Another group today experienced a great time catching all kinds of panfish! Although we had a slightly later than usual start and an early finish, they all caught plenty of fish!

By the time we hit the ice and began fishing, it was almost 10:00. A quick demonstration yielded a nice bluegill, followed by a big crappie! Time to get all four of them set up and let them loose!

With the aid of sonars, Cynthia, Eduard, Nick & Francis were into fish almost immediately. Although Nick had the numbers, Eduard managed to get the bigger ones. He even caught another large crappie!

Perch, bluegill, sunfish and crappie were all landed in the four hours or so that they fished. Eduard even saw a nice pike caught, while the others went for a bathroom break! All in all it was a great first time experience for this gang!

After they had left, I decided to stay a little longer with my wife and another buddy. Apparently it was a good choice because I managed a few more crappie for dinner. We also caught a bunch of big bluegill too! I even battled a nice largemouth at the very end making for a perfect finish!

The season is just getting started and I expect to be on the ice many more times in the coming months. Both with clients as well as pleasure fishing new areas for future outings! The best is still yet to come!

Lonnie & his group experienced a great day of fishing today, targeting panfish. We headed on the ice in a dense fog that had me guiding them to our location via GPS. It was so thick that although I could hear other people, they were nowhere to be seen!

Brent, Daniel, Steve, Jackson, Guillaume & Lonnie all managed to catch fish with the bulk being bluegill. There were also quite a few larger fish lost and one nice pike & largemouth landed in the mix too.

When the fog eventually lifted, I could see why voices were being heard as there were many people all around. I’m not sure how the others managed, but our guys definitely did well enough to bring plenty of fish home for a great fish fry. By 3:00 we were officially done and pulled off the ice for the day.

Overall it was a great first time experience for most of the gang and I don’t think it will be their last. By having the aid of flashers to guide them, it didn’t take long to catch on. I’m not sure which one they liked most, but everyone had a great time on an absolutely beautiful spring like day on the ice!

It was another slow day today for Craig & I on a different body of water. Plenty of short strikes and more missed fish than landed! Only one pic but it was a good one! Hopefully better days ahead, but it may only be on the hard water as the temps have dipped below 40 degrees already. Won’t be long before it freezes!

After almost two weeks, I was finally back on the water again today! Mother Nature had dished out her fury with unseasonably cold and snowy weather and forced me into multiple cancellations. It would be nice to get out again!

Craig was with me but this time he was alone as he wasn’t able to find another person to join him. I decided to let him bunk at my place, eliminating any additional costs. This way we would be able to make a last minute decision as to where we would go and we were in no rush.

The morning temps were pretty good but still below the freezing mark as we prepped for the drive. Add to that a light snow falling and we were in for a real treat! We were about to take a road trip and it wasn’t going to be fun in these conditions.

A slower than usual drive from almost whiteout conditions at times, had us arriving at the ramp later than expected. It didn’t seem to matter though as a crane removing docks created an even longer wait. It wasn’t until after 10:30 that we were even able to launch!

Another issue was also had when the main engine kept buzzing and shutting down after being started. The water line seemed to be somewhat frozen and the water wasn’t flowing through. This also took a while to thaw and after several restarts and stops, it eventually ran fine. Official start time, eleven o’clock!

We hit our first spot and hooked up almost immediately with a big bass. I thought it was going to be a great day after this, but was unpleasantly surprised to find out that it was going to be a struggle. We did manage to put several good keeper walleye in the boat along with a few released overs however. It seemed like there were more of them biting and Craig was happy to take a limit out with him. He even managed to get a couple more on the next spot as well that were also added to the livewell with the others.

We jumped around with limited time to fish and only picked at the bass throughout the day. I’m sure the overcast skies had something to do with the bite as well as the barely 40 degree water temps. After only about three and a half hours of actual fishing time, we decided to call it a day. We would be back on the water again tomorrow and hopefully for longer than today in duration! Who knows, this time we may even try a closer body of water instead!

Craig & Herm were treated to a wonderful start to their morning with a fresh, wet snowfall. Not only did it begin our day, but it fell the entire time we were on the water too!

We launched in a mini blizzard and ran to our first spot in very little visibility. With snow all over the carpet in the boat, we also had to move carefully while fishing. I really didn’t expect a banner day, but figured we’d see a few more giants! I was right, but not from our starting location. We had to make several adjustments in order to finally get bit.

One of the moves had us tucked slightly out of the wind on the inside of a current break and it was here that the big ones came out to play. Craig started out with a couple of small bass and one nice walleye that would be going home with him tonight. A few minutes later on consecutive casts, three giants came aboard. One of the fish was by far, definitely the largest of the season! A few more bites were also had afterwards, but all those fish were missed.

We made several moves throughout the day and fished various depths in order to catch more fish. It wasn’t great, but at least some fish were willing to bite!

With the conditions less than perfect, I knew it was only a matter of time before we called the day. By 1:00 we packed it up and headed back to the ramp to take out. Of course, the skies were clearing now and the sun was trying to pop out from behind all the clouds. The snow had also stopped, but the winds were picking up and it was time to go.

It’s always tough at this time of year and Mother Nature tends to take control, one way or another! The last couple of days yielded some really nice fish but they didn’t come easy. Hopefully the next few weeks won’t shut me down completely because I have bookings until the end of the month. I already had to cancel for Friday due to high winds and extreme cold and the weekend isn’t looking good either. I may also have to reschedule the people there too! Crossing my fingers and toes that I can make it to the end of the season, comfortably!