Hard Water Fishing Show

In the final episode of season five of the hard water fishing show we talk about our Fish Donkey tournament winners and ice fishing out of a snow bear. We also have a on site wrap up of the 22nd annual Hard Water Invitational from the shores of Devils Lake.   Fish Donkey Tournament  https://www.fishdonkey.com/  Congrats to the winners and thanks to everyone for participating.    Snow Bear Rental Here is a link from where we rented the snow bear from.  https://www.snobearrental.net/  What a great machine.    Legend Jason tells the legend of the stinky northern caught by the Itasca Stallion.   

In this episode Jeff and Jason attend the Hard Water Freaks annual ice event and record live.  We four guests join us from the event Max from Hard Water Freaks, Caleb from Fishing For the Heart Meagan from Casting Queens and Robert from DryHootch.   Max from Hard Water Freaks Max from Hard Water Freaks joins us for a quick interview about the annual ice event. The ice event benefits many amazing causes with the goal of brining the joy of the great outdoors to Veterans and children alike.  For more information you see the event link https://fb.me/e/2lmQDytL2    Caleb from Fishing for the Heart Caleb  joins us to talk about his organization fishing for the heart.  Fishing for the Heart is a non-profit organization designed to connect kids, families and friends to each other and God through the sport of fishing!  You can find more information here https://www.fishingfortheheart.com/    Meagan from Casting Queens Meagan joins us from Casting Queens, a women's only fishing brand for women who love to fish and love a little glam!   You can find more information here https://castingqueens.com/    Robert From DryHootch Robert joins us to talk about DryHootch.org. DryHootch is a nonprofit organization formed by combat Veterans to help Veterans in their return home.  You can find more information here https://www.dryhootch.org/     

In this episode of the hard water fishing show Jeff and Jason talk about sunfish identification and minnow hooking tactics. Identifying Sunfish Here is a great video on identifying sunfish by angling buzz on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJLq371hYSU    Here is another link for more details about sunfish from the Minnesota DNR https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fish/sunfish/biology.html#:~:text=Cheeks%20and%20gill%20covers%20are,bars%20on%20their%20olive%20backs.  

On this episode of the Hard Water Fishing Show we talk to Roger Houck about yellow perch fishing in upstate New York.  You can find more information about Roger and Roger's Rigs on his website https://bit.ly/3fJVCCz He is also on Youtube https://bit.ly/3IqFwKl 

Jeff and Jason talk to Brian "Bro" Brosdahl about all things ice fishing. For more information about Bro check out his website https://brosguideservice.com/    Current Events Hard Water Freaks Event We will be attending the Hard Water Freaks Event in Wisconsin at the end of January, you can find more information on the event here https://bit.ly/3rgKylV    Hard Water Fishing Show Fish Donkey Tournament The hard water fishing show now has a tournament open on fish Donkey. It's your chance to win some HWFS Swag.   Cost is $5   To Enter 1. Download the Fish Donkey app on your phone 2. Search for Hard Water Fishing Show 2022 3. Join the tournament   Gear Fish Monkey Mitts https://amzn.to/3Kb6Pdl  I got a new pair of Fish Monkey mitts, they arrived in the mail today. Will be putting an review out soon on how well they work.   Boots Red Head Snow Machine https://bit.ly/3npgrrn  My Kamik boots were warn out also.  I found a good pair of pull on boots at Cabelas.  Will be doing a review of them soon.   Frabill Magnum Bait Bucket https://amzn.to/3tr8Pbr  My Frabill bait bucket which I love got a bit stinky because I left my bait in it. I talked about a few tricks to get rid of the smell. Will be following up in a future episode on how my de-skunking of my bait bucket goes.  

Jeff and Jason talk about recent ice fishing trips to Lake of the Woods and Mille Lacs Lake. It is the first week of January 2022.   Mille Lacs Lake Fishing Report Jeff was fishing out of the Red Door Resort  on Mille Lacs Lake.  Walked out to the first break and caught some walleyes and perch.   I was fishing out of my one man Frabill Recon 100 ice shack.  Its super tiny but just big enough for me to fish out of and super light to walk out with.  I have no seat so I use one of those tripod chairs.  Not everyone likes them but I find them superior to bag chairs where you sit to low. I can fish out of them for hours.  This is not the one I have but its similar https://amzn.to/3JTnMsA   For Presentation I used a few different lures. I was using a perch talker 1/4 oz drop chain with glow pink and white.  You can find a three pack here.  https://amzn.to/3n4eAIa . This lure got bit off on a big fish and I only had one.  Still searching for a replacement.  That is why I always buy two of them incase you loose one or to lend to Jason.  I also used a glow spoon, I have talked to a few anglers that have had success with these.  They work even if your glow stick is not glowing anymore.  I would go for the green and gold ones.    https://amzn.to/3zvdKJy https://amzn.to/3JOdf24 And get some extra glow sticks too. I prefer the red glow sticks https://amzn.to/3G79a6T red seems to work the best for me.   I am running 6lb Trilene fluorocarbon line https://amzn.to/3q3EEFh  This stuff is a bit stiff and can have some memory, but I have been told it superior. I switch back and forth between this and mono. I have a ant swivel https://amzn.to/3f5nPn7 on this to take the twist out.  Also running a quick clip https://amzn.to/3qVH4oF  from northland to switch lures super easy.  For location I was fishing on break from shallow to deep with a rocky bottom in about 19 feet of water.   Lake of the Woods Fishing Report Jason was fishing lake of the woods on the Canada side, and had a ton of success.  He ran into some rod issues because he was using the wrong action rod for the target species of walleye.  He was running a medium light rod from St. Croix.  Because it was to light it did not have the backbone to get the fish through the hole.  Also it was not giving him the action on his lures he was looking for because the tip of his rod was to quick.  He will be looking for a new rod very soon with medium action when targeting walleyes.   For Lures he used a few different ones but found that the VMC Rocker spoon really worked well.  https://amzn.to/3t8F1R0 .  He also found success with a red buckshot https://amzn.to/3G6iqbm and of course the go to glow perch buck shot https://amzn.to/3n8JhvY    Legend Last week I forgot my bibs when I went ice fishing.  This caused me to have to drive 45 minutes to Brainerd to find something to wear the next day for ice fishing.  It was an adventure for sure.

We talk to Max from Strike and Catch learning about the ice fishing culture in Sweden.   Current Events and Listener News Hard Water Freaks Event Jeff and Jason will be attending the hard water freaks event for more information go to the event page.  https://bit.ly/3He0Zpg    Brandon - Big Northern We discuss what is the best way to get a big northern out of the hole, like the big one Brandon caught and send a picture in of a 38 inch 19lb Northern.   Lisa G - Fly Fishing in Alaska We discuss fly fishing in Alaska with some help from former guest Colby Sabutis.   Question I enjoyed the interview with Colby. I was especially curious as both a fly and ice angler/guide, was there any fly techniques or tricks that he uses for ice.  I am up in Alaska and have fun jigging flies under the ice (woolly buggers, beaded nymphs) with good success. We can’t use any live bait to ice fish.   Colby's Answer Use the VMC bull fly jig similar to this one https://amzn.to/3Ho6cLr  for both applications. No bait just the fly/jig. When using a woolly bugger I usually jig up then let it flutter down like you would in normal fly application   Trzebiatowskihunts  Wrote us that he is having a hard time finding some fish.  We give a few ideas 1. Head to a local bait shop and ask 2. Don't feel bad, we go fishing all the time and don't catch fish. 3. Look for a Pike and Crappie lake. 4. Sometimes when you are on the lake people will share information about the lake.    5. Ask your local Fishery department   "Old Tricks Still Work" by Vick Attardo December 10th Outdoor News Vick listed some old tricks he used for ice fishing in this article.  A few of them were discussed on the show. 1. Put minnows in a jar and drop to the bottom of the lake 2. Don't shock your minnows, add some lake water to your bait bucket to equalize the water temp   "Staying warm on ice from head to toe" by John Teruliani in Outdoor News December 10th We agree with a few of the points made in this article 1. Eat oatmeal or pancakes, carb load,  instead of protein before you go out on the ice for the day. 2 use toasty toes in your boots to keep your toes warm 3. Gloves vs Mitts - Jeff suggests mitts are better than gloves.   Fishing Report Mille Lacs Report Jeff was out on Mille Lacs he did not catch a fish, Jason suggested that he should just record a clip as it happens to often.   Southern Minnesota Fishing Report Jeff and Jason met in southern Minnesota at a small lake.  Fishing was slow but a few fish were caught.  It was a great day, the weather was so mild we did not even put up a shack.  Kept on drilling and moving until we found some fish. We used Jason's Eskimo Pistol bit https://amzn.to/3qzMHIO  and a DeWalt cordless drill and it worked really great for what we were doing.  We went through a 5AH battery. The light weight was much appreciated as we were walking.   The ice was clear and you needed yaktraks https://amzn.to/3EuVMru  for sure or you would fall over.   We saw someone ice skate across the lake.    When to Talk to People on the ice A great time to chat with people on the ice is when they are on the move.  This changes on different lakes, each lake has its own culture.   Gear Beaver dam tip ups https://amzn.to/3sVZngf  are still one of my favorites.    Max Losche from https://strikeandcatch.com/ We talk to Max Losche from Strike and Catch about ice fishing in the Baltic Sea and smaller inland lakes in Sweden.  Max tells us that pimpling is actually a verb. In Sweden a pimple is a small spoon used for ice fishing.  It' s more about the method than a lure.  For an auger Max uses hand augers, they don't use any power augers.  They use Mora augers similar to the same thing you can buy in the US.  They hole size is 8 to 10 inches but in Sweden they use the metric system so we had to do a conversion.  When fishing in the Baltic for Pike a wooden stick that you ram into the ice and a spool with some basic ice line with a metal arm with a red tip. You put a loop in the line on the red indicator, then the flag goes up.  Everything is above the ice unlike the beaver dam tip ups.  These are also used to catch Zander which are like walleyes but larger, up to 40 inches.  Mostly Zander are targeted with dead sticks running bait feeder reels.  These are put on a quick strike rig, or leader with two trebles on a wire leader.   Ice houses or shelters are not used really in Sweden, most just fish on a chair on the ice.  Heaters are not used much nor are fish finders.       

In this episode of the Hard Water Fishing Show Jeff gets out on first and and we talk to Erika Blegen from Women Anglers of Minnesota (WAM) about there upcoming ice queen fishing tournament.  You can find there website here https://bit.ly/3JbjDAb for more information.   Fact Checking Jason and Jeff Clarify what Ole we are talking about.   Lil Ole said that North woods Dave should have used aluminum studs in his ice shack.   North woods Dave was to busy to do any additional fact checking.   Current Events Outdoor News "Long Rods" by Vic Attardo Vic talks about not casting a shadow over his hole.  He believes you will catch more fish if you cast over your hole.  Jason thinks this may be lake dependent.    Outdoor News "Shallow Walleyes" December 3rd Outdoor News by Jason Mitchell Jason Mitchell recommended fishing in shallow water for Walleyes, if you can find them there in the summer you can find them there in the winter.  He also talked about how electronics are not as useful in shallow water.  Jason talked about some experience from Matt who fishes in shallow water and his flasher is only showing 2 inches of the bottom.  Sometimes fish can be attracted to noise.  Both Jeff and Jason has experienced noise can trigger bites.   Nevada Dave - how to secure a hub? - answer is to put a stake in the ground and put a guy line on it first.  Then you will be good.    Gary does Noise Effect Fish? The short answer is yes. Gary asked if fishing with a generator will scare the fish away. Fish will scatter even with an electric auger.  A generator will affect the fish how much very hard to know.  Gary was fishing for Cusk.   Sometimes when you are doing combat fishing and moving you could be pushing the fish.  Maybe you would be better off just sitting and one spot and drive the fish away. You have to make sure you sit long enough for the noise to get quiet and let the fish come back.     Gear Snyder 360 death roll https://bit.ly/3mhyhf4  I would like to get one of these and try them out, its a spoon that rolls over   Ruffian Snow Bike https://bit.ly/3FaS1bG  Its like a snow dog with a ski on the front its the size of a pit bike.  Looks pretty cool   Berkley Trilene Fluorocarbon 6LB https://amzn.to/320Rif9  I just put this stuff on 4 of my rods.  Seems to be pretty good stuff. Used it last weekend. Still not as easy to use as mono.    First Ice Drove two hours north  to ice fish, and did not catch a fish. Was fishing for Crappies in a place I have caught some really nice fish.  The ice was 6 - 8 inches but very inconsistent. Had to read the ice to get around the cracks. Had full on safety with ice picks.  Also have a long rope on my sled.    Frabill I-3 Ice Bibs https://amzn.to/3pZzwkg These are the ice bibs I use.  They work great.   Guest Erika Blegen Talked with Erika about the ice Queen ice fishing contest and Women Anglers of Minnesota.  Also discussed the 77 inch lake sturgeon she caught,  that is recorded on the master angler program.   Ericka describes how she  fishes with a "ball or crawlers" on a hook.  For an auger she uses a kDrill and drill multiple holes to get the hole big enough to fit the big fish through. Mud puppies can be a problem when fishing for lake sturgeon so watch out for them. 

Jeff and Jason attend the big one, the St. Paul Ice Fishing Show.  We meet up with A few listeners and friends and have a great time looking at all the latest ice fishing gear and gadgets.   Beer The Statement of Purpose Martin House Brewing - A Peanut Butter Golden Stout https://bit.ly/3Ir8kDk  Turkey Mountain Ale from the mountains of Iowa - Jason is drinking a home brew qualifies as an old man beer   Patrons Chris moved up to the Legend status, so will be sending him out a hat.  Thanks for your support Chris.  A zoom meeting will be coming up soon for our patrons.  We also talk to about how to get discord on your phone.  Here patrons can chat about ice fishing.  We ran into Leo a patron on the second  floor at the ice fishing show.  Its always great to meet our patrons in person.  We tried to meet some other patrons at the show but were not able to connect.   Show Business Please use our Amazon Affiliate link https://amzn.to/3BBw6YN , its a free way to support the show Swag - You can find shirts and hats with our log here  https://Hardwatershow.com/merch The best places to interact with us on social media  Instagram and Facebook Find our website hardwatershow.com   We have a YouTube page where our videos are posted You can email us at [email protected] We ready everything, even if it does not make it on the show! Listeners News / Current Events Aaron G Sent in a picture of his new HFS sweatshirt, thanks for purchasing one. Kris ZCooler Case for your Camera https://bit.ly/3DCpHgW   Screen is in the lid and he has a direction finder to show what way his camera is going.  Different than a panner. Unsure why this is better than a case but I suppose its kinda cool?  Love that its home made Tri-pod Camera Mount He put his Marcum 5+ camera https://amzn.to/3pCHlvX   on a tripod at amazon https://amzn.to/3Gq05Wn  and used a Marcum camera compass https://bit.ly/3dwtJgn   to control the direction of the camera. He said it works really well.  My brother in law used a similar setup last year.    Calibrate your Ice Chisel Jason talks about how to calibrate your ice chisel as you gage the amount of ice on the lake. Things such as your arm strength and chisel or spud bar type can affect how thick you are testing the ice.   As always there is no safe ice and be careful early season.     Tim Asks About Minnows When do you use a full minnow, head vs cut off the tail.  Charlie says to cut the tail off if your minnow is to active.  If the fish are finnicky use a fish head to get the fish to bite the hook.  Jeff has used minnow heads less than tails.  Jason says minnow heads and Cheetos are a bad combination.  Start with a whole minnow, if that is not working then switch to a minnow head or tail.  If your bait is getting stolen then move to minnow heads.     Q: Critical things to increase your odds on the ice A: Hope and Prayers   Check out hard water freaks for there big event Saturday January 29th. Looks like a great time and we would love to go.  https://bit.ly/3rL9G69    Topic - St. Paul Ice Fishing Show Jeff and Jason get together in person since last ice in March 2020.   Ran into Joe Ole and Original Ole.  Who is the OG Ole we just don't know. Ran into Brian from the short rod show, Corey a Patron and Brian from Red Door Resort. Its like a big family reunion.     Fish Daddy LED Spoons https://bit.ly/3IvJvWV  We are going to try these out, why they could be better than the snap glow jigs   Wallace Decoys https://bit.ly/3lNHjQT  Jason's wow moment was Wallace Decoys, he makes incredible works of art.  Jeff's favorite was the sun fish.     Ice Spy by Winter Recreation Tech https://bit.ly/3lOwH45  Its a righteous  buoy, it freezes into a lake and uses cell or satellite signal as the ice freezes to say how thick the ice is.     Eskimo Outbreak 650XD https://amzn.to/3oACY5d  The one with the full door.  Brother Matt explains that people are not he shape of triangles so doors should not be that shape.  This ice shack is a hub shack with a full door to the ice.  So when you have all your heavy gear on you don't trip over the door.  Also much easier to get your stuff in the shack.     Adapter for Auger - Deep Freeze https://bit.ly/3rNGo6N  Jason uses a drill setup on a Pistolbit https://amzn.to/3oADKz9 auger. This lets you disconnect your auger from your drill quickly and then drill in your hub ice anchors then quickly connect back to your auger.     Blue Tips https://amzn.to/31Gm7FB  Is a blue tooth transmitter that you put it on your tip up or trap as they call it in the NE.  It uses blue tooth to transmit to your phone when your trap is tripped and alerts you.    P3 Plastics https://bit.ly/3Ir90IS  Made out of Winona Minnesota. Jason is going to try some plastics this year on the ice. They had a really nice booth with a bunch of different plastics.    Smart Stop Micro https://amzn.to/3pDOHzh  These are unique bobber stops that are small.  Use these with a foam yellow calm ice buster bobber.  The bobber stops I find the string is to thick, so this is an alternative. You need a special pair of pliers to these on.  Jason is very skeptical of these fancy bobber stops.    Line Cutterz as Seen on Shark Tank  https://amzn.to/3rMR4CL  This will cut your line instead of your teeth or tweezers.  This works even on braid, which can be a problem with some other line cutters.  It also makes a clean cut for super thin line and small lures.  Sometimes you bite this line and it will flatten the line and not go through the eyelet of your lure. You wont have this problem with line Cutterz.   Okuma Bait Feeder Reels https://amzn.to/31DZ4v7  For a dead stick or bobber setup, the line comes out of it instead of leaving your bail open.    Legend  Jason tells the legend about how the ice show is a bunch of middle aged men walking around saying "that will do the trick"  

Jeff and Jason discuss buying a used portable ice shack.  You can often find something really good for a fraction of the price of a new shack.    Current Events The St. Paul Ice Fishing Show is this weekend. This is the big one! https://bit.ly/3EaEZup   Minnesota Record 55LB Muskie caught in Mille Lacs Lake https://bit.ly/3dbEsMW What a monster of a fish.   Listener News Seth E reported four inches of ice reported near Alexandria MN.  Also sent along a nice picture of a pike and a sunny.   Sam D asked about some intel on Kabetogama lake.  This is a lake near the Canadian border of Minnesota near Voyagers national park in St. Louis county.  This lake is 25K acres and is one of the big ten lakes in Minnesota.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabetogama_Lake Tons of structure.  Jason gave some very general information about fishing the windward side, or find the mid lake humps bars and transitions.  In reality we need to ask our listeners for help on this one.   Andrew Checked in from Minnedosa Manitoba Canada.  They have 8.5 inches of meh ice.  Hard sided shacks reported.  They had the dreaded snow then ice.    JoePete sent an email about our bands to put your reel on the rod. So you are using a total of four bands. He said to double them up or use zip ties!  And zip ties have a lot of utility. As we digress you should always carry a role of duct take and zip ties in your car.  That and a small tool kit you can just about fix anything.    Other Current Events Monofiliment turns 70, and still has a place in our world.  Both Jeff and Jason use mono all the time.  Spinner Blades naming in outdoor news by Joe Fellegy, also the author of classic Minnesota fishing stories Fact Check Alert, North Woods Dave may have gotten out ice fishing this past weekend.   Girl of 1000 lakes had a video about going in a float suit https://bit.ly/3ly3lXO  Outdoor news had a great write up of some of the best ice fishing lakes in Minnesota and the outlook for each. Make sure to subscribe and check it out.   Gear Coffin Minnow https://bit.ly/3G7wMaS  The coffin minnow is a new Northland tackle lure spoon out this year.  Its a top weighted spoon that would be used to bang off the bottom of the lake to attract fish.     The "Brad Hawthorn way" to fish, as he talked about on youttube  https://bit.ly/3xWwfWC  Use 6lb floral for line, a very small swivel https://amzn.to/3pjVzBG  and a leader and a fast snap https://amzn.to/3xSKL1s .  The swivel gets rid of the line twist and the fast snap lets you switch your lure really fast.  I am trying this out this year, rigging two of my rods in this way.    Jointed Pin Head Minnow https://amzn.to/3DzsO9z  Ordered a few of these to try out, Jason has had some good success with these lures in the past. Colors - UV Green, UV Pink, Gold    Reel Size Get a Bigger size reels to reduce line twist.  Get the 30 size instead of the 10, 20 or 25 size.     Digger Ice Angels - https://amzn.to/32ZMnv1  Want to try these out to anchor my hub shack quicker.  I have wanted to try these for a few years.   Beaver Dam Tip Ups https://amzn.to/3rA3T39   Jason got some artic fisherman beaver dam tip ups for $22 a piece, they were from the 80s.     Fire House R-Tek Tip Up  https://amzn.to/3GcZ6Zz  This is what I carry in my ice bag all the time. It works and is very portable.     Pro Pod Cast Tip Most pod cast apps have settings where to speed up and remove white space.  This allows you to listen to more podcasts!   But a good thing you cannot filter meaningless content because there would not be much left of our show.   Topic - Buying a Used Portable Ice Shack When you look at the new stuff it is really good, but it can get expensive.  We walk through a checklist of what to look for when buying a used ice shack.  This is for the buyers and sellers to.  Maybe you want to upgrade and it can be a great way to get rid of your old one so you can put the money toward the new shack.   Where to look? Start with Facebook marketplace, Craigslist and some local shoppers.  If you are looking for something specific try a in search of (ISO) and let people come to you with there shack they have sitting around.  Try different search terms such as Ice Shack of Clam Shack or Fishing Shack.    Categories   Suitcase style These will be the cheapest ones, you can get one for under 100 bucks.   Hub This is the next cheapest ones.  They are not as desirable as flip over shacks but are still worth looking at.   Flip over These are going to be the most expensive but you can still find good deals.   Thermal Ice Shacks You are going to pay more for thermal, get a good condition non-thermal shack and put some reflextex in it.     What to look for in a hub shack Check out the zippers, if they are shot don't buy it.  Mouse holes can be patched, you can find some good deals if you find one with a few mouse holes.  You can fix poles, but you are better off finding one with all the poles working. Pay attention to where the tie downs are.  There are three generations of tie downs.  Tie downs in the skirt of the shack. Second generation had the tie downs on the inside of the shack.  The third generation has guy lines on the outside of the shack and you skip the skirt.   Windows will crack, and don't worry about them. Just get some packing tape and fix them.  If you can find one with a door that goes to the floor buy it, they are really nice.  Some advantages of hubs are the size and weight.  They are not mobile but they are portable.  If you have a bunch of people to fish with get a hub shack.    Smell Make sure you can deal with the smell of the shack, they can get really stinky.     Suitcase Style If you like having a floor get a suitcase style shack.  They can be less than a 100 dollars that works great.  Look at the hinges that they work. Make sure the poles are all there and that they work.  Make sure all the connectors are included with the shack.  Does Clam still make a suitcase style shack?  We find a really old one that has a exoskeleton where the poles are on the outside.      Flip over Shack For one or two people the flip over shack is what you want.  Jeff thinks the canvas is the most important, but Jason disagrees that the tub is key to a flip over.   Make sure the poles and connectors are in good shape, they can be hard to find.  It can help to check on the manufactures website to see if parts are still available.  Seats are not usually great, but you can always improve these in the future.  Make sure to not buy to big of one.  If you are hand pulling it don't get a huge one.    Legend Jeff tells a legend of a suite case style shack he got off of a shopper website with a sketchy propane heater.