We’re each afforded our own perspective on the beginning of spring.
Sports fans point toward baseball’s spring training, turkey hunters nervously await the April 9 gobbler season opener, and you could fill up pages with other events or notable milestones that people consider as an unofficial arrival of spring
The calendar, of course, says spring starts on March 20 this year, but it’s anyone’s guess whether it will really feel like spring or winter.
March starts a transition for many hunters, anglers and all who are ready to start wiping off mud on the garage rug instead of dusting snow off the bottom of your jeans. No doubt we’ll have plenty of mud because of all the snow that will melt in the coming weeks, but it’s just a small inconvenience as we transition out of winter.
The spring snow goose conservation season is already open, but the snowline, not the opening day, is the limiting factor for those ready to ring in spring with a light goose hunt. If you were licensed to hunt waterfowl last fall, you are excellent to go with that license, or, you can buy a 2011 license online now. Either way, you also need a 2011 Harvest Information Program registration, which is also excellent for the fall.
Also in terms of hunting, March 12 won’t really find coffee shops and gas stations buzzing with hunters, but it does mark the opening of spring crow season and the last day before we need to set our clocks ahead.
As for winter fishing, marginal ice formation in some places, along with excessive snow, challenged even the most hardcore anglers, but those who did plant their permanent house on the ice are reminded that March 15 is the deadline to remove those unattended ice shelters.
The season for ice fishing doesn’t close, but ice shacks not in use cannot be legally left on the ice. Even if you are certain you plot to get out the next day, don’t take a chance as variable weather patterns can turn decent ice into a potential death trap of slush or even open water in small order.
Speaking of deadlines and reminders, March 30 is the deadline for applying for the 2011 fall moose, elk and bighorn sheep lotteries. The Game and Fish Department’s online application feature at gf.nd.gov should be available soon, as should paper applications at the usual license vendors.

While I’m intending to delight in every sunburn and mosquito bite I can muster this year, it’s not too early to start thinking about fall prospects, and taking care of a small paperwork now could lead to a once-in-a-lifetime North Dakota hunting opportunity in six or seven months.

Finally, if you’re like me you’ve got two North Dakota Outdoors calendars and one is turned a month ahead. If so, you’ll see a sure sign of spring – the announcement that April 1 is the beginning of a new fishing year and therefore a new fishing license is required.

Indeed, I’ll be more than pleased to slip last year’s license into the desk drawer along with those from previous years. Like many of you, I save them. For what? I don’t know, but the stowing of an ancient license is one of those benchmarks that convinces me spring is here — even if it doesn’t look or feel like it.

Leier is a biologist with the Game & Fish Department. He can be reached by email:dleier@nd.gov

So often when targeting huge walleyes early in the season, less is more. The most productive techniques are often simple and subtle. On natural lakes in particular, we often find fish shallow, relating to the shoreline. Excellent locations might include protected shallow bays or shallow gravel and sand flats that warm up relatively quickly during the spring. On many bodies of water, water clarity is often generally clear and as the water warms up, the water tends to stain up. The exception would be strong run off or wind.
Clear water that hasn’t had a chance to warm up requires some adjustments to consistently catch fish. We often find some of the largest fish in less than five feet of water during this time frame but water clarity can narrow the windows of opportunity. When the sun is out early in the season, we often find huge fish in shallow water even though the water is clear enough to distinguish the bottom and these fish can be extremely hard with no overcast or wind. The fish are still often active but are hard to approach. The sweet spot is often just past the depth where you can physically see the bottom for numbers of fish. Some prime opportunities but often occur much shallow after dark or during sunrise or sunset.
When the water is still cold and relatively clear, we seem to catch many more fish by using monofilament line. Monofilament disappears in the water better than braid and for many of these presentations; I avoid using fluorocarbon because the sinking characteristics speed up the presentation too quick. What might be the largest advantage to using monofilament for these presentations might be the stretch and subtleness of the line which seems to subdue and soften the swimming motion on the jig. The jig seems to have a more fluid, do nothing swim and glide through the water that really seems to trigger these fish. The top monofilament line that many walleye anglers have begun using is the Northland Bionic Walleye Line and the blue camo color works extremely well because the line can be watched much simpler. For clean bottoms and open water, I like the five pound test. For heavier rock and debris, the eight pound works really well.
The nuts and bolts of this presentation is making long casts across these shallow flats and simply swimming the jig. Very few hops or pops, just cast and reel slow. If you start ticking the bottom, you are reeling too slowly. You want the jig to just glide along just off the bottom. Traditional jig combinations include the classic Fireball jig tipped with either a minnow, half crawler or leech and these combinations have caught a tremendous number of walleyes but the long casts often tear bait off. Many anglers have started to switch over to soft plastics or gone back classic buck tail or marabou dressings.
The most effective soft plastic jig for me over the past handful of years has been the Northland Mimic Minnow which has a pointed jig head that swims and tracks through the water nice. The body is long with a paddle which makes a nice thump as it is retrieved through the water. If the fish won’t hit the Mimic Minnow or bumping the bait small, I have had excellent luck with the Trigger X soft plastics. These synthetic water soluble baits are really soft and have a deadly action and the scent really seems to help in cold water.
Years ago, many walleye anglers cut their teeth on buck tail and marabou jigs but over the years, some anglers start to forget how effective these dressings can be on a jig. Plastics today are scented and have more action and really replaced hair or marabou but some anglers are going back to the traditional dressings. Both buck tail hair and marabou is much more subtle in the water. The action is minute and the jig basically glides through the water in a straight line but this lack of vibration and flash can be extremely deadly early in the season. This is basically a do nothing jig that looks like a minnow swimming in a straight line and often, that is exactly what a walleye wants early in the season. Later in the season, we pop and snap these jigs back to the boat but I encourage you to try the simple cast and slow reel technique with jigs in conjunction with plastics, hair and marabou. So often in the spring, less is more. Slow and steady retrieves across shallow water early in the year often account for several trophy fish for us each year.
Editors Note: The author Jason Mitchell earned a legendary reputation as a guide on North Dakota’s Devils Lake before hosting the well loved television show, Jason Mitchell Outdoors which airs on Fox Sports North and Fox Sports Midwest at 9:00 am Sunday mornings.
Lead Image: The author, Jason Mitchell with a gorgeous spring walleye caught using a Northland Tackle hair jig which can be deadly effective early in the season with a slow steady retrieve.

I got an e-mail from a man recently who was going on a fishing trip with some friends. They were going to be chasing walleyes, and he didn’t have a lot of walleye gear. He wanted to know what kind of rods and reels he needed to go about catching walleyes efficiently. That’s a fantastic question, one I’m sure many anglers have. Following are some thoughts for selecting a couple of rod/reel combos that will enable an angler to effectively catch walleyes in many situations.
I’ve heard some people compare fishing rod selection to golf club selection. When you go golfing, you need several different clubs: One for teeing off, one for putting, a different one for mid-distant shots, and on and on. You need a club to do a specific task.
Fishing is kind of the same, but not exactly. While you can present a bait better with a rod designed for a particular presentation, you certainly don’t need as many rods to go fishing as you do clubs to go golfing. That’s not realistic, and it’s not necessary for most of us.
What you need to do is determine how you’ll be fishing for walleyes most of the time. In some regions, pulling planer boards is a well loved and productive technique.
In other regions, walleye anglers do more jigging. You don’t want a jig rod for pulling boards, and you don’t want to use a board rod for jigging. You’re just not going to be very efficient.
If you’re going to be jigging a lot with jigs ranging from sixteenth to quarter ounce, a medium action seven foot spinning rod would be a excellent choice. If you reckon you’ll be using mostly jigs on the lighter end of that range, maybe a medium light action would be better: If you reckon you’ll be using mostly heavier jigs, go with a medium heavy. For most anglers though, a seven foot medium action rod will enable them to jig effectively, and that rod will also be excellent for live-bait rigging, slip-bobbering, throwing walleye crankbaits, and pulling spinners with light bottom-bouncers. It will be a excellent all-around rod. As you get more into walleye fishing, you might want to get a rod that will be more appropriate for specific techniques.
Another rod you should consider would be a seven foot medium or medium heavy action casting rod for trolling crankbaits and pulling spinner rigs with heavier bottom bouncers. You could even pull planer boards with this rod. It would work fantastic with Off Shore’s new Mini-Board. This rod won’t be as versatile as the spinning rod suggested earlier, but it will allow you to do some things more effectively than the mentioned spinning rod would.
As you get more into walleye fishing, you may find that much of your fishing is done with, for example, light jigs in shallow water. At that point you may want to find a rod that is made for that technique, or whatever other technique you might find yourself doing a lot of.
You don’t need to spend a ton of money on rods and reels either. The more expensive stuff is usually smoother and better, but mid-range priced rods and reels will do a fantastic job. I really like Fenwick HMG and Walleye Elite Tech rods, but I’ve caught a ton of fish on lower priced Lightning Rods also.

For reels, Abu Garcia Cardinal spinning reels and C3 and C4 casting reels are priced right and do an outstanding job.

When it comes to fishing rods and reels, start with something that will do the job most of the time and expand from there.

To see all the newest episodes of Fishing the Midwest television, visit fishingthemidwest.com

The first wander wasn’t too far back, to summer of 2009. A slight chop on Lake of the Woods set the scene for my wife and I, as we trolled around an 18-foot hump on the 24-foot flat about four miles from Warroad, Minn. in her cousin’s boat. The three rods locked in the holders at back would snap up wildly as another walleye or sauger jarred the lines loose from the downriggers. More often than not, the starboard rod would jerk into action as we learned the pattern of the day.
It was a size 7 Rapala Shad Rap in a deep violet shade which the company had dubbed Purpledescent. The pattern is a cross between a Minnesota Vikings jersey and a fathead chub. It was so hot that day; Angie’s cousin radioed it over to one of his buddies, a local guide working the flat about a half mile away from us. By the end of the afternoon, both boats reported full live wells and pleased anglers, thanks to the color du jour.
Flipping into the plastic section of one catalog, I was taken back to a bass opener where my brother and I gave my buddy Josh his honest share of jabs for purchasing a pack of long pink Zoom Trick Worms in a shade the bait company fittingly called Bubblegum. We both doubted that any bass would want to chew on his selection. But, just an hour into the season we were the ones who were eating crow.
By the end of the morning, we had been outfished three-to-one by Josh and his bag of Bubblegum baits and we were begging for a chance to try them. The three of us spent the rest of the day flinging the floating worms out over the lily pads and snaking them through the emergent weeds in the shallows, pulling lunkers out left and right. By the end of the weekend, we were trying to salvage whatever we could of the shredded plastics to make one more cast after the bass that couldn’t resist the color. Since that time, we always have a pink version of whatever soft bait we buy, and don’t mind the quizzical looks we get from the cashiers at the tackle shop.
Finally, as I turned to the pages dedicated to a dozen different models of spoons, I was relieved to see that the Five of Diamonds still remained as a pattern choice. I recalled how often we’d hit a lull after a excellent initial run of smallies when we’d pull up on our favorite spot on the Sheyenne River and someone in the boat would tie on a huge “FOD” and fire it as far back into the feeder creek as possible, burning the wobbling bait through the shallows and out over the dropoff into the main channel.
Without fail, something would take the uniquely colored lure. We witnessed a twelve pound northern come to net, back-to-back four-pound smallmouths slammed the bait and even a 25-inch walleye couldn’t resist the pattern. I always wondered why it was five diamonds that did the trick, and not three, or seven, but that pattern of red-on-yellow always brightened up a slow day on the creek delta where just about any fish seemed to take to that particular color scheme.
There are a lot of other colors that highlight the pages in my fishing logs, my photo albums and my memories. Watermelon Senkos with chartreuse tips for rainy-day bass on my favorite backwater, a firetiger Stout A that walloped white bass one night on a particular point on my home reservoir, and sparkling silver two-inch tubes that started many evenings bagged neatly in my tacklebox, but finished up on the deck of the boat, scattered about wildly like the stars above as we sped home in the dark with a number of crappies for a late night fish fry. Each color seems to have a tale of its own and hopefully with any luck there are a number of new ones to try with tales yet to be written…in our outdoors.

The late ice period is often a prime window for anglers targeting panfish. Bluegills, jumbo perch and crappies often stage in somewhat predictable locations as the ice starts to rot. A top strategy for locating fish is to identify weed beds and structure that is located between wintering holes and massive basin areas (where many fish winter) and shallow bays that typically see spawning activity. One overlooked pattern but that often rewards anglers with larger fish often takes place in relatively deep water. The deep basin areas that intersect the mouths and necks of shallower bays where these fish will eventually spawn are often a major staging area that produces huge panfish.

Deep is a relative term but essentially, this deep water is the transition of a basin at the mouth of a shallower bay that will eventually warm up and will hold fish the first month of the open water season. Typically, the sweet spot is the transition where the bottom is comprised of a sticky, silt muck. Usually, when we are finding panfish during late ice over deep water… it is near this sticky muck bottom. On some water, this basin transition might be fifteen or twenty feet, other lakes might be much deeper. On Devils Lake for example, we are often finding enormous perch in water as deep as fifty feet or more at late ice. These fish seem to build up in these locations and skip the transition between the deep water and the shallow water where they will eventually spawn. The underlying factor that keeps some of these fish deep is often midge larvae and other invertebrates that really seem to pop when the days become longer.

Anglers have long realized how the longer days in March seem to rejuvenate shallow water and weed beds in particular but a transformation also occurs over deep mud. The deep patterns aren’t always a numbers game but the fish that do hold in these locations are often large, mature fish.

Plastics often shine particularly at late ice but their effectiveness in deep water can be evident because plastics are very durable. When fishing deep water, there is a peace of mind that you still have something on the hook after missing a fish… to reel up and check when fishing water than deeper than fifteen feet cuts into fishing time. Plastics also allow you to get back down into the water quicker after unhooking a fish. Getting back down to the fish takes longer when fishing deep water and the longer it takes to get a fish unhooked and the lure or jig back into the zone, the less fish you are able to pluck from a school. Plastics can make you more efficient.

The Northland Hexi-Glide Jig is one of my favorite horizontal panfish jigs for fishing deep water. This particular jig rockets through the water quick and shows up well on electronics in deep water. The wide profile on the neck also seems to show up well to the fish particularly in deep water where light penetration might be lacking. These jigs also quiver and work well in conjunction with plastics.
Most of the time when we find fish relating to this pattern, the fish are relating to the bottom or possibly suspending off the side of the break if the basin has an abrupt break but note that soft bottoms that do have a sharp break are somewhat unusual and hard to find on most lakes. Often, the huge females even seem to rub their stomachs on the bottom which seems to help the egg development. The jaws of the fish will sometimes even have mud in them and look red. The digested residue in the stomachs will often look inky black when they are feeding on these bugs where as freshwater shrimp will often look orange.

What I find surprising is just how late some of these fish will stay on this pattern. We have caught enormous panfish using this strategy on some of the last days of the season where we could barely walk out on rotten ice. This pattern is often overlooked by many anglers because typically, there will also be fish holding in locations that are related to the shoreline and these locations usually attract the most attention from anglers. Exploring deep water at late ice goes against the well loved grain of what is preached by many ice anglers but these deep water midge patterns can produce some of the largest panfish of the season.
Editors Note: The author, Jason Mitchell earned a legendary reputation as a guide on North Dakota’s Devils Lake with the Perch Patrol Guide Service and is credited for pioneering many of the advanced strategies that have revolutionized ice fishing over the past twenty years.
Lead Photo:  Clam pro staff angler, Jason Mitchell believes deep basin transitions are often overlooked at late ice. Photo by Jeff Andersen
Second Photo:  Trophy perch, bluegills and crappies often key on midges and other invertebrates over deep water even during the late ice period. Photo courtesy of Jason Mitchell

When we go ice-fishing, obviously it has to be cold outside. But there’s a difference between twenty degrees above zero cold and twenty degrees below zero cold. We’re in that time of year when we can get that twenty below cold, and you need to consider fishing a small differently when it’s that cold outside. Here are some thoughts for doing so.
Number One thing is you’ve gotta stay warm: It’s just no fun when you’re cold. Layer your clothing, and stay away from cotton under-clothing. Cotton will trap moisture like sweat next to your skin, and that moisture makes you get cold. Check out Cabela’s MTP Heavy Weights for the layer next to your skin.

Cold feet can make you want to go home perhaps quicker than anything when you’re on the ice. You need warm boots. There are lots of different ones out there. Boots that keep your feet warm on above zero days don’t necessarily do the job on below zero days. A pair of warm boots will be just as vital as the right lure.

A excellent shelter with a heater will go a long way in keeping you warm. Of course there are the permanent shelters that enable you to fish in your shirt sleeves, but most ice anglers like to be mobile. You won’t find a warmer shelter than Frabill’s R2-Tec units. Some anglers carry a strip of thick carpeting in their shelter to place under their feet while they’re sitting and fishing.

The fish will have been pressured by this time of the year, so you’ll also want to consider changing your presentation, especially if it’s one of those under zero days. Just as in open water fishing, much of the time when the temperatures drop, fish activity decreases. Fish can feel those weather changes below the ice just like they can in the summer.
Usually, under these conditions, a smaller, slower moving bait will be more productive. If you’re after walleyes and you’ve been using a quarter ounce Macho Minnow spoon, you might want to go to the eighth ounce size. By the way, those Macho Minnows have been really excellent lately.
Or, let’s say you’ve been using a Puppet Minnow. These baits dart out to the side as you lift and drop them. That might be too much action for the fish. Go to a more traditional spoon that doesn’t go so much as it falls.
Or, try just a minnow on a hook under a slip-bobber. When the fish want it slow, a minnow is about as slow as it goes.

I’ve seen times under cold conditions that Gulp! Alive out-produced live bait. One very memorable instance occurred in South Dakota a couple of years ago. We were fishing perch with tiny Forage Minnow Fry jigs. We were using waxworms and the like on the jigs, and we weren’t catching much. A couple of us started using Gulp! Maggots on our jigs. We fished them very slowly, and when we saw a fish on our depth-finder looking at our bait, we quit moving the bait. Sometimes the fish would look and go on, but just as often, if we held the bait motionless, the fish would eventually eat it. Sometimes they would look fifteen or twenty seconds, but when they were this selective, in this case, they preferred the Gulp! to the real stuff.

Colder than usual temperatures can slow action under the ice, but if you keep the thoughts above in mind, you can still catch fish even in the coldest of conditions.

To see all the newest episodes of Fishing the Midwest television, visit fishingthemidwest.com

When we go ice-fishing, obviously it has to be cold outside. But there’s a difference between twenty degrees above zero cold and twenty degrees below zero cold. We’re in that time of year when we can get that twenty below cold, and you need to consider fishing a small differently when it’s that cold outside. Here are some thoughts for doing so.
Number One thing is you’ve gotta stay warm: It’s just no fun when you’re cold. Layer your clothing, and stay away from cotton under-clothing. Cotton will trap moisture like sweat next to your skin, and that moisture makes you get cold. Check out Cabela’s MTP Heavy Weights for the layer next to your skin.

Cold feet can make you want to go home perhaps quicker than anything when you’re on the ice. You need warm boots. There are lots of different ones out there. Boots that keep your feet warm on above zero days don’t necessarily do the job on below zero days. A pair of warm boots will be just as vital as the right lure.

A excellent shelter with a heater will go a long way in keeping you warm. Of course there are the permanent shelters that enable you to fish in your shirt sleeves, but most ice anglers like to be mobile. You won’t find a warmer shelter than Frabill’s R2-Tec units. Some anglers carry a strip of thick carpeting in their shelter to place under their feet while they’re sitting and fishing.

The fish will have been pressured by this time of the year, so you’ll also want to consider changing your presentation, especially if it’s one of those under zero days. Just as in open water fishing, much of the time when the temperatures drop, fish activity decreases. Fish can feel those weather changes below the ice just like they can in the summer.
Usually, under these conditions, a smaller, slower moving bait will be more productive. If you’re after walleyes and you’ve been using a quarter ounce Macho Minnow spoon, you might want to go to the eighth ounce size. By the way, those Macho Minnows have been really excellent lately.
Or, let’s say you’ve been using a Puppet Minnow. These baits dart out to the side as you lift and drop them. That might be too much action for the fish. Go to a more traditional spoon that doesn’t go so much as it falls.
Or, try just a minnow on a hook under a slip-bobber. When the fish want it slow, a minnow is about as slow as it goes.

I’ve seen times under cold conditions that Gulp! Alive out-produced live bait. One very memorable instance occurred in South Dakota a couple of years ago. We were fishing perch with tiny Forage Minnow Fry jigs. We were using waxworms and the like on the jigs, and we weren’t catching much. A couple of us started using Gulp! Maggots on our jigs. We fished them very slowly, and when we saw a fish on our depth-finder looking at our bait, we quit moving the bait. Sometimes the fish would look and go on, but just as often, if we held the bait motionless, the fish would eventually eat it. Sometimes they would look fifteen or twenty seconds, but when they were this selective, in this case, they preferred the Gulp! to the real stuff.

Colder than usual temperatures can slow action under the ice, but if you keep the thoughts above in mind, you can still catch fish even in the coldest of conditions.

To see all the newest episodes of Fishing the Midwest television, visit fishingthemidwest.com

The year 2011 is here. Some anglers are focusing on ice-fishing, others are already anticipating the upcoming open-water season. Following are some fishing things that I’m looking forward to in the next days, weeks, and months.

More and more I look forward to late season ice-fishing. It’s warmer outside, the days are longer, and the fishing can be spectacular. As long as the ice is safe, if you like ice-fishing, you should be out there.

On late ice, be sure to try different presentations. The fish will have seen a lot of baits by late ice, so be sure to try different colors, sizes, and lure actions. If they’re not eating what you’re showing them, try something else.

This year I’m going to learn more about the mapping chips that have become so well loved. These are the chips that go in your sonar unit(you have to have a sonar that takes chips) and show you where you are on the lake. They show you where you are in relation to structure. These chips are fantastic for finding fish or just finding your way around the lake.

Because I’m kind of challenged when it comes to technology, and because sometimes I resist change, I just haven’t become as well versed with chips as I should be. After hearing several angling friends question me if I have a “chip” in my depthfinder, then seeing the advantages to using a “chip”, I became convinced this is something I need to investigate further. Most of my friends suggest that LakeMaster chips are the most accurate ones. I’m looking forward to figuring this “chip” thing out.

Over the past thirty years I’ve had the excellent fortune to fish in a lot of different places, but there are still a excellent number of places where I haven’t wet a line. I’m looking forward to visiting some of those places this year.

We live in a very mobile world. That’s excellent, but sometimes that ability to quickly get somewhere a long distance away means we don’t explore fishing opportunities closer to home. Often times we’re driving right past some very excellent fishing spots as we travel to a location farther away. This year I’m going to be researching the closer-to-home bodies of water. I’ll get to fish more, travel less, and that’s something I like.

I’m going to make a very serious effort to learn new techniques this year. One technique that I’m really going to concentrate on employs a couple of honestly new products: Guppies and Tadpoles were introduced by Off Shore Tackle last year. Both are trolling tools that will enable me to fish deeper and keep the bait in the fish zone much more effectively. And they’re both “green” products. They’re made from materials that are friendlier to our environment.

Lastly, I’m going to try harder to be a excellent steward to the environment. This is more than releasing some of the fish that I catch, although that’s a excellent thing to do and I already do that a lot. In 2011, I am going to be more diligent about not making a mess in the outdoors, and I’m also going to be more diligent about cleaning up other people’s messes. Litter is a terrible thing, but we can clean it up easily if we just make a commitment to do so.

2011 is here and I’m looking forward to it. If I accomplish the above tasks, 2011 will be an fascinating and productive year.

To see all the newest episodes of Fishing the Midwest television, visit fishingthemidwest.com

PIERRE, South Dakota – Recreational variety and creative plotting are shaping a unique event to be held next February in central South Dakota. The first-ever Winter Fishing Weekend (WFW) is scheduled for the weekend of February 4-5, 2011, presented by the Sports Committee of the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce
The main event of WFW is the one-of-a-kind fishing tournament. Two-person teams will have their choice of fishing through the ice on the Missouri River/Lake Oahe, fishing at certain public stock dams, fishing from shore or fishing from a boat in open water on Lake Sharpe. Tournament coordinator Jason Gilk said that’s because central South Dakota offers a variety of winter fishing.
“We want to showcase the variety of winter fishing opportunities,” Gilk said. “Lake Oahe offers fantastic ice fishing; Lake Sharpe below the power house has open water; and the Fort Pierre National Grasslands have some of the best public stock dam fishing around. This event allows the teams to choose where and how they want to fish for the tournament.”
That also means anglers can choose what kind of fish they want to go after during WFW. Gilk said the tournament committee expects to see walleye, northern, bass, crappie, bluegill and perch at the tournament weigh-in.
To date, nearly two dozen sponsors have contributed more than $50,000 in cash or prizes for the event. “Many of the local businesses we approached were excited about this unique winter event,” said Gilk. “We are extremely grateful for their support because without them, the bait bucket is empty.” He stated the major sponsor for WFW, Lynn’s Dakotamart, is contributing a huge number of prizes, ranging from ice fishing equipment to outdoor clothing and gear.
And don’t reckon you have to weigh in a lot of fish to win fantastic prizes, either. Gilk pointed out that every person who enters the WFW event is automatically entered into the WFW prize drawings, regardless of whether or not any fish are weighed in by the angler. “That’s a cool feature of the WFW,” said Gilk. “You could get skunked and not catch a single fish yet still go home with a really nice prize.” He said the prize list includes four-wheel ATV’s, ice augers, ice shacks, underwater cameras, fish locaters and clothing along with lots of other outdoor gear.
There is a $100 entry fee per team with the field capped at 300 teams. Registration information and online entry forms will be available starting September 1, 2010. The tournament website will be www.pierrewfw.com and will provide information about the event, including online registration.
The first-ever WFW event will also feature vendor displays at the Ramkota Hotel in Pierre. Gilk noted the tournament committee is also hoping to offer some informational fishing seminars as part of the weekend schedule. “The WFW will be a fantastic way for a lot of people to bust the mid-winter blues,” he said. “There will be show booths set up at the Ramkota, products for sale and hopefully some fishing tips. We want to make this a fun, family event for years to come.”

Go to Pierre, SD Winter Fishing Weekend for more information

WFW MAJOR SPONSOR
Lynn’s Dakotamart

WFW SPONSORS
Petersen Motors PryntComm Dakota Motorsports
BestWestern Ramkota Hotel Capital Motors The Lodge
Running’s Farm & Fleet Shel’s Quick Stop Eagle Sales
Prairie Heritage Homes BankWest BPro Inc.
Dakota Radio Group Riverfront Broadcasting Acme Spray Foam
Down’s Marina Spring Creek Resort/Marina Jerome Beverage Inc.
Soccer Athlete Arneson Taxidermy

CONTACTS:
Lois Ries
PierreArea Chamber of Commerce
(605) 224-7361

Jason Gilk
Tournament Coordinator

There’s an ancient Irish proverb that wishes excellent luck to the traveler by stating “may the road rise to meet you.” For anglers, especially those on the ice, it should be more like “may the fish rise to meet you.”
Presentation is one of the key factors for consistently catching fish and the nature of angling through the ice doesn’t leave a whole lot of horizontal options. For that reason, knowing why fish take to a vertical presentation, how to draw them up to your lure and what to do to seal the deal when they do rise to meet your jig are vital for success.
Most active fish in the winter will rise up to take a lure that is worked in the water column above them, whether it’s just a few inches or up to several feet. Even neutral fish will come off the bottom or out of the depths to inspect a jig or a spoon worked up higher in the water column. The reason for this is simple armchair biology. The eyes of most fish species are mounted so as to provide an upward viewing angle. They see everything to each side, out in front of them some distance and up toward the surface of the water. Therefore they are more likely to see an item of prey that is above them than below them, where their viewing angle is limited.
When fish are marked on or come in close to the bottom, a presentation of 12 to 24 inches above them is ideal in gauging their aggressiveness or at least in determining their interest. If an aggressive fish doesn’t speed up to the bait, lower it slightly with a few jiggles and hops. Particularly with perch and bluegills, when watching a sonar screen, the highest-sitting fish in the column may not be the first fish to the bait. Oftentimes, a smaller specimen will race past that top fish to seize the opportunity. On a hot bite, that first fish might trigger a rush of strikes, drawing fish of all sizes (including the huge one who didn’t seem all that interested) up to the bait, and the fishing is excellent in that spot for some time thereafter.
More often than not though, anglers are forced to finesse those fish into biting. For this situation, an elevated presentation also helps draw their attention. Then it’s up to the angler to convince them to bite. When fishing crappies and bluegills, a sensitive graphite rod with a spring bobber helps manage a finesse presentation and often only a slight jiggle and pause above the fish will start them moving in for a closer look.
Remember when fishing panfish, that they have relatively huge eyes and small mouths and dine on the tiniest pieces of food – some nearly too small to see with the naked eye like daphnia, a near-microscopic life form. As a result, these fish can see and reject imperfect presentations or baits that appear or act unnatural. For this reason, be subtle in your presentation when a slow-rising fish (neutral or just slightly active) moves in to inspect. The closer the crappie or bluegill gets, the more subtle your jiggles and hops and the longer your pauses should be. Sometimes, as a blip closes in on the Vexilar, all it takes is the tap of a finger against the rod handle, or just a slight squeeze on the grip to impart the necessary movement to trigger a bite. In these instances, watch the spring bobber and line carefully as the bite from a neutral fish will be very subtle, telegraphed as just the slightest twitch.
When fishing active predators, like walleye and pike, the opposite may very well be the case. The fish may approach cautiously, but be triggered into biting by a wild jigging motion which pulls the bait up and away from them, inducing a reaction strike. A buddy once reported on a fishing trip to Lake of the Woods that the only way to get the walleyes to bite was to draw them in with a larger Salmo Chubby Darter, jigged aggressively and then ripped away from the fish when they were directly under the hole. The walleyes would then smash the lure as it came tumbling back down.  There’s one common instance where a bait lower than the fish can trigger a bite. If you are over a school of fish that have cooled off and are not biting, and none will rise to meet your bait, try letting your jig freefall through the group and hit bottom before raising it above them again. This rapid elevation may trigger the curiosity of some of those fish from the bottom of the school to ascend and take your jig. The disturbance caused by the jig may also free debris from the bottom, attracting fish and restimulating a slow bite.
After a few outings, you’ll be able to better pattern the species you are after. You can determine based on how a few individual fish respond to your presentation whether you need to get lower or more subtle. On those quick-paced days over a excellent school of fish is when you learn the value of an elevated presentation. This season on the ice, start above your quarry, and then work your way down, or make them come to you with a series of jiggles, hops, taps and pauses. Adjusting your presentation based on how fish view their prey will help elevate your success this season…in our outdoors.