It’s not really all that complicated; first you have to understand why fish do certain things and when they’ll do it!

What you need to do is to think like a fish.

In order to understand fish, you first need to understand the senses a fish uses to survive.

One of the most misunderstood senses of the fish would be its lateral line.

A fish’s lateral line is made up of a bundle of nerves whose projecting hairs is enclosed in a gelatinous substance located on either side of the fish.

The lateral line is sensitive to changes in the water pressure and as the pressure changes either by a change in depth or an approaching fish or creature causes the hairs to vibrate, sending signals to the brain allowing the fish to detect movement that they may not have see.

The lateral line also helps fish to swim in tight schools with out running into each other.

The eyesight of a fish is similar to that of we humans, they’re able to detect both brightness and color.

Fish that roam the shallow water, such as bass have excellent eyesight.  In bright light, bass see many of the colors that humans are able to see.

Other species of fish won’t have the full line of color perception that humans do.

Since water filters out colors, fish located in deeper water can’t detect all the colors that shallow water cousins can.

Walleyes for instance see primarily orange and green, with all other colors appearing as different shades of gray.

Fluorescence hold their color longer in deeper water, what this means is that the fish are more apt to see a florescent colored lure better in deeper water.

Fish that feed in deep water aren’t able to distinguish the different colors so instead of responding to color, they respond to vibration and the flashes of light coming off predators, prey fish or your lure.

All species of fish have an excellent sense of hearing.  Part of the reason that a fish hears so well is because water conducts sound better than air.

Fish don’t have ears like other animals; they pick up sound through the bones located in their head.

The way one species of fish will relate to sound varies from one species to another.  The vibration made by an angler walking along a bank can spook trout, but panfish don’t seemed to be bothered by noise.

I can attest for this first hand as a few years ago, we were SCUBA diving in Lake Francis Case, most of the fish in the area that we were working, moved away when from the bubbles coming from our gear.  The panfish weren’t afraid at all and came closer with the more racket we made.

Taste is another sense that fish have.  Taste is not one of their primary senses and not many fish rely heavily on just this sense when feeding.

The exception to this rule is the bullhead and catfish family.  They have very poor eyesight and rely heavily on the taste receptors located on the outside of their mouth in their barbells or whiskers to help locate food.

The sense of smell is excellent in most species of fish.  As they move through the water, their sense of smell is continually being used, checking out the surrounding body of water.

While swimming through the water, the water passes through the nasal sac located in the snout.  The water enters through the front openings, passes over nerve endings or receptors located inside the head and then flows back out the rear openings.  The receptors send messages to the fish’s brain letting the fish know what’s happening in their aquatic environment.

The sense of smell varies from one species of fish to another.  Larger fish generally have large openings and more receptors making their sense of smell much better than that of a smaller fish.

The species of fish with the premier sense of smell is the salmon family.  When it’s spawning time, they use their sense of smell to travel hundreds of miles back to the stream where they were born.

Since fish have five senses that they use to locate food, it makes sense that we as anglers should use bait that arouses as many of those senses as possible.

In dark or stained water, the sense of sight won’t be as important as other senses such as their lateral line, smell or hearing will be.

When fishing dirty water, I’ll use a noisy, flashing lure with some type of live bait or attractant.  The noise or vibration given off by the lure will let the fish zero in on the bait using its lateral line and hearing.  The flash will help the fish to pick up any light changes coming off the lure and the live bait will not only add to the vibration but it will also be giving off a scent trail that the fish can follow.

In clearer water conditions, I’ll tone down the flash, as a bright flash in clear water is more apt to spook the fish.  If I’m using a spinner and crawlers, I’ll go with a lure that has smaller blades.

By knowing how the fish is going to hunt for food, you can use bait that will arouse more of the senses and lead the fish to your offering

Think like a fish and you’ll find that your fishing will become more enjoyable as your fish catching increases.

Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal

WEBSTER, S.D. — Our plan was to hit two lakes a day and take full advantage of the variety of fishing to be found in the Glacial Lakes area of northeastern South Dakota.

Mother Nature threw us a curve, however, and rather than fight 25 to 30 mile-an-hour winds, we fished mornings and motored off the water pounding against a spray of white caps each afternoon.

The first morning was the worst.

A south wind was blasting at 20 miles an hour by 10 a.m. We parked at the boat ramp on Reetz Lake, just south of Webster.

“We won’t last long, out there,” I said to Fran. “We might be able to get out of the wind along that west shoreline.”

I had not planned to fish Reetz. Less than a month earlier I had fished it and caught several walleyes over 20 inches there. But, with the wind I thought our chances were better here on a lake where all walleyes under 28-inches have to be released.

We lasted about an hour and a half and boated two nice walleyes on bottom bouncers and spinners fished in 12 to 14 feet of water.

The rest of the afternoon we spend prospecting other lakes and checking out boat ramps for the next day.

With the wind forecast to blow again, we launched the next morning on Enemy Swim Lake, long one of the northeast’s glacial gems.

It’s a beautiful lake. Clear water, wooded shorelines and a couple of islands. It’s 2,150 acres with a maximum depth of 24 feet. All bass between 14 and 18 inches must be released with only one over 18 allowed in the daily bag. That just about guarantees good bass fishing and that is just what we found.

We started on one of the main lake points casting crankbaits and spinnerbaits in water nine feet and less, but never brought up a bass. We moved deeper on the same point and switched to bottom bouncers and spinners with crawlers.

Again, nothing. Only perch.

We left that spot and headed for a small rocky island nearby and that’s where we found the bass.

Smallies were laying in the shallow, boulder-studded water and were more than willing to take our Big O crankbaits.

We worked through that area and moved down towards some pencil reeds and banged the biggest of several largemouth we took that day.

We fished some other good spots and then, tired of casting, we put on slip bobbers and began looking for bluegills adjacent to pencil reed flats.

We found some nice ones, but surprise, surprise, we also found more smallmouth.

Tucked into heavy coontail growths, the smallies smacked our worm-baited hooks just as willingly as the bluegills and I was soon casting a shallow diver crankbait and taking them on that, too.

We were able to hide from the 20 mph west wind and play with these weed fish until late afternoon.

We pounded through the surf back to the boat ramp and over dinner that evening planned our next day.

Crappies had been biting well on Pickeral Lake, a 981-acre lake just a couple miles north of Enemy Swim. Although the bite had faded from what it once was, we decided to go there. It was, afterall, on our list of lakes to fish on this wind-plagued trip.

The next morning found us leaving the boat ramp in a stiff breeze out of the northwest. I had no idea where the crappies might be, but I suspected there would be some along deep water weedlines or maybe others suspended over deep water.

We found a long, underwater point on the west side at the south end of the lake.

We started out drifting one-eighth-ounce Road Runner jigs tipped with a crawler fished under a 1/16-ounce mini jig tied about 18 inches above the Road Runner.

We found the crappies grouped on an inside bend at the very tip of the bar, but it was tough to hold on the area in the ever-increasing wind. Bottom bouncers and spinners worked as well. We caught perch, crappies, bluegill walleye and smallmouth on that point, but as the wind grew our enthusiasm dimmed.

“We’ll come back again,” we decided. “Maybe the wind won’t blow.”

(But I wouldn’t count on it.)

It was the time we got to spend with our dad that was as important as the activity. My dad was a pretty good fisherman. His passion for the sport rubbed off on us. He invested in good fishing equipment and a safe boat. Dad seemed to always know where the fish were biting, how deep, and on what bait. He took us fishing for walleyes, his favorite pursuit. I remember my first big walleye, where I caught it, what I was using, and what the weather was like. I was shaking when dad got that fish in the landing net. I was forever hooked.

There are lessons to be learned from the story I have just shared. First, obviously, you need to make time to spend with your children. No children? Mentor someone else’s child. There are many agencies that will connect you. The local YMCA is a good place to start.

Second, make fishing exciting and fun. Most people think that the best way to get kids hooked on fishing is to start simple. Take them panfishing. Action keeps their attention. Crappies, sunfish, perch, and bullheads are usually the first target. However, usually it takes a big fish to get kids hooked for life. I often encourage parents to bring their kids along on guide trips. I want them to experience catching walleyes and bass. How young is too young? If they can manipulate a video game control, they can master a rod and reel. Last season, the largest walleye caught from my boat was by a 6-1/2 year old boy. Each year I have dozens of young anglers that catch big fish–fish that they will remember

It is okay to start kids with a simple-to-use bait casting, closed-face reel, combination. However, I like to move them up to a spinning reel and rod as soon as possible. Why? They get to use what the adult’s use. Kids notice things like that. Most kids can master a spinning reel in no time. And, don’t just search garage sales for some one else’s throw away. Buy good equipment that will work properly. Nothing is more frustrating to a child than a bail that doesn’t close or line that won’t spool off the reel.

Make sure that kids have a comfortable life vest that fits properly. In Minnesota, they need to have it on at all times. Wear your life vest while fishing with your children. That way they will see that it is okay to keep it on. Bring snacks and beverages. And, don’t forget the pee jug.

Find out where the fish are biting. Get all the information you can. Bait shop owners will be a great help if they know you are taking the next generation of customers.

Keep your first trips fairly short. Kids tire of almost any activity sooner than adults. Don’t be afraid to take them fishing for bass, walleyes, or pike. I have often taken young kids bass fishing with plastic worms and had them catching fish immediately. Young anglers love casting and retrieving.

And of course, consider hiring a fishing guide. Hiring a guide will ensure that you will probably catch some fish. The guide will show you how to set up your equipment properly, locate fish, hook and land them. A good guide will often have a camera ready for those memorable moments. I go out of my way to accommodate and entertain kids in the boat. Most of the time I let the youngsters reel in the fish I hook to let them feel the excitement. Check out the photos on my website: www.ifishmn.com for proof.

At that time, I didn’t own a boat and my only alternative was to fish the river from shore, which sounded like a good idea at the time.

There’s nothing wrong with shore fishing, except that I had never been a river fishermen, little alone one that fished a river from shore.

Needless to say, I wasn’t equipped to fish from shore and was loosing more tackle each week than the local bait shop stocked.

Good for them, bad for me as I’ve never been a quitter and refused to quit trying until I came up with a better plan.

The only alternatives that I could come up with were to:

1. Somehow, figure out how to fish the lakes, the larger bodies of water without a boat.

2. Find some smaller bodies of water that would allow me to fish from shore.

I like many other people think that order to catch big fish; I needed to be fishing huge bodies of water such as Lake Oahe, Lake McConaughy or Waubay Lake.

The truth is you don’t need to have thousands of acres of water to have a trophy fishery.

Some of the largest fish I’ve ever caught came from small lakes such as Lake Yankton, gravel pits, farm ponds and stock dams.

Year in and year out, in the upper Midwest, there are more state records/master angler fish taken from smaller bodies of water than there are taken from the larger lakes and reservoirs.

These smaller bodies of water weren’t built originally as recreational pond; they were built primarily as a water supply for livestock.

Once they were built, somehow fish found their way into the ponds.  The Game, Fish & Parks stocked some, while landowners and neighbors stocked others.

The ponds that were stocked by or with the help of the Game & Parks and the D.N.R. usually have a good balance between predator and the prey fish.  In these ponds you’ll more than likely find largemouth bass, bluegill and catfish.

The bass and the catfish are the predator species while the bluegill become the prey.

If you don’t have the correct balance on a pond, you’ll end up with stunted fish, as there just isn’t enough food (prey fish) to feed the predators.

Once this happens, the bluegills will become the predator, attacking the bass nest gobbling up the eggs and the small fry.

There are some ponds, especially those out west that contain good numbers of perch, crappies as well as northern pike.

An ideal trophy fishpond would be one that has both shallow and deep-water areas.  The shallows would be used for spawning, while the deeper water gives the smaller fish a place to escape the prey fish and to move to once winter sets in.

Structure is another thing that a trophy pond must have!  It doesn’t have to be much, just something changing the configuration of the bottom.

It can be downed trees, brush piles, rocks or weeds, all of which helping to make the pond more productive.

The structure gives smaller aquatic life, places to live; this in turn attracts minnows and smaller fish. They’ll attract the larger fish, giving them a place to look for food, to hide and keep from becoming food for larger fish.

When I come across a pond that has deep water with structure adjacent to the shallow water, I’ll spend a little time casting the shoreline and probing along the structure trying to temp a fish into biting.

I’ll start with something small, such as a 1/8th or 1/32nd-ounce jig, tipped with a piece of worm or a small minnow.

You’ll ant to put your bait down in the water as gently as possible. You should be able to tell the depth of the water and what’s type of structure lies there by slowly working your bait along the edge of the brush or the weed line.

If the shallow water drops off quickly into the deeper water, try using a small slip bobber above the jig and let it bob along the edge of the weeds.

If the water looks “Bassy”, I’ll go to a jig and pig combination or plastic worm o work the pockets, along the trees and brush piles.

When casting a larger jig, you’ll want to present it as gently as possible so as not to spook the fish.  Hop the jig back to shore or along the edge of the weeds, keeping a tight line at all times.

Bass don’t always hit like a freight train, as at times, they’ll simply suck the bait in and without a tight line, the fish will spit it out before you knew he was there.

If your line moves to the side or your line goes slack before it reaching the bottom, rear back hard to set the hook because a bass has picked up your bait on the way down or is moving off to the side with it.

Remember as an old friend of mine once said, “jerks are for free and if you don’t jerk hard and set the hook every time your line slows or moves off to the side, you just might be missing a fish.”

In the spring, these smaller ponds are really productive, as the bass have moved shallow to spawn and can be caught from the shore using a plastic worm, jig and pig or live bait.

As the water warms, the fish will move deeper where the water temperatures are cooler or along the edge of the weed line where oxygen levels are higher.

When the water warms try fishing ponds with shallow diving crankbaits, jig & pig or live bait early in the morning or in the evening.

Fish will move from the deeper water into the shallows when the shallow water is cooler to feed on insects and other shallow water critters.

As it warms up go deep.  You’ll need to use baits that will get down to where the fish are. Try deep diving crank baits, Texas rigged plastic baits or jig & pig, fishing them along the weed edge or deeper submerged brush and trees where the fish will be holding.

What you’ll need to remember when fishing these smaller bodies of water is to not over fish them.  The predator/prey balance is extremely important in these smaller ponds.

Once this balance is thrown off, you’ll end up with a large population of prey fish and to small of a population of predators needed to keep them in check.

A good rule of thumb to follow in order to keep the predator/prey balance in check would be; for every one pound of predator fish (bass, pike, catfish) taken from a pond, you should remove about four pounds of prey fish (bluegill, perch, crappie).

Catch and release, especially when it comes to the predator fish is very important in these smaller bodies of water.

Give these smaller bodies of water a try; you’ll be surprised how many big fish call these small bodies of water home!

I’ve always maintained that when fish, any fish, are in shallow water, there is no more effective way of taking them than with the fly rod.

That was brought home to me once again when Gary Howey, Hartington, Neb., and I were guests at the Big Blue Ranch and Lodge just south of Burchard, Neb., recently.

The lodge overlooks a 25-acre lake and from the first time I laid eyes on it I couldn’t wait to baptize a fly upon its waters.

I didn’t have long to wait. Gary and I filled our turkey tags in less than two hours and we were on the shoreline by 3 o’clock, rods in hand.

Gary doesn’t fly fish so he was hurling a number 3 Mepps spinner and soon connected with a three pound bass, the first of many.

But it was the panfish that made the story. My first 12 casts resulted in a nice bluegill or crappie.

They were on a shallow flat in a prespawn movement, but it was really the warmer water which drew them there.

I was fishing a foam rubber grasshopper imitation of my own design, but it is not too unlike the many that are now available commercially.

Made from closed cell craft foam the grasshopper look-alike floats like the proverbial cork, no matter how many fish you have landed on it.

I had tied a bunch of them for a trip to Montana and Wyoming a couple of years ago. There is no more fun way to take stream trout than on grasshoppers.

There is also no more fun way to take crappies and bluegills than on the surface.

I could have used a cork popper, that is a more traditional approach.

I was using an 8 1/2-foot graphite rod which balances with a number 6 line. My leader was 7 1/2-foot and tapered to a four pound tippet.

We stood on the shoreline and cast out. And that’s why springtime is my favorite time to fish farm ponds. Later, as the water warms, most ponds will be ringed with weeds and then you will have to fish from a boat and cast into the weedline.

A key thing this time of year is to fish ponds on warm, sunny days. And there is no reason to get there early. Fishing is always best when the water warms up in midafternoon.

Just for kicks, I walked down to the pond the next morning and made a few casts. Not even a hit. We were back at 3 p.m. and it was nonstop.

For a change of pace, I switched flies, tying on my favorite bluegill fly. It is appropriately named the Gill Getter and is composed of a chartreuse chenille body with white rubber legs and an overbody and tail of moose mane. The hook is weighted with wraps of lead wire to make the fly sink.

The Gill Getter proved more effective than the foam hopper, if that was even possible.

If you don’t have a fly rod, you can still fish fly rod flies and lures with a spinning outfit. There are special, clear, torpedo shaped floats which provide casting weight. Tie on a 15-inch piece of 4-pound test mono and attach your favorite fly. A plain round, red and white float works as well.

But, if you really want to make the most of your springtime farm pond fishing, learn how to use the fly rod.

You won’t regret it.

For information on Big Blue Ranch and Lodge, call Scott or Billie Kay Bodie at (402) 730-3643 or go online at: www.bigblueranch.com

We ‘d just come outside to relax and enjoy a cup of coffee when the gobbling of a turkey disturbed the morning silence.

Nothing unusual, since we’d been at the lodge for a couple of days and whenever we’d been on the deck we not only heard turkeys, but also coyotes, prairie chickens and Canada geese announcing their presence.

It was both Larry and my second hunt of the spring turkey season; Larry had tagged one bird in Northeast Iowa while I had put down two birds in Northeastern Nebraska.

We were in S.E. Nebraska as we’d been invited down to film and hunt the 2,000 acres owned by Scott and Billie Kay Bodie.

I’d met them last fall while hunting in the Nebraska Governor’s Pheasant Hunt, which was headquartered out of Beatrice, NE.

Southeastern Nebraska is a beautiful place as not only is there an abundance of game in the area; there are numerous ponds and small lakes dotting the countryside.

The property we were hunting had several lakes, one, located just below the lodge was 25 acres and was stocked with bass, crappie, bluegill and pike.

When we arrived shortly after lunch, we met with Scott who directed us into the lodge and gave us a brief description of the land we’d be hunting and the birds that called the area home met us.

According to a wildlife biologist Scott had talked to, the birds in the area were 5-way hybrids with Eastern, Rio Grande, Merriam, Hybrids as well as some of the Bonze tame birds.

Larry and I quickly unloaded our gear, changed into our hunting camo and followed Scott to the area he thought we should begin our hunt.

The area we’d be hunting consists of rolling hills, open pastures with draws lined with oaks and cedar trees.

As we always do, we approached the area quietly, cautiously moving through the area, while carefully glassing each open area before proceeding.

Once we were assured that a Tom wasn’t in the open area, we called softly from areas just inside the tree line.

After using this approach several times to no avail, we headed up hill towards a cluster of trees that we thought would give us a vantage point over the next open pasture.

Since Larry was shooting, I manned the camera, following slightly behind and off to his right side.

We were about to reach the shelter of the trees when I spotted the tell tale blue, white and red coloration of two Tom turkeys as they worked their way towards the sound of our last call.

Instantly, we dropped to the ground, hoping the birds hadn’t seen us as we quickly crawled towards the shelter of the trees.

Larry was hugging one side of the tree while filmed from the other side as the two Toms
Slowly came to Larry’s Roost’em, call.

Both birds peaked from behind the Buck Brush out in front of us with only their brightly colored heads showing above the foliage.

Larry took aim at the right one and fired, flipping the bird backwards and tumbling it over.

We’d been in the field less that forty minutes and had one bird in the bag.

At this rate, what were we going to do the next couple of days?

Once the bird was tagged and put on ice, we headed towards for an area where a trail made it’s way through the trees.

Not knowing what was below us, we decided to set up on the knob just above the trail and call.

We alternated the calling until I heard a faint gobble from the other side of the tree line, at which time I took over the calling while Larry manned the camera.

Within 15 minutes, I swore I heard a Tom drumming, but since my hearing isn’t the best, I didn’t alert Larry until the bird’s fan appeared on the edge of the trees directly in front of us.

Like many other spring Toms that we’ve hunted, the bird took his time coming in silently.

As the Tom strutted and turned, I slowly brought my shotgun up, resting it on my knees facing the bird.

When the bird first appeared, I’d switched from my slate call and was softly purring on my mouth diaphragm call, as it required no movement.

The Tom ignored our two hen decoys, coming around their left side towards the tree that I was backed up against.

As the bird came closer, I hoped that Larry had gotten the bird on film and as it came around a small bush, I gave a warning putt, causing the Tom to extend it’s neck and head.

My twelve gauge barked, putting the bird down for the count and the three and one half inch Winchester Extended Range 5 shot loads accounted for yet another Nebraska Tom this season.

As I tagged my third bird of the season, I admired the bird’s 9-inch beard and seven eighth-inch spurs and gladly lugged the heavy mature Tom back to the pickup.

What an excellent hunt, as we’d only been at Big Blue Ranch & Lodge www.bigblueranch.com for about two hours and taken our two birds.

With the two remaining days on this trip, we took advantage of the excellent habitat on the ranch, filming wildlife and catching dozens of bass, crappie and bluegill from the pond below the lodge.

Turkey numbers in Nebraska and many other upper Midwestern states have exploded with numerous permits available to the hunter that want to get out and experience one of the truly great outdoor experiences, spring turkey hunting.

These two jakes came running into our hen calls at the Big Blue Ranch and Lodge near

Burchard, Neb. (Journal photo by Larry Myhre)

BURCHARD, Neb. — Like so many times before, it was a gobble that first alerted us that a tom turkey was coming in.

Gary Howey motioned that the bird was downhill in front of us just in case I hadn’t heard.

I had the video camera running and began looking for the bird.

The first indication was the tip of his tail, spread in full strut, and slowly rocking back and forth as the bird stepped forward.

Then he was there, all puffed up and drumming. It was a glorious sight and one that sets a turkey hunter’s heart to pounding.

He was 15 yards out when Gary “putted” sharply on his diaphragm call to make the bird come out of strut and stick up his head.

Just like that it was over.

Less than two hours into our hunt on the Big Blue Ranch and Lodge south of Burchard, we had both filled turkey tags.

Gary, from Hartington, Neb., and I were guests of Scott Bodie and his wife Billie Kay. Their 2,000-acre working cattle ranch is the backdrop for a retreat for hunters, fishermen, horse enthusiasts, bird watchers or anyone just seeking relaxation.

Their cedar log lodge sits above a 25-acre, spring-fed pond stocked with largemouth bass, crappies, bluegills and northerns.

Gary and I had met Scott at the lodge where we unpacked, and then followed him to an area on the ranch where he felt confident we would see turkeys.

He left us, and we began our hunt as we often do when hunting land unfamiliar to us. We walked and called.

With Gary on the video camera, I ventured ahead calling whenever we came to a place where I couldn’t see if there were turkeys such as just before cresting a hill.

Upon hearing a call, the turkey should gobble alerting us to his location before we spook him.

But this day, the turkeys were not responding.

Gary saw them first.

Two toms heading our way.

We dropped down and crawled to a nearby burr oak tree where we sat down and waited.

I yelped a few more times and the pair of toms crested the hill and drew nearer as I made a few quiet yelps on the diaphragm.

They stopped about 30 yards out and didn’t appear to want to come any closer so I took the larger of the two.

After Gary bagged his tom we went back to the lodge and got out the fishing gear. I used the fly rod to catch and release an unbelievable number of blue-gills and crappies.

We’ll report in detail on that next week.

The next morning we decided to hunt the turkeys with our cameras. Gary carried the video and I carried my Nikon digital single lens reflex with a 70 to 3o0mm zoom lens.

We set up near where Gary had bagged his bird and called, but nothing came in.

So, we began walking and calling. We crossed a bluegrass pasture to a wooded ridge and valley on the other side.

I called there and suddenly Gary dropped down. I followed suit.

“Two toms heading our way,” he said.

We lay on our stomachs right in the open with cameras in front of our faces.

I cranked up the calling on the diaphragm call and soon saw two heads poke above the skyline.

They came in fast and close. I could hear them clucking and purring and I returned the calls hoping to lure them in closer.

At about 15 yards out they decided they had come far enough and then began to move away.

We had gotten some good footage and stills.

We continued to follow the timber’s edge and walked another hundred yards when Gary thought he saw something down in the corner of the pasture about 300 yards away. It was a tom. Soon we noticed three hens in front of him moving down a fence line. Then two more toms stepped out.

We couldn’t interest them in our calls and the hens seemed to be following the fence line so we dropped out of sight and tried to circle around and get in front of them.

This seldom works, and it didn’t this time. The birds spotted us and ran back down the fenceline and into the trees.

The turkeys here are really colorful, probably the result of a five-way cross. Biologists say the birds are a merriam, Eastern, Rio Grand, tame turkey and hybrid cross. All of the above have been stocked in the area at one time or another.

Deer grow big on this ranch as a pair of sheds lying on the table in our lodge proved.

And they are plentiful. Each day we saw several deer move away from us as we stalked through the woodlands.

The ranch is truly a hunter’s paradise.

The guy who showed me how to fish 4-inch plastic worms on a jig head was my longtime friend and excellent fisherman Bob Brown of Fort Dodge, Iowa.

“Brownie” as we all call him can recognize a good thing when he sees it and when Berkley came out with their four-inch Power Bait twister tail worm, he was all over it.

We always made sure we had an ample supply on our annual trips into the wilds of Manitoba in search of walleye.

Sure, we used twisters, too, but the days were many when a 4-inch worm on a jig swimming over the bottom took walleyes like there was no tomorrow.

Bob used to have a trailer near Pequot Lakes in Minnesota. He’d spend most of the summer up there and I’d join him just about every year.

Pequot Lake is near Brainard in Crow Wing County. There are 308 lakes in that county and it is a fisherman’s paradise.

We’d fish as many as six lakes a day. We were a lot younger then and a lot more ambitious. But, most of those small lakes which we fished only had one major piece of structure and that was usually a weed-covered point that held largemouth bass, walleyes and big crappies.

The only lure Bob ever used was the 4-inch worm and he would fish it in any color as long as it was purple.

“Wouldn’t a 6-inch worm work better for largemouth?” I asked.

“Maybe,” Bob said, “but then you wouldn’t catch those big crappies.”

And Bob loves to catch big crappies.

In the splashwell of his boat was always a big pile of used worms. They would stay there growing slightly larger every day as Bob went through worms. At the end of the season, he’d throw them away, but that big pile of worms always remined him of a summer of excellent fishing.

The trailer is gone now and the former longtime sports and outdoors editor for the Fort Doge Messenger is now in his 80s. We don’t fish much together any more, but we still stay in touch.

And I still use that 4-inch worm a lot.

I have, however, converted over to a 4-inch ringworm with a swirly tail. Although there are a lot of ringworms out there, I have settled on just one which I think is the best. I get them from B-Fish-N Tackle Co., out of Prairie Du Chien, Wisc. I order them online at www.bfishntackle.com

Their ringworm has a beefed-up neck which stands up to the power antics of big fish and the curly tail is a little larger than other brands, giving it better fish-attracting action.

I use them in a lot of different colors, but stick to shad colors (Pro Blue, Electric Blue, Firecracker or Pearl Blue Oystershell) for walleye or smallmouth and usually purple or black for bass.

Another company that makes a good 4-inch ringworm is Northland Tackle. Their 4-inch ringworm Slurpies, are salted and scented and super soft, yet durable and will stay on the hook.

The jigs I use with these worms is the H20 Precision Jig from B-Fish-N.

These jigs feature a head design that works well in current and has a stainless steel wire hook under the hook shank that locks the plastic much better than a barbed collar. I use them in 1/16-, 3/32-, 1/8-, 3/16- and 1/4-ounce sizes the most.

They come in both painted and unpainted heads and I use both. Their paint is very, very durable.

Now, there is a secret to fishing 4-inch worms. I learned that from Brownie. Of course he never told me, because he always wanted an edge when fishing with me.

But, by watching him I picked up on it pretty fast.

You don’t fish these lures like a regular jig. The worm has to be swimming and moving all the time.

It takes some practice to get this right and to keep the jig within a few inches of the bottom at all times, but it can be done.

Oh, and forget live bait. You don’t need it. Even when fishing walleyes in rivers in the wintertime.

If you get that swimming action correct, walleyes will just nail it. So too, will largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappies and just about any other gamefish.

It has become a very popular method for winter walleyes on the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers.

It hasn’t caught on much here but it is, I suppose, only a matter of time.

Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal

Crappies are among the first game fish to bite well right after the ice goes out.

It’s a pre-spawn movement to the shallows and the fish will stay there through the month of April in our area, through May in central Minnesota and into June in northern Minnesota.

Spawning crappies need some sort of structure to spawn on. In natural lakes that is often last year’s reed beds or downed timber along the shoreline. In ponds and small reservoirs they will be attracted to submerged trees or other woody structure. If the lake does not have trees or wood, rocky shorelines along the face of the dam will attract them. I’ve even found them along glacial rocks on the shorelines of South Dakota lakes. Also, don’t overlook boat docks, boat hoists or other man-made structure.

For the earliest fishing, think warm water. Warmest water right after ice-out will be found in canals, boat channels or around stream inlets.

The crappies will stay in these areas unless weather drives them out. Strong winds pushing waves into the shallows will cause the crappies to move out to deeper water. Here they will suspend until things tame down. You can often spot them on your depth finder over these flats if they have left the shoreline.

You need to be rigged right to take best advantage of early spring crappies. This means light tackle. I prefer light action rods in 5- to 6-feet lengths and light spinning reels spooled with four-pound-test line.

One-sixteenth-ounce jigs below a small bobber will be the best lures. I use mini jigs or marabou jigs in white or yellow and don’t bother to tip them with a minnow. Road Runner jigs in the same size work well. Just cast and reel them back slowly.

Some days they prefer the jig, some days the extra flash of the Road Runner. It’s up to you to find out what works best.

It was a quiet, late November afternoon when Ron Peterson, publisher of the Journal walked into my office in the newsroom.

He sat in the chair across from my desk where, as editor of the newspaper, I was scanning our news budget before heading up the meeting with the floor editors to decide what the next day’s paper would look like.

“What would you think of producing an outdoor tabloid which we distribute free throughout our area?” he asked.

As the paper’s outdoor writer since 1973, it didn’t take long for me to answer.

“I think it would be a great idea,” I said.

And so it started, a free tabloid devoted to teaching Siouxlanders more about hunting and fishing in our area and throughout the upper Midwest.

The first issue, one of six to be published each year, hit the streets in late January of 2004.

The cover photo was of Dave Genz, known as the father of modern day ice fishing. He was on the ice holding a walleye. I had taken that photo a year earlier on Devil’s Lake in North Dakota.

The whole issue was devoted to ice fishing .

So that’s how it started.

The publication, in the intervening years has changed somewhat.

In that first issue, a 20 pager, every story was written by me.

There’s a problem with that, and it’s called lack of variety.

I soon began adding other writers. Today we have some of the most recognizable outdoorsmen in the upper Midwest writing for us.

They reveal a bunch of tips, techniques, where-to-go, how-to-do information in each issue.

And often, many of these breakthroughs are reported here before anywhere else.

Take, for instance, an article in the current issue by Ted Takasaki, one of the nation’s top competitive walleye fishermen. He talks about using aggressive jigging tactics on early ice walleyes. One of the lures he uses is the new Lindy Darter. A lure he thoroughly tested last winter. He reveals everything he learned in this article. The information is published here for the first time, but remember, you’ll be seeing a lot elsewhere about the Lindy Darter, only later.

If you ice fish, you know Dave Genz. He’s at the forefront of ice fishing technology and has taught all of us how to be more successful on the ice.

He’s also designed many of the lures, rods and other ice fishing paraphernalia which we take for granted today.

His story deals with getting on the ice before the sun breaks the horizon. It’s a tough thing to do and takes planning, but as Genz points out, it is often the most productive time of the day.

Other writers who appear in each issue include Babe Winkelman, a nationally-known outdoorsman who has spent the past 30 years teaching people how to hunt and fish. This time he writes about winterizing your boat and putting away your tackle for next year. In another story he talks about scent control you can’t buy at a store. Deer hunters, take note.

Jim McDonnell, Royal, Iowa, the guy we call “The Fishing Professor,” also writes for each issue. McDonnell, the original fishing guide on the Okoboji’s since the 1960s, often keys his stories to fishing success on the Iowa Great Lakes. The lure of yellow perch and goose hunting in northwest Iowa are two topics he addresses in the latest issue.

Bob Jenson, a long-time fishing educator and outdoor television host, writes about winter river walleyes and end of the season fishing tasks in the current issue.

Gary Howey, Hartington, Neb., outdoor television host and outdoor writer, writes about how to fish early ice safely and in another story, how the sport of ice fishing has changed.

Jerry Carlson, an outdoor writer from the Minneapolis area, writes about hole hopping to catch more winter fish.

I fill in with a blueprint for fishing Iowa’s Great Lakes with a species by species rundown and the best lures and baits for each. In another story I detail the changes in ice fishing gear and what you should have for success.

This little tabloid has evolved into a teaching machine on lots of different outdoor pursuits.

Look for it at various outlets around Sioux City, the Iowa Great Lakes and elsewhere.

We have one goal. That is to give you the best how-to information out there on hunting and fishing in the upper Midwest.