The countdown to the 2010 World Ice Fishing Championship (WIFC) is underway. For the first time in the United States this prestigious tournament found a home in Rhinelander, WI March 12-14, 2010. Eleven countries will be represented when they take to the frozen waters of Boom Lake.

Similar in many ways to the Olympics, teams from around the world come together at the WIFC to compete for the championship title in both team and individual events. Each team consists of five anglers with one alternate, a captain and coach. Most teams will also bring support personnel, trainers and managers.

The 2010 USA Ice Team roster of six anglers was determined by a combination of selection and trial competition based on performance. The coaching staff selected two team veterans, while the four remaining roster spots were determined by performance in a series of trial tournaments designed to echo the conditions of the WIFC. The trial series’ final event was held on Lake Thompson over the weekend. Making the 2010 team are:

• Doug Bussian, Columbus, WI
• Mike Boedeker, Lansing, MI
• Tony Boshold, Carol Stream, IL
• Billy Whiteside, Eau Claire, WI
• Myron Gilbert, Brooklyn, MI
• Bob Esbensen, Palatine, IL

View Results »

The competitors will be joined by Coach Greg Wilcznski of Pleasant Prairie, WI, Team Captain Mike McNett of Lombard, IL, International Delegate Joel McDearmon of Tomah, WI and Technical Directors Christian Ward of Chaska, MN and Brian Gaber of Rhinelander, WI.

The tournament is a true test of one’s fishing skills, determination and endurance. The rules prohibit the use of power augers or electronics of any kind. The anglers must rely on intuition, research, experience and stamina to find and ultimately catch fish. The ice on Boom Lake will be over two feet thick, something the European teams are not accustomed to as hand augers have to be used. Champions are crowned after two grueling days of competition with placement based on the total weight of fish caught by each team. Each team member is given a number according to their placement for the day and each day’s numbers are added, determining the winner with the lowest number. Ties are broken by the heaviest combined weight in the tournament.

The countries represented include: Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Sweden, Canada and the USA. Panfish will be the target with only live bait allowed.

The WIFC is sponsored locally by Downtown Rhinelander, Inc., Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce and Rhinelander Room Tax Committee who’ve combined for a weekend celebration complete with a Parade of Nations, ice shanty pageant, live entertainment, kids fishing clinics and more. The festivities begin Friday afternoon (March 12) at 3:00.

For more information contact: Mike Michalak (715) 362-4778 or mike@northprovideo.com

Midwinter Crappies

At a trio of recent North American Ice Fishing Circuit tournaments two familiar themes persisted. Following the 2009 Championship and the season’s first qualifying event on Richmond Lake, South Dakota, successful anglers were the ones using a well-tuned sonar unit in conjunction with select jig-micro plastic combinations.

Little Lake Wissota, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin – Sunday, January 24

At Little Lake Wissota, as in previous events, adverse weather and fussy panfish were the dilemmas. For successful anglers, elite electronics and picky presentations provided the cure. Saturday, January 23, the eve of the tournament, a substantial rainshower washed the ice with up to three inches of standing water. Meanwhile, at pre-event activities, things were looking decidedly better. The Kids Ice Camp hosted a record 370 youth anglers and their parents for a total turnout of over 500 participants. Similarly, well-known anglers Tony Boshold and Jim Kusuda presented seminars to packed houses. Lots of learning was punctuated by a plentitude of fun. The friendly citizens of Chippewa Falls, as it turned out, provided for a pleasant, hospitable venue.

As Sunday morning dawned, competitors found themselves faced with rapidly dropping air temperatures, major wind changes and a switch from rain to snow. Predictably, the weather switch didn’t go unnoticed by the fish—what had previously been a steady bite quickly dissolved into a game of pulling panfish teeth.

Finding fish didn’t appear to be the issue. Most teams, it seemed, had fish on the screens of their flashers. Enticing them to bite, on the other hand, was the tricky part. Those anglers who did fool fish mostly caught bluegills only or exclusively crappies. By and large, the two species were using vastly divergent areas. In the deeper zones, crappies hid from most flasher signals within incredibly dense colonies of copepods, a common zooplankton specie known to nourish large panfish. Interestingly, competitors using MarCum flashers reported that they were able to use their units’ “fine line” function to tune out the zooplankton clutter, effectively separating the clouds from the bigger panfish. Users of other sonar brands appeared to encounter greater difficultly differentiating signals on the bottom.

Separately, local anglers Jim Geissler and Wes Schmidt had previously identified a number of premium shallower spots, whose fish were seemingly less affected by the pressure change. “We have a couple really productive cribs marked on our GPS,” said Geissler. “Our top spots are brush piles that lay up against a nice weedbed in 12 to 15 feet of water.” These areas, Geissler noted, held mostly bluegills.

“The ‘gills in these spots gather right along the edges of the cribs, and you’ve got to work them with your jig to get them to commit.” Geissler, who calls Wissota his favorite lake, reported that he and partner Schmidt worked tiny orange and silver-backed teardrop jigs tipped with two maggots. Occasionally, they switched over to a waxworm for particularly negative bluegills. “For us the key was to drop the jig to just above bottom, then keep the jig bouncing and moving constantly. You had to convince the fish to rise off bottom; once they came up 6-inches, they’d bite every time.”

Soon, having put seven ‘gills on the ice, the team opted to move over and chase crappies on one of their deepwater spots. Fishing a 27 to 30-foot soft-bottomed lake basin area, the duo enticed an additional six crappies. “I’m a minnow dunker,” reported Geissler. “We tried jigging the crappies first, but soon switched to a small plain hook with a split shot, and a small minnow. When crappies get tough, it’s hard to beat a live minnow on a plain hook.”

As late morning moved into afternoon, fish bit slightly better, though for most of the competitors, it was too late. The anglers who finally enticed bites and weighed fish mostly used fluorescent or glow colored jigs in the dingy water, relying on MarCum flashers to separate fish from the clutter that inundated bottom in most deeper locations.
At the weigh-in the difficult conditions were confirmed, as just over half of the talented field of anglers had scored fish. Geissler and Schmidt weighed thirteen panfish for 5.64-pounds, outdistancing the next closest team by six fish and nearly two pounds.

View results from Little Lake Wissota »

Hamlin Lake, Ludington, Michigan - Sunday, January 31

The scenic harbor town of Ludington played host to the next stop on the NAIFC trail. Set in a grand forested landscape that’s punctuated by Lake Michigan sand dunes, Hamlin Lake is nearly 5,000 acres of quality panfish water, stretching over twelve miles from end to end. Indeed, the biggest issue facing the ice-angling competitors wasn’t how to make them bite, but how to find fish within so much potentially productive water.

Having never fished the lake until this year, the father and son team of Steve and Brian Romsek spent four days prefishing the event. Ultimately, it was time well spent on the vast inland lake. “After a lot of searching we found good bluegills on a soft bottom flat in 18 feet of water,” said the younger Brian, a resident of Grand Rapids. “The spot was free of weeds, though not far removed from them. We specifically targeted ‘gills in the weed-free areas, because we felt most competitors would be crowded into these more popular spots.”

The strategy paid off, as the Romseks had their spot all to themselves on tournament morning. Like most of the topflight anglers, the team relied on tungsten jigs and micro plastics. “The best baits for the ‘gills were 4mm gold Fiskas jigs with a glow bead and dressed with a Little Atom glow Nuggie,” Romsek stated. “This presentation prevented the small perch and shiners from constantly taking us out of the game. We took a few nice ‘gills right away, then had to downsize to 3mm yellow Fiskas and add one or two spikes (maggots). We also had to really slow down our presentation. A few very slow pumps would bring fish in and up off the bottom, but you had to hold the bait almost motionless to trigger a strike.”

By ten o’clock, having waylaid a number of good ‘gills, the Romseks headed to one of their two crappie spots. “We had two big schools of crappies located that were suspended 4 to 8 feet off bottom over 30 feet of water.” After striking out on their first spot, the father-son team started triggering crappies on their backup location.

“By jigging aggressively above them, we were able to turn them on. Once we found the right jig stroke, it was one crappie after another.” By 12:30pm, by once again using 4mm Fiskas jigs with glow Nuggies, the Romseks had their fish, and started sorting through fish to upsize their crappie limit.

While presentation was important to triggering bites, the younger Romsek credited MarCum electronics for finding fish, and identifying the right ones. “With my LX-5 flasher I was able to differentiate the tiny perch and shiners from the larger panfish. The little fish were constantly pestering us, and having the ability to fine tune the flasher and ID the right fish saved a lot of time and hassle.”

Romsek also used electronics to find the team’s winning fish schools. “In prefishing we used a MarCum VS380 underwater camera to find our bluegills, and the flasher to identify suspended crappies while searching large basins. The camera was key for scouting the right bottom types, too.”

Back at the weigh-in, controversy stirred. The eventual third place team of Tony Boshold and Bob Horn were forced to forfeit 1.5 pounds of their weight due to a late arrival. So rather than ringing up a super impressive 9.22-pound bucket of slabs, “Team Prowler” finished just .12 pounds off the lead. Thanks largely to a beautiful 1.49-pound crappie, Brian and Steve Romsek weighed 7.84 pounds, a limit of both species, and the $2,800 first prize. Also notable was the 4th place finish of Jacek Gawlinski and Zibi Wojcik, who with just nine fish (including a 1.06 pound crappie) added to their lead in the coveted Team of the Year title.

After the event concluded Brian Romsek summarized the experience of an NAIFC win. “Although we’re new to fishing NAIFC tournaments, we were able to apply much of our experience with salmon tournaments on Lake Michigan. A lot of the planning, prefishing, equipment prep, as well as the mental preparation and fishing strategies are quite similar. Ultimately, I really think these lessons helped us be successful.”

View results from Hamlin Lake »

Delavan Lake, Delavan, Wisconsin - Sunday, February 7

Following the 2009 NAIFC Championship and several qualifying events, the two dominant themes remained—choice jig-plastics combinations and elite electronics. At Delavan Lake, the “themes” continued. This time, it was the anglers themselves. Last year’s NAIFC event at the same venue found the Illinois team of Mark Bauer and Dale Erath at the top of the podium. On Sunday, February 7, the team reclaimed their title, an impressive repeat performance that’s even more remarkable given the high talent level among the sixty competing teams.

Delavan Lake in southeastern Wisconsin offers over 2,000-acres of prime crappie and trophy bluegill water. Leading up to the event, anglers eagerly anticipated excellent fishing, and a shot at some of the more impressive weights on the NAIFC trail. Delavan is a topnotch fishery that presented competitors with a wonderful variety of potential winning tactics. From shallow sight fishing with underwater cameras to long rod tightlining, anglers weighed limit after limit, buckets filled with 8-inch plus bluegills and a few giant crappies.

Like a lot of other teams in the field, Bauer and Erath spent an appreciable amount of time drilling holes and scanning for fish and bottom content through the lens of an underwater camera. The pair’s efforts were rewarded, as their Aqua-Vu camera uncovered an impressive school of fish. “We targeted 5 to 6-foot sand flats where weeds were absent,” reported Bauer. “There were plenty of fish in the weeds, no question, but the weed fish were tougher to coax into biting. On the open sand areas, there were a lot of pike and bass cruising around, which kept panfish on the move. We fished fast from hole to hole, and when you put the bait in front of a bluegill, they’d usually eat right away. They had to bite when an opportunity presented itself, and I think the pike and bass kept them aggressive.”

The team, who both live about an hour from Delavan Lake in northern Illinois, used long rods to tightline tiny jigs in water as shallow as three feet. “We really like using vertical hanging jigs with tiny plastic tails. Black, hot pink and red Fiskas jigs worked best. We dressed them with special wedge shaped plastic tails made by Joe Moreau—they’re some of the sweetest plastics we’ve found. The jig hangs vertical, but we rigged the plastic tail in different positions, from horizontal to about a 45-degree angle. The other key was to use 2-pound test P-Line, which seems to have less memory than other monofilament lines. This gives us more direct contact with the jig. We just kept hopping from hole to hole until we piled up our fish.”

Bauer describes the winning presentation: “We like to jiggle and shake the lure as it falls, and when it rises. Just keep the jig moving, quivering all the time. You want to keep the fish aggressive, and to activate the reluctant ones. Best way to do this is to continually play around with little kicks, nods and shakes of the plastic tail.”

Once the team had their crappies, they moved to a super shallow three to four foot channel area to upgrade their bluegills. “At one point, we had a bunch of competitors sort of surrounding us. With the ten-foot rule, we were forced into just a few holes each, which greatly limited our mobility. Fortunately, we were able to adjust and put a few more nice fish on the ice.”

The final tally reflected an excellent bite, as a majority of teams weighed limits of both crappies and bluegills. Separating the top five from the rest of the pack were individual pound-plus kicker fish that anchored the top weights. Bauer and Erath claimed Big Fish honors, having iced a 1.19-pound crappie. Beyond choice locations and specific jig-plastic combos, several of the top teams also noted the importance of an underwater camera. The fifth place team of Kevin Fassbind and Nick Smyers used a MarCum camera to sight-fish for the bigger bluegills and crappies, observing light bites that would have otherwise been tricky to detect. Lessons learned.

View results from Delavan Lake »

With just one more qualifying event, at Lake Thompson, Wisconsin on Sunday, February 21, anglers will be vying for remaining slots in the 2010 NAIFC Championship. In the Team of the Year race, the Polish team of Jacek Gawlinski and Zibi Wojcik maintains a solid, though tenuous lead over such notables as Bussian/Whiteside and Boshold/Horn.

NAIFC Goes Global

Japan is coming to the NAIFC!

Lombard, IL – Just when we thought things were nice and predictable, SURPRISE!!! The NAIFC is going Global with Ice Fishing education, tournaments and media coverage. On Thursday, February 4th two (2) Japanese reporters will be flying into Minneapolis Airport. There will be an interpreter with them as well as a three (3) person production crew. Their goal is to enter “winter” contests in the United States and they would like to take part in one or more ice fishing tournaments.

Jack Baker and daughter Grete, along with other NAIFC Pro-staff will show the Japanese crew how to fish Friday and Saturday, and they will compete at the Delavan NAIFC Qualifier on Sunday the 7th. They may also compete in Rhinelander on Lake Thompson. Feb 21st!

Following the meet-and-greet at the Minneapolis International Airport, the Bakers and NAIFC Crew will guide our guests to Thorne Brothers Sporting Goods in Blaine, Minnesota for fishing licenses and needed equipment. The Japanese film crew will be capturing every aspect of the adventure, including shooting a segment about buying what gear they need and experienced ice fishers know Thorne Bros as a top supplier of most brands and the best gear.

The film for the entire sequence of events will be aired on TBS/Japan and will be billed as
“Sanma no Karakuri TV” airs every Sunday from 7:00 to 8:00 pm and has an average of 20 million viewers nationwide! It is one of the most popular entertainment programs on TBS. Check out TBS/Japan at this website: http://www.tbs.co.jp/eng/

Don’t get left in the slush! This is a huge opportunity to get the word out for ice fishing and also a tremendous exposure for sponsor products.

For more information on this exciting event or to learn how to be a NAIFC sponsor, contact NAIFC Director Mike McNett, (847) 514-4763, mike.mcnett@naifc.com

Eric Wolfe Proves It

Harrisburg fisherman uses technology (and a little luck) to chase a spot on Team USA for world championships

Harrisburg, SD - In the world of competitive ice fishing, Team USA could use a little help in getting its word out.

Eric Wolfe of Harrisburg is doing his part.

The tournament ice fisherman and his angling partner, Travis Bell, recently qualified for the national championships through the North American Ice Fishing Circuit. The tour’s top prize is $100,000.

Wolfe also is fishing to win a spot in the World Ice Fishing Championship on March 12-14 in Rhinelander, Wis.

Just five ice fishermen will represent Team USA in the contest. It’s only the second year the U.S. will have sent a team to the event - and the first time it’s been contested on American ice.

It’s us against the world - and the world, especially Eastern Europe, is serious about this competition.

“All the teams come with coaches and equipment managers,” Wolfe says. “The Russians come with their own scientists to test the water.”

Good thing Wolfe lives to ice fish.

“It’s a chess match, along with a fishing tournament,” Wolfe says. “I like the outdoors; I hunt for deer and pheasant. But when it gets cold, I put up the deer rifle and file the turkey tags I didn’t use and wait for the ice. Summer fishing, man that makes for a long day. But winter fishing, you feel fresh when you come off the ice - fresh enough to want to take your wife out for a night on the town.”

But competitive ice fishing? Seriously?

Sure.

In a crazy sports world that follows plenty of fringe activities, pro ice fishing is an extension of friendly wagering found among friends sitting in shacks pulling perch, crappie, walleye and bluegill from a hole in the ice.

In other words, an everyman sport for the masses.

“Yeah, I know it’s kind of a niche sport, like darts or pro bowling,” says Wolfe, who owns Simply Superior Lawn. “It’s not like pro football or baseball. But in ice fishing, everyone has a chance to beat me. I want people to try. Think of it - people can spend as little as $100 on equipment and still be on Team USA.”

And with its own television reality series - “Ice Men” on Versus - ice fishing is ready for prime-time exposure.

Especially when it comes to the world championships.

“Hey, I tell you what, I’m the first one to wave the flag,” says Jack Baker, vice president of operations for the North American Ice Fishing Circuit. “This is an honor - I get goosebumps just talking about it. The world is very serious about this and to go up against the best, you can’t help but be proud.”

So does Wolfe have what it takes to represent the U.S. against the world on Wisconsin ice?

“With his attitude and his execution, and what I saw in Aberdeen (at a qualifying tournament), Eric has what it takes,” Baker says. “I believe he was the only one who took the time to learn the rules and knew what he was supposed to be doing out there on the ice.”

Wolfe got his start ice fishing like a lot of South Dakotans - his father took him out once with an auger and a mini rod and reel.

Four years ago, he got serious.

“I got a Vexilar,” he says, pointing to the embroidered logo on his heavy red-and-black winter jacket. “You know, underwater sonar. That changed everything.”

In the bed of Wolfe’s pickup rests everything he needs to fish: An all-terrain vehicle, portable shelter, heater, sonar, underwater camera and his fishing gear. And since he’s in the lawn-care business, he’s got plenty of time to pursue his passions.

“I spray lawns all summer, I spray trees,” he says. “I still have to work in the winter, but maybe three days a week. That leaves time for me to practice. You’d like to think this could be the thing, a way to make a living. But for right now, I’ve definitely spent more money on ice fishing than I’ve won.”

It also helps to marry someone who totally supports - and understands - your passions.

Three years ago today, Wolfe married his wife, Kristina, in Sioux Falls.

That morning, Wolfe and a groomsman were on Lake Sinai near Brookings, entered in a fishing a tournament.

“I made it to the wedding on time, but I’m sure there was some nail-biting at the church,” he says, laughing. “We did take two vehicles, just in case something happened, so we could abandon one vehicle and still make it.”

Wolfe says Kristina’s support - and that of their children, Patience, 13, Braden, 10, and Skyler 9 - has never wavered.

“She still comes to tournaments and even when it’s below zero, she’ll watch from shore,” he says. “My kids, they love to fish. We’re a fish-eating family - well, we have to be. But if there’s not that support at home, it just doesn’t work.”

His passion exposed Wolfe to local True Ice tournaments, which were created by the state’s ice anglers to highlight South Dakota lakes. True Ice led Wolfe to the NAIFC - and now a shot at the world championships and the coveted Team USA berth.

“I’m pretty proud of him,” says Jay Butler, one of the founders of True Ice. “He’s got a great opportunity to do this. He beat some pretty good sticks to get where he’s at. There’s some skill and there’s some luck. And this year, it seems Eric has both. But it also helps that he’s very competitive.”

On Saturday, Wolfe fished Island Lake west of Colton, just trying to find his groove.

The world championship format frowns on powered augers, sonar, cameras, ATVs, shelters and even certain jigs. It’s you, a hand auger, your gear and a sled in one of five zones etched out on the ice that anglers are assigned to during the two-day tournament.

“I call it ‘fishing naked,’ compared to what I’m used to,” Wolfe says. “But without the equipment, you get a feel for the basics again.”

Wolfe says he feels pretty good about his chances for a slot on the national team. But he also knows the fickleness of sitting over a rod on a frozen Midwest lake, waiting for a bite.

“The Dakotas, for ice fishing, it’s a real powerhouse,” he says. “The guys around here can fish - I may get caught, I may not make it. But I just want to help show that us Dakota boys can fish.”

Midwinter Catch

This ice fishing season has been anything but normal with the amount of early snowfall much of the ice belt received. Due to this heavy coating of snow, the timeframe for the midwinter bite has been pushed up by several weeks. While most anglers generally consider midwinter to be a bad time to be out on the ice, it can pay huge dividends for those anglers who know how to follow the fish as opposed to sitting on community holes vying for inactive fish. Here are some tips to avoid those “midwinter doldrums”.

Many anglers head out to deep basin areas almost as soon as the early ice bite begins to taper off. Often this results in large shanty towns and anglers competing for a limited number of small to medium sized fish. With this amount of pressure in confined areas, these fish, which were inactive to begin with, will become increasingly negative. I still don’t understand why most anglers assume that all fish in the winter will be suspended over deep basins. While this is the case for some fish, the most aggressive, and usually the largest, fish will stay in shallower water even after the weeds begin to die off. While they will vacate the areas they inhabited at first ice, they generally will not stray far.

The best areas I have found for midwinter fishing is mid-depth flats. These areas are generally 7-15 feet in depth and will have large areas of soft bottom. The soft bottom is important in that it will hold a large amount of biomass, such as macroinvertebrates and other aquatic larvae. This is the time of year when many of the insects that will hatch in the spring and summer begin to reach larval stages and move around, making them an easy meal for fish. With the abundance of good maps ranging from the DNR to GPS chips, it should take an angler long to find a flat that is close to where weeds would grow in the summer.

The next step is to drill holes in a grid pattern and find the soft bottom using a flasher. It’s surprising the amount of anglers who don’t know how to use their flashers to read bottom makeup. As a rule with flashers, the thicker and more red the bottom signal is, the harder the bottom; so a very narrow band would indicate a soft bottom. Good areas to target on flats are transition areas, such as when soft bottom becomes hard bottom, the deep edge of the flat, and any green weeds that may still be standing. One weed to specifically look for this time of year is Curly-leaf pondweed. This species of vegetation often comes out of dormancy before others, often as early as late January into mid-February and fish will begin to use it as soon as it greens up.

Because fish are actively seeking out aquatic insects, plastics are a great bait at this time of year. I prefer to start my fishing with a Lindy Fatboy paired with either a Micro-mino or a Munchies split-tail. The fish are often on the move requiring a jig that gets down to fish fast before they have the opportunity to move on. When you can get one fish to bite on a flat, others will be attracted to the commotion, so getting a jig back down to the fish before they can leave is huge. This is one of the major advantages of using plastics, not having to rebait! Not only does it save your fingers on those cold days, but it can also mean the difference between 1 fish out of a hole and 4 fish.

Next time you head out don’t waste your time in that pile of fish houses over the deep hole. Get yourself a good lake map and drill some holes over a flat. Not only will you likely find some aggressive panfish, you may just happen into a true trophy!

Glenn Delorme Jr. and Brock Baldweg

Big panfish and “ten year snowstorm” greet anglers at Richmond Lake event

By Ted Pilgrim

Aberdeen, SD – Just in time for the recent NAIFC Qualifying Tournament on Richmond Lake, South Dakota, Mother Nature delivered what officials dubbed “the ten year snowstorm.” Wind, cold, heavy snow and classic coldfront conditions met competitors, many of whom had never fished the lake before, during the January 10 ice fishing tournament.

Thankfully, despite the adverse conditions, competitors were pleasantly surprised with the quality of fish available. Unfortunately, another problem emerged. Due to the excess of snow and slush on the lake, tournament fishermen couldn’t access many of the best spots. Some anglers had located large panfish in impressive numbers during prefishing, but poor conditions kept them from reaching their honey holes on tournament day. Noteworthy is that in 2011, the anglers will get another crack at the lake’s secrets; NAIFC officials have already scheduled a follow up event here.

Richmond Lake is a long narrow 830-acre reservoir on the Foot Creek in northeastern South Dakota. Constructed in 1938, the Richmond Lake dam created a waterbody whose maximum depth is approximately 28 feet, with an average of nearly 15 feet. As with most reservoirs completed during this period, obstructions in the new lakebed were removed, resulting in a relatively featureless underwater landscape. To enhance fish habitat, a walleye club placed several hundred conifer trees into Richmond Lake about a decade ago. While some of the sunken trees reportedly attract panfish during certain yearly periods, these cover objects did not ultimately figure into the strategies of anglers.

Instead, most of the successful teams fished main lake points that tapered into 15 to 20 feet of water. Among them were Glen Delorme and Brock Baldweg, who had traveled to Richmond from the Devils Lake region in North Dakota. “We basically just skipped from point to point,” said Delorme, a former professional fishing guide. “During prefishing, we found one spot that was loaded with fish. I drilled two holes there, my flasher light up with activity, and we left it alone for the tournament.”

“Our snowmobile made a big difference, letting us run all over the lake to check spots,” he continued. “We were hoping to find some weeds on the points, but struck out. Luckily, though, it only took about ten holes to find our fish. On Sunday, we quickly caught nearly our limits of both crappies and sunfish in shallower water near the point. But we soon realized that the bigger crappies, as well as the bluegills were deeper, in about 19-feet, near the middle of the basin.”

Despite the miserable wind and cold, Delorme and Baldweg stayed aggressive with their presentation, even while other anglers approached the situation like the severe coldfront it was. “We fished 1/8-ounce pink-blue-white Jig-A-Whopper jigs tipped with a single wax worm. Using 2-pound test with a spring tip on our St. Croix rods, we were able to play cat and mouse, making the aggressive crappies chase, while toning it down for the more reluctant bluegills.”

Applying their knowledge of panfish in similar prairie reservoirs, the team went on to win the event convincingly, weighing a limit of eight crappies and eight sunfish for 8.46-pounds. In second place was the team of Todd Waagmeester and Terry Dvoracek of Sioux Falls, who also weighed the maximum 16 fish limit, finishing with 7.7-pounds.

Like many of the anglers, these longtime ice tournament competitors were pleasantly surprised both by the size and quality of Richmond’s panfish. Biologists noted that Richmond hosts the highest density of crappies in South Dakota, while big numbers of 8 to 9-inch sunfish abound, as well.

Coming in for another strong finish was the perennially dangerous team of Jacek Gawlinski and “Zibi” Wojcik. The native Poles, known for their prowess with microscopic tungsten jigs and tiny plastics, felt they had found the tournament winning spot in prefishing. However, problems with their ATV prevented them from reaching their ace locations on Sunday. This kept them on foot for the second straight event.

Their nearby “backup” spot was a point and two inside turns in 18 to 20 feet of water. “We found that the ‘gills were glued to the bottom,” said Gawlinski, “But our MarCum LX-5 let us zoom in and separate them, which allowed us to identify them and coax them to bite. We used special Swarowski Crystal jigs in a glow pattern on 3-pound test Sunline Fluorocarbon. For bluegills, we tipped the jig with a single wax worm, while a glow red Little Atom Macro Nuggie accounted for our crappies.

“The crappies were very aggressive, you just had to keep them chasing the jig up. The ‘gills, on the other hand, were so finicky that any little change in action spooked them. Just a very steady, almost deadstick approach caught most of the bluegills.” With another 16 fish limit, Gawlinski and Wojcik weighed 7.54 pounds for a solid third place finish.

“It was some of the toughest conditions we’ve ever fished in,” Gawlinksi reported. “Two of my fingers got nipped by frostbite—sure hope they work before our next tournament.” Judging by their consistently high finishes (including a recent 6th in the NAIFC Championship), it’s a good bet their competitors are praying for a slightly slower recovery.

Next stop on the 2010 NAIFC Tournament season—Little Lake Wissota, Wisconsin, Sunday, January 24.

http://lrn2fish.com/

There have been countless articles written, numerous how-to videos and television programs produced along with hundreds of Internet forums started since the revolution of the modern ice fishing movement began. And each concept and idea all revolved around one underlying theme in common: to make those who search, read or look become a better angler. And to date, thousands of anglers have benefited and curbed their itch to learn more about how to catch fish from each one of these media sources. But, still, some anglers wanted more: a practical hands-on approach of showing them how to put what they just read or seen into action.

Enter the realm of Lrn2Fish, The World Most Foremost Authority on Fishing Education. Seeing this need in the angling community, founder Jim Hudson, produced a series of cutting edge schools to accomplish what those anglers wanted. Schools that were designed to incorporate specific curricula for the best fishing destinations and taught by the brightest minds in the fishing industry. Also, each was designed to teach both the newest and most anglers, alike. To date, these schools, both open water and ice fishing related, have brought students to a one to one level with the likes of Dave Genz, Gary Parsons, Pete Maina, Keith Kavajecz, and a host of other fishing icons on bodies of waters like Mille Lacs, Green Bay, Leech Lake, and Lake Superior. Lrn2Fish has become an “extraordinary experience” along with a “must do” from those who have attended!!

For 2010 Lrn2Fish has five different schools anglers can choose from:

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Results on a tough bite

Tips on overcoming a finicky bite

The most frustrating thing in ice fishing is knowing you are on fish and seeing them on your flasher or underwater camera, but not being able to get them to bite. Through the course of a winter I encounter this quite often on the metro lakes I fish. Often times it is caused by fishing pressure due to the lake being popular or heavily fished due to a tournament, but it can also be caused by changes in weather patterns. Many anglers either immediately switch to micro presentations or throw in the towel all together. However, in tournament situations, giving up really isn’t a viable option, so I have been forced to come up with a variety of different tactics for catching these inactive fish.

One of the most important things to consider when targeting neutral or negative fish is how your jig appears in the water. Often times fish haven’t completely shut down, they simply want something presented in a very specific way. More often than not this means a horizontal presentation. While fish can be caught on vertical presentations when they are actively feeding, switching to a horizontal presentation is sometimes the only way to catch them. I have had days when my jig being off horizontal by 10 degrees would make the fish ignore my offering altogether. The best way to ensure your jig fishes properly is to view it in water before you get on the ice. Whether it be by putting it in a bucket of water, or the tank on the back of the toilet, knowing how your jig will sit in the water with different knots, plastics, jigging motions, etc. is invaluable.

My favorite knot for ice fishing is the improved clinch knot. It tightens up against the eyelet of the jig and allows me to adjust how the lure sits in the water. This is very helpful in that not every lure will sit horizontal when the knot is straight up off the eyelet.

An important thing to pay close attention to is the diameter of your line. If you are using too heavy of a line, there will be loose coils between your rod tip and the jig. This can cause missed fish due to light bites not being felt at the rod tip or seen on a spring bobber.

The fish will sometimes bite light enough to only take the slack out of the line but no move a spring bobber. With today’s modern reels and advancements in line strength 1 to 2lb test is not too light with a proper drag setting, and will allow almost any jig to tighten the line.

While a horizontal presentation is the first thing I will try during a light bite, it doesn’t mean it is the only one that will work. I have had fish that will be picky enough to choose only a strictly vertical presentation as well. Sometimes they even want a presentation that is at an angle. This is why one of my rods is always rigged up with a Lindy Genz Bug. The jig is designed in such a way that by rotating my knot, I can adjust from vertical to horizontal or anything in between in a matter of seconds instead of having to retie with numb fingers. Another variation I was shown by one of the NAIFC competitors was the verti-zontal presentation. This consists of a vertical jig with a plastic such as a Micro-Mino half threaded onto the hook so that the plastic stays horizontal. The tail moves quite a bit with even the slightest quiver of the rod tip when rigged this way.

Another thing to consider is how to jig the lure. A lot has been said about how an angler should or shouldn’t jig. For me though, I always start with a pound of some sort. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the pound, it is achieved by pounding down the tip of your rod like you would with a hammer but on a much smaller scale. You are trying to get the jig to almost rock, where the head of the jig stays almost still but the plastic or bait bucks around like the lure is trying to swim. This will often get the most inactive fish to commit when done long enough. Sometimes the pound should be interrupted with a rip of the rod tip, or even a dead stop. The pound will lure the fish in, and the fact that something changes will cause the fish to react. One of my favorite ways to jig when fish are inactive however, is to swim the jig. This is basically a much slowed down version of the pound, but there are times when pounding a jig is often too much for the fish and they will scare away from too much action. Let your flasher dictate what kind of jigging motion to use. And if a fish is coming in, don’t change or pause unless the fish has been at your bait for several seconds.

The best advice I can give any angler when they encounter inactive fish is to move, somewhere on that body of water, there is a fish or group of fish that is active and it does you no good to sit on the inactive ones and waste your time. There are times though, that moving to find active fish is not feasible. Such as tournaments where the boundaries are limited, or there are areas of unsafe ice. Give these tactics a try the next time you find yourself on a finicky bite, they may just turn some of those sniffers into biters.

Warrior Fishing

Top ice anglers tackle interesting challenges at the 2009 NAIFC Championship

By Ted Pilgrim

2009 NAIFC Championship Results

Rhinelander, WI – Reluctantly biting fish and the need for well-tuned electronics—everywhere lakes freeze, these two themes often figure largely into the schemes of ice anglers. So it was during the 2009 North American Ice Fishing Championship.

Eighty four of North America’s top ice angling teams converged on Boom Lake, Wisconsin last weekend to test their skills against both selective fish and tricky winter conditions. At stake, $25,000 cash and the right to be called Ice Fishing Champions.

Over the course of the 2009 NAIFC tournament season, teams had fished seven regional events which ultimately determined qualifiers for the big show. Returning for another run at the title were such notable teams as Boshold-Horn, Young-Boedeker, and Pikulski-Gilbert, who had competed in previous championships. As it turned out, each would again play a prominent role in the final standings.

Boom Lake is a 2,200 acre flowage on the Wisconsin River harboring a maximum depth of just over 30-feet. Although the lake’s topography is largely composed of vast areas of uniform depth, anglers often target weedflats, rock edges and manmade sunken cribs when hunting bluegills and black crappies—target species of NAIFC anglers. Each of the two tournament days (Saturday, December 19 and Sunday, December 20) teams were allowed to weigh up to eight crappies and eight sunfish. For most teams, this proved a daunting task, for no one weighed 16 fish both days.

At the rules meeting on Friday, competitors were surprised to learn that they would have to walk to their spots. Having gauged the ice conditions in many locations as fair at best, NAIFC Tournament Series President Jack Baker made the wise, albeit difficult decision to ban motorized vehicles, particularly given the large number of ATVs likely to appear in small fishing areas. “With a lot of slushy spots, as well as limited ice thickness in some areas, I think this was the best decision for the safety of everyone,” stated Baker.

Ultimately, the move affected strategies of many teams, and yet, the top teams adjusted, and made the most of an opportunity. Going in, some competitors believed that the best spots lay in the river system itself. But because these areas were deemed out-of-bounds, other plans were made.

On day one, it was a foot race to one or two key fishing areas. The first teams out of the shoot set up and began drilling in patterns that would allow for at least limited mobility within the crowd of competitors. At the weigh-in, the famed Michigan duo of Mike Boedeker and Dave Young arrived with thirteen fish weighing 4.94-pounds, including a 1.15-pound crappie. The weight was enough to hold a slim lead over ace NAIFC anglers Jacek Gawlinski and “Zibi” Wojcik, who put together one of the only two daily limits. In the mix were the illustrious “Ice Trollers”— the team of Joe Pikulski and Myron Gilbert, who had won the event in 2008. Landing the only other limit of the day was Team Prowler—Tony Boshold and Bob Horn, weighing a 4.5-pound bucket of panfish for a fourth place position.

While the majority of teams set up shop in the community hole, coaxing every little bite with the greatest of concentration, there were a few, such as Pikulski and Gilbert, who followed their “ice trolling” mantra, drilling loads of holes in search of roaming fish. Key areas seemed to be the subtle rims of holes in the basin; most of them dropping no more than a few feet below the surrounding terrain. Another active team was newcomers Roy Mutter and Myron Gilbert, Jr. This rookie duo reportedly drilled 400 to 500 holes each day, focusing on 26 to 30 foot edges in the middle of the lake. Targeting crappies only, Mutter and Gilbert finished day one with eight slabs but no sunfish, landing them solidly in the top ten.

Beyond the ultra-finicky panfish bite (nearly one third of the teams drew a day one blank), one recurrent theme revolved, literally, around flasher dials. With scores of teams all fishing within earshot, transducer signals from competing flashers rendered many units unreadable. Several anglers noted that they were able to minimize on-screen interference by dropping their transducer as deep as possible, beneath the “noise.” Most, however, quickly realized that certain flasher units were better at dealing with the interference.

“It was pretty obvious that the power of the MarCum units were taking most of the other flashers out of the game,” noted Joe Pikulski. “A lot of guys just couldn’t tune out all the clutter on their screen, and couldn’t read their jig or the fish, and in some cases, even the bottom.” Fortunately for anglers such as Pikulski, as well as the contending teams of Young-Boedeker and Boshold-Horn, MarCum LX-5 units seemed capable of tuning out much of the interference, and keeping visible their jig and the fish. “This event was a real eye-opener for some of the teams, as far as electronics go,” stated Boshold. “I think some of these guys would have finished higher if they’d have been using different units. The guys using MarCums definitely had an advantage—we could continue to see what was happening below, despite all the transducers.”

Among the various teams operating within the confines of the crowd were the “Michigan Tightliners,” Dave Young and Mike Boedeker. The superior presentation skills of these two ice veterans proved an advantage over others, as they made the most of each and every bite. “We found the spots last year and did well there this year, too,” said Young. “They’re basically two humps, and we fished the 24 to 28-foot edges. With all the other anglers around it was tricky for most to keep their flasher working, but Mike (Boedeker) and I were able to tune out enough of the noise to still read our jigs on our MarCums. That was huge.

“It got so crowded at one point that we were literally forced to fish just one hole,” Young recalled. Tournament rules dictate that anglers must maintain at least ten feet of space between themselves at all times, a statute that was tested to the max. With so many anglers vying for vital fish-holding real estate, competition for spots and bites became increasingly stressful.

While this became a huge burden for most anglers, Young used his finely-honed tightlining skills to turn it into an advantage. “The key for me was to fish a little spoon-type jig that represents a perch eye. It’s real similar to a Northland Eye-Dropper jig— basically a small Colorado blade with a big eyeball painted on it, and a hook. The thing flutters really nicely in the water. I lightly hooked a single wax worm onto the jig through the head, then squeezed it to get the good juices to ooze out. I fished this jig 2 to 6-inches off bottom for the bluegills. They were really spooky. On day two, I had just one bite, but I made it count. Mike got eight. That’s why it’s nice to have a partner who can fish.”

Their second day efforts proved noble, though the results netted a weight that fell just five one-thousandths of an ounce short of the title. For the second straight year, Young and Boedeker settled for a hard-fought second place finish.

If Young and Boedeker were trapped in their spot by surrounding anglers, defending champions Pikulski and Gilbert at times encountered the opposite problem. A separate NAIFC rule states that team members must remain within 30 yards of each other at all times. While Gilbert speed-drilled holes, Pikulski followed, checking for key depths and fish presence on his MarCum LX-5.

“We started in a deepwater spot we found the year before, and bumped into some bluegills,” reported Pikulski. “We were the first team in there, and caught eleven crappies and a few bluegills. Later, we kind of got pushed off, and we started ice trolling. Luckily, on day two we pulled five fish off our first spot. Our go-to bait was a #3 Fiskas Wolfram jig tipped with a waxworm. Glow-white with red eyes was our best color.”

With just three days to prefish, the Ice Trollers notched a respectable third place finish, weighting 6.75-pounds total. Although they finished in a dead-heat with Bill Whiteside and Jim Siebert, Pikulski and Gilbert won the third place tiebreaker, having caught the heavier “big fish” on day one.

While most of the teams were elbowing for position and select bites, Roy Mutter and Myron Gilbert Jr. had broken free of the crowd, ripping holes as if their quarry were liquid gold. Further, a connection with Gilbert’s father, defending champion Myron Gilbert Sr., appeared to pay dividends. “We were ‘ice trolling’ in 26 to 30-feet in the middle of the basin,” stated Gilbert Jr.’s partner, Roy Mutter, referring to the high-mobility method of Pikulski and Gilbert Sr. “One guy would drill, while the other would check the flasher for crappies. When we’d mark fish, we’d drop down a #5 Fiskas jig dressed with a Little Atom Giant Nuggies plastic tail in glow green. The fish were usually a couple feet off bottom, but we wanted to get them to chase the bait up slightly; they weren’t real aggressive. We’d lower the jig to just above their heads, and just keep on pounding it to get the fish to chase.”

Chase they did, for on day two, the young anglers from Onsted, Michigan scored ten more respectable panfish. The efforts paid off—a consistent, gut-it-out performance in ultra-tough conditions; enough for a two day total of 7.27-pounds and the North American Ice Fishing Championship.

Two critical lessons emerged. One method involves fishing in proven spots among throngs of competing anglers. During the Championship, this approach required the utmost in fine-tuned presentation skills, as well as the right electronics to precisely interpret what was happening below.

Or, you simply zig when others zag. Just plain cover water—get out and systematically drill and fish through as much fish-holding territory as possible. In the end, both systems produced. It’s a story likely to repeat itself in many respects, as these anglers gather again to kick off the 2010 North American Ice Fishing Circuit.

By Kevin Boneske
RHINELANDER DAILY NEWS STAFF

Ice anglers from New England to the Dakotas are expected to be in Rhinelander next week when the North American Ice Fishing Circuit (NAIFC) National Ice Fishing Championship takes place on Boom Lake.

Brian Gaber, a local coordinator for the event, said the invited teams eligible for the championship have been competing in a series of qualifying tournaments.

He also noted 90 two-person teams are expected to participate when the competition takes place the weekend of Dec. 19-20, with each team able to weigh in up to eight bluegills and eight crappies on each day of the tournament.

While Boom Lake already had “four solid inches” of ice before several inches of snow fell this week, Gaber said the ice thickness will be checked again in the days leading up to the championship to determine whether the competitors will be allowed to go on the ice from Hodag Park with all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles, or only be able to access Boom Lake on foot.

He said fishing on the lake will take place each day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. with the weigh-in starting at 3 p.m. on those days at the Northwoods Banquet Center (Taj Mahal).

Gaber said the public is invited to watch the fishing take place and also be on hand for the weigh-ins, with the team having the most total weight of fish for the two days ending up the winner.

He noted the competitors are allowed to catch up to the daily bag limit of fish, but may only weigh in eight crappies and eight bluegills per team, per day.

During the competition, he said the two members on each team won’t be allowed to fish more than 30 paces away from each other, and can’t fish within 10 paces of another team.

Gaber said the competitors will be able to “pre-fish” anywhere on Boom Lake the day of Dec. 18, when a rules meeting for the ice anglers will take place that evening before the competition begins.

To lead up to the NAIFC National Ice Fishing Championship, a free ice fishing seminar for adults and children is planned for Dec. 17 from 6 to7 p.m. at Shoeder’s RV and Marine.

Gaber said a seminar sponsored by Shoeder’s RV and Marine and Walmart will feature the “Godfather of Ice Fishing,” Dave Genz, to present techniques and systems he’s developed through decades of experience, along with a demonstration for kids and free items for youngsters.

With the competitors staying at lodging facilities in the area, the Rhinelander Room Tax Committee has committed $15,000 this year to sponsor the championship, said Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kim Swisher.

She said the Rhinelander area has several lakes that are well-suited for ice fishing, while Hodag Park is a great place to host next week’s championship.

With this being the second consecutive year Rhinelander has hosted the event, she said an indoor weigh-in is taking place this year, so the attending members of the public, who will be eligible to receive fish not kept by the competitors, won’t have to be outside in the cold weather watching the fish weighed.