Fishing Articles

  “It’s a number’s game.” Lance said. “It’s not the way most guys do it. It’s not the way I used to do it. But if you just do the math, it makes sense and when you look in my livewell at the end of the day, the numbers in there show fishing with the odds in your favor wins out most of the time.” That’s what walleye pro, turned walleye educator, turned walleye guide—just call him a walleye entrepreneur—Lance Valentine told me last July.  I fished Saginaw Bay with Lance to experience big water fishing on a pontoon boat....

  I’m just old enough to have witnessed the glory days of the Great Lakes when brown trout were almost as abundant as salmon. It was a time when hard core anglers—fishing from small boats—would chisel ice away from launch ramps so they could be among the first to target browns each season. Back in the day, all the Great Lakes had an abundance of forage and the sky was the limit as to state and provincial brown trout stocking efforts. Sadly those days are gone and the changing face of the Great Lakes has forced biologists to reduce stocking...

  About 7 years ago I began taking my plug fishing to the next level, it started with changing hooks and split rings, swapping from double stock hooks to single trebles with short shanks on double split rings. These setups worked very well, but would drive you nearly crazy with the constant tuning necessary to keep the plugs running true. Then about 5 years ago here came the MagLip, we knew how affective flatfish could be in slow water and were excited to give them a chance. Now it is the MagLip in 3.5 and 3.0 I rely on. The...

The Great Lakes are full of iconic fishing destinations every angler should experience at least once. Stannard Rock located approximately in the middle of Lake Superior is at the tip of the spear for anglers who covet native lake trout and the quest for ultra-big fish. The Michigan state record for lake trout is a mega giant 61.5-pound specimen rumored to have been taken at Stannard Rock. Fishermen being the secretive sort, we may never know for sure what part of Lake Superior produced that goliath fish. However, it’s a safe bet that anyone looking to catch super tanker lake...

The screen lights up. Missiles are launched. They’re locked in. In the old Space Invaders video game, missiles rain from the heavens. Survival demands getting out of the way or destroying missiles in flight. Perch launch from below. “It’s like Space Invaders in reverse on your sonar unit,” says guide Brian “Bro” Brosdahl. “Missiles are being launched. That’s what you want to see—what you’ve been hunting for. That’s when you want a spoon.” Which spoon? And when do you gear down to a more subtle approach? We pose varying opinions, here. Spoon wars? If so, certainly mild-mannered. In the end,...