Great jigging information from walleye guru Brian ‘Bro’ Brosdahl.Jigs are an excellent delivery system to give walleyes the minnows they hunt when actively feeding. Anglers just have to pay more attention to what they are doing when fishing jigs. Vigilance is important.Early in the season, I mostly use lightweight jigs, but if the wind blows up or the fish move into deeper water, I need heavier jigs to stay with the fish and keep in the right zone near bottom.Spottail shiners and per…

By Mike Frisch Winter finally gave up and walleye season is here! Now that the season is here, having a good game plan for opening day and the rest of the early season can mean the difference between spring fishing success and frustration.Choosing the right lake is often key to opening day success, with water temperature being a top consideration. For that reason, I usually like to start on a small, shallow lake that warms quickly.

TEAM NORTHLAND PRO-STAFFERS DAN AND STEVE BODINGER WIN THEIR THIRD MASTERS WALLEYE CIRCUIT DETROIT RIVER TOURNAMENTBemidji, Minn. – Team Northland Pro-Staffers Dan and Steve Bodinger say Northland Fishing Tackle Sink’n Jigs and IMPULSE® Paddle Minnows were key weapons in their dramatic come-from-behind victory at the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit’s Detroit River tournament at Trenton, Michigan, April 13-14.The Bodinger brothers, both from Chilton, Wisconsin, topped…

By Mike FrischBig Stone Lake on the Minnesota/South Dakota border is a very popular spring walleye fishing destination.  It’s popular because, as a Minnesota-South Dakota border water, it opens to the legal taking of walleyes earlier than the traditional Minnesota inland game season.  The season opens this year on April 21.

By Mike FrischMore and more open-water is appearing across the Midwest every day! For those who love to fish, that means it’s time to start another season and for many anglers that means chasing panfish. Bluegills and crappies take center stage for many anglers now because panfish are legal for the taking, while gamefish are still protected in some states, Minnesota included.Spring panfish anglers usually think shallow water and finding the warmest shallow water is often the key.

A veteran guide’s tricks for slow trolling over emerging vegetationEmerging weedbeds hold walleyes in late spring and early summer. The scenario plays out in a variety of fisheries, from prairie potholes to mesotrophic Midwestern waters and rocky systems of the Canadian Shield—and wherever it develops, anglers able to capitalize on the pattern can rack up big numbers of hungry ’eyes.Veteran guide and Team Northland Pro-Staffer Eric Brandriet of Dakota Prairie Angling has develo…

by Bob Jensen The big lake near where I live still had a lot of ice on it when I drove by a few days ago, but it was opening up near the shoreline. But the smaller ponds in the area have a lot of open water. In fact, of friend of mine told me that a friend of his had just caught a nice bunch of crappies from the open water in one of those ponds.