Jason Mitchell's Articles
April 2022
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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...
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...
December 2021
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Shallow Walleye at Early Ice
by JASON MITCHELLShallow is relative. Ten feet might be shallow on some bodies of water where there are other fisheries where the basin or deepest water available might only be ten feet of water. We often catch walleye at early ice in shallow water but how shallow? A mistake I have made over and over in my own li...
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The Mobility Spectrum
by JASON MITCHELLShould I stay or should I go? That is the biggest question we probably ask ourselves each day on the ice. Should I sit in a spot or should I keep moving, keep looking? There are plenty of adages like never leave fish to find fish. Over the past few decades, mobility has been a mantra preached in...
November 2021
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Early Ice Safety
by JASON MITCHELLEarly ice is a coveted time for ice anglers. Anglers have been waiting to get out on the ice and are excited for a new season to begin. Early ice is also often some of the very best fishing of the winter. Combine the good fishing with the excitement of getting out on the ice and invariably, some ...
September 2021
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Glide Baits for Fall Walleye
by JASON MITCHELLOver the past half dozen years, glide baits or jigging minnows like the classic Jigging Rap, Flat Rap, Tikka Mino, Shiver Minnow and Hyper Glide have become extremely popular with walleye anglers. While these heavy horizontal profile lures can be fished in shallow water, the weight of these lures g...
July 2021
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Bowl Trolling Strategies for Walleye
by JASON MITCHELLTrolling can dominate many mid to late summer walleye fishing strategies and obviously trolling crankbaits enables anglers to cover water and fish fast. When fish are suspended, scattered across basins or flats or scattered along a deep contour, trolling enables anglers to fish through big location...
June 2021
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Weed Walleye
by JASON MITCHELLWeed walleye patterns are solid on so many fisheries. In fact, I would dare argue that there are not many natural lakes where there are not a large population of walleyes that are using weeds. Some of the most consistent summer patterns for walleye take place around weeds yet many walleye anglers ...
April 2021
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Spring Slab Crappie Primer
by JASON MITCHELLAnglers simply love crappie and big crappie, (fish over fourteen inches) are simply a special fish. In all our travels, we encounter a lot of different fish and truthfully... we love them all. Every fish has a fan and we never met a fish we didn't like but if there is one fish that just seems to c...
January 2021
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Dead Sticking Walleye
by JASON MITCHELLSticking a lively minnow in front of fish hasn't really changed a whole lot over time. With all the technology, sonar, map chips and other tools to help us catch fish... there are times each winter when we have to go back to the basics. The mantra lately has been a power fishing approach where we ...
March 2020
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Late Ice Walleye
by JASON MITCHELLSome specific States and Provinces have open walleye seasons during the late ice period. These fisheries offer tremendously fun ice fishing opportunities. I love catching walleye any day of the year but what I love about late ice walleyes is the level of aggressiveness. Patterns and locations can...
December 2019
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Crappie on the Ceiling
by JASON MITCHELLNever say never and never say always with fishing but when it comes to catching big crappie through the ice, there are a few lessons that seem repeating. Doesn't matter if you find crappie suspended over basins or classic wintering holes. Could be shallow weeds or pencil reeds. Maybe sharp breaki...
November 2019
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Hunting Walleye at First Ice
by JASON MITCHELLThe first ice period often offers opportunities to catch aggressive walleye in shallow water. On many fisheries... prime time is typically around sunrise and sunset. Ice anglers often anticipate this prime-time period and experience great fishing. While these fish can be aggressive and easy to ca...
August 2019
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Ten Tips for Fall Walleye
by JASON MITCHELLLots to like about fishing for walleye in the fall. Traditionally some of the very best fishing of the entire season particularly for trophy class fish. Great fishing, big fish and less people. Lots to like about fishing for walleye in the fall. Traditionally some of the very best fishing of t...
July 2019
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New Trolling Angles
by JASON MITCHELLCrankbait trolling for walleye is so effective come mid-summer. Besides covering water, crankbaits also simply trigger fish. Most of the prominent trolling patterns in the Midwest are basin, contour or open water orientated. Trolling crankbaits is popular on big locations and shine for breaking d...
June 2019
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Speed Rig Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLRigging has continued to evolve over the years and remains a deadly way for catching walleye throughout the season. Rigging can be a lot of different things depending on the angler and region. The classic live bait rig was a simple sliding walking or egg sinker above a small swivel that was attach...
February 2019
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Search Strategies for Jumbo Perch at Late Ice
by JASON MITCHELLIce anglers have long been infatuated with big jumbo perch and late ice is a prime window for targeting perch on a lot of different fisheries. In some states, game fish seasons close prior to the late ice period where as perch and other pan fish seasons remain open year-round. Part of the allure f...
January 2019
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Crappie Main Streamed
by JASON MITCHELLCrappie inhabit so many different environments and ecosystems. What has always made ice fishing so much fun for me is the simple fact that each body of water will have its own personality. And that my friends is fun to figure out. There are some fisheries where we often find crappie on rock struc...
 but fish also respond to the fish community present. On lakes where there are a lot of large bass or a high density of walleye, you will notice some tendencies (burying in weeds during daylight or not using rock structure for example) but you will also notice differences if there are not the other predators present in high numbers.
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From Canadian Shield lakes to natural lakes across the upper Midwest, many of the predominate patterns are basin related or weed related. Good stands of green weeds like coon tail hold fish especially if those weeds are situated along a sharp break or off a point that is close to a basin or hole. Perhaps the most classic pattern involves suspended schools of fish that roam out over the hole or basin. There are so many great fisheries however where you can throw this knowledge right out the window. Past seasons, we filmed different episodes on fisheries that probably don't follow the norm of what is so often preached about winter crappie.
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Hunting Gators
by JASON MITCHELLNorthern pike have a rap sheet with ice anglers. These top end carnivores have always held a special place in ice fishing lore simply for their attitude. Some of my earliest ice fishing memories involved staring down a hole in a shallow weedy lake. The weeds seemed vibrant like a neon green carpe...
October 2018
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Deadly Vertical Fall Tactics
by JASON MITCHELLPerhaps more than any other year, fall fishing locations can be spot on the spot where specific structural elements hold fish. An advantage that anglers have when fishing fall patterns is that so often, many fish are relating to deeper structure where you can really trust your electronics. If ther...
August 2018
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Late Summer Trolling for Walleye
by JASON MITCHELLHave often heard not to fish memories. When I look back however over my own fishing career, some of my greatest fishing memories involved trolling deep diving crankbaits over deep water. So many situations from mid-summer on where traditional live bait locations and tactics just got tougher. Situ...
June 2018
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Trolling Weed Walleye
by JASON MITCHELLLarge weed covered flats seem to hold walleye particularly through the first half of the summer. These often-large nondescript locations can be often overlooked by anglers who have been preprogrammed to look for structure. Depending on the lake or water you are fishing, these flats can range anywh...
April 2018
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The Spread on Spring Walleye
by JASON MITCHELLBy nature's design, not all walleye spawn on the same day. Not all fish use the same reef or tributary. Spring spawning activity is often staggered. As a result, post spawn patterns and locations can range all over the board. Not only does each fishery has a unique personality but what makes fis...
March 2018
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Top Tips for More Spring Crappie
by JASON MITCHELLCrappie fishing is a right of passage signaling spring for many anglers. Pre Spawn fishing opportunities are often consistant and coveted. Might not be a better time during the entire calendar year to target panfish. Locations and presentations are fairly straight forward and in many cases, sprin...
February 2018
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Crappies Anywhere
by JASON MITCHELLIf there is one certainty with late ice crappies, there is no sure-fire location or formula for success that works across the board. What always amazes me on our travels as we travel across the Great Plains and upper Midwest is just how much fisheries can vary. The strategy and location on a small...
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Grave Yard Shift Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLSo many fisheries come to mind where after dark patterns offer some of the best opportunities for catching fish. After dark strategies and locations however can vary dramatically from where we might find fish during daylight or twilight hours. What happens so often to us as anglers is that ...
January 2018
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Soft Plastic Insights for Crappie
by JASON MITCHELLSome of the greatest lures of all time don't necessary look like anything in particular but at the same time have the general appearance of something that a fish wants to eat. Trout anglers often fall back on a simple wooly bugger which we can argue can look like a caddis fly larvae or perhaps a da...
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Tungsten vs. Lead for Panfish
by JASON MITCHELLIn pursuit of big panfish, our travels take us across the Country. We have explored big panfish patterns in reservoirs, natural lakes, farm ponds and beyond. My billfold usually has fishing licenses from at least half a dozen states or more. What always amazes me and in my opinion makes fishing e...
October 2017
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Fall Weed Walleye Tactics
by JASON MITCHELLWeeds hold walleyes all summer long but aquatic vegetation can become even more appealing in the fall when water temperatures drop. While many productive patterns can emerge, what can be so appealing about weed fish come fall is that there is often a level of stability. Fall can be a whirlwind...
August 2017
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Structure Trolling Refinded
by JASON MITCHELLHistorically, trolling structure come mid-summer was "big picture thinking" in that we chose long contours and consistent break lines where we could put lures behind the boat and go. Because of the amount of line behind the boat, we needed room to work for trolling to be effective. Large flats and...
July 2017
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Shallow Crank Bites for Walleye
by JASON MITCHELLWalleye anglers have long loved crankbaits. Across many walleye fisheries, tried and true tactics incorporate trolling and for good reason. Trolling cranks allow you to break down big locations and cover water. There are several opportunities however where anglers can cast crankbaits and catch mo...
June 2017
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Guide Perspectives on Natural Lake Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLEarly season walleye patterns on many of northern Minnesota's most renown walleye fisheries often occur in less than twelve feet of water. While classic deep structure patterns will quickly emerge as the summer progresses, many anglers miss opportunities by looking too deep during early summer. ...
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Power Rigging
by JASON MITCHELLLive bait is a critical component to catching walleye on many fisheries. Even with the advent of soft plastics and the fact that more walleye anglers have confidence with artificial baits, there is still a time and place for live bait. With today's presentations that have replaced live bait with s...
May 2017
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Dragging and Slow Trolling Plastics
by JASON MITCHELLSo often with walleye fishing, we get conditioned to think a certain way regarding a presentation. We fish life bait rigs below the boat. We troll crankbaits. We pitch jigs. We get locked into how a specific presentation should be fished. What can become detrimental to our own growth as anglers ...
April 2017
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Early Season Checklist for Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLFor many walleye anglers across the upper Midwest, some of the first open water walleye fishing opportunities occur each year on river systems like the Wolf River, Missouri River, Mississippi River and Rainy River to name a few. While each system can have specific nuances that make that system some...
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Opening Day Tactics
by JASON MITCHELLA new season of optimism awaits. In many states, the inland walleye seasons open in May. Even in states where there is no closed walleye season, the kickoff on many natural lakes and some reservoirs begins in earnest during the same time. What has always amazed me is how patterns and locations ca...
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Turkey Hunting's Three Seasons
by JASON MITCHELLArctic Shield Pro Staff Hunter Art Helin has hunted turkeys all over North America and has guided turkey hunters for over thirty years. With so many turkey hunts that blur together over the years and across such diverse areas throughout the Country, Helin is quick to point out so many regional nuan...
July 2016
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Walleyes in a Snap
by JASON MITCHELLTrolling patterns that cover water and break down big locations with crankbaits often seem to dominate the walleye scene come mid summer. As fish pull out over deep contours or basins and in some cases suspend over open water, nothing beats a crankbait for eliminating water. Part of what makes t...
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June 2016
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The Meanest Walleye
by JASON MITCHELLI make no secret for my love for shallow weed pattern walleyes. These fish are aggressive and will hit baits with force. Spend any time chasing muskies and sooner or later, don't be surprised to find your retrieve interrupted by a big old "Walter" smashing down on a bucktail or spinnerbait. These...
February 2016
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The High Road for Panfish
by JASON MITCHELLPanfish can suspend anywhere in the water column and a big equation for locating fish and putting together a pattern is dialing in that productive zone. Before electronics, anglers often fished down through the entire water column. The edge that sonar gives us today is that we can speed up the pro...
November 2015
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Night Shift Walleye
by JASON MITCHELLNot all bodies of water offer solid after dark fishing opportunities for walleye but there are so many notable fisheries where we have traditionally caught the majority of fish or sometimes the largest fish long after the witching hour when the sun sinks into the horizon. On many bodies of water, t...
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Panoramic Panfish
by JASON MITCHELLThere can be some surprisingly solid fishing for panfish on lakes and reservoirs that might lack the classic weed growth. From an ice angling perspective, good weeds in the wintertime often correlates with good water visibility. Poor water visibility, turbidity or exposure to strong winds might cr...
September 2015
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Walleyes In Formation
by JASON MITCHELLThe advantage of trolling crankbaits for walleye is twofold. You can cover a lot of water and swipe through large areas and you can also trigger fish that might not respond to some slower and subtler presentations. On so many bodies of water, we see a transition that gains intensity as fall transc...
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Walleyes on Target
by JASON MITCHELLSo many situations come late summer and fall where if walleye are present, they are going to show up on electronics. When walleye start stacking up on rock reefs, deep points and classic structure that is between fifteen and forty feet of water, you are going to see fish on the screen. Bare spots ...
August 2015
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Farm Country Whitetails
by JASON MITCHELLSo much of the information written or said about whitetail hunting originates from big woods hunting. While there are lessons that can be learned or reapplied wherever deer roam, tactics and strategies can change dramatically as the terrain changes. What makes whitetails such remarkable animals is...
July 2015
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Jig and Pig Walleye
by JASON MITCHELLNote: This article was authored by Jim Cunningham who is a staff writer for Jason Mitchell Outdoors. Anglers often debate the merits of soft plastics versus live bait. When temptation is necessary to coax difficult walleye into biting, good live bait often trumps soft plastics but what many wal...
May 2015
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Big Time Walleyes on Small Time Water
by JASON MITCHELLLarger established bodies of water get a lot of attention from walleye anglers. Well-known destination fisheries are some of the surest bets for experiencing great fishing. Locations like Devils Lake in northeastern North Dakota or Lake Sakakawea in western North Dakota are two premier walleye fis...
December 2014
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Walleye on the Edge
by JASON MITCHELLBy midwinter on many bodies of water, walleye location can often trend towards off shore structure and in many cases, deep structure. With the advent of map chips, more anglers are discovering and fishing these locations. A mistake I have made in the past when fishing deep structure is relying too...
July 2014
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Loading Up Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLLike many anglers, I learned how to live bait rig for walleyes with the bail open and my trigger finger on the line. At the first indication of a bite, the though process was to let line peel off the spool giving fish line so that they could swallow the bait. Anglers insisted that the less a walle...
April 2014
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Open Season Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLSome of the earliest open water walleye fishing opportunities occur each season on river systems and flowages or bottle neck areas that open up because of current. Open seasons and open water are necessary and there are so many good early season fishing opportunities. The Mississippi River, Rainy ...
January 2014
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Dead Sticking Revised
by JASON MITCHELLIn a perfect world, we would always be able to fish for fish that make us look good. Fish that burn up to the presentation and rise to meet and greet you. Fish that are looking for a meal and want to eat. So often with fishing, we are dealt our hand of cards however and there are times when we ha...
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Hit and Run Perch
by JASON MITCHELLSchools of perch often seem to continually be on the move. When there are several mouths to feed, sitting in one location doesn't work. A school of perch can devour everything in its path. I would hate to be a minnow or crawfish when jumbo and all of his friends roll through. Because schools of ...
December 2013
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An Eye For An Eye
by JASON MITCHELLMatching Up for Ice Walleyes When fish are moving, you can sit on a good spot and catch fish as they push through. When fish quit moving, you have to push through a spot to keep contacting fish. This can really be evident when targeting both walleye and perch. Especially with shallower water...
November 2013
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Walleyes on the Rim
by JASON MITCHELLEach early ice season is almost a space race in regard to reaching spots further out on fishable ice while still being safe. Simply put, there are just spots that we know will be good and usually, the first people on those spots are going to catch some really nice fish. This phenomena happens on L...
September 2013
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Cool Down Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLCooling water temperatures often make the classic fall bites better. As water temperatures steadily cool come fall and sink below seventy degrees, solid patterns seem to develop. My favorite patterns are classic breaks and hard bottoms over deeper off shore structure, along with current or bottlen...
July 2013
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Short Line Cranks for Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLNo two lakes are ever the same so there is no rubber stamp that covers all situations when it comes to fish location. That is the beauty of fishing, you can put together a pattern that works really well on a given fishery and then travel twenty miles and find a completely different set of rules. Eve...
June 2013
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Hot Patterns for Cool Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLThis 2013 season looks to be a later spring where everything is behind schedule from a biological perspective. Colder water temperatures can be a double edged sword. Some patterns happen later or don't happen at all. When we have had cool, late springs in the past, good solid patterns for shallo...
May 2013
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Inside Angles on Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLNo secret that walleyes use weeds an awful lot and despite the fact that walleyes are known to use weeds so often, many walleye anglers still avoid fishing weeds. Take a quick look around many good walleye fisheries from the opener on through summer and the armada of boats are typically dangling li...
April 2013
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Skinny Water Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLNo secret that walleyes move into shallow water come spring but a lesson I have had to relearn a handful of times over the years is simple, don't be afraid to look for fish in a foot or two of water come spring. Many anglers will fish shallow particularly early in the year but often stop at that th...
March 2013
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Bug Brained Perch at Late Ice
by JASON MITCHELLThere is no silver bullet with late ice perch regarding location but make no mistake, some of the most impressive catches and fishing for the whole calendar year take place in march. Late ice is prime time for jumbo but the tactics and patterns can run the gamut. On so many lakes, perch move ...
February 2013
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Punching Bluegills
by JASON MITCHELLIf there is a general rule of thumb, water with decent to excellent visibility often has good weed growth that can remain through the course of a winter. Granted, snow cover can eliminate light penetration which in turn can knock down vegetation but if there are weeds, typically there are bluegills...
January 2013
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Jumbo Perch Talk
by JASON MITCHELLWhen we look at catching jumbo perch through the ice, I dare say that we typically catch ninety percent of the fish in a ten percent window. Perch fishing on most bodies of water consists of drilling holes to get on fish and getting that one or two flurries that fills the pail. You can go from zer...
December 2012
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Fish Posture and Strategy
by JASON MITCHELLWhen you watch fish on an underwater camera, you can usually tell if that fish is going to eat just by how the fish is postured. Let's take walleyes for example, walleyes that are in attack mode typically have a different posture the fins are up and the back is arched. All fish including bluegill...
November 2012
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Pull Position Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLI am convinced that in order to really catch walleyes through the ice, you have to be good at finding fish. The first people on a school score big. By the time word reaches the bar, the bite is over. People who are always hitting new ice and checking fresh spots are usually one step ahead of the ...
October 2012
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Fine Tuning Decoys Spreads for More Geese
by JASON MITCHELLThe formation of the decoy spread and how the pocket is positioned contributes tremendously to how birds approach and drop into the spread. Hunters as a rule worry about or place a heavy emphasis on many details that aren't nearly as important as the shape and size of the landing spot which needs t...
September 2012
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Classic Fall Crankbait Patterns for Huge Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLThe fact that walleye fishing is good come fall is no secret. Realistically one of the best times of year for seeing solid patterns develops with great fishing. Big fish are often fairly easy to target with some consistency. Despite how good the fishing is late in the open water season, there are...
August 2012
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Trolling Programs to Catch More Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLCatching more walleyes on crankbaits sometimes boils down to having a system or program in the boat that enables you to keep the lures in the water in front of fish. When you have a system in place that enables you to hustle and keep lures in the water and also enables you to either stack lures in ...
July 2012
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Secrets to Catching Big Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLBig fish will typically push smaller fish off of a spot if the big fish want to set up on that spot. Bass fishing is probably the best example of locations or spots that are typically big fish spots because so often, we can readily see what makes a location so attractive. Not all docks for example...
June 2012
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Slip Bobber Nuances for Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLAs a guide, I believed that the most effective game plans just kept walleye fishing straight forward and simple. There are plenty of folks in this business who try to make fishing really complicated and you can make fishing akin to rocket science if you wish I however made a living as a guide by d...
May 2012
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Rethinking the Trolling Game for Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLTrolling for walleyes used to be regarded as more of an intimate affair. The boats twenty or thirty years ago were typically much smaller so we sat closer to the water. Before specifically designed trolling rods and line counter reels, crank baits were often trolled with low profile bait casters o...
April 2012
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The Deep Adjustment for Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLWe often find walleyes at late ice in shallow water. We often find walleyes at some point each spring in shallow water. Walleyes typically spawn in shallow water and there are all kinds of reasons for fish to be shallow early in the season. Warmer water, the right bottom composition for spawning ...
March 2012
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March Transitions: Run and Gun Perch Tactics at Late Ice
by JASON MITCHELLStrong perch patterns occur across the board at late ice. Typical locations include gravel and sand, subtle rolling structure that is connected to the shoreline is often productive. During the late ice period, perch often move shallow and if there is atypical rule of thumb regarding shallow perch,...
February 2012
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Catch Walleyes All Winter
by JASON MITCHELLMany ice anglers associate the end of January and beginning of February with mid winter doldrums. Many anglers believe that first ice and late ice is the best ice for fishing and the in between ice not so good. There is some truth to the midwinter doldrums particularly with smaller lakes. Now no...
November 2011
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First Ice Tactics that Work
by JASON MITCHELLWe do much of our filming on late ice. We take a lot of our photos at late ice as well. The reason is simple, long relatively nice days on the ice where you can expect sweatshirt weather. When the sun begins to rot the ice, you can expect to get some work done if you are in the business filming t...
October 2011
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Fine Tuning Decoys Spreads for More Geese
by JASON MITCHELLThe formation of the decoy spread and how the pocket is positioned contributes tremendously to how birds approach and drop into the spread. Hunters as a rule worry about or place a heavy emphasis on many details that aren't nearly as important as the shape and size of the landing spot which needs t...
September 2011
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Trophy Gators of Fall
by JASON MITCHELLAs an angler, I find the distribution of northern pike fascinating. Pike basically inhabit the northern latitudes of the entire globe spanning from North America to Europe and Asia. In some high mountain lakes and the arctic shield, pike are considered an invasive species. The predatory appetite ...
August 2011
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Late Summer Surge for Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLMany anglers struggle to catch walleye as late summer progresses into fall. Fish can be scattered and patterns can seem inconsistent. Typically on many fisheries where several forage options exist, there can be a lot of different patterns happening at once with no single pattern dominating fish lo...
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Mud Line Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLWind and chop on the water often makes or breaks walleye fishing success. As wind directions and velocities change through the course of a day, adapting to the opportunities created by wind requires some flexibility. Mid summer often finds extended periods of stable weather with varying wind. One...
July 2011
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Walleyes on Flats
by JASON MITCHELLIf there is one spot, one pattern that is capable of producing a lot of walleyes for us each season early in the summer, my vote would go to large shallow flats that protrude to deep water. Shallow is relative along with deep but what we are looking for are flats that are generally at least one acr...
June 2011
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Live Bait Rigging Defined
by JASON MITCHELLLive bait rigging is all about angles. The amount of weight on the sinker combined with the amount of line out determines the angle that the line takes from the rod tip to the water. The direction that you hover or move either across structure or up and down through structure determines the angle ...
May 2011
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Long Lines for Spring Walleye
by JASON MITCHELLOver the years, an incredibly effective tactic for us is to long line a light jig or split shot rig through shallow water. In states where we could use two rods in particular, we often used the long line rig on the extra rod in the rod holder. There are probably several reasons why this set up wor...
April 2011
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Fast Forward Spots for Spring Walleyes
by JASON MITCHELLThere is a general rule of thumb that fish are often located in shallow water during the spring and fish progressively move deeper as the year progresses. There is often some merit to this general rule of thumb but remember that there are always factors that can change or alter this generic migrati...
March 2011
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Shallow Water Details
by JASON MITCHELLThe fact that fish move into shallow water during the early part of the open water season is no secret. This general pattern is fairly universal with both warm water and cool water fish that spawn in the spring. Whether the targeted species is bass, walleyes, northern pike or even pan fish, angler...
February 2011
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Deep Panfish At Late Ice
by JASON MITCHELLThe 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 begins to rot. A top strategy for locating fish is to identify weed beds and structure that is located between wintering holes and...
January 2011
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The Art of Drilling Holes
by JASON MITCHELLWhen you look at some of the best ice anglers, there often is some strategy in how and where they drill holes. Ice anglers might not be able to drift or troll but they can drill holes in a pattern and discipline themselves to fish the holes in a set time to cover water. There is a method behind th...
