Time to Think About This Year's Strategies

Bass Pro Shop Logo

Bass Pro Shops bought Cabela's in September of 2017.  Bass Pro Shops always had a special place for a lot of us in the Midwest, probably because the closest store was either in Omaha or Chicago so it wasn't someplace you'd just hop in the car and go, yet their catalog was huge and was really catered to the southern fisherman.  However the catalog always had a good offering to us Midwest guys.  Admittedly it was a lot of fun when you had the chance to stop at a Bass Pro Shop store as they are generally quite large and have a huge selection of everything.  For some reason I felt that Cabela's had better clothing and as well I am not a big fan of logo's plastered all over their clothing as to me it looked cheap.  Usually the opportunity to visit a store came at the end of business trips, as stated the Denver, Colorado store, the Gurney Mills, Illinois store, or the one in Grapevine Texas, through the years I've become more open to their stuff and really like their socks and Redhead casual pants.  Well the Cabela's store, 6 miles from the house, has turned into a smaller Bass Pro Shop and most of the stuff that I enjoy are now available very close.  They have a real nice fishing sale that just ended on March 3 and it was definitely taken advantage of.  In the last couple of posts you can see that my collection of spinning rods increased by a couple.  Sunday was the last day and I had been thinking about plastics as most

A few of the Powerbait colors

were on sale.  Besides using plastic to break up the routines on Lac Seul, there has been a nagging thought about trying either power grubs or crayfish shaped plastics on the river for smallmouth bass.  The river runs pretty fast so it may prove to be a challenge however it might be alot of fun.  So with that in mind I added to my collection a few more colors of Berkley's PowerBait Pro Grubs.  Of course they do work pretty well on Lac Seul anyway but it will be interesting to see how well they perform on the Mississippi River this summer.  At Lac Seul, these 3 inch grubs are inserted on a 1/4 ounce jig with a wire keeper and worked along the bottom.  For the smallmouth it is recommended that you pair them with a lighter mushroom head jig, maybe 1/16 - 1/8 ounce weighted head.  Although that seems light, it just might be the thing to keep the jig out of the rocks along the bottom of the areas we fish.  Unfortunately you will have to wait at least 5 months before there will be any results of this strategy!  Admittedly it is fun shopping for this stuff.

Drop Shotting

One of the other things that has me thinking is a technique call "Drop Shotting".  Usually done for bass, it is reported that people catch a lot of walleyes on these rigs.  Often classified as a finesse rig, a strategic way to catch pressured fish, it may have some practicality on Lac Seul for walleyes when you are marking them on the graph yet they refuse to bite.  If one thinks about it when you fish a 1/4 ounce jig with a minnow it's usually on the bottom and fish either have to notice the jig movement or be looking down.  With the drop shot rig the hook is above the bottom, often 9 - 15 inches above the sinker, therefore any walleye cruising the bottom will see the bait at their level or slightly above, and we all know a walleye's eyes are basically on the top of their head, so it only makes sense.  The bait used in with this rig can be plastic, a live minnow, a leech, or crawler.  Hence forth the secondary reason to get some more PowerBait!   One can also buy special drop shot sinkers that will easily disengage when they get snagged up.  Dang it, I was just forced to stock up on these components as well, for no other reason other than to find out if this strategy will prove to be productive, I will even try it on Leech Lake for opener this year.  Here again open water is about 60 days away with opener in just 66 days.  Something tells me that my boat partners will be begging me to rig them up this year so I had better have enough for everyone.....dang it, looks like I will be waiting for the next sale to start.

Speaking of open water in 60 days, although it seems impossible looking out the window these days, a lot can change quickly this time of year.  This weekend weather report is that broken record we discussed last week.  A huge low pressure system will meet up with the colder air and even though we will be in the low 30's it is projected that it could dump up to 15 inches of wet snow on Saturday alone.  That would easily double the amount of water laying on the ground so it's apparent what the events of this weekend will be.  Gas up the John Deere and start moving that white stuff around!

Workin' for the Man

My friend Bill Lundeen of Lundeen's Tackle Castle on beautiful Mille Lacs Lake is mentioned frequently on Fishin' With Dave, and for good reason.  Bill and his lovely wife Kathy's bait shop is strategically located at the corner of Hwy's 169 and 27, on the southwest side of the lake.  A gateway point for fishermen coming to Mille Lacs, there are many options after loading up on fresh bait, snacks, tackle, ice, and some up to date advice on the latest status of the bite.  When I moved into my current residence 18 years ago, it was easier to head to Mille Lacs by taking  US Hwy 169 north to Onamia.  In about 1 hour and 15 minutes I was at the lake, a little faster than my previous route of going north on Hwy 47.  My new preferred route presented me with a few options for bait shops.  Prince's north of Milaca, The Holiday Station (now a BP), and Bill's all were given a chance.  Prince's seemed like it was never open, The Holiday Station was a little to big company for me, leaving Lundeen's Tackle Castle as my effort to support the local business's.  Through the years we have become good friends.  Sharing fishing reports, opinions, and just about anything else, I was excited when he asked if I could possible watch the store last Sunday.  Apparently the Bishop was coming for a special celebration at their church and it was an event they would really like to attend as a family.  After clearing my schedule, got up at 5:00 and drove my motorcycle to the store for a quick lesson in how to run the operation.  I did get some help from a former employee, Mike who was up fishing and visiting his mother.  Together we restocked the essentials, dusted the shelves, swept the floor, all while selling a few minnows and leeches in between.  Here's a picture of me behind the counter, ready to greet the next fisherman that walked in.  Although it wasn't terribly busy I did manage to sell a new landing net, 1 quart of Bill's famous home made maple syrup, some sucker minnows, a few rainbows, and some leeches.  We did have one issue with the DNR license machine but all in all it went pretty well.  Bill and his family came back from church, happy to have been able to attend and the shop was still in functioning condition, abet a little cleaner!  It was certainly a nice change from the transformer business and it really feels good to be trusted enough with another man's life work.  As I said before, if you are ever in the area stop in and tell them Dave sent you, I guarantee you a smile.

Of course I did get a chance to get out on Friday night with my neighbor Tom.  The weather has been nothing short of phenomenal and this night was no exception.  Bill had reported that the perch were starting to go in Wahkon Bay, usually an opportunity to put a few perch in the live well with plenty of action.  We would fish to just before sunset then head to 3-mile reef to try some shallow water walleye fishing.  Well the perch were definitely going crazy however the problem was they all measured between 4 and 6 inches.  I must have caught 100 or so casting a ivory colored Power Bait twister tail while Tom casted for larger prey.  In the end I had caught only 1 perch that measured enough to make it worth filleting.  Of course that first keeper must get into that live well to set the stage for introducing additional company to keep the first one happy.  Well, that didn't happen.  This was our one and only fish for the night and trust me, it looks a lot larger than it really is!  Our trip to 3-mile proved a fruitless effort.  We  could not even scrounge up a lowly rock bass.  I think the water temp was still too high, 59 degrees, not enough to drive the fish shallow.  The full moon is in a week or so and this might be my last stand before I put the boat away.   I am hoping to get back on the Mississippi River this weekend for an attempt at a trophy smallie.  With fall rapidly approaching, time is getting short to get everything done before the snow flies.  I guess it's the same every year.