LOCAL REPORT

To say that this ice season has been a disappointment so far would be an understatement! Most area lakes have 6-12 inches of ice, and the ice is varying greatly from spot to spot on the lakes. We have gotten 15+ inches of snow on this ice, which is making the lakes flood bad in some areas, and slush pockets are causing a headache for many local anglers. The good news is that the fishing has been good and traveling on the lakes is very doable with small ATVs, and the fisherman who are traveling out in portables are being rewarded. The bad news, however, is that getting a permanent house out can be tough traveling through snow/slush and flooding has been common. There are, however, many permanent houses out on area lakes. It is an odd year for ice, and your best bet is to get out there and explore for yourself, for the conditions vary GREATLY from lake to lake...

I posted a video on our Facebook page on Saturday explaining the current ice conditions, and not much has changed since then except our recent snow fall. On Saturday the MAJORITY of area lakes had 4-8 inches of good ice, with some lakes having even less and some having a bit

more. Before Mondays snow fall there was a few inches of snow on the lakes with slush in areas, and yesterday morning we got hit with another 4 inches. We saw a good amount of small wheel houses going out on area lakes on Saturday, and the extreme cold weather of today and tomorrow should help add to the existing ice. This is obviously not the ice conditions we were hoping for, and extreme caution needs to be used when venturing out on area lakes for ice is varying greatly on what part of the lake or what lake you are on. We are sitting really good on minnows and our inventory is good, an...

Winter is coming, and we are beyond ready for the hardwater ice fishing season. Thanks to the help of our great employees, we have been working around the clock the last 2 weeks to get the store ready for ice fishing, and I can confidently say that the store is about 99% ready for the ice fishing season. We are excited for the change of seasons, and this year we have more ice fishing inventory and new products than we ever have had before. The shelves are loaded, and now we just have to wait. At the start of November things looked extremely promising for early freeze up, but the last few days in lake country have been warm, rainy and windy , all of which obviously do not help ice conditions.  

I will do my best in the next several days when the weather cools down to give a ice report every couple days and report what local anglers are saying about ice co...

It is hard to believe we are already into the month of October... Fall is flying bye! If you are thinking about putting your boat away for the winter, reconsider because the fishing has been great! Walleyes and crappies are biting right now in 25-40 feet of water on shoreline breaks and deep holes on Big Pine, Little Pine, Ottertail and other area lakes. Sucker minnows on a lindy rig are still producing well for the walleyes, and Jigs with a fathead or small sucker are producing both crappies and walleyes as well. Bait has been relatively tough, and it appears redtails and creek chubs are done for the season.  The fishing will remain good all the way until the lakes freeze!

We are also hearing good reports of muskies being caught on the area lakes that have muskies. Throwing lures and trolling big suckers are both producing, and this bite also will only...

As we turn the calendar to July the fishing remains very good! Big Pine, Rush, Little Pine, Star, Ottertail and many other area lakes are producing a very good walleye bite right now. The summer heat has pushed a majority of the walleyes out into the deeper water, and most good reports we are hearing are coming from 17-30 feet of water on mid lake humps, 

 mid lake points and shoreline breaks. Bottom bouncers with spinners and slow depths have been working extremely well, and will allow you to cover more water to find those fish! Lindy Rigging a leech, crawler or minnow has also been extremely productive when you locate the schools of fish. Casting or vertically jigging a Rapala Jigging Rap or a Shiver Minnow is also producing fish , and this presentation will only continue to get better over the coming weeks! Fisherman are still getting fish in under 10 feet...

Summer is finally here to stay and the fishing remains good, although rapidly changing. With the water temps finally warming up and the shiner run over, now is a great time to head to the deeps in search of walleyes. Big, Pine, Little Pine, Rush, Star, Ottertail and other area lakes have been producing a good walleye bite as of late. The key presentation now seems to be lindy rigging on shoreline points and breaks as well as mid-lake structure. 15-25 feet has been a good starting depth to try, and leeches, crawlers and minnows on a rig are tough to beat right now. The bottom bouncer bite has also really picked up, and pulling either a spinner with a crawler/minnow or a slow death rig has been working well. There are still plenty of fish shallow and light jigs with a minnow or plastic will continue to produce fish. The beauty of this time of year is that so m...

June is here, and the fishing remains very good! Big Pine, Little Pine, Star, Ottertail, Rush and other area lakes continue to produce good walleye fishing right now. As the water temps continue to rise, fishing patterns and locations are just starting to change. Majority of reports we are hearing are that the best fishing has been in 7-10 feet using a 1/8 ounce jig and a shiner or soft plastic. Back trolling these jigs with a good amount of line out at .8-1.0 mph has been producing walleyes, and you are sure to get some bonus northerns, bass, and big crappies with this presentation . Fish are really to starting to scatter, and every day we are hearing more reports of anglers having good luck on shoreline points and mid-lake humps in the 13-22 foot range (depending on lake and structure) lindy rigging a minnow, crawler or leech. As the spottail shiners are s...

We hope everyone had an enjoyable and safe Memorial Day weekend!  Fishing in the lakes area has been very good, and that might even be an understatement! Walleyes are being caught on Big Pine, Little Pine, Rush, Ottertail, Star, and other lakes in 4-10 feet of water. The presentation of choice is still a jig with a shiner or a soft plastic. We are hearing reports that anglers are having luck in 10-18 feet of water Lindy Rigging a leech, crawler or minnow, and this presentation will only continue to get better as the water warms up.

 With the late, cool spring, however, we are still seeing cold water temps and majority of fish are being caught in that magic 4-8 foot range. Pay attention to wind and sun, for we are hearing the best reports on windy, cloudy days in 4-6 feet of water, and on calm, sunny days closer to 8 feet of water. Fishing has been good a...

It is finally looking like summer is here! After what can only be described as a terrible winter, we are anxiously looking forward to some nice weather and open water fishing! Opening week has come and gone, and the fishing was similar to previous openers, with less than ideal weather we heard mixed reports, but most anglers were able to put a few nice walleyes in the boat over the weekend. 

Similar to nearly every other bait store in Minnesota, bait was tough to come by. We were lucky enough to have a decent supply of bait over the weekend, and with the warm weather we are hoping our bait supply picks up. Right now we are sitting good on spottail shiners and leeches, and also have nightcrawlers, fatheads, and crappie minnows. 

Fisherman had the best luck over the last couple days fishing shallow (5-10 feet) and either casting or trolling 1/16 or 1/...