I have a Marcum LX3tc I’ll trade you for the camera. Let me know.

I’d recommend the TUCR Quicktip. It is one of the most versatile rods that the guys at the shop have designed. It is designed as a “feel” rod, but you can still detect up bites as the tip is extremely fast and loads well. Handles everything from small tungsten jigs while fishing for finicky bluegills and crappies, but also excels at fishing spoons up to an 1/8th ounce for perch and finesse walleyes. One of my favorite rods in my arsenal.

PM Sent!

Grindstone has a few very good year classes of walleyes in the lake right now and LCO always has the potential for a large fish. Another good option would be Round, which can produce quality fish if you’re willing to do your homework. The best part is all three lakes are located within a few miles of each other.

Price dropped to $700.

Try the Hayward area lakes as well. There are some absolute toad smallmouth in Round, LCO, and Grindstone lake. The fish in the picture is a few ounces shy of 6 pounds and went 21.5″

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I would check out Joe’s Sporting Goods or Fleet Farm. However, I enjoy spending my money at small business shops such as Thorne Brothers, Capra’s, and Blue Ribbon Bait and Tackle! Good luck and have fun, buying new tackle and gear is always an exciting adventure

There’s no muskies in Big Marine haha, very cool video though.

The list of craig had one in the St. Cloud area earlier today, it may even still be available.

Might be a little late to the party, but I own two gopro cameras (Hero 4 Silver, Hero 3+ Black). Like stated above, the battery life is the only real issue I have with them especially when working with the cameras in cold weather (Ice fishing). However, I have bought extra/spare batteries and I also have purchased a portable battery charger that is able to charge anything from cell phones to camera batteries and more. As a result, I am able to charge dead camera batteries while out in the boat or I can plug my camera into the charger and run it all day long.
Here is a clip of filming with the GoPro Hero 4+:

I apologize for the obnoxious wind/background noise. It’s hard filming in 25+ MPH winds!

Tim Reszler wrote:

Moved my 788 up tot he front of the boat with plans to use the universal transducer on the terrova. Glad I hadnt pulled the old transducer off the back of the boat yet. That universal transducer is junk.

Mike, what is junk about it? I just purchased a 859 sonar/GPS combo to use on bow. I know that this transducer is sonar only and that’s okay with me but is it really that bad? I have a 2014 terrova with US2. Hope I didn’t just make a big mistake!
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tresz84,

I am running the Bird 859 on my bow utilizing the universal transducer on my Terrova and I haven’t had any issues. The only thing that I could possibly think you would run into is a small amount of surface clutter/interference if you’re running the motor at high speeds for a continuous amount of time. Other than that, the combo has been flawless IMO.

matte, you’d probably idle at 15-20 MPH

The fish seem to be shallow (6-15 ft) at peak times and deeper during the day (17-35 ft). We have been catching fish on mid lake reefs that hold rock & cribs and sand/weed transitions, but a combination of rock/crib seems to be producing the best as of late. You can definitely still catch fish during the day, our biggest of the season has come at 11:45 in the morning on a bright sunny day. I would suggest starting shallow and just work your way out to deeper water as the sun begins to come up and the fish begin to slide out.

By the way the crappie bite has been absolutely phenomenal on the Chip. Take a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxmJUVr8Qho

Michaelcfi79,

What will you be targeting up on Round this coming weekend? My buddy (runs a guide service in the Hayward area) and I have been chasing all species around up in the area since ice up. Round has been decent so far this season at least for walleyes, smallies, and a few pike here and there. Grindstone has by far been the most rewarding for us in regards to walleyes as they have been very willing to bite aggressive presentations. For walleyes and smallies the best presentations have been rattle spoons tipped with minnow heads, small jigging raps, and medium sized suckers on tip ups or dead rods.

I think if you were able to incorporate some type of recirculation device affixed to your transducer cord or transducer float, it could be a real game changer.

Like others have already stated, the biggest part about being successful and making a living in the outdoor business is being able to market yourself. What do you offer that will draw people to your business? It’s not always necessarily about the quantity or quality of fish/game that you capture, but the experience that you offer through your business is what will have customers returning to your business time and time again.

I am in a similar boat to you as I have always wanted to make a living in the outdoors as I have a huge passion in fishing. I am currently in college, but have plans and aspirations to begin guiding this coming summer and look at what it takes to be successful in the industry.

I have a Thorne Bros Power Noodle and also a TUCR Precision Noodle. Personally the first rod out of my rod case has been my TUCR Precision Noodle. I personally believe that the TUCR has a more sensitive tip than that of a Power Noodle. Does that mean that the Power Noodle will not catch you as many fish? No, I still utilize both rods on a regular basis through out the ice season as my TUCR is my finesse rod and the Power Noodle acts as my aggressive and deep water presentation rod. Both will improve your fish catching abilities greatly, it just comes down to personal preference. Good luck on your choice!

I have been running the Lazer Pro for the last 3 years and I absolutely love it. The auger has a lot of power and torque, so one is able to drill a ton of holes in a short period of time. I mainly fish panfish, so I actually ended up swapping the 8″ bit out for a 6″ bit and wow does it chew through the ice! I don’t mind the mixing of gas and oil because I usually mix it into a small gas tank at home and then carry that with on trips for refueling purposes (I drill a lot of holes). If I was given the opportunity, I would more than likely purchase the Lazer Pro again, but I wouldn’t mind testing out one of the new Honda Lites either because I have heard very good reviews from the individuals who ran them last season!

I use 6 lb test Sensation for pitching jigs and use Sufix 832 6/2 superline for fishing blades. I’ll echo what Joel said as I use my St. Croix Avid as well for the precise reason that the guides are a little larger. The larger inserts obviously don’t allow your guides/line to freeze up as easily.

If you pitch jigs a majority of the time, I would give the nod to sensation. If you fish blades a majority of the time, the 832 is the preference. If you use both applications equally, then get another equally sensitive rod and reel combo to limit time your bait spends out of the water

Here is one of the many nice, river fish that we have been catching over the past month. I love fall fishing!

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I love my Tooth Tamer rods, great quality at a good price point. I have a Calcutta D paired up with an 8’6″ Heavy and use that rod for jerks/gliders, buck tails up to double 8’s, small to medium cranks, top waters, and rubber up to mag dawgs. I just purchased a Revo Toro Nacl and can’t wait to use it for double 10’s and even big rubber.

There are a lot of good rods around that $150 price point, but if I were you I would invest a little extra money in a good quality reel because they last much longer than the cheaper/inexpensive reels

Cowboy,

What week are you headed up there? I will probably be back up there around the 18th of June or so! By then I believe the fish will be transitioning to their mid summer haunts out on the reefs and main lake structure.

I would mount the 1157 up in the bow and leave the 998 on the console. That way you are still able to utilize both screens for any type of fishing.

I have a pair of the 580G Blue Mirrors and I love them for all kinds of activities, especially while out on the water. With that being said, I have a coupon for a pair of 50% off a new pair and the green lenses are calling my name

I like my Limit Creek trolling rods (specifically 8’6″ Telescopic), but I’ve heard that the Eyecon’s and Wild River’s are good as well.

For 4 people I would definitely recommend going with the max hp that you can afford. Some good options of what you are looking for would be an Alumacraft Dominator or Competitor side counsel or a Crestliner Raptor or Fish Hawk side counsel paired with a 90 HP outboard, IMO

I heard there aren’t any fish in there, I don’t think it’s worth your time

Personal choice: For squarebills I love using the KVD 1.0, 1.5, and 2.5 Squarebills and for jerk baits I love using Rapala X-Raps in the sizes of 08 and 10. Both are somewhat inexpensive and produce a lot of fish for me in different kinds of conditions.

I found a really good deal on the 8’6″ MHF Limit Creek Trolling rod and have had no complaints so far. Can see a #5 Shad Rap ticking bottom in 30+ FOW. Also have the 5’0″ “Shorty” Rod and also the 12’0″ rod.

If money is no object, I would definitely choose the St. Croix Eyecon rods

I would definitely go with a 1000 sized reel over a 500. I recently just purchased a Pflueger Supreme XT 9230 and paired it up with a 7’0″ MLF Avid and it balances perfectly. The reel only weighs 7.2 ounces which is 0.2 ounces heavier than the 2500 sized Ci4+, but at a $70 cheaper price point. For what you’re trying to do, I would look at a 1000 sized Shimano, 25 sized Pflueger, or a 15 sized Quantum.