Big Slabs!

0 | February 15th, 2012 by Travis Krousie | Posted in On the Water

Today was a crazy day. I met up with Mitchell Meyers this morning. Forecast called for overcast skies and rain moving in. Sounds like a good day to be out. I’ve done well on crappies with fronts coming through. Imagine my surprise when I arrived on the lake and was blinded by the light! Almost all day we had sun and blue skies overhead. Not what I thought it was going to be. The fish must have felt like lounging around and getting a tan. It was still a great day to be out. The morning was a bust. We decided to head to the private pond and wrestle with some 9 and 10 inch gills.

My biggest EVER!

The gills were waiting for us. We popped a few pretty quick. Nice fish all around. We didn’t have a lot of them coming through but it was nice to stretch the line. I decided to do a little recon and kick a few holes open. Rumors have it that this pond holds some monster crappies. I have heard this so many times only to be disappointed. I never believe it until I see it. I kicked a hole open and dropped the ducer down the hole. Nothing. Next, kick, ducer, nothing. I was over 30 feet of water in the basin at this time. Kick, ducer, fish……22 feet. Hmmmm… I dropped down to it. Then another fish and another. Okay now we’re cooking. I started to pull my jig up and the chase was on. Bam! I set the hook. Too soon…I turned the fish. Another mark came up, BANG, I set the hook. Turned the fish again. What the…. Then a miss. At this point I wondered if I had a hook. Marks went away and no fish on the ice.

Mitchell's biggest EVER!

It was time to set up and fish the basin in this area hard. Mitchell and I got a punch of holes dug and started to hop. Mitchell settled on a hole that he kept having marks in. The fishing was so tough today. The fish just didn’t want to play ball. We fished for 3 hours to get 3 slabs today. It was a great day…..WHY? I think these pics say it all. Two fish that hit 16.5 inches and weighed 2 ½ pounds each. The 14 incher looked small. Great Day!

One more look!

Tagged in:

New year, New way!

3 | January 29th, 2012 by Travis Krousie | Posted in On the Water

Plastic eating slabs!

My first week of what I would consider real ice fishing is in the books.  I got on the ice 3 days this week…well, half days at least.  It was great to get out on the home waters.  I went to the same lake 3 days in a row and had different outcomes.  I went Tuesday morning and had one of my best days on the lake I’ve ever had.  Over 50 crappies caught and released all between 10 and 14 inches.  It was fast action all morning.  I decided to target wipers on this day as well.  I managed to catch 7 of the beasts and lose another 5.  If you’ve never had one of these fish on the end of an ice rod…..you have no idea what you’re missing.  The build of these fish and the speed that they posses are just CRAZY!

Tanker Tubbies!

Wednesday and Thursday didn’t live up to Tuesday by any means.  The fish bit in the early morning hours but dropped dead around 9 AM.  The bite was extremely tough.  Working fish for 5 minutes or more became the norm.  The quality of the fish was exceptional.  Well worth the time.

It's not safe in the water!

The best thing about this week though, was the fact that I fished exclusively with plastics.  No live bait was hurt in the making of this post.  I had a lot of different plastics that I’ve wanted to try.  So, this week, I finally pulled the trigger and did it.  I think it made a big difference this week.  I fished by people that used waxies and out fished them easily.  I have always tried plastics from time to time but didn’t have enough confidence to stick with it.  All 3 days…..PLASTIC!  Wipers, gills, walleye and crappie all committed to it.  Now I’m hooked on using it.  Do yourself a favor and try it.

Beautiful mess all on plastic!

Once again, I’ll be hitting the ice this week.  I hope to try another lake this week but it’s hard to leave something that works.

One of the smaller one's....

Tagged in: , ,

Private Pond Pounding Gills!

1 | January 22nd, 2012 by Travis Krousie | Posted in On the Water

Super Tanker Deluxe!

Today I had a short leash with the wife so I only had about 4 hours to kill.  I haven’t hit any farm ponds yet this season and Mitchell Meyers was talking to me about a private pond that his uncle lived on.  Sounded good to me.  We met up at a Handimart and I followed him out to the pond.  We made our way out on the ice discussing what areas we should hit.  We made our way to a couple of down trees that were in less than 10’ of water.  I fired up the Jiffy and popped a few holes.  The ice was 3 to 6 inches on the pond.  I was surprised at the 3” and the water that came up the holes.  We didn’t mark but one fish and it didn’t seem interested.  We moved out deeper.  We found a tree on the bottom in deeper water and marked fish.  Mitchell got into a few pretty quickly.  He had the hot hole to start.  The gills came through his hole, rapid fire for the first 5 minutes.  I didn’t even have a fish below by the time he had 4 or 5 9 – 10” fish on the ice.  I would get my chance though.  I started getting a few.  It was nice to feel a tanker on the other end of the line.  Most of the gills I’ve caught this season haven’t reached the 8” mark.  These were true brutes.

More than a hand full is a waste?

We wore our welcome out pretty fast.  The fish stopped coming through so we pulled up and moved.  We found another tree and more red marks waiting.  We started to pull move big gills up.  It was a good time for sure.  We exhausted these fish and decided to try for some crappie.  We moved out into the basin that reached an impressive 32’.  We found some fish close to the bottom but they were gone by the time we got down to them.  After drilling about 25 more holes I decided to go back to the gills since I didn’t have a lot of time.  Mitchell stuck with it for a good while.  He managed to get one fat 9” crappie.  I started hitting the gills really well.  A pack of little 12 to 14” bass moved in for some extra fun.  It was a blast and a great way to spend the morning close to home.  Thanks again Mitchell, and thanks for the awesome jigs.  I’ll be giving them a try this week I’m sure.  Now, if you could make some Tungsten jigs……..

Dinner is served!

And the Money SHOT!

Tagged in: , ,

January 20th First ICE?

0 | January 21st, 2012 by Travis Krousie | Posted in On the Water

 

What should you do when you have winter storm warnings and 100% chance of snow….and the day off?  With the cold temps making ice finally safe to get out on, I have to go fishing.  So, I guess this is our early ice….. Normally mid-winter ice by now.  With the storm hitting at sun-up, I expected the morning bite would be the only chance to land fish.  Once the front settled in it would get tuff.  With that in mind I set out, flurries already falling from the dark sky.

I arrived just as light started to break.  2 guys very near the first spot I wanted to hit.  I decided to try it anyway.  I wasn’t sure how the ice was.  I got out and found the ice to be fine.  I would find the ice to be a mix of 4-6″.  I used my H2o to find my spot and settled in.  I marked a few fish off the bottom.  I was using a Custom Jigs &Spins Gill Pill tipped with plastic.  I caught a couple dink gills that hesitated to bite.  Then, an aggressive red mark shot in as I was lowering my offering.  The red mark hit my jig and my Quiverstick sent a shockwave to my hand.  I set the hook and landed my first keeper crappie of the day.  More time passed and it was obvious that this was not the time to fish this spot.  It would be a better spot later this season.  I decided to move to a different spot with wood.

Hey look my 2 favorite foods!

The snow was coming down pretty good by this time and I had the feeling of time slipping away quickly.  I fired up the gps again and trudged out to the next spot.  I popped 4 holes in the area and setup on one.  I could see fish on the Marcum hanging by the branches of the tree.  I dropped down and a red mark moved up at it.  I stopped the jig and just pumped it slowly breathing life into the plastic body.  The fish killed it.  I fought the fish to the hole and was greeted with some big paper lips.  I grabbed it and hauled it up.  A nice 14+ inch white crappie.  With more marks waiting, I got my bait back down.  I caught a couple more crappies then hooked into something bigger.  At first I thought just a bass…. but it had a familiar pump that made me think Walleye.  It wasn’t long before I saw the white tip on the tail.  I had the fish right under the ice now.  As most of you know, this is where you can lose them pretty easy.  All went well though.  The fish turned and came up the hole.  I got a finger under the gill cover and lifted the fat 17″ eye.  Icing on the cake.  I managed to get a few more fish…. but it was pretty much over in an hour.  The bite at the next spot I tried was negative.  I released most of the crappie I caught, just keeping a few for a meal.

10" to 14+" Crappies

As I was walking off a guy from channel 9 news asked me about the ice conditions.  I hate being on TV…but he talked me into it.  I don’t like drawing attention to the lakes I fish with all the pressure things get tough quickly.  The story would go on with or without me.  At least I can finally fish near home….ice season is finally here!

What a GEEK!!!!!

Oh, GEEZZZZZZ……..

Tagged in: , , ,

Ice Rescue

0 | January 15th, 2012 by Travis Krousie | Posted in On the Water

Might want to wait a week! BURRRR!

Just thought I would share this today.  I was watching the kids when I saw our Fairfax Fire & Rescue go by the house.  I got my boots on and grabbed a coat.  I also got my 5 year old dressed and gave him a piggyback ride down to the quarry.

Come here often?

It was just a training exercise but it was a good reminder not to get in a big hurry.  I informed them that there was 4” of snow ice where the snow was.  The clear spots are around 2”.  They had a guy in a wet suit go out with a line and a chainsaw.  He cut a bit square in the ice.  They practiced rescuing each other.  Take it slow if you are going out.  Take somebody with you just in case.  It’s hard to wait for the ice but I think we will still have a season……short season.

Tagged in:

To Be or Not To Be?

0 | January 14th, 2012 by Travis Krousie | Posted in On the Water

To be, or not to be?  That is the question on my mind this winter.  Will we see ice on our lakes or not?  The last two weeks have been very frustrating to say the least.  I actually had the boat out on December 31st catching wipers again.  That’s over now though.

New Years Eve Wiper!

My dad called me up last week and told me that he’d been ice fishing on some of the Mississippi backwaters.  I couldn’t believe that safe ice was only a matter of 2 and half hours away.  The bad news was that the fish are running small.  Oh, well…..ice is ice at this point.  I took Tuesday off of work and was on my way.

My dad and I ate a hearty breakfast of spicy Italian sausage, eggs, and toast.  It was nice eating some real food.  I started a diet….I mean a lifestyle change this year.  Coffee in the cups and on the road to the promised ICE!  We arrived early and unloaded our gear.  I walked on ahead of my dad and had my first hole drilled by the time he caught up with me.  I set the hook on a dink crappie as he watched.  Hmmm….  I fished a while longer but with the same results.  I decided to move on.  I set up on a familiar spot.  I decided to set up 2 tip downs in hopes to get some river perch.  I tipped them with small rosies and set up shop.

Tip'n Tip Downs

It didn’t take long and one of my tip-downs was bobbing.  I quickly got to it and felt the line…..fish on!  I gave the line a quick tug.  A 7” perched breached the hole.  The fish was a blaze of yellow and orange with a deep green body.  Back down the hole with ya….too small.  I reset the tip-down and returned to my jigging rod.  Not more than a few seconds later and it was bobbing down again.  This time a nice 10 inch perch.  I started to have visions of fried perch fillets sizzling in a pan.  Hell, with the diet.  The tip-downs performed really well for me through the morning.  I caught 10 perch with only 2 keepers and 10 large mouth bass.  The biggest being an 18 inch 3 ½ pounder.  That was a load to bring in by hand.  I have to admit, I’m hooked on the tip-downs.  They can really be fun to use.  This was my first time using them.  I was able to catch a few crappies on them later in the day.

About noon the fishing slowed down to a crawl.  I decided to move down to where my dad was fishing.  I pulled up beside him and he told me that he was just getting ready to come up to where I was.  Not a good sign.  I started to hole hop though.  I marked fish right away in the first hole.  I dropped down to the red marks waiting.  I started to catch a few gills and a small crappie.  Moving was the key.  I would catch a fish or two in each hole I tried.  Around 3 I stumbled on a few bigger crappie and kept 4 fish for dinner.

YUM!

It was great to finally get out on the ice.  It was 50 that day and felt like March late ice.  The quantity of fish was pretty high but quality was an issue…still it was better than what we have down here in Central Eastern Iowa.  We may not get enough cold weather to freeze up the lakes around here.  I might just have to go back up for another round.

Nice to finally get out....!

 

Tagged in: , , , , ,

X-MAS

0 | December 25th, 2011 by Travis Krousie | Posted in Off Topic

Merry Christmas Everyone! All I want for X-Mas is my two front…..wait a minute. That’s not right. I want a Red Rider….no that’s not it either. Oh yeah, I want a new Frabill Straight Line Fly Reel, some Snosuit Task Gloves, and a new US Reels for one of my crappie rods. Wait, that’s not all….how about some ICE! Well, I got three of the four things on my wish list. I’ll be doing reviews of them all as soon as we get enough ice.

Look!!!! Santa CAME!

New Ground Breaking Flasher!!!!

0 | December 23rd, 2011 by Travis Krousie | Posted in Funnies

Amazing new features:  Auger Holder – Cooler & Dispenser – LX-7 – Toilet Paper Dispenser – Hand Warmer – Tackle Storage – Bait Storage – Weather Radio – WIFI Hot Spot – MX Radio – GPS – CD/DVD Player – LED Lighting – IPOD Jack – Also, makes loud squacks and beeps!

Tagged in: , , ,

No Ice, No Problem!

0 | December 20th, 2011 by Travis Krousie | Posted in On the Water

What is wrong with this picture?

Well, the ice season is off to a horrible start here in Eastern Iowa.  So far I’ve managed to get out 2 times on our family farm pond.  It was better than nothing but it’s a new pond with very few catch able fish in it.  I couldn’t comprehend loosing 4 inches of perfect, clear ice.  It happened though.  It’s all gone.  I started cruising the forums to see how far I would have to go to get to hard water.  Depression quickly started to set in.  Spirit Lake or Minnesota……hmmmm.  What to do?  Sunday rolled around and the extended forecast continued to disappoint me.  Highs in the mid to upper 30’s.  Those temps won’t make good ice on a lake.  Sunday night I was crawling out of my skin.  I had to go fishing.  I decided to take Monday off and try the open water again.

I dropped the oldest off at school for the day.  Got back home and loaded the boat up.  I grabbed a couple Diet Coke cans and my coffee mug.  I put my Ice Armor bibs on then my Ice Kings.  A front was expected today with 20-mile north winds.  What was I thinking?  Insanity is the only explanation for such actions.  I pulled out of the drive at 7:15 and took a nice drive south to Lake MacBride.

It's a start to something wonderful!

I got to the lake and found an empty parking lot and a wide open lake.  Not even a hint of sheet ice around the edges.  Kind of upsetting and yet nice, I wouldn’t be breaking any ice with the boat today.  I backed the boat in and made my way to a deep tree to try my luck at the crappie before the wind came up.  I was using a mix of Custom Jigs & Spins Diamond Jigs tipped with Atoms plastic and some tungsten jigs as the wind came up.  I was marking fish but they were very negative.  I managed to get 4 nice 10 to 11 inch crappies in my first hour.  I didn’t like what I was seeing on my Marcum LX-5.  No LX-7  for me this year…..I have too many bills to pay.  I always like using a flasher in the front of the boat.  I like seeing real time images.  I wouldn’t be seeing the mood of the fish with a regular depth finder.

That's what I'm talkin' about!

I decided to try some rocks that I marked fish on this fall.  I dropped down to some waiting marks with no reaction.  I decided to move slowly along the break.  I was in about 14 feet of water at this time.  I was fishing between 2 saddles.  This was the first drop off from 8 feet.  When I came over the next drop off 18 feet, the screen came to life.  Suspended fish at the 14 foot mark to the bottom.  I recognized something different about these marks.  They were large red marks with green flutters around them….WIPERS.  Oh, how I love the wiper.  I brought a rod rigged with a 1/4oz ball jig head that I make myself.  I hand dip them with a clear coat and fleck.  I have dubbed them the “Disco Ball Jig”.  I tip the jigs with plastic but I’m going to withhold this information.  It took me a lot of work this fall to find what really turns these guys on.  It is a plastic…..no live bait.  I dropped down to the bottom and lifted the jig up about 2 feet and held it.  WHACK!!!!  Fish on!  Mega fat wipers made my line jump with crushing hit after hit.  It was a blast.

....and BIGGER!

I’m hopeful for ice as much as the next guy….but I’ll take what the lord gives me.  I’d rather catch these amazing fish through the ice but they got my mind off of ice fishing for one day.  Might have to try again this week since the weather looks warm.  The ice has to come some day right?

No ice, not so bad.

A fresh meal!

 

Tagged in: , , ,

Finally First Ice…..kind of?

0 | December 12th, 2011 by Travis Krousie | Posted in On the Water

So, first ice was finally here….well, kind of.  At least on the family pond.  Living in east-central Iowa can be very painful at times.  Watching all these ice reports from Spirit Lake, Northern Minnesota, the Dakotas, it’s enough to make a grown man cry.  I couldn’t take it any more.  The pond had 3 inches of clear ice on it.  I grabbed my Marcum, Power Noodle, and my auger and hit the ice.

On the ice at last.

It was great to get back on the hard stuff.  It was beautiful clear ice.  Everything you dream of.  No snow or water…just clean ice.  I popped a few holes on my way out to some sunken PVC Tree’s we made this fall.  The ice maintained the 3” mark the whole way.  This was my first time on the pond.  We built it a year and a half ago.  It filled up this spring.  We stocked some adult gills and red ear along with some small stock fish from a few hatcheries.  Not many catchable fish but I was willing to give it a shot.

Long story short, not much for fish but I managed a few gills, a nice red ear and a few 7-8” crappies.  It was enough to scratch the itch…kind of.  With the weather the way it is, who know’s when the lakes will freeze for some serious action.