Crappie are probably the trendiest fish to pursue.  If there is a hot bite out somewhere it doesn’t take long for the multitudes to find out about it.  They are also pretty willing biters and some of the tastiest fish out there.  Crappie can commonly be found in and amongst the good bluegill areas although the crappie will be found higher in the water column.  Crappie will also be found suspended over deeper basins throughout any given lake.  This makes them relatively easy to find with your flasher or digital sonar.  Find your way out onto the basin and drill a hole and look for suspended fish.  When you get on top of them then drop your presentation down right away.  Be warned, because it is a basin with no structure to hold them in a certain area, a lot of times these fish will roam about.  The challenge will be to stay over them the best you can by drilling extra holes and hole-hopping.  Using lithium batteries in your electronics makes this much more doable.  Do your arms and back a favor and replace the heavy lead-acid battery in your electronic unit.

Water temperatures that build into the high 60 and 70 degree marks will definitely get fish moving, and that usually coincides with a few hatches.
Bugs crawling out of the deep mud get rafted against the main-lake structure, and signify some of the initial pushes to offshore humps, bars, and reefs. It’s often when casual walleye anglers, or those who see early mixed bags of walleyes with crappies and gills, stop catching them.

Anglers don’t always follow, sometimes because they’re not required to. This is a dynamic time of year as the summer food chain ramps up production. That means anglers don’t always have to look deep to find fish, and several patterns can be going at the same time.

Being Mobile On The Ice. Technology has made it so much easier to move around on the ice.  GPS, map…

If you’ve tried to make a major purchase in 2021, you’ve been affected by the global supply chain slowdown.  Materials are backordered, shipping is slow, containers held up; there are seemingly more reasons than ever these days for why you can’t get at what you’re looking to own. 

Underwater fishing cameras are recognized as a valuable tool for ice; however, they can be just as beneficial during the open water season – and for many of the same reasons. Open water electronics continue to evolve to new lengths every season but they still leave things open to interpretation. Underwater cameras, however, are capable of answering questions that other electronics cannot, as well as teaching anglers more about what they’re seeing on their electronics. They are an angler’s eyes below the surface.

It’s midwinter. Lakes are locked up with a solid layer of ice. Shanty towns dot the landscape – filled with anglers that are willing to trade long rods for those of a shorter variety. Panfish – crappies in particular – are some of the most targeted species throughout the hard water season.  Knowing how to find them and which tools to use will ultimately make for a more successful day on the ice.

Marcum Technologies, the undisputed leader in ice-fishing-specific sonar, takes tech to the next level. Their long-held principle is that features are useless unless they help an angler catch fish, and that can be seen throughout decades of innovation. Patented technology like moveable zoom that led to angler’s ability to target fish anywhere in the water column was the first ping heard round the world among the ice sonar community. They followed it up with additional advancements to help distinguish echoes from noise in an interference rejection system so advanced, it’s also patented.

At long last, the walleye opener is upon us.  After any winter most anglers are more than fired up to be able to hit open water once again and catch a few marble eyes.  When winter extends itself into spring, then rest assured that the water will be cold and walleyes may still be spawning on lakes throughout the great state of Minnesota. 

Mist from the baitcast reel erupted into the morning air as the crankbait rocketed toward the conspicuous riprap that hugged the edge of the river. As soon as the lure hit the water it was brought to life with a few cranks on the reel.
Instantly the wobble of the lure going back and forth could be felt in the rod tip. It didn’t take very long for the lipped crankbait to start digging in the rocky bottom. Tick, tick, wham! Fish on as the lure got to the edge of the swifter current and it feels like a good one as the fluorocarbon line is being stretched by the bull-dogging fish in the current.

Panfish, specifically bluegill and crappie, are the most sought after fish throughout the entire United States.   Anglers of all ages pursue them for a lot of reasons.  They are good to eat, plentiful, and seem to always be willing to bite throughout the entire year.  Walleye and bass anglers can get skunked on any given day but a panfish angler seldom fails to connect in an outing on the water.

This makes them a perfect species to pursue anytime you have the family and or kids on the water.  The great thing about summer is that it can be really easy fishing.  By mid-summer the fish have completed their annual spawning and have transitioned out to where they will spend the summer months.

Sports fanatics live for it. Athletes push all year for it.  And anglers should continue to pursue their favorite species into the “post-season.”  Fall can be just like that on the water, only a few have survived to make it this far.  So both the fish and remaining anglers get all the attention and action.

Lakes and rivers are wide open for anglers and fish are feeding more heavily as winter is approaching. Not only does your chance at numbers of fish increase but also the chance of catching your biggest fish of the year.  Pike, Bass, Walleye and panfish will all be more apt to hit your offerings. As the water cools it tends to bring fish shallower as baitfish often times will be there as well. Prior to the proverbial “turnover” is the best time to be out on the water. 

One of the most common questions heard from new ice anglers relates to electronics – “Which is better – an underwater camera or a flasher/sonar?” The short answer is that it really depends.

The long answer is that there are certain situations that each unit type excels in. Depth, water clarity, habitat, and fishing style greatly impact which unit is right for a specific set of circumstances. In a perfect world, an ice angler should have both. This is particularly apparent for anglers that target panfish during the winter months.

From the day you get your first flasher, the ice-fishing universe is forever changed. Ice anglers go from simply guessing at bites and what may or may not have been a fish, to tracking them throughout the water column. Not only can you use it to find fish and track how they respond to your bait, but you can also use it to find active fish before a line is even wetted.  At one time, it was considered somewhat odd; almost a novelty. Now, ice-fishing electronics are a multi-million dollar category, and the thought of fishing without one seems pointless.

Throughout the summer months, schools of crappies typically concentrate themselves along weed edges, as well as pockets and holes in the weedy cover. In certain situations, fish will push further into the weeds and in others, push out away from the edges, but still remain in close proximity to the weeds. Focus your efforts on these keys areas.

As the season progresses, crappies will also inhabit other areas, often in slightly deeper water. Woody cover – such as man-made cribs or submerged timber – act as crappie magnet regardless of the time of year, but they tend to concentrate fish towards the tail end of the summer.

Now, for the 2023 ice fishing season, MarCum raises the bar once again, introducing two new models that cater to different angler preferences and budgets.