Triple A,

I posted a reply on another thread as well, but in case folks didn’t see that, I’m happy to post here too.

While you are accurate in stating that only the Premium subscription enables you to keep your sonar log uploads private — thus preventing the data in them to be used to update the Genesis Social Map — I think you’ll find that the Social Map has great value to you and your fishing buddies.

For those not familiar with Insight Genesis, it is Lowrance’s custom-mapping service. Essentially, it empowers you to create custom maps of any lake you fish, using sonar data recorded from your own transducer. Insight Genesis Social Map is a community-sourced worldwide database of maps aggregated from public sonar data uploaded to the Genesis site.

So a few fishing buddies or a fishing club, etc, can easily create a map of their favorite lake by working together and using the community-sourcing capability of Social Map. For example, in an hour on the water, the average boater can cover about 100 acres. If 10 people upload an hour of data collection from the weekend a 1,000-acre lake is mapped very quickly. Just think what will happen when 10,000 people are contributing an hour or more per weekend. In Minnesota alone, there’s already hundreds and hundreds of lakes in Social Map.

The best thing about Social Map is that you get all the Social Map data (maps) in the world, even if you only ever just upload sonar data for one lake. And you get it for free. Now, to export one of those maps for use on your boat, you’ll want to get the Premium subscription, but there’s certainly great value to being able to see all those Social Map charts on your computer in order to locate humps, holes, inside turns, underwater points, etc. that do not show up on any other chip maps. Even if you don’t have that map with you on the water, knowing the location of previously un-charted structure will help you locate it with your sonar/down-scan/side-scan/etc.

If you have any additional questions about Genesis, don’t hesitate to ask.

Regards,

Greg

Triple A,

As a Lowrance employee working on Insight Genesis, I’d be happy to address your concerns.

To clarify, Insight Genesis is available in a free subscription and a Premimum subscription. However, the free subscription is not limited to a year, it’s ongoing. The Premimum subscription does last one year.

As you noted, a Premium subscription does allow the Genesis user to mark all of their sonar uploads (and the maps made from them) as private. With the free subscription, your sonar data (but never your waypoints, tracks, trails, etc) are contributed to the Insight Genesis Social map, which all Genesis users (free or premimum subscribers) can access. Social map is a constantly updated database of maps, worldwide. Available now in Beta mode, Social Map already has several hundred maps of Minnesota lakes. So even though the functionality is not there to merge separate trips in your account, Social Map will essentially do that for you, as it compiles all public sonar data for any given water body.

And while you are accurate in stating that only the Premium subscription enables you to load your maps onto your sonar unit, I think you’ll find that a free subscription is quite valuable, especially with the release of Social Map.

The best thing about Social Map is that you get all the Social Map data (maps) in the world, even if you only ever just upload sonar data for one lake.

So a few fishing buddies or a fishing club, etc, can easily create a map of their favorite lake by working together and using the community-sourcing capability of Social Map. For example, in an hour on the water, the average boater can cover about 100 acres. If 10 people upload an hour of data collection from the weekend a 1,000-acre lake is mapped very quickly. Just think what will happen when 10,000 people are contributing an hour or more per weekend.

If you have any additional questions about Genesis, don’t hesitate to ask.

Regards,

Greg

Did you record your sonar logs with an Elite unit?

There is a bug in the Elite software (which the Genesis team is working to fix) that doesn’t save it with the .SL2 file file extension. If you type “.sl2” to the end of the file name, it should work.

Nice bulls, Andy!

I am In-Depth Outdoors’ article writer/editor. I’d love to write a little something about your Moustache Worm technique. If you’d like to share some further tips, please email me at [email protected].

Thanks!

http://blog.iceforce.com/products/new-vmc-ice-jigs-spoons-designed-with-input-from-ice-force-pros/

NEW VMC ICE JIGS & SPOONS DESIGNED WITH INPUT FROM ICE FORCE PROS

Serious Ice anglers have a new battery of weapons this winter – five jigs and four spoons from VMC. Forged from top-quality materials with input from ICE FORCE pros, these new baits bring to life a wish list of ice fishing’s top sticks. Each spoon features holographic eyes and comes in three UV Ultra Glow colors, four Ultra Glow patterns and four natural patterns.

“I love the eye-catching, fish-catching color combinations,” ICE FORCE Pro-Staffer Brad Hawthorne says. “They’re going to be phenomenal for the different approaches – from clear water to stained water, from panfish to lake trout.” The spoons come in a great assortment of sizes, Hawthorne says. “It gives us a wide flexibility for fishing six feet of water or 60 feet of water.”

Each new VMC ice jig features a 90-degree hook-eye to ensure optimal horizontal position and a perfect strike angle, and VMC’s unique Power Gap, which increases hooking percentage. “It’s gives me a better hookset, because the fish really gets the hook in its mouth,” Hawthorne explains. “And it keeps the fish on the hook longer without it shaking it, because it penetrates the lip more.”

VMC’s Power Gap also allows better bait presentation, Hawthorne says. “It allows your bait to be more free-flowing. It’s not limited to being stuck on a pinch between the shaft and the hook. It lets me to add more waxies or go to a bigger minnow head.”

The jigs are available in 6 Ultra Glow colors and two natural colors. Ultra Glow colors hold a charge up to 15 minutes.

Flash Champ Spoon
Constructed of heavy-duty brass, the Flash Champ Spoon is designed to get down to the action quickly. “The secret to its erratic action is its beveled edges and tapered design, which give the Flash Champ Spoon an erratic, fluttering movement that no fish can resist,” Hawthorne says. Offered in four sizes (1/32, 1/16, 1/8, 1/4 oz), the Flash Champ Spoon is a must-have addition this winter for the serious ice angler.

Tingler Spoon
The Tingler Spoon’s large, thin body flutters slowly and seductively on the fall, attracting fish from a distance and triggering them to strike with its mesmerizing, wounded baitfish action. “Most spoons cover only the small-diameter water column directly under the hole, but the Tingler Spoon flutters out to the side, into previously un-fished territory,” explains ICE FORCE Pro James Holst, host of In-Depth Outdoors TV on the Fox Sports North channel. “You can then work it back towards your hole using short hops, giving fish a new look. Available in three sizes (1/16, 1/8, and 3/16 oz.), the Tingler Spoon is ice fishing’s ultimate flutter spoon.

Tumbler Spoon
The Tumbler Spoon’s unique “knuckle bend” creates a slow-tumbling action that entices “even the most finicky of neutral to negative fish,” Hawthorne says. A small, metallic attractor blade imparts additional flash and sound when it collides with the spoon and hooks. Available in three sizes (1/12, 1/8 oz.), VMC’s Tumbler Spoon is the “go-to spoon to change the mood of fish mired in a tough bite,” Holst says.

Rattle Spoon
Reach for a VMC Rattle Spoon when you need to call fish in from a distance, Hawthorne says. A specially designed resonance chamber made of heavy-duty brass and multiple beads allows anglers to make a racket with just a subtle jig stroke, while still delivering action to the lure. “The Rattle Spoon is going to be phenomenal,” Hawthorne says. “With that noise factor, you can be bouncing it off the bottom on sand, rocks, mud and you can agitate the fish into hitting, which is going to be great.” Available in three sizes (1/16, 1/8, and 1/4 oz.), VMC’s Rattle Spoon calls in big fish from afar and triggers bites!

Tear Drop Jig
Tie on a Tear Drop Jig when fishing live bait under a float, dead stick, or tip up. “The jig’s wide profile and tear-drop shape, mimics baitfish and other aquatic food,” Holst says. “When predators are looking for a meal – but unwilling to chase a lively, untethered shiner, fathead or chub – the VMC Tear Drop pins the bait in the strike zone.” The Tear Drop Jig comes in three sizes: 1/16, 1/8, 1/4 oz.

Minnow Jig
The Minnow Jig “can do your dirty work, digging its heavy head into the bottom to stir up big biters,” Hawthorne says. In open water, he’ll twitch the Minnow Jig to create a subtle rocking and dancing action. Available in three sizes (1/16, 1/8, 1/4 oz.), the Minnow Jig features a feathered tail with flash fibers to further enhance its life-like action. “No matter the situation, no matter the fish, you can tie on a VMC Minnow Jig,” Hawthorne says.

Pug Bug Jig
Panfisherman rejoice, Holst says, “the Pug Bug Jig features the wide-gap hook you’ve been searching for.” The VMC-exclusive hook is specifically designed to fish the bigger soft-body baits favored by successful panfish anglers and the big fish they pursue. With its wide profile, the Pug Bug creates an enhanced sonar return, making it easier to monitor in deep water with lower sensitivity gain settings. Available in three sizes (1/64, 1/32, and 1/16 oz.), the Pug Bug will maximize your hook-up percentage.

Larvae Jig
VMC’s new Larvae Jig, soon to become the ice fisherman’s fix for ultra-finicky panfish, comes rigged and ready to go right out of the package. “You can fish it as-is when fish are eating tiny insects and invertebrates, or add eurolarva when they want a slightly larger profile and more motion,” Hawthorne says. Holst will tie on a Larvae Jig when clear water, intense fishing pressure or cold-front conditions have the fish in a funk, he says. The Larvae Jig comes in three sizes: 1/200, 1/100, 1/50 oz.

Wax Tail Jig
Pre-rigged with a Trigger X Wax Tail soft bait, the Wax Tail Jig is a deadly combination for weedline-hugging bluegill and open-basin crappie. “Fish the 1/32nd-ounce jig when fish are keying on larger prey,” Hawthorne says. “Drop down to the 1/100th oz. size when the bite gets tough, or the fish are feeding on micro-invertebrates.” Holst slowly twitches the Waxtail Jig in place when the fish are in a finicky mood. “The subtle action turns lookers into biters,” he says. The Waxtail Jig comes in four sizes: 1/100, 1/50, 1/32 oz.

Great discussion fellas!

Here’s a link to an article in which James Holst and the IDO pro-staffers share tips for NOT going through the ice.

http://www.idofishing.com/forum/showflat.php/Number/1295331/travel-light-on-early-ice-carry-safety-tools

Nice fish!

Quote:

---

Im heading up to Minneapolis this weekend just wondering if anyone could help me out with any lakes if any that would be decent to ice fish this weekend. Im not gonna go if its not safe ice but would think something close to the cities would have some.

---

I live a couple blocks from a 300-some-acre lake right in Minneapolis (Lake Nokomis). There’s still open water in the middle, as of yesterday afternoon. I would not recommend setting foot on any ice in the Twin Cities metro yet.

Tight lines to ya, DaneCVocelka. Looking forward to hearing about how you caught a limit of bigguns!

Quote:

---

If i had the option of going south to the area you are speaking of there is no way I would not go to Lake Chickmauga. The fishing their is absolutely incredible. In terms of guides I believe Josh Douglas guides on that lake and if he does not he could point you in any direction you want. Other than that lake I would go to Lake of the Ozarks or Table Rock. Both are good fisheries in Missouri, you could go a little more south and hit Beaver or the Arkansas River. Maybe even Lake Guntersville? There are lots of opportunities down there but I would check out Lake Chickmauga before anything!

---

2X!

Josh Douglas is a friend of mine. He’ll for sure be able to put you on some nice, fat fish on Chick! He’s also a Lowrance guru, so if you have any questions about dialing in your electronics, he’s the man to talk to.

If you don’t mind a little more travel, hit Chickamauga for big largemouth and then head a few more hours south to Dale Hollow (also in Tennessee) for huge smallmouth. Stephen Headrick is the man to contact down there.

Genius!

Thanks Rootski.

Hey Adam, I’m planning to hit the Rum for smallies this weekend. Any tips on what they’re going crazy on right now, depth and preferred cover/structure?

I have several go-to spots and patterns, but I’m always looking for new patterns to try!

Thanks for the feedback, Randy and flanders51!

Quote:

---

Those things don’t catch bass in Minnesota. Spring or fall. Don’t bother with them at all

---

Quote:

---

I want to know where, water temp, structure, depth, speed, etc… sounds like someone’s promoting a couple baits…

---

Where, when, speed and depth:

Throw a size 8 Super Bou when the fish want a bait burned over cover, and the larger size 10 when slow-rolling is triggering more bites. “They’re very versatile baits – you can work them high in the water column with speed, or you can slow-roll them down to 30 feet,” says Brettingen, who will throw Super Bous through November.

Where, Structure:
When targeting muskies this fall, from Lake Vermillion to Minneapolis metro lakes, Brettingen’s go-to baits will be Storm’s Giant FlatStick crankbait and Blue Fox’s Vibrax Super Bou, a big bucktail. He casts the latter over the last green weeds of the season. The former, he trolls fast over shallow rocks. …

Because green weeds release oxygen, they attract baitfish, which in turn, draws muskies. A versatile bucktail like the Vibrax Super Bou is the perfect tool to target this vegetation. “The key with the green weeds is you have to stay over them,” Brettingen explains. “A lot of times, that cabbage is tickling the surface, or hanging just under the surface, so you only have a few feet to work with. …

Speed:
“They’re very versatile baits – you can work them high in he water column with speed, or you can slow-roll them down to 30 feet,” says Brettingen, who will throw Super Bous through November. As fall temperatures cool, Brettingen will run the Super Bou more slowly, even over weed cover. “In the mornings, I’ll slow roll it over the weeds, so it’s just tickling the tops of them,” he explains. “As the sun starts to come out, I’ll pick up my presentation a little bit.”

But he usually won’t burn it like he would in the summer – unless the fish indicate that’s what they want. “If you’re not getting the fish to trigger, I wouldn’t hesitate burning those Vibrax Super Bous right over the top,” he says.

Where, structure:
While weeds get much of Brettingen’s attention when he’s got a Super Bou tied, on, he targets shallow rocks as well.

“Rocks can be amazing in the fall,” he says. “I’ll burn them over the rocks, I’ll slow roll them. I’ll even troll them behind planer boards.

Speed:
More often than not, he will troll a Giant FlatStick. And fast – up to 5 mph.

Where:
Trolling for muskies, “a classic pattern in fall,” he says, is usually effective on Vermillion, Lake of the Woods, Mille Lacs, and most big-water Upper Midwest fisheries.

Speed:
Even when trolling as fast as 5 mph, a Giant FlatStick will run true, with its signature wide wobble, and won’t “kick out,”

Where, cover:
Brettingen often runs the Giant FlatStick about 100 feet behind a large planer board, to prevent spooking fish. He’ll target the edges of flat breaks as well as really steep breaks.

Where/structure:
Rosen casts and trolls FlatStick Jointeds, most often over large rock reefs.

Speed:
When casting, he start by cranking it fairly slowly, just try to gauge the mood of the fish. “Nothing’s happening? Speed it up a little bit, then slow it down again,”

Where/cover/structure:
In northern lakes, muskies forage mostly on ciscoes, which in fall quit roaming, suspended, in open water and move to shallow rocks to spawn.

“You get up north, shallow rocks now are king,” Brettingen says. “The ciscoes are going to move up on top of the rocks and some of those big shelves, and the muskies are going to hang right around that area. And they just go bananas – they’re just trying to eat as much as they can.”

Where/cover/structure:
In the Minneapolis metro, where Brettingen works and lives, the muskie forage base comprises suckers, perch, and sunfish, which move in the fall to inside weedlines as well as shallow rocks.

“Fall gives you a really good opportunity to know where the fish are and their feeding pattern. You put two and two together and you’ve got giant muskies in the boat.”

Woo hoo!

Good times, BK.

Sounds like fun to me too! Trying to figure out now how to mount a reel on my wife’s broom stick …

We’ll have to compare notes someday, Artifishal!

Where do you fish in the VNP?

My family takes a trip every year to Crane Lake. We fish Crane, Sand Point, Mukooda and (sometimes) the Loon River.

At this time of year, the smallmouth will be shallow only in the low-light periods. So plan to fish at night or in the early, early morning, or at dusk. So pack plenty of bug spray!

In the heat of the day, they will move to deep, offshore reefs and rock piles. Since that can’t be found with the naked eye, if you have a portable depth finder (even if its an ice fishing model) bring it. With a combination of a good contour map and a portable depth finder, you should be able to locate some deep structure.

If you don’t have portable depth finder, there are some patterns you can get on by just using your eyes, but these patterns usually yield onesie-twosie bites rather than a big school, like some of the deep structure can offer.

1. Vertical bluff walls – When more light penetrates the water, bass instinctively “know” that are more exposed to predators, so they often like to have something solid up against one side of them. On rockpiles and reefs, it’s a boulder or a ledge. But they do the same thing on vertical bluff walls, which generally only exist adjacent to deep water. The smallies will get right up close to the rock face and rise and drop in the water column, seeking food and the optimum temperature to be the most comfortable.

To target these fish, position your boat right up against the bluff wall, parallel to it, on the far end of the wall.

It it’s early morning or dusk, start with a topwater bait (Rapala Skitter Pop, XRap Prop, Storm Chug Bug, Rapala X-Rap Popper) and retrieve parallel to the bluff face, as close to the bluff as you can. Start with a rapid retrieve with fewer pauses, then slow down and increase pause time if you’re not getting bites. If that doesn’t work, switch to a spinnerbait.

Use a big white or chartreuse spinner bait with double willow blades (Terminator T1, Terminator Super Stainless, etc) and lightly cast or pitch it up flush against the bluff wall and let it fall on a slack line (very important — keep that spinning bail open) to the bottom. The bait will helicopter down vertically, creating the illusion of a dying ciccoe/tullibee/minnow. Many bites will come on the fall, indicated more often than not by a visual jump in your line. So if your line hops or all of a sudden stops falling, you likely have a bite. If you don’t get bit on the fall, slow roll the spinnerbait a few yards then rip it off pretty violently, then let it fall again on slack line. Repeat that process back to the boat. If you don’t get bit on that, it’s time for a tube)

A Green Pumpkin tube is probably the most versatile and effective smallmouth bait. That said, another color on any given day MIGHT be more effective, so let the fish tell you what they want. But I’d start with Green Pumpkin. Pitch the tube parallel to the bluff face, but not quite flush to it — you want to give the tube enough roof to spiral as it falls (which is how it triggers bites when in the water column). Let the tube fall on slack line, just like the spinnerbait. Again here, you’re likely to see your line jump or stop before you feel the bite. If you don’t get bit on the fall, use your rod tip (not your reel) to move the tube across the bottom a few feet. Then use your rod tip to lift the tube off the bottom, then drop your rod tip quickly to let the tube fall again on slack line. Repeat this process back to the boat. If they won’t hit the tube, it’s time for a drop shot.

I always use the VMC Spin Shot hooks, because the rotate 360 without twisting your line, which I believe results in a better bait presentation. I have had great luck in Voyageur’s National Park (similar water color/clarity as BWCA) with Trigger X Paddetail Worms (worms, not minnows) as my drop-shot baits. I’ve fished the Goby and Watermelon Red Flake colors with great success, but a 4-inch Trigger X Swimming Grub in the Chartreuse Pepper color resulted in my personal best Up North smallmouth, a 5 lb. 14 ouncer. I caught that one drop shotting a vertical bluff wall.

Pitch the drop shot rig up fairly flush against the rock face and let it fall on a tighter line than the other presentations. Once your sinker hits the bottom, let the bait soak there for a while, very lightly jiggling your rod tip. If it is at all windy out and there’s some good wave action, you might not even need to jiggle your rod tip, as the rise and fall of the canoe (assuming a canoe, since your’re in BWCA) will provide a lot of action to your bait. If you don’t get bit in the location of your first drop, use your rod tip (not the reel) to move your bait a few yards and repeat the process until your bait is directly under the canoe. Fish it straight down for a bit, then try again if you don’t get bit, pitching the rig to different spots along the bluff wall and/or different distances out from the bluff wall.

If you don’t get bit on a bluff wall with one of those tactics, the smallmouth are probably not on that one, so try the next bluff wall down the lake.

# 2. The second “Eyesight Pattern” is hazard markers. It’s been forever since I’ve been up to the BWCA, so I don’t know if they are common, but if you ever see a buoy, or a jug, or whatever, tethered out in open water, that’s marking a rock hazard. To a smallmouth fisherman, that’s a beacon that indicates a rock pile, boulder or reef that most likely has a big smallmouth or two holding somewhere on or around it.

Start by throwing a topwater over and around it. Then slow roll your spinnerbait over it. Then pull a lipless crankbait over it (Rattling Rap, Rippin’ Rap, Clackin’ Rap). Then try banging into it with a crank bait (Rapala Scatter Rap, a Rapala DT10, DT14, DT16, DT20, depending on depth). If those don’t work, the bass might not be active, but might be there, so try a tube or a Terminator Football head jig (use a crayfish color — look under rocks near shore before fishing to determine what color the local crawdads are).

Tight lines!

Greg

Quote:

---

Under a bass forum?? I like it very much and I see you put a lot of thought into it. For walleyes I can see buying into it, but bass?!

---

Mississippi River smallmouths relating to bluff walls and wing dams would definitely chomp one of these!

Heard the smallies were hitting pretty well on the east side this week. Heading up there on Monday or Tuesday. Anyone got any recent intel?

I might be out there next Friday with a guy that won an NABC tournament on Tonka. I’ll post a report after if this trip happens.

Quote:

---

I Would I be better off by going with a mono or a braid and just tying a fluoro leader …?”

Yep. Braid. Fo sho!

Braid is much easier to cast, but fluoro is invisible. Which is why I tie a fluoro leader to braid.

Agreed. No fluoro for topwater, because it sinks. Go with mono or braid.

I spool most of my baitcasters with Sufix 832 braid paired with a 100% fluorocarbon leader. Works great for me.

Good looking colors, Tom!

I’m looking forward to seeing those baits again in photos, but sticking out of big LMB’s mouths!

Man, your posts are making me jealous!

I’ve been working so much lately that I have only gotten out a couple times, and we didn’t get into them very good when we did.

Nice fish, Tom!

As the dawn topwater bite begins to turn off, switch to a weightless senko-style bait rigged wacky style. Throw it on top of submergent grass and let it slowly fall down into the grass. This presentation works best from late dusk to late morning, if its sunny out. If it’s overcast, it can work all day.

As the sun gets higher in the sky, switch to a Texas-rigged senko-style bait, or even better, a thick, ribbed French-Fry style bait or a big, ribbon-tail worm. I start big with 10- or 12-inch worms, than dial back to 7- and 8-inchers if I’m not getting bit. Land your cast to where the worm can fall as vertically as possible down past the main stem of the cabbage or lily pad to its base. If it gets to the bottom without getting bit, twitch it around a little bit, down there on the bottom near the stem of the cabbage. And try lifting it up off the bottom, moving it a foot or two, and letting it fall back to the bottom on slack line. That ribbon tail imparts great visual stimuli in clear to lightly stained water, and displaces a lot of water and creates vibration in stained water.

Big worms, in my experience, produce bigger LMB on average in grass, pads, cabbage, etc. than flipping jigs.

For really thick vegetation, like milfoil mats, etc, I prefer punch baits — big, bullet-shaped tungsten jigs with a circular punch skirt attached to its base. Your line slides free through a hole down the middle, and you tie via snell knot to a big snell hook dressed with a slim-profile creature bait.

Those techniques have produced the best for me. I fish the wacky rig on spinning gear with braid/flourocarbon leader. I fish the big worms with baitcasting gear with braid/flourocarbon leader. And I fish the punch baits on straight braid. I’ve always had good luck with dark-green braid. This summer, I will be experimenting with the new Sufix 832 camo braid.