Category: featured
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Underwater Surveillance Mission
By: Tony Boshold and Ted Pilgrim – Date Posted: December 11, 2011 Ice fishing ace Tony Boshold sees the big picture. Give the world champion angler an auger and an underwater camera in the morning, and later that day, he’ll have discovered the lion’s-share of a lake’s secrets. Many of the top anglers fishing the…
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Chicago Smallmouth Bass
By: Andrew Ragas Smallmouth bass are arguably one of the most fun and sporting fish to catch, and personally one of my favorites. They are historically native to most rivers and streams in Illinois. Within the last quarter century their self-sustaining populations have been established in some of our inland bodies of water to offer…
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Ice Out Crappies
By: Jim Gronaw – Date Posted: March 13, 2012 Alright, let’s set the stage…the wind is a little stronger than you’d like and the temperatures could be a bit better than the 40 degree F reading when you left the house. Your fingers are starting to get just a little bit numb from the stinging…
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Walleye Midnight Madness
By: Andrew Ragas – Date Posted: September 15, 2011 If you can brave the colder air and water temperatures and navigate and wade your way around rivers in darkness, fall walleye fishing can be a tremendous amount of fun. Many anglers turn to the autumn season for deer hunting and sitting on the couch for…
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Great Lakes Salmon & Trout: The Complete Fall Fishing Guide
By: Michael Planthaber – Date Posted: November 22, 2010 The Great Lakes of North America are the backbone of a $7 billion dollar fishing industry. Many of its angling participants chase salmonoids miles offshore in deeper and colder waters. To make it that far and have a fair shot at success, one must need a…
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Smallmouth Spectacles with Rapala’s X-Rap
By: Andrew Ragas The long and warm dog days of summer morph into the shorter, cooler and crisp days of early fall. Water temperatures on lakes that were once warm at 75 degrees begin to gradually plummet into the cool 60 degree range, triggering a transitional period feeding binge for all species of fish. Summertime…
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Spring Steelhead Success on the Fly
By: Blake Hamilton – Date Posted: March 22, 2011 As winter slowly releases the Great Lakes region from its icy grip, it becomes apparent that spring is on its way. Snow melt, spring showers, and warmer temperatures cause local tributaries to swell. The quick influx of fresh water into the river system and rising water…
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Small Ponds, Big Gills
By: Jim Gronaw – Date Posted: May 11, 2011 It all started about 53 years ago. My father got me out on the water at a small pond and there it happened…I caught my first fish! It was a bluegill, probably no more than five or six inches long, but to me, it was a…
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Winter Gold at Warm Water Discharges
By: Kenny Lookingbill – Date Posted: January 20, 2011 Has cabin fever affected you as hard as it has gotten to me? Are you tired of sitting on a bucket in the middle of a frozen lake, drilling dozens of holes, mesmerized by your bobber and waiting for a fish take your bait, sometimes to…
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Trap Attack Largemouth Bass
By: Kenny Lookingbill – Date Posted: March 22, 2011 Regardless of what many people say, lipless crankbaits will have their shining moments at any point of the season. On occasion, I hear of some folks complain of how it’s an “idiot bait”, a technique that requires extremely long casts and quick retrieves that enables you…