BRAD LAABS

Get ready for ice season during ‘tweener’ time

What a difference a week makes in our weather. By the time you are reading this, we will have many of the small lakes and ponds skimmed over with ice. With the projected forecast we should have ice on all our lakes by Dec. 1. This is the time when many anglers get excited for the upcoming ice fishing season. This is also what is known as “tweener” time. It is that time that spans the open water season and the safe ice, hard water season.

By Brad Laabs , November 18, 2011

THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN: Winterize your boat now so it’s good to go next spring

We are reaching the end of the open water fishing season in our area. The weather will be taking a dramatic swing to take us into winter over the next few weeks. I hope you were able to get a couple of good year-end trips under your belt. For some real die-hard fisherman there will still be open water opportunities available all through November and December on the Rainy River. The open water season never stops on pool four at Red Wing.

By Brad Laabs , November 11, 2011

This is a great time of year to get out and fish

This is a difficult time of the year to get to everything done a person would like to do. It is high school athletic playoff time, many hunting seasons are open locally and in neighboring states; yard work and fall household project time, holidays, kids, work — you get the idea.

By Brad Laabs , October 28, 2011

Hook your minnows correctly to catch more fish

This week, we will discuss the art of hooking your minnow. We are at the time of year that the minnow bite rules for game fish in our area. As a matter of fact, bigger minnows start to become part of the equation as we transition to our coldwater period. Live bait fishing with minnows on a jig, rigs, or under a bobber must be a part of your solution for getting bites.

By Brad Laabs , October 21, 2011

Take extra caution at boat launches, shallow areas

The lake levels have dropped significantly since the high water of our early season. Most lake levels are down 2-3ft from earlier in the season. This low water has made launching and loading boats from some public accesses challenging. Some accesses are so low it is even difficult to float the boats.

By Brad Laabs , October 14, 2011

Cooling water temperatures signal fall turnover

We are coming up on an important transition time for our area lakes. We are approaching “fall turnover”. The turnover time is when the mass of the lakes mixes and the water on the bottom of the lake actually comes to the surface and all water in the lake mixes.

By Brad Laabs , October 07, 2011

Use your fish finder correctly to catch more

A couple of experiences over the last week reminded me it might be good to remind you how important it is to trust your fishing electronics. Fishing spots is not as successful as fishing fish. If you are on a favorite spot and not graphing fish, move until you find them.

By Brad Laabs , September 30, 2011

Boat control crucial in the month of September

September is a good month to talk about boat control in windy conditions. We have heavy wind days throughout the open-water fishing season, but September is full of windy days. All this wind the last week reminded me it might be a good time to offer some suggestions that can help with keeping yourself on your spot in big wind.

September 23, 2011

Change things up to improve fall fishing

After the weather experience of the last week, it is a good time to talk about fishing in cold front conditions. September is always a time of inconsistency when it comes to weather. This also makes for some of the most inconsistent fishing times of the year. It can be difficult to find a consistent pattern for fishing during this significant time of transition.

By Brad Laabs , September 16, 2011

This is the perfect year to give night fishing a try

We are heading into a full moon period over the next few days. This upcoming full moon can be a great time to do some night fishing for walleyes, crappies, or muskie. This year we will be fortunate to have three months of fall full moons. We have this early September full moon, a mid October full moon, and an early November full moon. We don’t usually skim over with ice until Thanksgiving time, and early November can easily be comfortable enough to enjoy night fishing during the full moon.

By Brad Laabs , September 09, 2011

The bite, like the weather, is starting to change

This holiday weekend is considered by most to mark the end of summer. It is true that the days are getting much shorter as we are down to about 14 hours of daylight. The nights are cooler, daytime highs are milder, and we get far more severe cold fronts. Water temperatures have dropped to the low 70’s and by the end of this weekend will be in the high 60’s.

By Brad Laabs , September 02, 2011

Practice both catch-and-release, selective harvest

It is time again to have some discussion about the importance of both catch-and-release and selective harvest. There was a time when it seemed that these two concepts were at war over the best strategy to secure the future of fishing.

August 19, 2011

Learn to fish the weeds for greater success

Summer fishing success can happen for you if you learn how to fish in the weeds. Some fish are always relating to weeds. Weed beds provide shade, cooler water, and higher oxygen levels. Weeds also provide a hiding place for baitfish and fish. Because of this, weeds will draw predator fish into them to take advantage of easy feeding.

By Brad Laabs , August 05, 2011

Use common sense boating on busy lakes

There have been a few incidents on the water over the past week to ten days that prompt me to talk about safety. I think the timing is also good, as we will again have a large number of visitors to our area after wrapping up the County Fair and the upcoming WE Fest. Some of the dangerous situations over the last 10 days are all about not using good common sense while boating. Not all the incidences have involved fisherman, but since fisherman are on the water with other recreational boaters, we have to use the same philosophy as driving a car on the road — drive defensively.

By Brad Laabs , July 29, 2011

Want to catch the biggest fish on the lake? Try a crankbait

The last number of weeks my articles have been focused on classic and standard techniques for catching fish from our area lakes. We have discussed jigging, live bait rigging, fishing with slip bobbers, and last week was focused on spinners. It is obvious we need to talk crank baits next.

By Brad Laabs , July 22, 2011