LOCAL REPORT

"Most the walleyes we are finding as of lately are relating to the cabbage or weed edges, especially if the wind is blowing into them. Rigging leeches at .5 to .8 MPH on those weed has has been a consistent bite with the occasional day of them wanting a big minnow. The jig rap and slow death bite is also starting to produce fish on a day to day basis, and will continue to improve over the next several day. Long lining a jig in shallow water is still producing some of our biggest fish in and around the weed beds, especially if the wind is blowing. We also have been finding some nice schools of crappies the last week hanging off f the steep breaks schooled up and ready to bite a jig rap or a jig tipped with a minnow. It is a great time of year when many different presentations are working, and fishing will continue to stay hot in the days ahead!"

Balcer Brother...

Fishing has been consistently picking up with the water temps raising.  The shiner run has been in full swing improving the bite in the shallower water.  I’ve been finding most of the walleyes on area lakes in that 8-14 ft range.  Jigs and shiners are the key presentation, with occasionally using a Roach Rig as well.  Targeting the new weed growth  has also been another factor in success.  New sparse cabbage is a great area to find walleyes as the bait fish like to hang out there.  Panfishing has been really good in the areas of bays with dark bottoms with warmer water.  If you can, drive along and sight fish for those panfish.  Slip bobber and smaller minnows have been a great method for fishing panfish.  Weather temperatures are getting warmer, consistent weather, means fishing will keep increasing into the summer months!  For all your fishing and hunting...

It looks like summer is finally here to stay! After a cold, snowy and windy opener weekend ( go figure!) it looks like the summer weather is going to finally stick around for good! Water temps right now are cooler than normal considering the time of year, but we have plenty of heat and sun in the immediate forecast which should bring temps up and really turn the fishing on! Walleye fishing has been good on Little Pine, Big Pine, Ottertail, Rush, and other area lakes. Anglers are having the best luck in 4-10 feet of water casting or trolling a small jighead with a shiner, sucker, fathead or soft plastic. As we approach Memorial Day weekend, crawlers, leeches and Lindy rigs in deeper water will likely start to produce more and more fish as the water temp rises. With the late spring, late shiner run and cool water temps to start the season, we have the perfect...

With opening weekend coming up, here is an update on what we have been up to and what the store is going to look like this weekend and moving forward. Our hours moving forward are going to be  7:00 a.m - 5:00 P.M Monday - Saturday and Sunday 7:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Friday , May 8th, we will be open 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. and Saturday , May 9th, we will be open 5:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. We have spent that last several works cleaning the store, preparing for summer, and accomplishing chores and projects throughout the store we have previously put off. Our inventory in the store for the opener is looking good, and are fully equipped with all your fishing needs! Moving forward, ordering inventory has been a little tougher and shipping has been slow, so we apologize for any inconvenience. We are open to normal business, but ask please limit your time in the store and le...

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...