pistakee lake night bite

night bite crappies on pistakee lake We just got settled in at home after a nice two hour night bite excursion to Pistakee Lake on the Fox Chain. Me and Lucas gave them hell for the hour and thirty minutes we fished tonight. We proceeded with some extra caution due to the recent warm temps we have been experiencing the last few days. Also, we were the only two out there and to tell you the truth,...

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one angler i know...

One angler I know has been waiting patiently since getting some new gear for Christmas... working some fish with a Ice 35 flasher the result of his efforts  "flag up" he called it  Looks like he got his ice fishing season started, more to come from little Lucas's ice adventures of 20...

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long lake ice fishing report

long lake illinois fishing map Long Lake in northern Lake County is one of the closest lake to my home. Given its location it is odd I have spent absolutely zero time here. Rumors around the area talk of bucket head mobs from Chicago cleaning out the panfish here in the last few years. Rumors are only rumors but my one and only trip here last year wasn't anything to speak of and it has certainly...

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First Ice!

 It is finally here! The first fishable ice. As most of you know we have had a pretty warm start to the winter here in the Midwest. Finally the temps have dropped and the snowflakes have fallen. It was the close of the IL hunting season this weekend and the start of the ice fishing season for me. I climbed into my favorite tree stand one last time Saturday morning, but all I could think about...

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Does Winter Weather Effect Fishing Through The Ice?

 As yesterdays first winter storm pounded the midwest it got me thinking. I have heard many tales and opinions on the matter, but never really researched it much. Does the weather effect fish during the ice fishing season as much as it does the open water season? After a few google searches and reading some pretty well written articles I came up with a few things to help out fellow ice anglers...

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mid winter on the root river

Back on December 27th I posted a fly pattern called the Black Prince which had been noted as one of the oldest steelhead flies around. Even though this info is a tad delayed to hit the wall of our blog, the Black Prince past the test on the Root River in Southeast Wisconsin. mid winter brown trout still chasing flies This wonderful specimen of a great lakes brown trout fell victim to...

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trout river, iowa driftless report

County- Winneshiek Miles- 13.5 Tributary To- Upper Iowa River Nearest Major City- Decorah Access- 133rd St. between Hwy 9 and Old Stage Road Trout Caught- Mostly browns with a few rainbows trout river in iowa has some pretty browns Who would have thought that I would be trout fishing in January? Inspired by a blog post from John over at “Currents“, a somewhat local blog I have been following intently...

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Fox Chain Angler Lands Monster Muskie!

It was just another day of fishing for the Fox Chain Angler Ryan Stochl,  except for the fact it was November and there is usually ice by now where he was fishing. With the weather being abnormal lately in the Midwest, Ryan decided to hook up the boat and go out chasing fish. It was a windy day, the winds where blowing 20+mph at times which made boat control not so great. Either way the...

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Bethke's Pink Squirrel Part 1 of 3

All I can say about these is amazing! They are a great year round fly and they get the job done. I fished this fly and only this fly for three days straight. Needless to say I ended up with the most fish out of the entire group on the trip. This is a must have in your fly box. I am going to do a 3 part thing with this.First will be the article below that was written by John Bethke himself. Part 2...

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The Quest For A Trib Trout

 A few weeks ago a good friend and fishing buddy of mine landed his first Lake Michigan Trib trout. This was a never ending battle with him to get the job done, but he finally accomplished his goal. My friend Eric, is a smart guy. He reads a lot, he is college educated, and he is a school teacher. When it comes to fishing on the fly though it always seemed like he had a bit of trouble....

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Resolutions, First Introductions, And A Head Start On The New Year

Resolutions:   Christmas came a few days late for me this year, but it rewarded me with a big present in disguise. I went out on a limb this past week and sent Blake an email, stating I was interested in becoming a contributor for his Blog. I had watched the Illinois Wisconsin Fishing Blog grow over the past year, and liked what I had seen. I also realized that Blake...

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