• Starboard Choice Marine
  • Moore Boats
D&R Sports Center
Clear H2O Tackle

Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive MarineTournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine

By Cory Schmidt, Z-Man

Nice crappieNice crappie

Even among the nation’s best bass anglers, whispers of words like big crappies attract a captive audience, every time. When tournament seasons end, plenty of bass fans go hot on the trail of their favorite panfish—silvery, palm-stretching wraiths known evocatively as “hubcaps.” Prospects of hundred fish days and flaky-white fillets—battered, seasoned and sizzling in a skillet—prompt even the most jaded anglers to drop what they’re doing and beeline for the nearest crappie hole.

It should come as no surprise then that while driving home from his last big bass derby of the year, Major League Fishing competitor David Walker found himself daydreaming about his local crappie lake and the makings of an epic fish fry. “After a long season of bass tourneys, I love coming home and catching a boatload of crappies with my daughters,” says Walker, a wizard with a small jig and softbait.

A lifelong panfish pursuer, Walker has discovered something big in the arena of soft plastic baits for crappies, perch, and bluegills—an idea that occurred to him while fishing a bass tournament.

“When I first started throwing ElaZtech softbaits for bass, I quickly learned an almost magical advantage of the material, which was that panfish and other nuisance fish couldn’t peck the tails off the back of your bass jigs. While bass fishing with traditional soft plastics, it’s always been a headache and major time waster when you’ve got perch, sunfish and other tail-pecking fish in the area. But using these new wave softbaits, I realized panfish could peck them all they wanted. I could stay in the game, non-stop, without constantly grabbing and re-rigging a new bait.”

By Louie Stout

If the weather cooperates, Lake Michigan perch fishing should be good this year.

Some big jumbos are already being caught by anglers fishing deep around Burns Ditch and Michigan City, said Lake Michigan Fisheries Biologist Ben Dickinson.

And that’s not the only good news. Dickinson’s crew spent last week running nets in 30 to 45 feet of water and turned up a record number of perch.

Last week’s catch was twice the number his crew captured last year, which coincidentally, was a record catch at that time.

“Most of the fish we say last week were 8 to 9 inches and males and they were ripe, so the spawn is in full swing,” he said Tuesday. “However, the females, which get bigger, are deeper than that right now.”

The adult fish likely represent a strong 2015 and 2016 year class.


By Louie Stout

Hot Weather Turns on Lake Michigan PerchHot Weather Turns on Lake Michigan Perch

Some may find the hot weather unbearable, but it’s been a Godsend for Lake Michigan perch anglers.

Perch fishing was outstanding last week with a lot of nice ones being caught.

Lake Michigan biologist Ben Dickinson said he’s seen quite a few 10 to 12 inchers caught with a few in the 14- to 15-inch size range.


St. Croix Report

Early Season Panfish Tips From St. Croix ExpertsEarly Season Panfish Tips From St. Croix Experts

Winter has released its icy grip and lakes, reservoirs and rivers are once again open for springtime fishing. And that means prime time for panfish, especially crappies and bluegills as they make their migration from deeper waters into the shallows before the annual spawn.

We talked with several St. Croix panfish experts about their favorite presentations, tactics and gear in order to help get anglers get prepared and motivated to chase these full-on-fun species.

Angling Edge’s Jeremy Smith Talks Early, Countdown Crappies

Although versed in everything that swims, from bass to walleyes to muskies, Minnesota-based St. Croix pro and Angling Edge co-host Jeremy Smith admits springtime panfish are one of his favorite bites of the entire year.

“I pretty much use the 7’ light power, extra-fast action St. Croix Panfish Series rod for everything panfish-related in the spring. It’s kind of my go-to rod with exception of using the 9’ light power, moderate-fast action (PFS90LMF2) Panfish Series rod for dipping crappies and the cane-poling technique when they’re in shallow and around structure,” says Smith.