Timing is everything One of the biggest mistakes I observe are dozens of ice anglers aiming to catch the sunset bite at the last minute. The “golden hour” of fishing starts well before sunset—up to an hour sometimes depending on cloud cover. One must remember the sun sets under the ice long […]
Attract and catch more pan fish by getting aggressive I like to have a rod rigged up with a medium sized gold or silver jigging spoon like a JBlures Weasel, Kastmaster, or a Northland buckshot spoon. I spend the majority of my day searching for schools of panfish. It starts with marking them through […]
Fall Crappie fishing has kicked in throughout the Park Rapids area Concentrate on the deeper muddy bottoms in the 19-25 ft range. Use an 1/8 oz jig tipped with a crappie minnow and keep a close eye on your electronics so you know how high off the bottom to keep the jig. Northern Pike can […]
Mid-summer crappie action is in full swing. Crappies can be found schooled in and around heavy shallow weed beds in the 8-12 ft range. 1/16 oz tube jigs worked along the edges of the weeds about half way down to the bottom or just swimming through the tops of the weeds will produce fish. Mid-day […]
The Crappie action in the Park Rapids area is on fire and the fish just keep getting bigger. Crappies up to 16 inches have been caught this week using 1/16 oz jigs tipped with a small white twister tail or a Croppie minnows making a long cast and slowly swimming the jig back to the […]
The walleyes are still shallow due to the late shiner spawn. Try 5-10 ft of water with a jig tipped with a minnow. Make long casts or drag the jig behind the boat to avoid spooking the shallow fish. Smallmouth bass are just starting to head shallow, getting ready to spawn as well as the […]
The walleye fishing has really ramped up throughout the area despite the crummy weather patterns. Look for them in shallow water in the 4-8 ft range. Cast and snap jig 1/8 oz jigs along the sand/gravel patches found near shore or shoreline related flats—especially if there is a little wind blowing in. Tip the jig […]
The waters in the Park Rapids area are warming up rapidly! With the water temps in the high 40’s to low 50 degree range, the fishing opener was good for most with a mix of Walleye and Pike—found in the shallows near shore 5-10 ft. of water using lie bait rigs and shiner minnows. Trolling […]
It’s no secret that the biggest crappies of the open water season are found in the shallow warm waters of Spring hidden in some form of cover such as pencil reeds, sunken timber, or near the edges of cattails. The problem starts when a live crappie minnow is used under a float. It’s just a […]
