Week Ten Report
Help manage a lake

There are a number of ways people can help the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manage our area lakes.

One that is simple and could make a difference on some of the area lakes is to simply keep and eat some of the fish you catch.

I’m very lucky as I get to spend almost every day on the water, guiding, tournament fishing or just exploring new lakes. Because I’m on so many of the area lakes, I started noticing what seems to be an over abundance of small bass, sunfish and northern.

So, I gave Dean Beck a call. Dean is the Glenwood Area Fisheries supervisor and a great resource to check if you have a question concerning our lakes.

First, Dean reassured me that I was not hallucinating and there is a problem with some of the area lakes.

Dean said, “Some lakes in the area are seeing a community imbalance because of all the small bass, sunfish or northern.”

He added, “There is a need for smart fishing.”

What Dean was referring to was the harvest of small bass, sunfish and northern. Yes, keeping bass and eating them, I couldn’t agree more. Dean suggested that anglers keep bass that are 12-inches or smaller, northern that are 24-inches or smaller and sunfish in the 5.5 to 7-inch range.

Let’s take a look at sunfish first. A 5.5-inch sunfish isn’t a monster and a 7-incher is just over a quarter of a pound.

During the winter, I see anglers catching and keeping these size panfish all the time. But come summertime, for some reason, everyone feels that they are too small. They’re not. If they are good enough to eat all winter long, they are good enough to eat all summer long.

Do the lakes a favor and keep some small panfish for the table.

Northern. What can you say? You either love them or hate them.

I grew up fishing for and eating northern and still think they are a great tasting fish. But small northern can be a problem, in that they are causing a predator prey imbalance on some of our area lakes.

So let’s start keeping some of those smaller northern. Heck, a 24-inch northern should weigh about 3.9-pounds, so there is still some meat on those “hammer handle” fish.

My friend, Bud Anderson, has a great method for preparing northern. When he cleans them, he only removes the rib bones, leaving the Y-bones in the filet. Then, he freezes the filets and when he wants a meal of northern all he does is pull the frozen filets out and lets them partially thaw out. Then he grinds the filets up with onions, peppers and other seasonings, forms them into patties, breads the patties and then deep fries them.

No fuss, no muss, just great eating.

Bass. Here is where I’m going to get in trouble with my peers.

I love fishing bass – fun fishing, guiding or tournament fishing – it just doesn’t matter. I love fishing for bass.

But, we need to start promoting the smart harvest of small bass and we are talking about the largemouth bass. The absolute catch and release mentality we have developed toward bass is hurting some of our fisheries.

According to Dean, most of the medium size lakes in the area are at capacity for bass. Removing the smaller bass (12-inches or smaller) will not hurt those lakes.

Most folks who catch five or six half-pound sunfish or a number of 10-inch crappies would think of those fish as a pretty good meal.

Well, bass, sunfish and crappies all belong to the same family group – Centrarchidae. A 12-inch bass should weigh about 1 pound. So just look at those smaller bass as big panfish and keep a limit for the table.

I hear all the time that bass taste muddy. Small bass are no muddier tasting than a big bluegill or crappie caught from the same waters.

So, don’t feel guilty if you keep some bass for the table; you’re getting a good meal of fish and helping our lakes.

As always, stay safe and we hope to see you on the water.

Week Eight Report
By Wayne Ek, Agape Fishing Guide
Try fishing deep weedlines this time of year

We’re not there yet, but the hot weather of the past week should start the fish moving toward their summer haunts.
And of course, we anglers will be more than happy to follow them.

The great thing about mid-summer fishing is that most species become so much easier to pattern. And the added bonus is that they are less transient. So once you find them, they will usually be there for a couple of days, as long as the food source holds out.

In our region, one of the strongest summer patterns for almost all species of fish is the deep weedline bite.
However, each lake in the area is different when it comes to what a deep weedline is.

Lakes like Miltona and Carlos will have weedlines that extend out past the 18-foot mark. While in a lake like Red Rock, the deep weedline may only be at the four-foot mark.

Summer crappies and sunfish tend to gravitate to deep cabbage weedlines in good numbers and they will stay there all summer.

This is when a slip-bobber and leech combination fished at the base of a deep weedline can be deadly for big bluegills. The crappies that use deep cabbage weedlines tend to be suspended higher in the water column and right in the cabbage. A small tube jig or puddle jumper fished very slowly through the cabbage will usually generate a bite from any crappie or bass in the area.

Bass and deep weedlines go together like peanut butter and jelly. Around Alexandria, it just doesn’t matter, a deep clear lake or a shallow dirty lake, find the deepest weedline and you’re sure to find bass.

And just about any bait or lure presentation will work. From a leech fished under a slip-bobber to crankbaits and everything in between seems to work on deep weedline bass.

I don’t think the casual angler realizes how many walleye are caught from deep weedlines.

The problem with fishing walleye on deep weedlines is not the weeds; it’s all the other fish that will eat every leech or nightcrawler you have in the boat.

The sunfish and bass can drive you nuts if you’re chasing walleye. One solution is to use plastics or Berkley Gulp leeches and nightcrawlers. You’re still going to get the sunfish and bass bites, but plastics or Gulp allows you to catch more than one fish per bait, instead of running through dozens of leeches or nightcrawlers.

There are certainly other summer patterns that work for each species of fish. But I don’t think any other pattern is as reliable as the deep weedline pattern.

Deep weedline fish are usually less affected by changes in the weather, lake activity or light angling pressure. And most productive weedlines will reload with fish. You can catch a number of fish from a weedline spot and come back a couple of hours later to catch a few more, something that rarely happens with shallow water patterns.

As always, stay safe and we hope to see you on the water.

Week Seven Report
By Wayne Ek, Agape Fishing Guide Check out these gift ideas for the angler in your house

If you don't fish, trying to buy a gift of fishing equipment for someone can be frustrating – just ask my wife, Lisa.

I have to roll credits here, with Father's Day coming up Lisa suggested I do an article on some gift ideas for the angler.

Since I suspect that more guys than gals read my article, I have a suggestion for those guys. Circle a gift idea in the article and leave it on the counter as a not-so-subtle hint.

From my perspective as a husband and father, who spends way too much time on the water, a gift card makes the most sense to me.

I know, some would say a gift card is too impersonal. I disagree. When I get a gift card from a tackle shop from Lisa or the boys, it just tells me they know how hard it is to buy for me and they want me to have just the right gift.

If I pick the gift out myself, it surely must be the right gift at the right time.

I talked with Dana Freese from Christopherson's Bait in Alexandria and he said they have sold gift certificates for years and now have the plastic gift cards that are so convenient.

All of the big sporting retail chains will also have gift cards.

If you decide not to go the gift card route, than I suggest you keep your purchases more general in nature. Unless of course you happen to see this article on the counter with a few suggestions written in along the margins.

Some of the more useful items we anglers can use are:

Fishing tools like needle nose pliers, line cutters or a set of mouth spreaders for taking the hooks out of toothy critters.

If your angler cleans fish a lot then a rugged electric fillet knife would make the job easier and quicker.

A good quality life vest is a great gift. You can even get one in a color that matches the boat. And a life vest that is clean, comfortable and fits well will be worn, which is always important.

Other ideas include a set of marker buoys, to mark out structure where he likes to fish or a catch and release ruler to measure the fish he catches.

If he's an organized angler, how about a reel cleaning kit? Trust me, it will get used over the winter months. Or, how about some rod socks – yes, in this day and age even our fishing rods are well dressed. The socks are lightweight nylon tubes that slide over a fishing rod to protect it from damage.

Then, there are things like battery powered hook sharpeners or battery powered line strippers that will help remove old fishing line from a reel.

And along with that idea there are line spooling boxes that will make putting new line back on the reel much easier.

Of course, there is always that new fishing rod or reel that he needs or maybe even both of them.

Try to stay general with your purchases. A musky angler probably will not get too excited over a package of panfish jigs, so stay as general as possible with your purchases.

My vote is still for a gift card. He will purchase what he wants or needs when he wants it and be very pleased with the gift you gave.
As always, stay safe and we hope to see you on the water.

Week Six Report
By Wayne Ek, Agape Fishing Guide

The slip bobber rig is one of the simplest fishing rigs to set-up and use. Both novice and avid anglers find this simple rig highly effective at catching all kinds of fish.

Whether targeting small panfish or big pike, this simple rig is up to the task.

Used primarily as a live-bait presentation, the slip bobber rig is also a very effective way to present small jigs and plastics to panfish.
Even though the slip bobber rig is fairly popular, we still have guide clients that have never rigged or used one prior to fishing with us.
Let's take a quick look at what a slip bobber rig looks like and the components needed to set one up.

Starting at the hook and working backwards toward the rod, you have a hook, some sinkers, a small swivel (some folks skip the swivel), the bobber, a small bead and then a bobber stop.

Seems pretty simple, but it's important that the various components used on a slip bobber rig work together and not against one another. Taking a closer look at each of these components may be helpful to the new angler or to the angler that has never used a slip bobber rig.

The hook you use should be determined by the type of live bait you're using. Normally, we use the smallest light-wire hook we can. When fishing leeches, we use a size eight or six Octopus hook. When using shiner or fathead minnows, we will use a size four Octopus hook. And for pike, we will go to a much larger hook based on the size of the sucker minnows we use.

We use premium round slit-shot sinkers. I like the round sinkers that do not have ears (reusable type) on them. The eared sinkers tend to cause line twist. Use just enough weight to stand the bobber up and keep the bait down.

We use a swivel on our slip bobber rigs, as it really cuts down on line twist, especially when fishing small jigs and leeches for walleyes or big bluegills. If you choose to use a swivel make sure that it is not too small, as a very small swivel will get stuck in the bottom of some slip bobber stems.

The bobber you use should depend upon a couple of things. First, the size and type of bait you are fishing. Second, the type and size of fish you're after. If you're having fish bite but not getting hooked it's probably time to switch to a smaller or thinner slip bobber. By going smaller and thinner, there will be less resistance when the fish bites and the bite will be more noticeable.

Finally, the slip bobbers stop or knot and bead. We use pre-tied braided bobber stops in high-viz colors, like hot pink or chartreuse. With the braided stops, once you tighten them down, do not clip the tag ends too short. These knots tend to loosen up over time and it's nice to have longer tag ends sticking out, so you can grab them with a forceps or needle nose pliers and pull the knot tight again.

Remember, when using a bobber stop bead, use one with a small hole, as the ones with larger holes tend to slip right over the bobber stop knot.

Because slip bobber fishing is entirely visual, the rod you use does not have to be a top-of-the-line extra sensitive model. Any medium weight/power rod with a fast tip and some backbone will work.

We use seven-foot rods for our clients and have a couple of six-foot rods to use when we have younger children out with us.

You can use both spinning and spin-cast reels. We use spinning reels most of the time, but do have a couple of closed face spin-cast reels for some of our clients to use.

For line, we use monofilament line in 6 or 8-pound test.

Monofilament line is the easiest line to manage on both spinning and spin-cast reels; it is also the least expensive line to spool. And as you should be changing your line a couple of times per season, it helps to keep the cost down.

As always, stay safe and we hope to see you on the water.

Week Four Report
By Wayne Ek, Agape Fishing Guide

In the next couple of weeks, the vacation season will be upon us. The traffic in town and at the boat ramps will double if not triple on the weekends.

After witnessing a couple of problems during the walleye opener and again this week, I thought it would be a good idea to go over some boat ramp etiquette.

At the boat launch, do all your launch preparation in the parking area. If you have to take the cover off the boat or load items from your vehicle into the boat, do it in the parking area.

Don't block the ramp approach or the ramp itself when you are just getting things ready.

Once you are completely ready to launch, that's the time to use the approach and ramp.

Most of our area boat ramps have a dock at the launch site. One side of the dock usually abuts the launch ramp and the other side is for temporary mooring of boats. Don't moor your boat on the ramp side when you go to park or retrieve the vehicle and trailer; you will be blocking the ramp. Move to the mooring side of the dock.

If you're forced to launch at an extremely crowded or busy ramp and you're not comfortable backing your boat in, ask for help. And on the other hand, if you're waiting to launch and can plainly see the person launching in front of you is having difficulty launching, offer them some assistance.

Asking for or offering some help at the launch ramp will get everyone's time on the water off to a better start.

Once you've launched and are ready to park your vehicle and trailer, take the time to park it right. Don't use two parking spaces. If all the spaces are full and you need to park on the grass or approaches, make sure other vehicles can get by and don't block someone else's vehicle in.

On a busy ramp, most boaters will take turns launching. The problem comes in when people launching forget that people taking their boats out of the water are also part of the equation. So pay attention to who is launching and who is loading and the flow should go much smoother.

And now a couple of suggestions that could help reduce the "oops" factor this season.

Unless you have a bed trailer, don't unhook the winch strap at the top of the ramp, wait until the boat is in the water. A boat launching itself halfway down the ramp onto dry ground is rather embarrassing.

Also, your boat sitting in the water blocking the ramp is not the time to see if the motor will start for the first time this season. Check this all-important point out at home, before you get to the lake.

And remember to check and see if the plug is in. This little inconsequential piece of equipment has been the cause of many an embarrassing moment for many boaters.

Above all, be patient with others and have a fun boating season.

As always, stay safe and we hope to see you on the water.

Week Three Report
By Wayne Ek, Agape Fishing Guide

Fishing is going to get better

Let's see, walleye and northern opened 13 days ago. The bass opener will be in two days.

Throughout the area both crappies and sunfish are staging in the shallows in huge numbers.

Some would say, "It just doesn't get any better."

Oh, but it will!

In the next couple of weeks we should see the walleye bite hit its full stride as the majority of the walleye population gets past the post spawn period and they start feeding again. In our region, the bass bite is usually very good on the opener and then just seems to get better as the summer progresses.

By the last week of May or first week of June both the crappies and sunfish will be in full spawning mode.

When the panfish spawn happens, both crappie and sunfish will bite with wild abandon and we need to use restraint on the number and size of fish we harvest. Catching big "gills" is always fun, but keeping those big girls can hurt the population, so practice wise harvest.

Catch a lot, have a great time, keep a few to eat and release the rest for the good of your fishery.

Yep, fishing is just going to get better.

Everyone I talked to who chased walleye on the opener had to work very hard for their fish. The anglers that fished after sunset did the best.

Some of the area lakes that have historically produced very well on opening day were very stingy, giving up very few limits of walleye.

As I said before, the walleye bite is going to get stronger. On some of the smaller lakes, the lackluster fishing associated with the post spawn period should be done by now.

With the new weed growth I'm seeing, I'm willing to bet that for the next couple of weeks we will be able to find walleye in that eight to 12 foot range, setting up in the new weed growth and feeding on last year's perch and sunfish.

This weekend's bass opener is just two days away. I'm still not sure what stage they will be in – will they be done spawning or still on the beds? Should you chase smallies or go for the green fish? What to do, what to do? It's really not a bad problem to have.

Yes, I love chasing bass. Even though 90 percent of our guide trips are for walleye, when I have free time. I'm on the water chasing bass.

On bass opener, we will probably hit a couple of different lakes. I'm betting the strongest bite will be on lakes that are shallow and have off-colored water, as they warm up much quicker than the deep, clear lakes.

No need to get too fancy with your early season bass lures or presentations. Most years if we are chasing green fish (largemouth bass) we only have three baits tied on for the opener. A white and chartreuse spinnerbait, a fluke (jerk bait) on a weighted hook and a rattle trap.

If you can't get a bite with one of those it's probably time to change lakes.

Chasing early season bass is a lot like chasing ice-out crappies. There is just no need to get up at the crack of dawn when it's still a little chilly. Wait until it warms up a little, the bass will become much more active as the water warms into its mid-afternoon peak.

As always, stay safe and we hope to see you on the water.

Week Two Report
By Wayne Ek, Agape Fishing Guide

With the walleye opener behind us, we can now look forward to the walleye fishing just getting better over the coming weeks.

Then, in a little over a week we will have the bass opener.

The month of May really is the start of a new season. Last season, did you find yourself asking the question, "Why do they always catch fish and we don't?"

I have a couple of suggestions that may help you catch a few more fish.

Pick one or two of your favorite species of fish. With the aid of the Internet or books, research each species. Find out about their seasonal patterns, what they eat as the season changes and their preferred habitat.

Learn to read a lake map. Develop enough skill at map reading that picking out a quick breaking shoreline, a hump or a deep-water flat is a breeze.

Gain some knowledge of the various types of aquatic vegetation in the lakes you fish. Also, the types of aquatic vegetation different species of fish use seasonally. I know, aquatic vegetation really isn't that exciting, but it's important.

During a year's time, both prey and predators make use of different types of aquatic vegetation, so it's worth learning what they are and where they grow.

Pay attention to your equipment. Keep your reels spooled with the right amount of line. A properly spooled reel lets you cast farther and will create less line management problems.

One of the biggest reasons anglers have line problems is not replacing the old line on their reels. At a minimum, you need to change your line more than once a year. If you feel some of the new lines are too expensive, just stay with a good monofilament line.

Monofilament line has been around for years, it's time-tested and reasonably priced.

Learn one good fishing knot – one that's easy to tie and reliable, like the palomar knot. It's one of the strongest knots for both monofilament and braided lines. It's also very easy and fast to tie.

Think smaller and lighter on all your tackle. For most live bait rigging – bobber rigs, Lindy rigs and jigs – using 6 or 8-pound test line is more than adequate.

If you like to bobber fish, learn how to rig a slip bobber. And remember, smaller is better when it comes to all bobbers. Use the smallest bobber you can.

Unless you're casting for muskies or northerns, you don't need a leader. I don't like leaders, walleye don't like leaders, crappies don't like leaders – nobody likes leaders.

I don't even think bullheads like leaders.

Two of the most common mistakes I see when guiding is anglers using hooks that are too large for the bait they are using and the fish they are after.

The second mistake is using way too many sinkers or sinkers that are too large; usually because they are using a bobber that is too big.

When fishing for panfish or walleye, a small fine wire hook is usually better. It will make the bait appear more natural, which will produce more bites.

If you are really set on becoming a better angler, there is no substitute for time on the water. Unfortunately, not everyone can spend countless hours on the water. You can make up for some of that lost "on the water time" by researching fishing information on the Internet or in the numerous books and magazines that are available.

As always, stay safe and we hope to see you on the water.

Week One Report
By Wayne Ek, Agape Fishing Guide
Two days to go, but who's counting? After what seemed like a very long winter, I'm really looking forward to the walleye opener this weekend.

Will it be a good bite? Who knows, and some would say who cares. It's one of those times when the reunion of friends and family outweighs the catching of fish.

Cabins and seasonal properties will be reopened for a new summer season, old friendships rekindled and new friendships made.

Groups with a long-standing tradition of fishing the walleye opener will add another year to the tradition along with more fish tales. Who knows, they may even catch a few fish.

With the ice going out a little later, it's going to be a coin flip of which lake to open on. I think we will stay on Lobster this year or maybe Oscar. Both lakes are close to home and have a decent walleye lift count.

But truth be known, it's my guess that we will be doing more crappie fishing than walleye fishing. And both lakes are good spring crappie fisheries.

As in years past, the best opening walleye lakes in our area are usually those lakes that have stained water. The prairie pothole type lakes will usually out-produce the clear water lakes when it comes to walleyes this time of year.

When we had a home on Lake Ida, the family would open the walleye season there just because it was more convenient and as I mentioned, opening day of walleye season isn't always about catching fish.

But we would catch some walleyes each opener by trolling Rapala or Rebel jerkbaits after dark in six to 10-feet of water. And if the walleyes would not cooperate it was OK, as the crappie bite on Ida around walleye opener can be nothing short of spectacular.

There is still time to get your rods and reels ready for the new season.

If you don't have time to do anything else with your reels, at least put on new line. New monofilament line is still fairly inexpensive. It's also the best investment you will ever make if one of the kids or you hook into that trophy walleye this opener.

Fishing lines today have become so high-tech and application-oriented that it's hard to suggest which type and weight of line to use. For most people, monofilament lines work just fine on spinning or spin casting reels.

On some of the reels our clients use for walleyes we have eight-pound monofilament. If you have a rod and reel setup just for crappies and sunfish, I would suggest using six-pound monofilament, as you could find crappies in the pencil reeds at this time of year.

As always, stay safe and hope to see you on the water.