3 minute read
A DAY ON THE ICE MATT KLUG
Ice fishing guide, Matt Klug and I had been trying to hook up for a crappie outing for some time. Between the uncooperative ice formation and poor weather, it took a while to get it done. However, persistence paid off and we solidified a date for the event.
Although I am not a fan of fishing in extremely cold weather, we both agreed we would tolerate the predicted high winds and low windchills and tough it out for a few hours. Since neither one of us really likes to fish out of a house, weather can be more of an issue. It was a comfortable twenty degrees when we arrived at the landing of a St. Cloud, Minnesota area lake. However, we knew this would not last as the front would soon be on us. Just to be safe, I threw an extra jacket onto the sled before we headed onto the ice.
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Klug knew this location well as it was one of his favorite spots to take clients, especially those that had kids along. Although the crappies did not run big on this lake, the numbers were impressive which helped when taking families on the ice. After a bit of a hike, I checked the GPS on my phone to help us find the general location we wanted to fish. The basin we were targeting was quite extensive and picking a spot that had been productive in past outings seemed like a good idea.
With the assistance from a Garmin LiveScope, Klug soon had some suspended crappies pinpointed. However, when we drilled out an area to fish, the crappies spooked and were nowhere to be found. This is not that unusual when there is only five inches of ice.
It was another 50 yards before we came across another cluster of fish. This time, the school was big enough that when we were done with eight to ten holes, some fish were still hanging around. With fish on the Vexilars, we got down to business.
Klug opted to start with a 1/16 ounce Tikka Minnow. I went with a Pinhead Minnow. It quickly became evident that the crappies were equally attracted to both lures. In no time at all, we had multiple fish flopping on the ice.
Not surprisingly, the crappies did not stick around long. This is pretty much the norm when chasing basin crappies during the midday period. Over the next couple of hours, we were constantly searching new areas to keep up with the fast-moving fish. Eventually, the cold front and 30 mph winds caught up to us. We toughed it out a bit longer, but the windchill and falling temps got the best of us. We headed for a local convenience store for a cup of hot coffee.
It was over coffee that Klug talked about his guiding business and how much easier it is to fish open water than winter conditions. Still, he typically runs over 50 trips a year on the ice. Most of the time he targets panfish in the St. Cloud and Alexandria area.
Although we didn’t get another date on the calendar, we agreed to get back on the ice in the very near future. Hopefully, it will be on a more moderate day!
THE BESTTHE BESIDT IEAS COMEDEAS COME O O UTUT OF THOF THE EB BLULUE E
