2023...Its all about perspective...The wise dudes have always said that hindsight is 20/20.  Not even going to argue that point.  Looking back over my fishing exploits this campaign, I can see I should have done things a lot differently throughout the course of the year.  But one cannot live by what-ifs, I wonder's or fish yesterdays memories.  All this proverbial ..read more

SO...2022... its been a year.  What else can be said?  One of the toughest I have ever experienced in 50 years of fishing.Started out Jan and February of 2022 fishing through some seriously crappy cold weather.  By the end of February I had tallied only 27 days. Not a stellar start for my stated 300 days fishing goal.  But I was still determined.Starting from the 25th of that month, I stretched ..read more

  Well, the ice finally came off early last week, following a nice warm spell that lasted about 5 days with a lot of wind.  Of course, I had to put everything on hold and start hitting the open water. I had hoped to find some slightly active fish in the shallows, but the lake nearest me allows for a quicker drive, even though it is a little deeper than the other one. I know from experience that the time of day is pretty crucial for this interim period.  It tends to be more of a daylight bite, although twilight can be especially good if you hit everything just right.  And ..read more

    So, here we are, in the middle of the cold water period.  There isn't too much open water left and the water that is open is hit or miss in terms of success rates.  Usually around this time of year, I fill my down time with various projects, including painting crankbait blanks.   Normally, it is color combinations I haven't seen before, or trying to replicate proven patterns.  Lately however, I've been shifting my attention to natural patterns in part to try and tempt fish that have seen everything off the shelf from the local big box stores. All of this ..read more

  It's been a bit cold here the last week .  Took a little break from the madness in the Lure Foundry and headed out to the lake to check on some things.  Looking over the vast swathe of ice covering the lake in all but a few places brought my thoughts back to warmer days and the expectations that inevitably follow. One of the things I thought about was the importance of the bluegill in this lakes food chain.  I know I've brought it up before in other articles, but it got me to really thinking on how despite all my crankbait painting, I really don't have a generic bluegil ..read more

Just a quick update on some happenings going on here and why updates and new blog articles are slower in getting onto the web than previous months. Been super busy getting new crankbaits painted for the 2021 campaigns.  Since I've been leaning towards more natural patterns, its been taking a bit longer than usual as there are more steps involved in getting realistic looking baits painted, sealed and ready for the water.   The above point segues into another facet of my bait painting.  I've been busy painting jigheads, bladebaits, spoons, flashers, dodgers etc.  I ..read more

  One cannot simply grasp how important Gizzard shad are to our water ways as a bait fish.  They are literally the meat and potatoes and everyday fare of too many species to count.  There mere presence in most reservoirs is a good indication that there are going to be some really nice game fish present,  If that water way boasts a healthy and properly managed shad population, you can bet those gamefish you target are going to be "thick". Looking at the distribution map above, one can easily see these little guys are adaptable to a wide range of waters and temperature ra ..read more

  So I am sitting here in the man cave aka Lure Foundry thinking about a lot of different aspects of the 2021 fishing campaigns.  One of the things I usually do over the winter months is paint cranks or bladebaits. The current craze is offbeat customized color patterns.  Crap that looks like someone was unaware of color compatibility and complimenting.  But that's probably the point I suppose.  Giving the fish something they've never seen before just to get their interest. I cannot say I am a huge fan of these far out color schemes.  Especially the generic  ..read more

  It's that time of year.  The holiday season is over and we've all just settled in for the "real" winter.   The wind seems like it is always howling from the north, bringing with it that  lovely mixture of snow and miserable wind chill.  It snarls and growls at your doors and windows as it rushes by. Then there are the other precious gifts nature has left in her wake.   Icicles hanging from your rooftop.  Your driveway and sidewalks are always drifted in, or you see your truck is buried ...again ... To top it off,   the last time you che ..read more

  Rainbow smelt.  In terms of forage importance, it ranks right up there with gizzard shad.  Since I fish the missouri river a lot, particularly from Chamberlain SD northwards, I felt it was time to get to know a little bit more about this fish.  So I started doing some searches online, pulled some info from various sources and have tried cobbling it together into a somewhat compatible and easily digestible format for everyone to use. In the plateau reservoirs of the Missouri River from Oahe all the way to Ft. Peck, smelt, along with gizzard shad are the primary ..read more