2022 Articles
View Article AchiveJune 2022
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Destinations on the Fly
by JOSH LANTZUnique and travel-worthy summertime fly-fishing opportunities from coast to coast Summer is here and the days are long, just like the rods fly anglers use to play their favorite games on the water. No matter where you live or fish, the extra daylight hours afforded in the coming weeks a...
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Its Buzzbait Time
by CRAIG RITCHIEIf there's one thing that's hard to beat, it's the excitement that comes from fishing with buzzbaits for early season bass, pike and muskie. There's a lot to like about fishing with buzzbaits - they're super easy to cast, they're super easy to fish, and the hits are usually nothing short of expl...
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Getting Sneaky With Toothy Critters
by CRAIG RITCHIEOne of the things I llike the most about fishing is enjoying its sheer variety. I'm just as happy wading small creeks for trout as I am trolling big water for walleye or salmon, probing the depths for lake trout, flipping shallow pads for bass or just fishing off the dock with a worm and a float for...
May 2022
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Tips for Early-Summer Smallmouth Success
by JOSH LANTZExperts share techniques for big brown bass bites Increasingly, today's bass anglers love to tell you which species they prefer, brown or green. But it's the former that continues to spawn a cult-like following. Even a self-described largemouth nut or honest walleye angler will admit to enjoyi...
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Spring Time is King Time
by CRAIG RITCHIEAfter a long, cold winter nothing feels better than to get out on open water and chase species of fish that I haven't seen in a couple of months. Sure, spring is prime time for pike and walleye and panfish, but I've most likely caught a few of those through the ice at some point in the winter. So fo...
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Catch More and Bigger Spring Panfish
by JOSH LANTZThree panfish experts share their secrets Few angling pursuits are as humble, simple and enjoyable as spring panfishing. We conjure images of bobbers and docks, spawning fish in the shallows, and plain presentations that always seemed to work from the depths of our childhood memories. F...
April 2022
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Troll a Jig, Catch a Walleye
by MIKE FRISCHEarly season walleyes are often caught on jigs tipped with minnows and pitched to fish located in shallow to mid-depth waters. Other fish are caught by those fishing slip-sinker livebait rigs, the classic Lindy Rig. Another method, however, is one that doesn't get as much attention, but often "get...
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Spring River Walleye Fishing: 6 Must Know Tips
by JASON MITCHELLRiver systems offer some of the earliest walleye fishing opportunities across the Midwest for many anglers in the spring. When it comes to catching river walleye, nothing is more important than water visibility. Heavy runoff, ice jams, and snowmelt can muddy and rise the water. There is an old ad...
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Teaching Kids To Fish
by CRAIG RITCHIEIf the pandemic has taught us anything, it's that nothing beats family time enjoying the outdoors. Spending time out on the water with your kids teaches them patience, it teaches them about the importance of wild spaces and clean environments, and it teaches them important values and responsibilitie...
March 2022
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In-Between Fishing Seasons
by BOB JENSENThere are two in-between fishing seasons in the Midwest. There's the open water to ice in-between and the ice to open water in-between. In the southern regions of the Midwest it has become the open water season, in the northern areas there is still plenty of ice, but in the middle part of the Midw...
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Pre-Spawn Walleye Tactics
by CRAIG RITCHIEDon't get me wrong, I enjoy ice fishing. But like most anglers, there's a limit to how much time I can spend staring at an eight-inch hole. That's why the return of open water in March is always such a welcome sight - that, and the opportunity to get out in the warming weather to target big pre-spaw...
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Prime Time Panfish
by MIKE FRISCHThere is a fishing pattern that emerges in March that is one of the most productive of the entire year and maybe one of the most overlooked too. The pattern involves bluegills and crappies at "last ice." During this time, many of these fish are vacating deeper water mid-winter haunts and heading s...
February 2022
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Walleye Wishes 2022
by MIKE FRISCHAs I sit writing this, the temperature outside has yet to nudge above the 0 degree mark! Nevertheless, I know that nicer days are ahead and that in just a couple months I could potentially be back in a boat on open water. Here are some of the wishes I have for the coming season, particularly regar...
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Late Season Ice Fishing
by BOB JENSENIt may not look like it or feel like it, but it's that time of year when some ice anglers start thinking about the end of another ice fishing season. In the southern stretches of the ice fishing belt, the end of the season bite might already be going on, and if it isn't, it will start soon. In the ...
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A Southern Getaway To Beat The Winter Doldrums
by CRAIG RITCHIEWhile there can be a lot of fun in specialization, I've always leaned more to the "variety is the spice of life" end of things and particularly when it comes to fishing. Variety keeps things interesting, and it lets you make the most of the opportunities available over the course of a year. As m...
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The Way 2 Weigh
by BILL SCHULTZAs someone who has maintained a fishing log since rekindling my interest in fishing in 1992, you'd probably expect that I weigh my bigger smallmouth bass. And, you'd be right. Having caught and released over 24,000 since 1994, I have a good idea of how much most smallies weigh, yet I do like to conf...
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Bass Fishing: The Rites of Spring
by JOSH LANTZBassin' brothers, Jesse and Jordy Wiggins, on casting crankbaits for springtime bass Any discussion of pre-spawn bass is bound to include the topic of crankbaits. Why? Put simply, of all the baits in the boat, cranks offer distinct advantages over most other lure types, especially in ...
January 2022
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Ice Fishing Inland Trout
by JASON MITCHELLIce fishing for inland trout is extremely popular and insanely fun. When we look at classic trout water, we often think of the western mountain states like Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado or Utah but there is tremendous trout fishing far beyond. Many of these winter trout fishing opportunities a...
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Techniques for Better Bassin': Part Two
by JOSH LANTZFour more St. Croix pros share tips on their favorite presentations and the specific Victory rods on which they rely Like most forms of angling, bass fishing is an ever-evolving puzzle. It's also a personal one. Regardless of your experience level, there are always new things to lea...
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Beating The Mid-Winter Blahs
by CRAIG RITCHIEFor the most part ice fishing follows a relatively consistent pattern from one year to the next. There's that flurry of activity as the first safe ice sets in, when fish are set up in obvious, predictable spots and still feeding aggressively. Then the action dies off toward the end of January, and w...
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Techniques for Better Bassin': Part One
by JOSH LANTZIt's a new year, and if you've resolved to take steps to improve your bass-angling success and enjoyment in 2022, you're reading the right article. We all have our own confidence lures and presentations. But what happens when these go-to techniques fail to produce? Well, you either adapt or go ho...
