This is the boat I had to rebuild after finding some unexpected issues. The boat I picked up was used, looked well maintained and the person that I purchased it from had used it on local lakes as well as the Great Lakes. Being that it was a fiberglass boat I knew any repair would be much different than an aluminum boat. Below are some of the items that were needed for this project. As a disclaimer I have never done anything like this before, all of the information here is what I had gathered over time and the 2 months it took to complete this. The boat is still rock solid today, 7 y ..read more

Early Ice CrappieOnce the lakes lock up and are safe to walk on, crappie fishing is at it’s prime for this time of the season. Finding Crappies in early winter doesn’t have to be a chore. Location Crappies tend to follow a predictable pattern, they are a predator fish and therefore chase smaller prey.  During the daylight hours they will typically hold tight to weed beds, so finding standing weeds is your first goal. The other thing you want to look for is a muddy bottom.  This type of bottom holds invertebrate and other smaller organisms.  You’ll want to drill a lot of holes so you’re able ..read more

The simple answer is ice is never 100% safe, there are too many variables to get into. You’re not here to read about those. Sure you can always follow the lead of someone else that’s already been out there, surely they checked the ice properly before venturing out. The problem is you don’t know that for sure. The only way to know for sure is to check the ice yourself. Early ice is when you need to be very careful, you know when the lake first locks up and there are a few single digit days and nights in a row with little wind. Some of the best fishing of the ice season happens right a ..read more

This is the boat I had to rebuild after finding some unexpected issues. The boat I picked up was used, looked well maintained and the person that I purchased it from had used it on local lakes as well as the Great Lakes. Below are some of the items that were needed for this project. As a disclaimer I have never done anything like this before, all of the information here is what I had gathered over time and the 2 months it took to complete this. The boat is still rock solid today, 7 years later. If this article helps in anyway and you need to purchase any of the items, please feel fr ..read more

Here are the items I go through each spring when I bring my boat out of storage. Some of this may not apply to you and as a FYI: I have a 2 stroke outboard. Please comment below with anything I missed as part of your procedure and I’ll add it to the list. Check the trailer lights Jack up trailer, verify wheel bearings are solid and grease as needed. I use bearing buddies and highly recommend those. (Repack every other year) Inflate trailer tires to recommended PSI Inspect winch strap and winch functionality Torque lug nuts Remove rodent/mice prevention (Moth balls, dryer sheets etc) Vis ..read more

June 7th – 9th is take a kid fishing weekend. From https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ Kids will rarely be able to tell you their best day of watching TV but take them fishing and moments of angling excitement can make lifelong memories – it’s an often expressed sentiment and this weekend is a chance to put it into practice.  During Take a Kid Fishing weekend Friday, June 7, to Sunday, June 9, Minnesota residents can fish without licenses if they take children 15 or younger fishing. “Time spent fishing can be can be a way for adults and kids to spend time outdoors together. We’re enco ..read more

Fishing opener in Minnesota was a tough one this year for most everyone I spoke with. The lake we fished was still in the lower 50’s for water temps, typically upper 50’s and lower 60’s is the sweet spot for our local lake. There was no shortage of bass willing to hit anything you threw out there, walleyes were non-existent for our boat. There were more boats on this lake than there has been in the past openers, but one thing that was common among all of them; no one was staying in the same spot for very long. The weather was fantastic and you couldn’t have asked for a nicer morning ..read more

Here are the items I go through each spring when I bring my boat out of storage. Some of this may not apply to you and as a FYI: I have a 2 stroke outboard. Please comment below with anything I missed as part of your procedure and I’ll add it to the list. Check trailer lightsJack up trailer, verify wheel bearings are solid and grease as needed. I use bearing buddies and highly recommend those. (Repack every other year)Inflate trailer tires to recommended PSIInspect winch strap and winch functionalityTorque lug nutsRemove rodent/mice prevention (Moth balls, dryer sheets etc)Visually insp ..read more

Minnesota Bound is throwing it’s 51st annual crappie contest on Lake Minnetonka Saturday May 4th http://mnbound.com/crappie-contest/ The post Lake Minnetonka 2019 Crappie Contest appeared first on MN Fishing Blog ..read more

A great resource for finding which lakes have been declared ice free is located at the MN DNR Website. Follow the link below to view the map. https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ice_out/index.html They tend to update every day or two, as of today it looks like Lake Pepin is ice free. You’re even able to go back historically and see when the recorded ice out, or ice in, dates occurred. It won’t be long now. The post Minnesota Ice Out Dates appeared first on MN Fishing Blog ..read more