I have been using the Ice Force bibs this year and they are super warm. I like them so far. Qaulity built, good zippers and velcroe around the legs, knee padding is good and deep pockets. They are also have a few vents near the thigh that you can open up to get more air flow if its warmer outside which has not been the case this year! True to size, I love em! I do not have the jacket yet, that will be next. I think the Rapala site had them on sale also recently.
Good luck,
Jake
They have a ton of colors, with silver flecks, bright colors anything you can imagine. Personally, I prefer some visible colors on the rod, easier to see and less likely to step on it or something stupid. You will love it!
Best investment I have made in my panfishing career!! Totally changes the way a guy fishes!
Good luck,
Jake
Had my Otter Thermal Lodge out yesterday all day and didnt crack one window-this is last years model. The new ones do not have any issues that I have seen. Its too rubbery of a window to crack but maybe I have been lucky. Otter usually does quite a bit of homework before putting something on their product.
I have used them for mostly walleyes and a caught a few largemouth on them also. I intentionally ran a test with my trusty #7 black and silver shad rap night trolling at my parents cabin up north. I put down one scatter rap in the black silver color and it honestly outfished the shad rap,I was in shock. I caught 5 walleyes on the scatter rap and one on the shad rap. After watching it in the water and watching my rod tip bounce even more, its no wonder it honestly looks like its trying to get away. I would always catch more than my dad or brother when switching my shad rap all the time vs just letting it sit in the holder…etc. Well now wit the scatter rap, I still think it will help but not as crucial… was pleasantly surprised and VERY impressed!
Just my 2 cents!
Good luck fishing- I like the clown color and some of the bluish/purples with white bellies. Firetiger was good also.
Jake
I am sure someone told you this already but make sure the velcro black straps are not too tight, loosen them as far as you can, I thought the same and did this to my house and it was just fine. Make sure every single one is loose and not snug around the aluminum square pole. Sounds silly, but it makes a huge difference. Hopefully this works for you.
Good luck fishin,
Jake
Two comfortably. But yeah you could put another guy in there… Personally I would not do it.
Lots of good posts already.. NOT going to repeat. All I can say is that the thermal insulation on the Otter’s is awesome and the small square thermal on the clam, does not allow moisture to get out…the squarees are too small. Check out the thermal on the otter, insulated no different than your “attic” basically. Having sold many of these houses at shows, I get to hear all the info from consumers…I have at least 10 people a show come up to me and say the Otter was the best purchase they made. Yes, you are going to pay a little bit more them but if you take care of them, you will never need to buy another one. As my dad always told me “You get what you pay for”. Do not get me wrong, they all are great houses, however I think the Otter is built stronger and better.
Good luck fishin’
Jake
A smaller item which produces big results for me are the new Trigger panfish plastics. The mustache worm is one of my mainstay crappie and big gill baits. The spike and larvae worm will also be tipped on many of my pannie jigs. There are times where the plastic does not work, however most of the time they do. I like not having to re-bait the hook all the time. I will be using all of these plastics with some of my jigging spoons also for finicky walleyes and perch. VMC has also brought a whole new line of UV/Glow spoons. I believe the VMC spoons will sell like crazy just like at all the other shows so far!
Strikemaster- I know my dad picked up the new 10 inch lazer for his Honda Lite- no smell, no mixing gas and still has the power.
Good luck fishing everyone, lets hope this snow does not pile up too bad!!
They will have them right at the show, expensive to ship. I would get there as soon as you can as I strongly believe that the Otter’s are going to go fast and you do not want to make the drive and miss out. That is a great choice on house by the way, the only way to go in my opinion. There are many great houses out there but you are buying qaulity with this house. I would be checking with Joes Sporting Goods, Reed Sporting Goods, and Thorne Brothers. They all price competively at the show. It would not hurt to call them and explain your situation- might find out right away- they are always looking for a sale!
Good luck fishin’
Jake
Send me a email if you want more info…
UPPER RED LAKE- daytime and night-time bite..a bit further to drive but well worth it! Check out Portavilla rentals- if they are booked send me a PM and I can reccomend a few others. There are many great options. West Winds Resort, Red Lake is always good early in the year, good numbers of fish between 16-20 inches… You will not be dissapointed. I believe James and Joel are fishing up there right now before the snow storm!
Email me with any additional questions, have spent lots of time up there!
Formula Propeller near Rogers, MN. Todd Hesse’s shop. Otherwise Grandpa Joe’s Marine- Joe Carlson in Harris, MN.
I love my Honda auger also! No stink and no messing around mixing gas! Ran it last year on LOTW in about 20 below with no issues! Good luck fishing!
Jake
TUCR from the first phone call will help make your decision. Any issue will be taken care of promptly and they do not waste any time. Like other’s have said, there are lots of good rods out there, but the TUCR are not only great, but the service end of things is second to none. I was in the same position as you last season, I now own about 5 TUCR rods… worth every penny. Truly does make fishing much more enjoyable!
Good luck fishing.
Jake
Go catch your birthday limit!!!
Good report sounds like you got into em!!! Its interesting how the pods of fish can very so much, last week we were marking many fish but could not get them to go! Hopefully that will change the next time I am up! I agree with you about spotlock, its probably one of my most productive features when needed!!!
Based on what I saw this weekend in the Park Rapids area for the governors opener, many walleyes in the spawn pattern and not very active. Majority of the walleyes that were caught were caught in shallow water less than 10 feet and were near current-creeks for the most part. I found creeks full of walleyes in 1 foot of water and also took video of walleyes spawning in mid day high sun 1 foot clear water. So, I would say shallow and fish current, I am supposed to go up also this Friday to Ear Falls but that is farther north, but we are not sure we are going now… It is a odd year for ice out conditions and if MN is like this now, I am just not sure what that far north will bring. It will either be feast or famine… but I hope I am wrong!
Good luck,
These trips are always fun anyway!
Jake
Good Point Aaron! I have only put a few fish in the boat doing this, however it is a overlooked tactic. Its fun to see them in shallow water slurp up a jig!! Late ice out, this could be a good thing to remember early in the season!
John knows rods and reels! U got the perfect guy to fix those problems! Its just a further testament to the Tuned Up Custom Rod Company… great guys and great service!
I have not used the insight mapping however they all use the same information. I think the insight will be just fine, I was in the same situation. I am still running Lowrance. But I also have some lakemaster chips that still serve my needs. I think the insight will take off once a few people start trying it. Lowrance has a better sonar in my opinion which is important.
I would say Rainy Lake Houseboats. I have been on one of their boats and had a great time. Perfectly capable of pulling a skeeter. The fishing on Rainy can be great also, my buddy guides up there. Send me a PMessage when if you book and when your going and hopefully I can give you a fishing update. We had a great time, very easy to run the boat and also towed two fishing boats with. We caught enough walleyes to have a fish fry two nights. You will have to look at the website and decide which boat you want. Billy Dougherty has been running that family business for a long time. See if you can find the last episode of Bill Scherck and Laura Schara-Due North they have a segment special on the houseboats. I believe it played this morning on Fox Sports North.
You will not be dissappointed on a Rainy Lake house boat trip!
Joe-
First of all, I am not the expert on these, so I know I am missing some other major features but below I feel is a good start.
From the research I have done, the major appeal to me over the GOPRO(which my brother has) is the “Loop and Forward” feature. You can hit record and it will record back- before you actually hit record. So if you just had a muskie follow and then it takes off- you could hit record and still catch the follow. That is the biggest reason why I am going to be using the VIO camera and returned my GOPRO from Christmas.
It also has a small screen that allows you to view exactly what you are seeing. This way you will never have to mess with angle settings and wonder what you are filming. In South Dakota last year my brother had the GOPRO and he was always messing with it, to get it at the right angle. He then had to go through time consuming clips of nothing to “find” the times when we actually saw and shot birds. He would then save these short clips. The VIO eliminates wasted footage and ultimately makes for more time in the field or on the water.
The other main feature that I like is the fact that with lithium AA batteries you can get up to 5 hours in 1080 footage. The best part about it is, you do not have to be running with it “on” whenever you are using it. Just turn it on when there is some action and then it records back so you do not miss anything. This feature alone will save the battery life from running all day. Check out the website for further specs and details.
http://vio-pov.com/products-all/pov-hd.html
I just saw that Joe’s sporting goods was running an ad this week for $449.00 retail ($499.00). So for price point you will pay a little bit more than the GOPRO but the features are going to far outweigh the GOPRO in my opinion. You will pay a bit more but all of my experiences have been you get what you pay for. I am sure you have seen some of the footage that James Holst has done with these cameras and its top notch. Another cool thing about VIO camera’s is there are based right out of Minneapolis. Check out the website, gives some good detail and also shows some additional clips and applications. They also have all of the attachments to make this camera work in any place.
If we get some open water, I hope to be posting some videos with this camera. Keep in mind I am not bashing the GOPRO- it works, however I strongly feel the VIO is just a better product with more useable features for the outdoor enthusiast.
I will using this bowhunting, muskie fishing, rifle hunting, pheasant hunting- you name it!
Jake
Gotta love the Dirty B! I can envision the strike right now!
I was there yesterday Tim, I started talking with too many people I ran into!! If a guy only had a million dollars I think I could spend it in there!! Great PRICES, get down there and check it out! The weather today is perfect for it!
Open water basin trolling! It takes some confidence but it can produce big results! Check out these two tankers- open water trolling! Getting itchy now!
50″ and 51″!!! Sad thing is this 51″ was his first muskie- spoiled! These fish were taken early in June!
Tight lines
Ben brings up a hidden gem that I think many people overlook. The storm flatstick may be a bait that does not break the bank however it is one of my favorites for the following reasons:
1. Storm came out with the UV colors that really kick out some major flash, which can be huge when fishing in some stained waters.
2. The rattles inside the bait, kick out extra noise and vibration which sets it apart from many other cranks.
3. The bait can easily be trolled, casted and also used as a twitch/slash bait. I personally have had good luck with the UV pink and UV orange. ‘
Try out this bait if you do not own one- no worries you will not be taking out a loan!!!
Storm is really starting to produce some new tackle that is impressive, not only muskies but walleyes also!
I agree about the carbon stradic- however for a crappie reel that is alot of money. I am running the sedona 500 on my ultralights and really like them. I run the carbon stradic 1000 on my light action jigging rod for walleyes, personally for crappies and panfish I strongly feel that you can’t go wrong with any of the shimano 500 class reels. It all comes down to almighty dollar…! I also have a cheaper Mitchell Avocet reel that was given to me as a gift… and it works just fine also.
I always use this rule of thumb when buying any of my equipment, if possible jump up one grade or step from what you like and its more like an investment. You usually get what you pay for. When it comes to fishing muskies, I spend the big money and get quality reels, because otherwise I will be buying another one in a year or two.
Just another opinion.
Good luck fishin’
Good Share Will! Hopefully this will help educate and open up some good discussion. Saving our future is huge!
Yes, in my past experiences it should work just fine.
In regards to your comment about treatment, I always tell people at least I admit the addiction and that is the first step in recovery, knowing what the issue is… in this case its okay! As my mother in law always to my wife…you should be glad he is not out in the bar, gambling or chasing women! She has a good point! However, the muskie illness is something you have forever once you get it! I love every minute of it!
