If there is one thing that I’ve learned through my years of guiding it this; Each angler, man or women has a fish that truly makes them lose sleep at night. waking up in a cold sweath YELLING……..BIG CRAPPIE BIG CRAPPIE!! Oh yeah it must be that time of year. 
For me I’ll admit I find myself smirking at the prospects of hand driving barbs home on 20lb+ Pike. The truly incredible strength of these fish make my knees shake in anticipation of bringing that Freak “Top side”.
What fish motivates you to scratch out onto that first ice bite?
**Pictured here is a RDGS customer releasing a trophy caliber pike caught on a Frabill “Orange round”. Here’s a tip for anglers who like to chase flags; Don’t simply be satisfied by spreading out your tip-ups. You also may want to experiment with how you present your offerings. For instance you may want to vary the size and overall life of a sucker minnow. Leave one suspended in the middle of the water column and leave one sliced up and nearly dead on the bottom. Don’t think for a second a big pike will turn up that pateted underbite on a free meal when fishing shallow water Jacks. On the other hand, somedays that “Vibrating treat” might be prove to be simply irresistable as it triggers the beast. Taking things a step forward, slice up your bait and leave a blood trail in the water. I believe as a fish becomes lethargic it often feeds only on a few big meals and seldom wants to extends much energy catching it. So go big and go slow……Might be worth a try. 
