Show Them the Light! - By John Peterson and Travis Peterson

As another winter fishing season grips the ice-belt, hard water anglers gear up with new and improved equipment. Advances in ice angling gear continue to emerge. Electronics, portable and permanent shelters, augers, and cold-weather gear have come a long way in recent years. Arguably the most ice-shattering advancement in terminal ice tackle has been the application of "new age" glow-in-the-dark paint. Glow-in-the-dark jigs and spoons have been mainstays in the winter tackle box for years. Recent photoluminescent technological advances however, have opened a whole new era in the ice tackle world.

It’s no secret that glow is the way to go for winter fish of all species.  From walleye to trout and pike to panfish, glow-in-the dark jigs and spoons will put more fish in the bucket than their relatively dull counterparts.

Anglers use light sources such as flashlights, lanterns, and special lure lights to charge the glow paint. The paint absorbs the light and releases it over time. Glow lures are especially effective in low light conditions. A number of factors contribute to reduced light below the ice and the importance of glow lures. 

For starters, the angle of the sun is reduced. Days are shorter. Nights are longer. When a lake surface becomes hard with ice and then blanketed with snow, light penetration is abruptly hindered. Yes, light will find its way through the snow and ice. However, as if a dimmer switch has been applied, the intensity of the sunlight is reduced. 

Furthermore, consider the prime periods of the day for winter fish activity. For many species, most notably walleye, crappie, and big bluegills, the action heats up during "low-light" and "no-light" hours.  Ice anglers across the Midwest have learned to hit the ice during "prime-time" in an effort to increase their catch-rates. While some target the hours before and after dawn, the masses focus on the night bite. In clear water lakes, which are the norm in the Midwest, night time is the right time for these species.

In addition, fish of many varieties tend to gravitate toward deeper water in the winter months. As weeds in the shallows die, oxygen becomes scarce. The absence of a thermo-cline after fall turnover allows fish to go deep relatively unrestricted. Panfish in smaller lakes will seek out the deepest water they can find. The deeper they go, the darker it gets.

Northland Fishing Tackle has a colorful remedy for getting the attention of fish in their dismal winter environment. A lead dog in the development of ice fishing tackle with popular lures like the Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon, Northland offers "Super-Glo" versions of all items in its line of hooks, jigs, and spoons. Like standard glow-in-the-dark paint, "Super-Glo" paint can be charged using any light source. The paint absorbs the light and slowly releases it. However, "Super-Glo" paint releases the light over a longer period of time. In effect, it holds its charge longer. While the standard glow paint would release light for ten or fifteen minutes, Super-Glo paint will glow for up to forty-five minutes.

He bought the bait store from Pete Link and at that time they only sold bait.  Now bait was Marv’s specialty, but he also knew that you need hooks, sinkers and tackle to catch fish too.  Marv added basic fishing tackle to his store within the first year.  A few years later, Marv’s store was recognized as the premier bait store of the Brainerd Lakes area.  It was also the home of the legendary Nisswa Guides League.  Former guides out of Koep’s include none other then Al and Ron Lindner, Gary Roach and of course Marv Koep.

Today, Marv no longer owns the business, but the tradition he started lives on, including the legendary Nisswa guides.  Koeps Pro Shop continues to have a full staff of professional guides to service any angler’s desire.   What ever your favorite species is, this area is bound to have an option for you.  Gull Lake, the Whitefish chain, Mille Lacs and even Leech Lake is within reasonable driving distance.  With 450 lakes within a thirty mile radius, suffice to say that this is a major hub for angling opportunities.  Walleye, northern pike, muskie, panfish, large and smallmouth bass can all be found in the lakes surrounding this region.  It is no wonder that many hall of fame anglers have decided to call this area home. 

It was a privilege to be able to spend some time on the water with the legendary guide himself, Marv Koep.  Marv has been inducted into the Minnesota and National Freshwater Fishing hall of fame for his lifelong teachings of fishing.  From my experience with Marv, I am sure there are thousands of anglers out there that have benefited from his teachings.  I am sure he has revised his techniques and skills over the years but he still keeps fishing simple for his customers.  Although you will occasionally find Marv using weed weasel jigs and redtails, his favorite presentation is the live bait rig using a redtail chub, of course.  When you make a living at fishing you have to count on something to work on the fish and this presentation has done just that for him year after year. 

Today, Marv still guides as much as he did many years ago.  He still spends 150 to 160 days on the water each year with customers.  Eighty percent of his guide trips are with repeat customers and his schedule fills up fast every year, however, you can still try to find an available opening with the legendary guide.  Give Koep’s Pro Shops and the Nisswa Professional Guides a call at 218-963-2547 for your next memorable fishing trip in the Brainerd Lakes Area.  And bring along the family, with all the shopping, golfing, races and events, there is bound to be something fun to do for every family member. 

The same goes for all the electronic tools that anglers can utilize. With only one tool, such as the depth finder, an angler is in a much better position to find fish then without one. In addition, you are also safer on the water. With just an underwater camera, seeing is definitely believing, but it is too time consuming to just use the camera and search for structure and fish. It would take weeks, if not months or years to learn a particular body of water. And how about a global positioning system (GPS)? Most good maps these days will contain GPS points and even list community fishing locations as well as the best times to be pursuing these fish. But even with a GPS, you cannot really be certain of catching fish unless you use all your tools effectively. Imagine buying a GPS and a map with GPS points and then going out to investigate a main lake sunken point for smallmouth bass. Without a depthfinder, you can probably come relatively close to the point, but your Rapala Shad Rap will come back clean every time unless you know exactly where the structure is.

In order to cash in on any fishing opportunity it pays to use your electronics efficiently. The one, two, three punch is a technique to get you onto fish in short order. And it starts with a GPS. A good GPS and map will allow you to have a safe navigation as well as minimize the time looking for places to fish. Pre-punch in waypoints into your GPS that represent troublesome spots such as rocks or shallow areas on the water. Also pre-punch in potential fish-holding locations from the map for a starting point once you get on the water.

Secondly, use your depthfinder to its full potential. I see it all too often. Anglers with very expensive liquid crystal depth finders that only use it to show them the depth, rather then using it to show them what is happening beneath them at all times. Want to know what a professional walleye fisherman pays the most attention too? Their eyes will always be glued to their depth finder to see where the fish are in the water column, what the bottom conditions are, etc. After all, this is where their paycheck comes from. Drive your boat to your pre-programmed waypoint on your GPS and spend some time familiarizing yourself with the area. Look for changes in structure, changes in bottom composition, and most importantly, fish. Move around until you mark fish! When fish are finally marked on your depthfinder, pay attention to what they are relating to. Are they relating to a subtle change in depth, a school of baitfish, or a transition area between hard and soft bottom? But what kind of fish are they?

Underwater camera costs have also come down due to competition of various brands. At any rate, I wouldn't leave home without mine; especially if I told my wife we're having fish for supper.

Use all the technology that you can and increase your efficiency on the water. After all, it is always more fun when you are catching fish. Use these time saving techniques and your future of fishing will be a "knockout." Remember to take only what you need and leave some for the future.

Most good maps do a fair job of documenting the underwater topography of the basin. They highlight the lakes major structures such as islands, main lake points, troublesome spots for boaters and basic underwater topography. However, many maps do not show perfect detail. Some underwater points, saddles, breaklines and humps do not appear on all maps. The only way to really find these areas is to go out and make good use of your depth finder. Cover a lot of water and scan the depths using your depth finder as your eyes. Throw out a marker buoy in a suspect area and then drive around it looking for changes in bottom composition, depth, vegetation and perhaps the presence of baitfish. Set up your depth finder to display twice or even three times the depth you are actually over. Hard-bottomed areas will be displayed as double, or triple echos. In other words, the display will show another bottom twice as deep or even a third (triple echo) line. Mucky or soft bottom typically absorbs the sound waves generated from the depth finder and consequently will only display one bottom line.

I've lost track of how many times I've heard walleye tournament pros say their winning pattern was finding and fishing transition areas such as a rock pile off of a mud flat. Anglers should pay more attention to these fish holding areas. Finding these areas can be relatively easy by understanding what your depth finder is telling you. Is it hard bottom? Muck? Weedy? One of the easiest to operate and yet technologically advanced depth finder is the Edge LC-507 from Vexilar. This depth finder utilizes two transducers with different cone angles and allows you to see them both at the same time using split screen technology. The unit incorporates one wide cone to see a broad view and a narrow cone to see what is directly beneath you. This translates to a unit that can pinpoint weed edges, bottom composition transition areas, display fish on a flat and display near paper graph resolution all in one unit. And setting it up to be able to do all of this can be accomplished with relative ease and very little operator input. How important is this? Finding the exact weed edge, breakline or transition area can be critical to any angler's success. Whether you are fishing for bass, walleye, or pike, fish seem to relate to these areas to increase their hunting efficiency. By finding and marking these areas with close proximity, you can increase your efficiency on the water too.

Make good use of those expensive depth finders and start exploring familiar or unfamiliar bodies of water. By understanding your electronics and the body of water your fishing, you'll be able unlock a few mysteries and catch more fish. Always remember that a fish has simple needs, much simpler then our needs, and the key is to find out how they fill their needs on any body of water. To put it simple, they need to eat, reproduce and be comfortable. A high quality depth finder can tell where the fish are by showing you a school of baitfish, transition areas, surface temperature among many other things. These are all variables that equate to the location of the fish on any body of water.

Try to spend more time with your depth finder this summer and look for the hidden jewels in your favorite body of water. Put in a little extra time looking for the right structure and you just might end up fishing less and yet catching more.

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