The Combination Classroom

Having a middle school teaching background, it never ceases to amaze me the difference in stature we see, as students come in as 10 year old fifth graders and leave as 14 year old eighth graders.  I like to say that:

We get them as caterpillars and they leave as butterflies.

Cheesy?

Yes!

However, it is very accurate.  They come to us as little kids and leave as teenagers.

The mixture of sizes and maturity levels is drastic and to the naked eye very evident.

Are Perch Schools In The Winter So Different?

Back in 2013, we had a banner year due to an unbelievable year class of fish.  The 12-15 inch Perch seemed like they were everywhere and it seemed like the boom of the 80’s Perch days was back.  Fast Forward 2 years and the winter of 2015 and…

GONE!

They had disappeared.  More than likely their life spans had run their course and those that weren’t caught probably perished from old age.  Those super schools of Super Mega Jumbo Perch were separated from the smaller sized Perch. If you found one monster, you found many and every one you pulled from that school was a PIG!

The future looks bright and in a year or two we will have another gangbuster Perch class as there are a ton of 8-10 inch Perch out there.  With Devils Lake growth rates, that year class of fish will approach that Super Mega Jumbo Size in a year or two.

They aren’t there yet though, and the keeper sized Perch are mixed in with all different sizes of fish.  We aren’t finding segregated Perch schools this year.  We are finding the ‘mixed bag’.  Your first fish might be a stout 11 incher and your next biter is a paltry 6 incher.

Frustration Shouldn’t Motivate You To Move

There have been many years where, upon catching 2 or 3 little 5-6 inch Perch, we would have left the school and searched for a school of bigger fish.  This year, however, it has appeared that a guy has to sit on that school as the bigger fish are mixed in and often times not as super active as the smaller ones but still willing to bite if the lure is presented to them.

I have had quite a few days this year where the first couple fish of the school rocketed up and hammered the lure.  They were little ones and my first inkling was to move, and had it not been for the presence of bigger marks underneath the suicide risers, I would have.

Sticking with those schools and presenting the lure to those bigger marks on the bottom resulted in landing some better sized Perch.  Without electronics, and the right electronics, I never would have known those bigger fish were there.

The Right Tools For The Job

I have been asked many times:

What are you talking about?

The question was referenced to me making the statement that we had marked a lot of Crappie but not caught any, or marked a lot of White Bass but they weren’t biting.

The person questioning my statement was confused as to how we knew they were Crappie or White Bass if they didn’t bite.

With the right equipment, the Vexilar FL-28, not only can the seasoned fisherman identify likely species, but also size of the fish.

This might sound crazy, but through many logged hours on the ice and long hours staring at our screen, we can get a pretty good idea of what that mark is both by how it appears on the screen and how it acts in relation to our lure.

Crappie-The Double Flasher

Crappie signatures on the FL-28 are unique and only sometimes confused with a White Bass or Monster Walleye.  This is due to the depth of a Crappie from Dorsal to Belly.  That deep body shows us a big mark with flashing lights on both sides.  If I could take you out and find a mixed school of Perch and Crappie on North Six Mile, you would immediately understand what I was talking about.

The White Bass body structure can sometimes fool us but the peculiar activity of a White Bass will usually allow us to tell the difference.

The Bigger Perch Signature

The same can be said for the size of the Perch in a Perch school.  I always have my FL-28 set on the Color Mode-4 (white, red, yellow, green, blue).  This mode gives me A LOT of information.  It can tell me if my bait is even still on my hook after a ‘swing and a miss’.

I also like this mode because it gives me the information I need to tell the size of fish in the school.  I try to keep my gain on the lowest level I possibly can and still see my lure.  This limits interference and it gives me the vital information I need to concentrate on the likely biters that are in my vicinity.  The one major recommendation I can give to you is to read up on your Flasher or Depth finder manual and know it front cover to back cover.  You might be missing a great feature that you didn’t even know your electronics possessed.

Couple Things Just Around The Corner!!!!

The onset of March and we are still able to attack the ice and we are very thankful for that opportunity.  Mother Nature is being a lot more kind to our ice fishing season this year.  Two events up here on the northern tier that give us NO OFF-SEASON!

2017 Spring Light Goose Conservation Season

So technically our Spring Light Snow Goose Conservation Season is open right now, but there aren’t any snow here yet. Some Honkers yes, but not any whites.  We heard some Specks on Sunday but those are considered off limits in the spring.  The migration is fast approaching however and we are shining up our guns and decoys between ice fishing expeditions.  If you want to take part in what can be truly epic hunts we can get you hooked up with a couple class act outfits that will do everything in their power to get you into the birds.  Call Eric at 701-230-9173 or visit his Website at ALL FLOCKED UP, we have hunted with Eric and he does a knock out job!  Accommodations for your stay can be booked at Woodland Resort as they feature a place to clean your birds after a day in the field.  The direct number for the resort is 701-662-5996 Ext. 1.

2017 Spring Coulee Fishing

The spring walleye run is fast approaching and there will be ample run off this year as we had a lot of snow in the northern reaches of the basin.  This means that the Walleyes will be running up-current to spawn.  This creates a spring opportunity to get in some simply awesome Walleye fishing.

We promote catching and releasing the bigger fish and only keeping enough to eat.  We know that some people have an ethical issue with the fact that our season stays open and that is a conversation for another day.  However, as long as it is open, the opportunity is there for you to continue fishing for Walleyes when other states have closed their seasons.  We offer you a simple guide to show you locations on the big lake itself and on the various coulees that feed the lake to try your luck at some simply Phenomenal Northern Pike and Walleye fishing in the months of March, April, and May!

Good Luck out there!

Hold On To Your Rod…

And…

CATCH MORE FISH!