I’m excited to bring some new fresh content to everyone starting this ice fishing season. I took a year off of making videos because quite frankly….I didn’t have the time. It takes a lot to film good content and then edit the videos in a timely manner.
This upcoming season I’m hope to bring you some awesome videos talking about fishing, different tactics we use and some great fish catches.
Here is the latest video prepping for the upcoming year.
Do you ever get lost? Do you ever forget? I feel like I have been lost the past few weeks.
I realized the last time I went fishing was Friday, September 4 which was over 3 weeks ago. I cannot tell you the last time I did not fish for three weeks.
So why haven’t I went fishing? I cannot honestly tell you why. It could revolve around number of factors…kids starting school or helping my wife with her new business (Chippy Chick Company). All I can tell you is that I’m lost without fishing.
You might say…just go fishing. That sometimes is easier said than done. I could go less than 5 minutes from my house, but the quality is just not there. I want quality damnit.
I have found that as of late I want to find the next honey-hole and the next big bass. It is kind of hard to do when you don’t have a boat sitting in your driveway. I do have the ability to take the old man’s boat, but it is 50 minutes from my house.
Ok…I’m tired of making excuses. You know what they say about excuses…everybody’s got one and they all stink.
What I do want to know, is if you’ve ever experienced this? This is one of the first times I’ve ever simply felt lost.
Since I am mostly rambling at this point…I know there is only one thing left to do. GO FISHING!
I’m hoping to be able to spend the months of October and November finding some new ponds/lakes as well as doing some river fishing. But until then…tight lines and good luck the next time you’re out on the water!
Every year, once the snow thaws and the ice melts, I try to make it a priority to fish new bodies of water. Whether it is looking at a recent fishing report or seeing posts from other anglers on social media, I’m always trying to find my next “honey hole”.
Earlier in the week I was planning to fish a lake that I’ve become familiar with the past few years, but found out there was a bass fishing tournament there. Out of respect to the tournament anglers I didn’t want to get in their way. So let the research begin. I didn’t want to travel over an hour or so from home. In comes Google and I find a new lake just 70 miles from home.
Now I begin debating and second guessing…should I go to a new lake or fish a familiar lake or not go at all. Well option three is already out, so now it’s go here or go there. I emailed the local DNR to ask a few questions, as well as reaching out to some anglers in the area. I also studied maps and came to the conclusion that I’m going to do this. I’m going to fish Hawthorn Lake just south of Barnes City.
Night before…back the boat in the drive after a long day of fishing with my dad, eat some dinner quick and then it’s preparing for a day of bass fishing. I had been walleye fishing so I had to rig up my bass arsenal.
After prepping, family time and winding down I hit the pillow. Before I know it the alarm is going off at 3:50 AM…man I was sleepy as I was up at 3:20 AM the day before. The older I get, 5 hours of sleep just doesn’t cut it. I do the normal routine (get dressed, pack some snacks) and finally hit the road.
Only 70 miles to go and at 4:30 AM interstate travel is great. I throw on some Tyler Childers and set the cruise…we’re rolling now. I arrive at the lake around 5:40 AM and find 5 bass boat trailers in the parking lot. To me this is a good thing because I know I’m in the right place. Boat in the water, I look at the map. Trying not to get in the way of any other fisherman I start fishing a point near the ramp. No bites yet I keep moving down the bank pitching my jig at brush and logs working my way to man-made fishing piers. There are 4 piers in a row. First pier, no fish…second pier, no fish. Finally on the third pier I hit a nice two pounder. This is encouraging because it’s always nice to get the skunk out of the boat. I fish around the area but no more fish.
I begin to survey the bay I’m in and notice some nice weed edges just across the way. I head on over, pitch the jig and nothing. Well since I have 6 rods/reels in the boat I have options. I pick up the spinning rod with a wacky-rigged Yamamoto Senko. First cast, second twitch…BOOM…fish on. The fish is fighting okay and then decides to jump. This is when my eyes get big and I realize it’s a nice fish. Not panicking, I get the bass boat side, lip her, and now she’s in the boat. Hook out, I grab the scale, 4.18 pounds. In my opinion, a 4 pound bass is good for anywhere, especially in Iowa.
So now the blood is pumping, have I developed a pattern…well two casts later I throw parallel with the weed edge and hook up with a nice 2 1/2 pounder. I follow the weed edge out and finish fishing the area. I want to learn more about the lake so I keep moving on.
Once I turn the corner I find the wind is stronger than expected. This may come into play when trying to fish main lake structures, but I’m stubborn and won’t let it stop me. Fishing around, I catch a few smaller fish, but I’m not happy. I want a big fish. I keep moving around learning the lake in search of bigger fish.
With the wind blowing 100 miles per hour…okay it was probably 10-15, but it felt like more. I come across an area I had marked on my map. After surveying around and getting in position, I make my first cast with a crank bait. Bang, fish on, rod bending…this is a bigger fish. As the fish gets closer to the boat it makes a good run and I got a short glimpse. I try to reposition myself to get ready to land the fish and…it’s gone. The fish comes off. Am I disappointed…of course I am, but it was also encouraging to know I was in an area that has potential to hold bigger fish.
As I move on down the line, I fish some more main lake structures. When I’m learning a new lake, I try to fish faster than normal, but this area was different so I spent more time trying different lures. I didn’t find another big fish, but ended up catching some small bass. I’d fish all day if I could, but I knew I had to get home and do “adult” things.
I make my way back to the boat ramp, smiling from ear to ear. I probably ended up catching 12 or so bass which isn’t setting the world on fire, but it’s something. It was an encouraging day at a new lake that I’m very excited to learn more about.
If your ever curious about fishing a new body of water, JUST FISH IT, you’ll never know unless you try. If you put in some extra time and do your research , more often than not you’re going to catch a few fish.
Thanks for a fun morning of fishing Hawthorn Lake…we’ll see you again!
Be sure to check out the Team OGTH apparel and social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) @TeamOGTH.
If you know me, you know I love sports and I love fishing. My “reel” job as the marketing director at the Iowa Games/Iowa Sports Foundation has allowed me to be part of the Iowa Games Big Fish Classic hosted by Midwest Game Fish. This event started in 2019 and was a great event for both bass and catfish. This year we decided to add a crappie division.
Last year’s tournament had 59 anglers in the bass division and 23 in the catfish division. Hourly payouts were given to the top 3 in each divisions. Over $3,600 was given in the payouts in addition to Bass Pro Shop gift cards for the biggest bass and biggest catfish.
Hourly Payout Example (50 Participants)
1st: $196.88
2nd: $56.25
3rd: $28.13
After 13 years with the Iowa Games, I was finally able to convince my superiors that we needed to do a fishing tournament. With the assistance of an old friend, Rob Welch of Midwest Game Fish, we were able to put together this tournament. With the success of the first year tournament, we are bringing it back in 2020. In addition to the bass and catfish divisions, we will be offering a crappie division.
DATE: Sunday, August 9, 2020
CHECK-IN: 5:30 AM, Honey Creek State Park Ramp
FISHING BEGINS: 7:00 AM
To learn more and register for the tournament, CLICK HERE.
I hope to see you at the lake on August 9. Who knows…maybe my boss will let me fish!
Just go to YouTube and search “ice shack modifications” and you will find hundreds of videos on what ice anglers to do modify their shack. I’ve had a few different shacks over the years and made several changes.
My current ice fishing shack/fish trap has been by far my favorite. It isn’t the biggest, but it is light and comfortable. I have owned this shack going on 3 seasons now and every year I’ve made slight modifications. I am now to the point where I feel I can fish comfortably and in style. I know next year there will be some new idea or product and I’ll have to make changes, but for now we’re good to go.
You can check out the modifications I’ve made to my Clam Nanook in the video below. Thanks for watching and I can’t wait for you to come along for the ride this ice fishing season!
I have been fortunate to work for the same nonprofit organization for the last 13 years. My “reel” job is fun, but if you know me, you know fishing is my passion.
When I first started I found out there was a pond within a few hundred steps from the back door. I fished it off and on over the course of 10 years and didn’t have much luck catching large fish. About three years ago I started fishing it more regularly, especially over my lunch break.
Jump ahead to this year and if you follow my social channels you see that I fish it at least once a week if not three times per week. I have found the “hot spots” and am very lucky to be able to spend my lunch breaks fishing.
On my side of the pond I’ve found every tree, stick or rock a fish could live on. In the spring I had good luck on blue/black jigs with a blue/black craw for a trailer. I’ve also come to love chatterbaits.
Throughout the summer, depending on the day, I continued to catch fish on a variety of baits including: lipless cranks, spinner baits, swim jigs and wacky rigged senkos.
More recently the fish are in a seasonal transition and I’ve had to slow things down with a Texas rigged craw and slow cranking a chatterbait.
Overall I’ve been really happy with how the fish in the pond have grown with plenty of bait fish like bluegill and crappie. As the fish slow down for the fall I look forward to catching some big mamas next spring.
Thanks for following along this spring and summer. I’m not giving up on fall fishing, but things may slow down.
In the meantime, enjoy these photos of my favorite fish, the largemouth bass, from April-September of this year!
One of the great things about fishing in the Des Moines River system is the chance to catch a variety of fish. From bluegill and bass to catfish and drum, they are live in the lakes and river and it seems like some days they will bite anything.
On this particular day my old man and I were targeting white bass (which are damn good to eat if you clean off the red meat), and we ended up finding some good size fish along with some nice channel catfish. We hadn’t had a day like this on this particular lake for a few maybe ten years. It was great to see the number of fish and see other boats catching fish.
We ended up cleaning 38 white bass and 5 catfish. That should give my old man a nice mess of fish to put in his freezer.
Check out the video below for the full day of fish catches!
I recently had the opportunity to take my good friend Mike and his son Hudson out on the boat for a day of bass fishing. I had been on the ice plenty of times with Hudson, but this was the first time in a boat. Let me tell you…this kid is a riot and one hell of a fisherman.
I’m not going to lie, he struggled a little bit when we first started. It got me thinking about when I first began bass fishing. Fishing with Texas-rigged baits and jigs is tougher than cranks. It takes a special skill and it is more of an art. Definitely something that takes practice and I’ve done it for nearly 30 years and I still miss fish. Needless to say, Hudson finally got the hang of it and it was awesome.
There is something about watching kids excel at something they love, and Hudson definitely loves fishing.
As the day went on he gained more confidence and was able to land some beautiful bass and caught a surprise walleye. Walleyes like bass jigs if you didn’t know that. At the end of the day both Mike and I were pumped for Hudson as he had caught is personal best largemouth bass and walleye.
Check out the video below and when you get the chance…TAKE A KID FISHING!
This is just insane. The fastest I can ever recall going in a boat was 75-80 mph, and at the age of 14 I thought was going to soil myself.
This is definitely something you shouldn’t try…leave it up to the experts.
[WARNING] there is some explicit language in the video
I haven’t been “up north” since 2002. As a kid we used to go to Canada with a big group fishing for a week. Mainly targeting walleyes, we usually spent a day “pike fighting” and I always looked forward to this particular day on our trip.
There is something about a northern pike that is scary and mean, yet graceful. I love throwing big baits to target these fish and was fortunate enough to land an 18 lb pike when I was 14. Since 2002, I haven’t had the chance to really target northern pike and would love a chance to.
This brings me to the In-Depth Outdoors Dream Trip Giveaway with James Holst which I have shared across my social channels. Catching one of these monsters would be an incredible experience and definitely a “dream trip”.
CLICK HERE to register for your chance to catch one of these monsters.
*photo and video courtesy of In-Depth Outdoors
Fishing Iowa and the Midwest 