Blog

November 2019 Update

Last open water trip of the season on Pool 4 of the Mississippi.

As the open water has officially come to a close for me (or maybe one more trip if the weather warms up), I’m starting to focus on Ice Fishing.  I’ve been busy over the past few weeks inspecting my ice fishing gear.  I’ve also been pondering how I can make my ice trips this winter more successful.  One of the secrets that I learned many years ago open water fishing is that you must keep moving if you’re not catching fish.  I’m not one to sit and wait for the fish to come to me.  This kind of mindset can be frustrating for an open water guy trying to duplicate his fishing style on the ice.  To be truthful, drilling a bunch of holes and staying on the move is very hard work.  It’s much easier and comfortable to setup your portable or permanent house on a good spot.  Unfortunately, your chances of success may become limited.  For those like me up for the challenge, a successful day on the ice is possible.  Of course, this style of fishing isn’t for everyone.  When taking new people or kids fishing, you still cannot beat the comfort of a warm permanent house or large portable.

This style of fishing does require some new or different type of ice fishing equipment.  With this run and gun style of ice fishing, weight becomes a major factor in equipment.  Instead of the heavy 25lb ice auger, I opted for the new lightweight auger/drill combo that weighs less than 10lbs.  I do love my Otter XT Pro X-Over Cabin is house, but it’s much too big and heavy when fishing by yourself.  This year I will be using the Otter XT Hideout one man house when venturing out on early ice or when fishing alone.  These are just two of many things that I’m reworking for this winter.  For me personally, the more time consuming setup becomes, the less likely I’ll stay on the move.  So, I continue to look for new ways to speed up and simply my setup.

If venturing out on early ice, make sure to wear your floatation suit, wear the proper safety equipment, and never go alone!

October 2019 Update

With the beginning of fall, change is officially upon us.  The water temps in most lakes keep dropping and turnover will begin to happen on many lakes in the next 30 days.  Turnover is the process that warmer water in the upper water column cools to a point where it mixes with the bottom layer to become a constant water temperature.  This happens on lakes that develop a thermocline during the summer.  Some shallower or wind swept lakes like Mille Lacs and Devils Lake don’t have thermoclines.  Fishing can be tough during this turnover process.  One recommendation is to look for shallower lakes during this time that have already turned over or never had a thermocline.  Once the turnover process is complete, it’s not unusual to find fish like walleyes in 50-60ft of water feeding on bait fish.  Post turnover fish are usually hungry and looking to add some weight before winter.

My National Walleye Tour Update:

This was my first official full season fishing the Cabela’s National Walleye tour.  In 2018, I left Devils Lake, ND at 118 place in the Cabela’s National Walleye Tour.  Thankfully, I found some nice fish in 45 feet of water during prefishing on a rock/mud transition that held very nice fish.  I used my Humminbird Mega SI to stay on the rock/mud transition.  Jigging raps and the brand new Eagle Claw prov bend 1/16 jigs under slip bobbers where the ticked to catch all the fish.  I ended up with 35.92lbs after my 1lb dead fish penalty and 12^th place at the National Walleye Tour Championship.  I was just .08lbs out of making the top 10.  I will tell the whole amazing story this winter at the Roger’s Deep C meeting.

August 2019 Update

Instead of focusing on fishing tactics this month, I’m going to focus on boating safety.  On my drive back from Sault Ste Marie, MI, I had lots of time to think about that body of water.  It’s truly a beautiful place, but can be a dangerous place to navigate without the proper knowledge and plans.  There is endless miles of water, an abundant of islands, 1000 foot ships to navigate around, and the weather can change very quickly.  Some Tips to have a successful day on the water when navigating big water:

-Know your and your boat’s limitations.  When fishing large water, always leave the boat launch with a full gas tank.

-Take a buddy or family member along.

-Have a plan where you’ll launch and when you’ll be off the water.  Share your plan with a buddy or love one.  If you don’t come back for some reason on time, they know where to look for you.

-Make sure to have a fishfinder with a GPS and map chip.  I prefer the Humminbird Helix with the Lakemaster chip.  It really helps you navigate unfamiliar water or navigating after dark.

-When fishing large unfamiliar waters, make sure to be off the water before sunset!

-Wear a life jacket!  I personally wear an inflatable life jacket at all times when on the water.

-Watch the weather and wind forecast before boating.  The weather can change very quickly on big water.  I use the WindAlert app on my Iphone.

-Bring a cell phone and a Marine Band Radio!

-Have a first aid kit on board.

-Large cargo ships have the right away.  Give the big ships space and stay out of their way.  They also throw larges wakes, so always slow down when navigating around large ships.

July 2019 Update

Happy July 4^th to everyone!  As the summer heat has finally arrived, the fish are now settling into their summer patterns.  Most lakes across the state now have water temperatures above 70 degrees and many close to 80 degrees.  Many of those panfish and bass that where in the shallows have now transitioned out to deeper water.  For walleyes, I start my search looking for deep water points and mid-lake humps with access to deep water.  Depending upon the spot, pulling crankbaits, spinners, or jigging blade baits can be very productive.  Don’t make the mistake of overlooking deeper water cabbage beds, even during the day.  These cabbage beds tend to hold baitfish that will attract predators like walleyes, bass, pike and even large panfish.  Small spinners with live bait and slip bobbers can reward you with nice catches all summer.

Everyone have a safe and productive summer!

May 2019 Update

April 2019 Update

With Spring fever happening, it’s time to get your boat and tackle ready for open water season.  For me, this means new line on all my monofilament rods, organize tackle, and determine what new tackle is needed for the season.  I find that I can never go wrong with Berkley Trilene 8lb test for my mono rods.  I also like to look over the first 15-20ft of Suffix 832 braid that is on my other rods.  Don’t be afraid to remove about 15-20ft of the braid if you see any fraying or nicks in the line.  I also recommend replacing fluorocarbon leaders on all rods.  When checking over tackle, look for any lures that might have bent hooks.  Don’t try to bend the hooks back, since it will cause them to become weaker.  I always remove the bent standard hook and replace it with a comparable Eagle Claw hook.  Don’t let a damage hook keep you from catching your personal best fish.  When looking at all the hot new lures for the season, I recommend colors like firetiger, black/chrome, purple, and blue/chrome as a good starting point.  If you’re like me, I get really carried away buying too many lures that might never get fished.

Good Luck and I’ll see you on the water!

March 2019 Update

Even though it still looks like winter outside, spring will be here before you know it.  The crappies and panfish are still biting through the ice, but I want to focus this month on the preparation for river run walleyes.  You want to make sure you’re prepared before heading out to fish walleyes on the Rainy or Mississippi Rivers.  The most important thing is to keep boat safety as priority #1.  Rivers can pose many dangers this time of year like extreme cold water temps, wing dams, sand bars, and fluctuating water levels.  Always check with a local bait shop before venturing out unto unfamiliar waters and go with someone that is familiar with that stretch of the river.  With that said, this time of the year can be very exciting with the potential to catch a trophy walleye.  They are many tactics that will put fish in the boat this time of the year.  As a general rule on the river, slow and low flow equals clear water.  In that case, I would suggest targeting deeper breaks along the main river channel using dubuque style rigs or trolling crank baits.  Fast and high flow will add some color to the water that will push walleyes shallower.  In that case, pitching jigs with plastics or casting crank baits to rip rap or wing dams can be very successful all spring.

Good Luck and I’ll see you on the water!

January 2019 Update

I trust that everyone had a safe and blessed Christmas and New Years! The ice season is officially here, but with the warmer temperatures, caution must be exercised. As the bitter cold weather sets in this time of the year, I like to stay mobile as much as possible on the ice. I look for mid lake humps or points close to deep water on my Humminbird Helix Ice with LakeMaster chip as my first location to search for fish. I will then drill a series of holes from deep water to the top of the hump or point. I like to fish each hole for only a few minutes if I don’t mark many fish or catch one. Once I find an active hole, then I will setup my Otter X-Over fish house and stay a little while. At this point, I will dead stick an Eagle Claw size 10 or 12 tungsten jig tipped with either a small crappie minnow or wax worms. On my main hole, I will use either a jigging spoon or small jigging rap for those aggressive fish. Many times the aggressive action of the spoon will bring in the fish, but many times the fish will hit the dead stick. Once this active spot slows down, make sure to keep on the move to follow those active fish.

November 2018 Update

This off season, I’m putting together five areas, techniques, or items that I would like to improve for 2019.  Then, I will spend the winter studying ways to improve those areas and practice them on the water in 2019.  Lastly, I will spend time thinking of five goals in fishing that I want to accomplish in 2019.  One of my goals for 2018 was to catch a 30 inch walleye.  At 2:00 pm on April 20th, I caught my personal best walleye measuring 30 inches and weighing around 13lbs.  I find that when I make goals and write them down, I usually put in extra effort to make sure I’m at the right place at the right time to attain them (Habakkuk 2:2).  What fishing items do you need to work on for 2019?  What technique do you want to know more about?  What are your goals for 2019?  Send me an email at jcalvinlund@hotmail.com and tell me about them.  I will use the info to formulate my seminar in February 2019 to help you be more successful on the water in 2019.

August 2018 Update

Now is the time to start looking deeper for most of your favorite game fish. Yes, there is still fish in the weeds and in shallow water at night, but the deep water is holding the consistent bite. My search starts in the deep basin of the lake with some humps or deep water flats. When I speak of deep water, I’m talking about 25-40ft of water.

There are multiple ways to get your bait that deep, but this month we will discuss how to fish with jigging raps. I like to use the largest Rapala Rigging Rap or Johnson Johnny Darter. I use my Humminbird Helix to locate a nice fish mark on my graph. I use my spot lock or anchor mode on my Minn Kota Ultrex to position the boat above the fish. Then, I proceed to jig the bait off the bottom just for the fish below the boat. If that fish isn’t interested after a couple of minutes, then I move until I find the next fish. This style of fishing more resembles ice fishing than open water fishing. You’ll be surprised what you might catch.

This whitefish was caught in 38 feet of water on a Johnny Darter. A 26 inch walleye was boated 2 minutes later on the same presentation.

May 2018 Update

With walleye opener fresh on our minds, one has to think how this late ice out will affect their annual opener. On the lakes that you will be actually able to fish, where and how should someone approach it? Water temperature is something that I will be constantly looking at for the next couple of weeks. The 42-48 degree water temperature seems perfect for those fish to spawn. Once the walleyes are done spawning, I like to search out areas close to that’s lake spawning grounds. I typically look for shallow water with hard bottom, current, rocks, or early weed growth. Even with cold temps, I come with many tactics to see what the fish want for that day. I like to use my Minn Kota Ultrex to move quietly in shallow water or put down my Minn Kota Talon to pitch jigs tipped with a minnow, crawler, leech, or plastics. Other favorite tactics include lindy rigs or slip bobbers across shallow reefs and sand bars. Make sure not to leave your crank baits at home. This is my go to presentation to cover water in search of fish. Once fish are located, then I may come back with a slower live bait presentation. Good luck to everyone this MN fishing opener!

This 30 inch pre-spawn walleye fell victim to a #5 Jointed Shad Rap in shallow water near Red Wing.

July 2016 Update

It’s amazing how fast this summer is already going. The Fourth of July weekend is right around the corner, and it means time at the lake for many of us. As the water warms into the mid 70s, many people put away their walleye rods and start chasing bass. People tend to think walleyes get hard to catch during the hot summer months, but that isn’t totally true. There are a few patterns during these warm weather months that can put quality walleyes in the boat.

After the kids go to bed and the rest of the family is sitting around the fire, I like to jump in the boat in search of midnight gold. One of my favorite tactics during this warm weather period is chasing walleyes on the inside of weedlines after dark. During the day, I search out well defined weed beds with cabbage that are adjacent to deep water. The perfect weed bed has an inside sand flat that extends out to 4-5ft of water. As full darkness extends upon the lake, the walleyes move onto the sand flat in search of dinner.