Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
Thursday, May 15, 2025
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Northland Tackle Report
Northland pro, Brian “Bro” Brosdahl
The serious among us are messin’ with lures nightly, organizing by size and color, and gobbling up every nugget of ice fishing content we can find. The slightly less serious are thinking about first ice from the blind or treestand. Whatever group you’re in, surely, ice fishing has crossed your mind.
Nobody counts the days – minutes and seconds – like backwoods savage and Northland pro, Brian “Bro” Brosdahl. Sure, he’ll pop a ruffed grouse or five, even sit a bit for a freezer buck, but rest assured that ice jigs are dancing in his head.
To that, Bro dishes up the intel on first ice. And we’re talking about that very first week when he’s testing and traversing what the yeti angler calls “tiptoe ice”.
READING THE ICE
For beginners, Bro packs light, at least as light as lineman can travel. “I put just the essentials in a simple Otter utility sled,” said Bro. “That includes a chisel, RAZR Ultra-Light synthetic auger on a brushless lithium hammer drill, throwable floatation on a long rope, and just a few rods and tray of Northland jigs.”
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USAngling Report
USAngling will host the World Ice Fishing Championship (WIFC) near Grand Rapids, Mich. at Lake Tamarack. The city is expecting to host teams from 12 different countries including Kazakhstan, Latvia, and Finland to name a few.
In 2024 the WIFC was held in Mongolia where Team USA won the silver medal with a Day Two comeback win for the first time on foreign ice. Captain Myron Gilbert who previously won a gold medal in 2010 and a bronze in 2013 stated, “Iʼm excited to be fishing close to home for the first time since 2013. Several of our team anglers are from Michigan, so it’ll be nice to compete on home ice against the best in the world. We are very excited to bring catch and release angling to the ice fishing World Championships. Conservation is important to all sportfisherman.”
Current Team USA members include local Michigan natives, Chad Schaub and Team Director, Steph Sissell from the Grand Rapids area who will be able to fish near their hometown. “Michigan is a great place to hold the 2025 WIFC since Michigan has some of the best ice fisherman in the country,” says Steph Sissell. Additionally, Coach Myron Gilbert who is from Brooklyn, MI and Keith Kniffen from the Lansing area, will be returning to compete in their home state.
The tournament includes three days of pre-fishing followed by two days of tournament competition for gold, silver, and bronze medals. The anglers will target two fish species, crappie and bluegill through the winter ice.
For the first time in the history of WIFC this will be a no-kill fishing event as well.
USAngling, in cooperation with USA Ice Team, has developed a system to catch, weigh and release the fish that has been effective in several of the USA trails. Mike McNett, the USAngling Freshwater Fishing Director and former ice angler team member said, “Developing a system to weigh and release the fish with a low mortality rate is critical if we want the Olympic Committee to consider our sport for the Olympics again.”
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Seaguar Report
Ice fishermen target yellow perch
Just about anywhere you find frozen waters, you'll find one particular species: the yellow perch.
They are renowned for their tasty filets, with some arguing that they are even better table fair than their cousins, the walleye. Perch are a prime target for this very reason, especially when it comes to ice fishing. Another great thing about them is that they are readily available in many waters and are generally willing to bite once you locate them.
Three Wisconsin guides who know them well are Vince Moldenhauer, Josh Teigen, and Troy Peterson. While all guide for them on the ice in the "The Badger State," they each have different approaches that will apply universally anywhere in the native range of the yellow perch.
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By Louie Stout
Don’t let this warm spell discourage you from thinking about ice fishing or stocking up on gear.
The ice is coming. You can count on that.
And, rather than procrastinate replacing or restocking your ice tackle, swing by Clear H2o in Edwardsburg this weekend and save money.
The Edwardsburg store will be hosting its annual Ice Fishing Open House and owner Darrin Schaap promises a lot of good bargains.
The Open House begins Friday and runs through Sunday. Hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, 6 to 6 Saturday and 6 to 4 Sunday.
“We’ve planned a lot of door-buster sales as well as price reductions on many products,” said Schaap. “We’ve got a lot of good deals and plenty of inventory.”
That inventory includes pop-up shanties, various types of augers, lures, rods and reels, electronics and clothing to keep you warm.
“We’ve got a deal on Shimano combos for $25,” he added. “We have all of the electronics, from the basic flasher model of fishfinder to graphs with mapping and GPS as well as the forward facing sonar for ice fishing.”
Battery driven augers continue to offer advanced technology and the lightweight lithium batteries that can run your auger or your graph are available at reasonable prices, he noted.
“We’ve also got augers that you can operate with your hand-drill to avoid having to manually crank through the ice,” said Schaap. “We have winter suits that will keep you afloat in case of a mishap.”
Check out the store’s Facebook page to see sale flyers and some of the deals or call the store at 269-414-4131.
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Ice Fishing
Clear H2o Tackle in Edwardsburg will host its Ice Fishing Open House Dec. 9 through the 11th at the store.
Store Owner Darrin Schaap promises good bargains on several items, including ice suits, rod and reel combos, clothing, electronics, shanties and ice fishing accessories.
In addition, special sales are offered on open water fishing gear. Schaap said on bass, walleye, trolling tackle and lures will be included in bargain pricing.
“If an angler can’t make it that weekend, come see us beforehand,” Schaap said. “Many of our deals are already in place.”
The store is located at 69037 Christina Lake Road in Edwardsburg, not far from the Juno Lake public access.
Store hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends. For more information, call the shop at 269-414-4131.
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Seaguar Report
Josh Teigen with yellow perch
If it's going to be cold out, it might as well be cold enough to freeze the lakes and rivers. Right now, ice fishing season is quickly approaching in many regions and one of the best ways to get in on the action is by targeting first ice panfish.
A trio of Wisconsin guides, Troy Peterson, Vince Moldenhauer, and Josh Teigen, all count early ice panfish as one of their favorite bites, and each has a unique approach to fishing this time of year. They each share their thought processes and methods for early-season ice fishing
Mr. Bluegill's Ultra-Shallow Bite
Josh Teigen with bluegill
Troy Peterson is known as "Mr. Bluegill," and he guides anglers for them, along with many other species, throughout the year. As soon as the ice forms on the lake, his approach is to stick close to shore and search for vegetation and warmer water.
"Right when the ice forms, everyone is itching to get out and you have to be quick," he said. "The first two weeks of the season can be excellent, but the fish get pressured and areas get fished out. I look for weedy bays and houses on the lake that have pumps or artesian aquifers because that will show you that warmer water is coming into the area. The panfish will stay in the areas as long as possible until it gets too cold and they will head out deeper."