got bit on nearly every cast. The fish were all between 14- and 16 1/2-inches. Not monsters but good fish that were lots of fun to catch and release!
8/23/2010 - Have been very busy guiding lately with numerous trips in the Alexandria area. Have taken mostly a multi-species approach concentrating on the deep weedlines with various baits leading to a variety of fish coming to the boat. Lake Ida has produced some good walleye action on some days fishing crawlers on bottom bouncers. Largemouth bass and panfish like those rigs as well. The Alex Chain has also produced bass, crappie, and an occasional walleye to crankbaits,jig-worms, and crawler/bouncer rigs. Have been using Northland Tackle's new species specific Bionic fishing lines and have been impressed with their manageability, strength, and their new camo color patterns.
7/31/2010 - Have been guiding in the Alexandria area a great deal lately with good results. Have targeted mostly largemouth bass with some northern pike and crappies thrown in as well. Lots of action on the deep weedlines from 10-22 feet of water. Jig-worms, rattle baits, and drop-shot rigs have all produced fish. Have been using the new Bionic fishing line from Northland Tackle and really like it! It handles very well on spinning gear (have not used on casting yet), is sensitive and strong as well. Comes in species specific styles -walleye, bass, panfish and ice - and comes in odd sizes like 5- and 7-pound test. Plus I really like how the csmo line color blends in with the water. Good stuff at a very affordable price!
7/26/2010 - Saturday was the 2nd stop of the Silverado Pro-Am Bass Tour and I experienced a very frustrating day! Even though I was tired, I needed to get a "better taste in my mouth" regarding fishing and so Saturday evening a buddy and I headed to one of our favorite bassin' holes near Alexandria. We caught several small bass, but also about a half-dozen 3-plus pounders. Caught fish on several presentations, but our best big fish bait was a Jungle Jig-Loc tipped with a Slurpies Dip-Stick Worm. We would cast the combination to shallow weed clumps on top of flats. The Jig-Loc is a weedless head and works perfect for pulling big fish from heavy cover. The Dip-Stick Worm has accounted for lots of fish coming to my boat the past several years. It can be fished in various ways and the bass really slurp it up!
6/18/2010 - Had a pair of guide trips today in the Fergus Falls area. Battled brutal winds to manage good catches. First trip was for largemouth bass. We headed to the deep weedline and caught numbers of bass on jig-worms from deep coontail. The second trip involved a couple young boys and their grandfather. We jig-wormed a few bass and then headed for some big bluegills spawning on the inside of a reed patch. Caught and released several nice 'gills on Fire-Fly Jigs tipped with waxworms fished below Lite-Bite Slip Bobbers.
6/13/2010 - After a disappointing Silverado tournemant day on Saturday, I was eager to get back on the water today to try to back on a good fishing roll. I headed to one of my favorite lakes in the Fergus Falls area and the big bass on this small lake were really on the bite. I landed 15 fish in a five-hour excursion, with 13 being 3-pounds or better! To top the day off, a 5 1/2-pounder ate my Jungle Jig on my last flip in a reed patch. Reeds, cutbanks, and docks all produced fish on jigs and my trusty wacky-rigged Dip-Stick Worm.
6/12/2010 - Fished the Silverado Pro-Am bass tourney on Saturday on the LHD Chain in Alexandria. As usual, lots and lots of bass were caught with the real challenge being finding bigger fish. Last year, Jim Bakken and I finished second in the event running a shallow water pattern in Lake Geneva and Lake Victoria. This year, Victoria was deemed off-limits due to the zebra mussel threat. That combined with a very good day of prefishing Friday in Lake Darling had me convinced to abandon the shallows for a deep bite. My amateur partner, Jaron Wicht, and I had a slow start to our tourney day catching numbers of small fish only. I did have two heavy fish break off, however, just after the hookset. Late morning, however, things started to look up when a 2 1/2-pounder ate my jig. That combined with the fact that a strong afternoon bite for bigger fish occured the previous day gave us optimism. However, bad luck struck minutes later when our cranking battery died. Later we also lost our trolling battery power. We spent the last part of the tourney day drifting across Lake Darling. We did a get a tow to the weigh-in from fellow pro Jeff Johnson to avoid disqualification salvaging our day by finishing a disappointing 35th place. Though not a good finish, it was important to avoid disqualification as we did earn 16 points in the year long standings toward qualification in the Tournament of Champions in September on Lake Minnetonka. Only 20 pros will qualify for the championship, so I will have an uphill battle but hopefully will be up to the challenge. I always set a goal of making the end of the season championship and have been fortunate to reach that goal in my first two years on the circuit. If I want to make it three-for-three, I will have to get on a roll in the final three events!
6/8/2010 - Spent a day on three lakes today filming television segments with Bob Jensen of Fishing The Midwest television. We caught walleyes, largemouth bass, crappies, sunfish, rock bass, and northern pike! Caught the 'eyes on redtails and crawlers on Roach Rigs, the bass and crappies on jig-worm combinations, and the northerns and other panfish trolling crankbaits. Long day on the water, but lots of fun with lots of fish landed!
6/5/2010 - Fished a small lake today near Alexandria known for its big bass and was not disappointed. Caught and released a bunch of fish with several over 4-pounds and the biggest topping 5-pounds. Fish came on wacky-rigged Slurpies Dip-Stick Worms and Jungle Jigs fished along shallow cover areas like docks and under trees. Got a chance to fish the new Abu Garcia Vendetta rods and was impressed with their light weight and sensitivity.Fishing action in this region remains good. Have been on a couple small area lakes the past couple days and did very well fishing largemouth bass. Have targeted a variety of locations - weedy humps and the edge of flats - that have been loaded with active largemouth. Caught them on various baits with the best being a Lip-Stick Jig-Worm Jig tipped with either a Dip-Stick Worm or a traditional 7-inch Power Worm. On one trip, an eight-year old guide client caught his first ever bass (and several after) and completed his day by hooking a fat 19 1/2-inch bucketmouth on the day's last cast!
Walleye fishing has slowed somewhat, but fish are still being caught. Ottertail Lake still has the best bite I have encountered, though you do have to search for active fish. Bottom bouncers, Roach Rig snells, and nightcrawlers has produced the most fish with active fish being in depths from 22- to 38-feet of water.
Panfish action is still good with the bigger fish found on the edges of deep weedline areas and being caught on small jigs/soft trailer combinations.
6/27/2010 - Fished a small lake Friday evening and Saturday morning with good success for largemouth bass. Numbers of bass weren't great, but several fish in the three- to four-pound range were caught. Some fish came in the shallows off of docks, but the best numbers were in and along weed clumps in the five- to eight-foot water depth range. Pitchin' jigs and creature baits worked good around the docks, Lip-Stick Jig-Worm heads tipped with green pumpkin Slurpies Dip-Stick Worms caught the deeper bass!
6/1/2010 - Guided on Ottertail today and found walleyes in good numbers on traditional summer structure in water depths from 22-35 feet deep. The fish were pretty cooperative. The best bite was on crawlers or leeches fished on a Roach Rig snell pulled behind a Rock-Runner Bottom Bouncer. Fish were mainly in the 14-15 inch size range.
5/30/2010 - Was on a small lake near Fergus Falls last night catching bass on Slurpies Dip-Stick Worms rigged wacky style. Some fish were cruising shallow shoreline areas while others were out deeper relating to emerging weedlines. Lots of bass and lots of fun!
5/29/2010 - Spent a full day guiding on Ottertail yesterday and experienced a somewhat tough bite. Found fish in good numbers, but coaxing bites was tough. In fact, only caught more than one fish in a couple spots. Most spots were only one bite or so, forcing us to stay on the move. Roach Rigs tipped with shiners in 15-25 feet produced our fish.
5/22/2010 - Have been on Ottertail Lake several times in the season's first week with mixed results. Some days have been good, others slower. Fish seem to be scattered at various depths from 6-feet out to as deep as 40- plus feet. Most consistent action, however, has been from 6- to 12-feet as the shiners have been up shallow and the walleyes have been following them. Longlining lightly weighted Roach Rigs tipped with shiners has produced good results. Additionally 1/16-ounce Fire-Ball Jigs tipped with shiners and pitched shallow has produced as well. Have also had some success marking fish on the sonar in deeper water and fishing vertically with jigs and rigs. However, it seems like after pass or two the fish are moving, so constantly searching for fish on the sonar has been critical.
5/10/2010 - Walleyes should be on the bite in the Fergus Falls/Ottertail area this coming weekend. I look for outstanding action on Ottertail Lake. In fact, I plan to start my walleye season there on Saturday. A jig and minnow is a good choice, as is a Roach Rig. Ottertail 'eyes seem to prefer shiners at this time of the season. Often the 8- to 12-foot depth ranges are good this time of year. With the early spring, however, I will not hesitate to head deeper to 18- to 22-foot if necessary. Good luck to everyone this weekend!
5/3/2010 - Was out several times last week chasing panfish in the Fergus Falls area. The action has been hit and miss as far as the crappies go. However, the sunfish and bluegill action has been good. Had a couple days where action was consistently good and the size of the fish was good. Caught fish up to about 10-inches in pretty good numbers. Parakeet pattern Fire-Fly Jigs fished below bobbers and tipped with small crappie minnows or waxworms caught fish. The waxies caught the most fish, but the bigger 'gills came on the minnows. Weather over the weekend made fishing nearly impossible, but hope to be back out again this week!