John ran the Minnesota Pro-AM Bass Tour for many years as well as the Anglers Elite series and the Gander Mountain Series. He ran great tournaments in my opinion.
My thoughts are with his family.

Wade hit it on the mark. Both lakes are great to fish. Both are gin clear so early and late fishing is the beat. Pay attention to the markers as there are serious rocks on both lakes.
Arnie

I had small mouth going on the lake and large mouth going on the river. The river fish were bigger so I went with them. Unfortunately the larger small mouth decided to make their presence known on the lake the day of the tourney. Local angler Rick Jensen won the tourney. Funny thing is he and I talked before talked before the tourney and he asked if I was fishing the lake and in particular, a certain spot we both know about. I said I was not fishing the lake and added he should do well at the spot. He did and won the tourney.

Thanks guys. I fished a tourney yesterday and ran the aerator for about five hours. Went to make a run and the starting battery would not start the motor. Had to jump it with the deep cycles. My starting battery is an Optima bought last year. I plugged in my on-board charger last night and had three green lights this morning. Put a tester on the starting battery and it read 12.45. I then turned on the aerator and watched the meter drop steady. Not sure what happened yesterday. MAy have to put a load test on the starting battery.

Happy Birthday Jeff.
Arnie

Was checked on the water (Splithand Lake) by the CO. Checked Licenses and life jackets. Looked in the live well as we had two walleyes. Said we were doing better than any other boat.

I’m not sure if this guy is nuts or what. It is obvious he spends a lot of time in the water with sharks. A great video Bret. The next time I find myself in the water with a shark I’ll just rub it’s nose and put it in a trance. NOT!!!
Thanks for sharing.
Arnie

My Ice Castle qualifies also. I spend a lot of time in it every year. Has all the comforts of home.

My buddy Mark (norseman) had his steering cable break on his Minnkota during pre-fishing for the Okoboji Open. It broke Friday morning so he called Johnson Outdoors. They said if we had it to them by 11:00 AM they would be able to fix the problem. We were there at 10:45 to get the cable replaced. They not only replaced the cables, they replaced the entire shaft, bearings, wiring harness and lower head cover and only charged him $60.00. Now if that isn’t great customer service, I don’t know what is. They were fantastic.

Loading up the car today and heading down to your place in the morning. Can’t wait to get on the water with you again this year.

Went up to Winnie with three wheel houses and four couples this last weekend. Went out of Denny’s and went out 4 miles. Fishing was slow but caught enough perch for a fish fry Saturday evening. Things froze up real good with the cold weather we had. You can travel just about anywhere now.
Arnie

Jeff it depends on who you are fishing with. I won’t mention any names though.

We used small green glow jigs with very small crappie minnows.
Is was a blast watching them come up to the jig but they weren’t real aggressive. It was a waiting game and we had to let them have it a few seconds before we could set the hook. We caught some smaller ones that went back to grow up. We were the only ones on the lake which is fine by us.
Arnie

Have pole-will travel. Count me in.
Arnie

UPDATE on the Dutch Room’s 21st Annual “Once in a Lifetime Perch Tournament.”
Here is the prize list;
1st place $400.00
2nd place $300.00
3rd place $200.00
4th place $100.00
Crappies
1st place $100.00
2nd place $50.00
Non-Game Fish
1st place $100.00
2nd place $50.00
Raffle Prizes;
3 power augers
5-fish houses
25″ TV
150 Rod & Reel combos
Underwater cameras
Riverbend Resort trip, 6 people, 1 day, 2 nights
Riverbend Resort trip, 2 people, 1 day, 2 nights
Guided Bass Fishing Trip
Gift Certificate to Forest Lake Restaurant
Bader’s 5 Bird Hunt
Dinner for two at the Sawmill Inn
Wal-Mart 3 Girls & Boys Bikes under 12 yrs old
Rod & Reels for all kids 12 years & under that purchase a ticket.

This is on March 12 on Pokegama Lake out of Tioga Landing.
$15.00 entry fee.
Call 326-9119 for more info.

Arnie

Congratulations Matt and Kellie. Matt I celebrated 34 years with my wife this year. You can expect a long relationship too if you just remember two words. “Yes Dear.”
Have a great life together.
Arnie

Hey John. Good luck this next weekend with Chris. I hope Garrett knocks the socks off his PB record.
Arnie

Here are some of the other pictures for the weekend. Man was it cold outside. Had a great time with Jeff and John.
Arnie

That all depends. It rained here this morning and we are supposed to get 10+ inches through Saturday.
Was going to go to Winnie for the weekend but not sure now.

Christmas is always a special holiday at our house. Today is also very special as it is my (our) anniversary. 34 years ago I married a very special lady. The family is all coming over today to help us celebrate. Merry Christmas to each and every one of you. Have a safe and Merry Christmas.
Arnie & Sheila Nichols

I have not made it to Winnie yet this year but a couple of friends have. There is about 15′ of ice. This snow we are getting now (4″ to 5″) doesn’t help with the ice making machine. I expect the resorts will be plowing roads today. People were driving trucks out on the lake this last weekend. I am anxious to get my castle on the ice up there also. Good reports of eyes being caught.
Arnie

I wonder how many 911 calls were made during that run. Definitely a pro driver.

Just bring Dan along and have him drill the holes. It won’t matter if the blades are sharp or not because he will be doing all the work.

Thanks for the post Brian. I am sitting at my desk looking at my dad’s 22 pound pike he speared. He was sitting in the fish house with one of my brothers when this fish showed up under him. He could not see the fish but my brother could. It was just sitting there. Dad leaned forward as far as he could and could see the tip of it’s nose. He decided to give it a shot and threw the spear. He nailed the big fish perfectly and it stiffened up right there. Dad pasted on December 17 of last year but I will always remember the days we spent in the fish house when I was growing up. Thanks again for sharing your story with us Brian. It brought back many great memories.
Arnie

John I am sorry to hear the sad news. My thoughts are with you. I lost my coon hound to cancer. It was a tough day. Keep the faith John. I hope all works out.
Arnie

I have read this entire post before posting this reply. I have known Karen and Howie Lee for many years. I have fished with them both and against them both. If Karen culled in this event, it was because it was allowed by tourney officials………..Howie also said he culled fish to finish 1st on the co-angler side. These are stand up people and I take offense at the way some of you are bashing them. Where you part of the tourney??? Where you at the pre-tourney meeting where rules were discussed????? Unless you were there and have fist hand knowledge/info you might want to keep your trap shut until all the facts are out.
Arnie Nichols

I laughed so hard I felt FLUSHED.

Take 200 to Walker. It’s a good road and less traffic.
Arnie

Fished many tournaments on Thunder. Great fishing for both large and small mouth bass. Just about every kind of structure you want to fish. You should be able to catch bass all day long.
Arnie