Season recap.

As the ice conditions are changing very fast it is almost time for the Snowmobile to go away and the boat to come out and play. The past few weeks have shown true signs that spring is around the corner and the fish think that as well. This has been an awesome season full of up's and downs but never went a day without learning something new. From Tournament fishing to guiding everyday we had a new task and sometimes left you scrambling at the last second to find your bag for the next day. The Year started with a slump in the NAIFC placing 37th out of 65 teams for the national championship on Mille Lacs Lake but quickly turned around placing 6th in the Ultimate Panfish League on green lake. This season was all about the camera as my technique of finding fish in the basin was not going to cut it. The Camera was my best friend through this year to locate green weeds which held the fish we needed for a strong bag to weigh in. Cameras become a huge asset to your pre fishing because it not only shows you where the fish are without dropping a line you also learn about the habitat on that lake and can install that in your brain for the next lake. Every lake is different but with this knowledge you can cut a lot of time off in areas and focus on the spots that count. movements can change daily and that was something we saw in the last tournament of the year held on clearwater lake. Most would know that this particular body of water can throw you for a loop as the fish you found the day before may not be there the next. That is exactly what happened to us. We found our sweet spot at about 4:30 Saturday evening and thought for sure we had a winning bag pulling bluegills close to 10" and crappies right below your feet over 17FOW coming in at 13 to 15". Sunday morning we were in for a rude awakening as everything changed and adjustment needed to happen fast if we wanted to come in with something to contend. Those agressive crappies we found the night before were negative and now half way in the water column mixed in with smaller bluegills and the big gills we landed were no where in site. Knowing your electronics and being able to see bigger fish became the ticket that day. By knowing the different marks on our Vexilar's we could pick out the big crappies and avoid those small bluegills by looking at the size on the screen. Finesse is what got them to bite and a spring to detect bites became key and changing from 4 to 5mm jigs down to 3mm jigs if we wanted to catch fish. After we got our crappies it was time to leave the area and search for bigger bluegills. We made a big move and hit a weed bed we had fished weeks prior in hopes that they would still be there and thankfully they were. We caught our remaining fish within the last minutes before we had to fly into the weigh in. At the end of the day we did not clench first but took 4th with just under 9 pounds for 15 fish and ended with 5th overall for the season. The moral of the season was adjusting to whatever mother nature throws you and never go without trying something new even if it seems crazy. As we all know adjustment is a big roll and it cannot be stressed enough to always have everything in your arsenal just incase the unthinkable happens. This was an exciting season and I cannot wait to start it all over again. Hopefully late ice sticks around for a few more weeks because the bite is just kicking into high gear so if you have safe ice around your area take advantage while you can because it won't be safe much longer!!