On 11/16/2018 at 1:46 PM, punch said:

I took out my ice gear yesterday... already 3-4" on some of the smaller lakes. Who else is already thinking hardwater? 

 

Bass fishing on ice is actually pretty fun fellas. 

What do you do to specifically target bass through the ice? I catch them here and there in the winter fishing for crappies or pike but never really have gotten on a good bite. It would be cool to target them, especially smallies

To all my Minnesota BR online buds. Happy Thanksgiving!  One thing I am thankful for is the sub community we have built here and our willingness to share information. 

 

Here’s to good friends and close families. 

 

OE

any shore, river, smallie fishing spots I should check out before the rivers freeze?  nw metro would be best 

On 11/23/2018 at 4:57 PM, FishingMN said:

any shore, river, smallie fishing spots I should check out before the rivers freeze?  nw metro would be best 

Only thing that's open is the usual stretch by the power plant discharge in Monticello. 

On 11/18/2018 at 3:21 PM, JackKlassen said:

What do you do to specifically target bass through the ice? I catch them here and there in the winter fishing for crappies or pike but never really have gotten on a good bite. It would be cool to target them, especially smallies

 

Honestly it's not that hard, but it does take some practice. I target largemouth in the same places that they hang out in the summer. They hang out shallow all winter if there's some grass. I've caught them in like 4-6' if there's any kind of vegetation/soft bottom. Even the smallest amount of dead grass will hold fish. They really seem to like hanging around shallow flats/points that are near deep water, especially if there's any kind of soft bottom. They seem to like to go to the deep water to feed on the panfish that may be in the basin, but then come back to the shallow water to hang out. 

 

The trick to catching them is to try and 'jig one up' to check out your bait. Winter bass are super lethargic, and don't often eat the bait right away. They get curious, they come check out your bait, then they go back down. You can "yo-yo" the same fish several times before they actually bite. The bait doesn't really matter.. I usually use a gold or silver spoon, or the smallest jiggin rap they make. A tungston jig and plastic works fine too. Bass aint picky. 

 

Catching a 3lber with 4lb line in shallow water on the ice is ridiculously fun. It's weird that more people don't target largies on the ice. 

If anyone is looking for a fun & casual bass club to fish in for 2019, GreenHorn Bass Tour is going to open up this weekend for registration for new teams. They have a Sunday and Wednesday series for people new to tournament fishing. There's also an advanced club for guys who want to be a little more competitive. 

 

A few of of the MN Bass Resource guys fish in Greenhorn and can vouch for the club. It's NOT part of the MN Bass federation so you can't win entries into the state tournament, but you can win money as the top 3 bags each tournament get paid. Plus the buy-in fee's are quite low. It's a learning leauge, as the top 3 bags in each tournament have to explain how they caught them to the group after weigh-ins. 

 

Myself and my partner are going to be tournament directors on the Wednesay evening Greenhorn series this year, so if you have any questions please feel free to shoot me a message. 

 

They have the schedule for next year up now if you want to check it out: https://sites.google.com/site/2011greenhornbasstour/2011-tour-schedule

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdVsgALi7RL_NbcNLEan53PtHJJxLaIbhTRu030mHGJR8Y7PQ/viewform

 

Registration is open! Cone on, you know you want to join. 

Anyone selling some gear this offseason? Post it up.

I have 2 Lews Custom Speed Stick 6’-10” MH casting - for swim jigs, spinnerbaits, etc.  Planning on selling one of them, $140 new, 2 years old, lightly used, half price at $70.

Merry Christmas everyone. Best wishes into the new year. May we all have 2-3x the number of 20 plus inch LMB this coming season. 

 

OE

Merry Christmas!!

Happy Yule to all.

Merry Christmas to everyone! Heres to hoping for an early spring! 

Dead thread is dead. Anyone fishing the St. Jude Bass Classic in May?

 

My cousin and I are fishing it this year. Last year was our first year doing it and it was a very fun tournament and it's for an awesome cause so you can't beat that. 

 

4 hours ago, ThatOneBigKid said:

Dead thread is dead. Anyone fishing the St. Jude Bass Classic in May?

 

My cousin and I are fishing it this year. Last year was our first year doing it and it was a very fun tournament and it's for an awesome cause so you can't beat that. 

 

We have a 2019 thread now FYI