UTDOOR CONNECTION STORIES, ADVICE AND INFORMATION FOR OUTDOOR LOVERS
Trying a little
BOTTOM FISHING BY STEVE WEISMAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
I had to keep it quiet, but I must share something with you. I haven’t had to shovel any snow or bundle up to avoid the freezing temperatures. That’s what a trip to Panama City Beach and the Florida Panhandle can do for you. Oh, and I’m blessed with good neighbors that keep the driveway clean! However, I am sure there will be a price to be paid for that-lol! Let me tell you how nice it is to not have to battle snow, cold and wind! However, there are issues here, too. Like last Saturday night, when we had heavy rain, thunderstorms with winds to 40+ degrees and tornado warnings. It is still cool here, but highs have been 55-65 degrees for a high and lows usually in the 40s, until this morning when it dropped to 31 degrees. Yes, there was steam coming off the gulf! Fishing You know me. Wherever I go, I must try my hand at fishing. First, I thought I’d maybe get a shared charter with three other fishermen and hire an individual charter boat. However, many of the captains are either still fixing their boats from the hurricane, just getting them ready for early spring fishing or commercial fishing. So, I happened to go to a local marina and saw a sign: “deep sea fishing $65”. The boat is the Jubilee and can handle up to 70 passengers. This was a five-hour trip and includes fishing rod, bait, tackle and fishing license. Well, I signed up for last Friday, knowing that they want to get at least 20 on the boat to make it worthwhile. Sure enough, late Thursday I learned that only four of us had signed up, so that was cancelled and they moved it to Saturday. I was apprehensive with the forecast showing winds 2030 mph by late morning and a chance of thunderstorms. Sure enough, I received a call from the Jubilee office at 3:30 on Friday afternoon cancelling. Ah, but there was a six-hour trip scheduled for Monday. Yup, I signed up, and, yes, the wind went down by Sunday afternoon and the trip was a go! However, as I mentioned earlier, the temperature was below freezing at 7 a.m. However, we weren’t to depart until 9 a.m,, and the temperature was 38 degrees when we left. There was a little concern as we left the harbor when Captain Charley came on the microphone and told us ”We’ll give it a shot and go around the corner, but the offshore forecast is for 4+ foot swells. We will give it our best shot.” Thank goodness I had taken a Dramamine for movement sickness, so my stomach could handle the 4 foot swells and the 90-minute 10-12 mile trip out to the gulf. Type of fishing We were going to be bottom fishing in 100 feet of water with heavy baitcasters, a 4-ounce sinker to get the bait down quickly and keep you relatively straight up and down and not into nearby anglers’ baits. It was a two-hook rig with a hook set at 12” and another at 24” (similar to a crappie rig), and we put a chunk of squid on each hook. The hook was a circle hook, so you didn’t have to do a hard hookset and so the fish never became gut hooked. Turn to BOTTOM, Page 2B The author with a nice stringer of beeliners.
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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019
ESTHERVILLE NEWS/ESTHERVILLE, IA
OUTDOOR CONNECTION
2B
ALL ABOUT
ICE BY KILEY ROTH DICKINSON COUNTY CONSERVATION COMMUNITY RELATIONS COORDINATOR
When the lakes first freeze, when they thaw, how deep is the ice --- these are all popular topics of conversation in the winter in the Iowa Great Lakes area. But do you know how the ice actually forms on the lakes? Of course, ice is created when the water temperature reaches freezing. That is pretty obvious. We’ve all seen ice cubes created in the freezer. Yet, lakes don’t freeze all at once, and they don’t completely freeze all the way through. So how does that happen? It all starts with water density. As warm summer waters begin to cool, they will sink. Think of how the deeper that you go in the lake, the colder the water gets. But once water hits 39 degrees (4 Celsius), the density actually begins to swing the other direction. At that temperature, the water begins expanding and becomes less dense as it gets even colder. That means that colder water begins to come to the surface, and the warmer water sinks to the bottom. The water on the surface will then freeze to form a layer of ice, and the ice will have the least density, making it float on top of any cold water as well. How does it freeze? There are two different types of lake ice that are created in different ways. Congealation ice is created from cold conditions. Spontaneous nucleation takes place on cold, calm nights when the surface of the lake drops below freezing and ice spreads across the surface. Heterogeneous nucleation takes place when strong winds blow dust, snow or frozen rain across the surface of a cold lake and as that hits the surface of the water, it freezes. Snow ice occurs where snow falls on congealation ice and when it cracks, the water from below rushes to the surface and meets the snow, which will then freeze. Why doesn’t the water freeze all the way to the bottom? In deep lakes, like the Iowa Great Lakes, water pressure also plays a role in why the surface freezes but water stays liquid underneath. The weight of the water higher in the lake presses down on the water that is deeper. The pressure allows the water near the bottom to still get cold but does not allow the same expanding and rising as the water near the surface. Because of that pressure, the water at the bottom will not turn to ice even though it is at a freezing temperature. Read more educational blogs at www.dickinsoncountynaturecenter.com each week. You can also keep up on the latest Dickinson County Conservation Board happenings on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
The beauty of sunset on the gulf. Photo by Steve Weisman
Enjoying the Panhandle BY STEVE WEISMAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
Over the last 15 years, my wife and I have spent a couple of weeks each winter somewhere in a warmer climate. We always wondered if we would like it longer than that. Well, this year we took the plunge and headed for the Florida Panhandle and Panama City Beach (PCB). Last fall we were concerned about damage from the hurricane, but PCB is far enough west that they escaped most of the damage. We began looking a year ago in late February and were very fortunate to find a townhome right on the gulf. It was a two-level home with the living area and a half bathroom on the lower level and the three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the upper level. The two gulf side bedrooms opened to a big 18’x30’ deck with an awesome view of the gulf. The lower level was total glass with a panoramic view of the gulf. It was almost like a magnet that drew us to sit and just stare outside at the ever-moving gulf: tide in, tide out…every day! We were also fortunate that the townhome was pet friendly. There was no way my wife was going to leave her little three-pound poodle, Mocha at home for at least 34 days (including travel). My concern was how would Mocha handle two eight hour drives and a five hour drive from Spirit Lake to PCB? Well, you talk about passing with flying colors. She sat in her little travel bed (secured like a child’s car seat) all the way down with not one problem. We’d stop for a break every three hours or so (more so for Darial and me) for a restroom and to stretch the legs. Once here, Mocha adapted perfectly. Each
The rolling surf.
Missouri and Big Sioux rivers paddle fishing season now open DES MOINES - The paddlefish fishing season opens Feb. 2 on the Missouri and Big Sioux Rivers and goes through April 30 (sunrise to sunset). Anglers fishing for paddlefish must have a valid Iowa fishing license, along with a special paddlefish license and unused transportation tag(s). Please keep track of your catch and effort and return the survey card after the paddlefish season whether you harvested a fish or not. The information collected will help the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) evaluate the success of the season and determine what potential changes/modifications may be needed. If you catch a jaw-tagged fish (numbered band in the lower jaw), call the phone number on the tag and report the tag number, date of capture, capture location and eye-to-fork length. The Iowa DNR and other state fisheries agencies tag paddlefish to better understand and manage populations. Tagging provides valuable information to estimate population size, fish movement and growth. For more information about Iowaʼs special paddlefish season, visit the DNR website atwww.iowadnr.gov/paddlefish.
Other years we were always under the gun to go, go, go. We only had a week or two and had to get everything in. Being here for a month meant more laid back, almost like we were at home. We had friends (Ken and Jean Horner from Estherville) over for the NFC and AFC championship games, and most days we cooked our meals right at the townhome. It didn’t take me long to realize that eating out every night to the tune of $60-$70 would run us around $2000 for the month. Whoa! We knew the weather would be cooler. MidJanuary to mid-February temperatures are kind of like a yo-yo. Fronts come through here just like they do in northwest Iowa. So, there are cold fronts, thunderstorms and winds. We even experienced some low 30 degree temperatures a couple of mornings. The average high is low 60s and the average low is mid 40s. So, it is somewhat like April and October in northwest Iowa. Certainly, not the 70s and 80s of, say, Sanibel or Naples. But that’s ok. It’s still decent and the traffic and crowds are significantly less. There are several parks in the area, a couple of long piers that people walk out on and some people fish from them. There are also historical places to visit and also the Gulf World Marine Park. My wife did find some excellent shopping areas, and I was able to enjoy bottom fishing a Darial and her partner Mocha enjoy a couple of times. Could have gone more, but this walk. time of year, even the huge group boats that can Photo by Steve Weisman hold 50-70 people must watch the swells. day we would walk and Darial would put her Golfers have a couple of excellent golf coursinto her little carrying bag. Too bad I couldn’t es around, but my back is long past that hobby. fit in there-lol! Hook ʻn Cook Of course, when you get to know a place, you get your favorites. Lots and lots of places to eat in PCB, but we happened on one, you might say, by accident. After one of the fishing trips, I was looking for a restaurant that would cook our fish. So, a little Google action, and I found Bayou on the Beach. Described as a New Orleans-style eatery and oyster bar, along with a full range of sandwiches and seafood. My wife and I stopped in and the bartender nodded his head and said, “You mean hook ‘n cook? Just bring it in and they’ll cook it up for you. It met and surpassed our expectations. There was plenty of downhome hospitality from Rick our server and downright great food. We had the vermillion snapper fillets grilled and fried with a side of fries and coleslaw. The deckhand on the Jubilee was right when he said they are a really mild fish. For horsdovres, we got a plate of chargrilled oysters and a basket of fried green tomatoes. No, we did not walk away hungry! I just loving finding those kinds of local gems. So, the month has been enjoyable, and it’s something we will probably try again. Photo by Steve Weisman
BOTTOM, Continued from Page 1B We were fishing over rock reefs and rock piles for any number of fish that frequent those depths. We caught several fish that were in closed season: red snapper and trigger fish. The most commonly caught and kept fish was the vermillion snapper, also known as a beeliner, along with a few sea perch. Catching fish Do you realize how far down 100 feet is when you are letting out and reeling up a heavy a 4-ounce sinker? I think I contracted a little “reeling elbow”! It’s just like straight lining over the side of the boat on Big Spirit for perch. Drop the sinker to the bottom, when line is slack, reel up till the line is taut and you know the sinker is on the bottom and the two hooks are at 1 foot and 2 foot off the bottom. Then you wait for a peck, peck, peck… just like a perch bite would be. And sure enough, it takes a while to get the feel for the tiny bites. Our deck-
hand explained, “Every 45 seconds to a minute reel up to check the hooks.” Even though the squid is tough, the fish can snap off the squid just like that. So, check your bait every minute or so.” Over the course four hours of fishing, that’s reeling up probably 200+ times! Results As with any other type of fishing, it takes time to get the feel and know when to give a little jerk upwards and hopefully start reeling up a fish. I did end up keeping seven nice beeliners and a sea perch. I also caught a couple of bigger red snapper that needed to be released. At two of our spots, we were surrounded by dolphins swimming and surfacing as the ship held its ground so we could keep our lines pretty much up and down. Talk about graceful. There’s something about fishing with a bunch of people. You might
be strangers, but as the fishing begins, so does the laughter, the joking and the words of encouragement and praise. End of a day As we docked, the captain gave instructions of what to do with the fish. For a fee, the crew would clean them, wash them and bag them. As I waited for my fish, so did another group…a group of pelicans. Some were in the water, but some flew right up and stood on the round metal railing. Yes, they were looking for their handouts. When they didn’t come, some flew back down, but some jumped down and walked around the fish cleaning area-within a couple feet of the fish cleaning crew. Yes, it was a good day. Will I go back again? Well, there’s another trip on Saturday, and my wife said, “Steve, you better go!” How can I turn that kind of encouragement down?
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019
ESTHERVILLE NEWS/ESTHERVILLE, IA
3B
OUTDOOR CONNECTION
Ice anglers TWO MIDWEST ICE FISHING HOTSPOTS welcome cold weather BY BOB JENSEN
FISHING THE MIDWEST FISHING TEAM
DES MOINES — After an unusually mild winter, cold weather has finally arrived across Iowa and is covering previously open lakes and ponds with a layer of ice. But anglers are cautioned that just because arctic weather is here, they shouldn’t abandon their ice safety practices. The cold weather definitely helps to grow ice, but when ice is covered by a blanket of snow, the snow acts like insulation, slowing ice growth. Anglers should treat all ice like new ice and check its thickness frequently when heading out,” said Joe Larscheid, chief of Fisheries for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The DNR recommends a minimum of four inches of clear ice for fishing and at least five inches for snowmobiles and ATVs. Anglers have been ice fishing across north Iowa for the past month, but the rest of the state has seen limited opportunity. “We’ve all been waiting for cold weather to get here, let’s just give it some time to make ice,” he said.
Safety tips on the ice
n No ice is 100 percent safe. n New ice is usually stronger than old ice. n Don’t go out alone - if the worst should happen, someone will be there to call for help or to help rescue. n Let someone know where you are going and when you will return. n Check ice thickness as you go out - there could be pockets of thin ice or places where ice recently formed. n Avoid off-colored snow or ice. It is usually a sign of weakness. n The insulating effect of snow slows down the freezing process. n Bring along these basic items to help keep you safe: hand warmers, ice cleats to help prevent falls, ice picks (wear around your neck) to help you crawl out of the water if you fall in, a life jacket, a floating safety rope, a whistle to call for help, a basic first aid kit and extra dry clothes including a pair of gloves
Chickadee tax check-off declines DES MOINES — Last year, more than 7,500 Iowa taxpayers helped boost wildlife conservation with donations to the Fish and Wildlife Fund on their state income tax form, a decline of about 400 from 2016. Donators represent about 0.4 percent of total tax payers in Iowa. “We are so thankful to all the people who choose to donate to wildlife conservation with their tax refunds,” said Stephanie Shepherd, wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Diversity Program. “These donations go directly to habitat development and restoration programs for some of Iowa’s most vulnerable animal species. The funds are so important for natural resources.” The Fish and Wildlife Fund, known popularly as the “Chickadee Check-off,” is a mechanism the Iowa Legislature created in the 1980s for Iowa citizens to donate to wildlife conservation on the Iowa state tax form. Prior to the creation of the Fish and Wildlife Fund, “non-game” wildlife had no dedicated funding. Proceeds from the check-off are one of the few means of support for the Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Diversity Program, responsible for protecting more than 1,000 fish and wildlife species in the state. Money from the check-off helps improve wildlife habit, restore native wildlife, provide opportunities for citizens to learn about our natural resources and much more. Iowans donated roughly $145,000 last spring when completing their 2017 tax forms, translating to an average gift of $19.25 per donor. The number of donors has remained steady or decreased but thanks to more generous giving, the amount donated has also stayed level or even increased. “The chickadee check-off is an inconspicuous line that is easy to pass over or forget, and many tax preparers may not remember to ask whether a client wants to donate,” she said. “It may be up to the taxpayer to remind their preparer, or make a point of looking for it whether they are doing their form on paper or electronically.” According to Shepherd, donating on the tax form is easy: simply write the amount to donate next to the Fish and Wildlife Check-Off, line 57 on Form 1040, and the sum is either automatically deducted from the refund or added to the amount owed. As with all charitable contributions, the amount is deductible from next year’s taxes. “If every Iowa taxpayer donated just $1, it would mean $1.5 million for wildlife and natural resource conservation,” said Shepherd.
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It’s been a very interesting ice fishing season so far. Ice came early to quite a bit of the ice region, then the weather got warm. Rain fell in some areas; heavy snow fell in others. We maybe didn’t lose a lot of ice, but we also didn’t make much. There’s cold weather in the forecast, and I’m starting to plan some trips to get after fish through the ice. Following are a couple of lakes that I would like to visit in the next few weeks. They both offer outstanding options for a variety of fish. One of the legendary fishing locations in the Midwest for both open water and ice is Big Stone Lake on the Minnesota/South Dakota border. Big Stone used to be known mostly for its open water walleye fishing, and it’s still an outstanding open water walleye fishery. However, in the past few years, Big Stone has really become popular for its through-the-ice perch. Simply put, it can be one of the best around. We fished perch in the open water this summer on Big Stone and caught them one after the other. There were lots of year classes, so we caught plenty of little ones which is a good indicator for the future, but we also caught plenty of those that are perfect for the table. Try the new smaller GloShot Jigs from Northland. Tip them with a small minnow or waxworm. Big Stone is also developing a strong fishery for big bluegills, and, of course, there are walleyes. You’re going to have to experiment a bit for these two species, and, of course, a sonar unit is a very helpful, almost necessary tool for most ice fishing. Vexilar has a sonar unit that will fit anyone’s needs and budget. Go to bigstonelakechamber.com to start your trip to Big Stone Lake. I have a plan to visit Clear Lake in north central Iowa very soon also. In the past 10 years, Clear Lake has become one of the premier multispecies lakes in the Midwest.
Big Stone Lake guide Tanner with an open water perch from Big Stone. Youʼll catchʼem this size in the winter too. Photo by Bob Jensen
Through the ice you’ll catch walleyes, crappies, yellow bass, bluegills, perch, and it’s not unusual to hook up with a musky or catfish. For several years, the yellow bass in Clear Lake got a lot of ice-fishing attention, and that’s no surprise: They’re super plentiful and outstanding on the table. But recently Clear Lake fishing guide told me that last year his clients iced more walleyes than the several previous years combined. That’s good stuff!
Clear Lake is a very versatile fishery. You can catch walleyes and yellows in the basin along with some crappies and perch. Try sixteenth and eighth ounce Buck-Shot Rattle spoons tipped with a minnow. But if you like to fish shallow, shallow being four feet or less, you can do that also. Bluegills along with more crappies are up there in the abundant vegetation. Tiny Mooska Tungsten jigs tipped with waxworms or spikes or the tiniest Impulse plastics
will be productive. Check out Clear Lake and all that the area has to offer at clearlakeiowa.com. Wherever you live in the Midwest, there is a good icefishing opportunity within an easy drive. Clear Lake and Big Stone are two fantastic opportunities. In the next couple of months, do what you can to check them out. To see all the newest episodes of Fishing the Midwest television, fishing articles and videos go to fishingthemidwest.com.
Top placing teams: (L to R) Kevin Fassbind (3rd), Jim Hesse (2nd), Jon Jenneman (1st), Jack Baker (Tournament Director), Doug Bussian (1st), Zach Nadolski (2nd), Nick Smyers (3rd) Photo submitted
Crappies, bluegills donʼt disappoint at Okobojiʼs Emerson Bay NAIFC qualifier BY STEVE WEISMAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
The teams fishing the North America Ice Fishing Circuit qualifier on West Okoboji’s Emerson Bay could not have asked for a more perfect day: sunny skies, mild temperatures and no wind! According to NAIFC director Jack Baker, “The tournament teams had an absolutely great time on fishing West Okoboji. The legendary lake did not disappoint.” Leading the way with a 10-fish limit was the team of Jon Jenneman and Doug Bussian from Wisconsin. Their weight of 9.41 pounds included a 1.05-pound crappie earned them the $4000 first place check and trophies as the NAIFC Lake Okoboji Champions. Second place and a check for $1300 went to the team of Jim Hesse and Zach Nadolski from Nebraska for their 10-fish limit weight of 9.16 pounds. Third place and a check for $700 went to the Wisconsin team of Kevin Fassbind and Nick Smyers with a 10fish limit weight of 8.05 pounds. Meanwhile, the team of Nick Kemos and Ben Warner from Wisconsin garnered the $600 fourth place check with a 10-fish limit weight of 7.86 pounds, and the team of Ryan Hylla and Clayton Kettering from Minnesota
rounded out the top five with 10-fish limit weight of 7.42 pounds good for $500. The Big Fish prize of $680 for their 1.12-pound crappie went to the team of Adam Griffith and Scott Merwin from Minnesota. A total of 41 teams registered with 38 teams weighing 10-fish limits. According to Travis Harman, owner of Stan’s Bait & Tackle, the NAIFC host bait shop, “This was our first year, and I think the first year went exceptionally well. Teams were pretty much scattered all over Emerson Bay fishing anywhere from 5 feet of water to 25 feet of water. A lot of crappies and bluegills were caught and released today.” Some teams did a lot of moving around, but those who were on fish pretty much stuck to their spots. The top three teams caught predominately crappies. The first place team stuck to their original holes and never moved. Harman noted, “They used small 3 mm tungsten jigs tipped with mostly plastics. Pink, white, purple and peach were their best colors.” Harman added, “I was extremely impressed of the teams’ extremely high level of sportsmanship. The Ice Team pros were a huge help during the Kids’ Ice Camp on Saturday after-
noon. They helped make sure each kid got their ice fishing equipment, the flasher they were going to use and then helped make sure they caught fish.” According to Harman, “We certainly couldn’t have done this without our great sponsors, and the community was extremely supportive of the entire weekend.” Saturday morning, the NAIF (SIF) high school qualifier kicked off the tournament weekend. Top placers were Calvin Grosvenor and Kolby Kendall with a 10-fish limit weight of 6.59 pounds, while Kaleb Menken and Kyle Thompson finished second with 8 fish weighing 4.17 pounds. Both teams qualify for the High School National Championship on Dec. 28-29 at Mille Lacs Lake in Minnesota with a shot at college scholarships. The NAIFC Tournament Series qualifying season begins in January and lasts into March, with the NAIFC Tournament Series Championship Invitational this coming December. At this point in the race for the Series Championship, the teams of Jenneman and Bussian and Hylla and Kettering are tied for first place with 55 points, while the team of Hesse and Nadolski are currently in third place with 50 points.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019
CARDINAL TIME Grandma Shriner's favorite, as well as mine! Northern Cardinal started my passion for birding. Northern Cardinals are very territorial during spring, but non-territorial in winter. They can gather in flock of up to 20 birds. At right is a female cardinal. Below is a male cardinal. Photos and copy by Mike Fredrickson
ESTHERVILLE NEWS/ESTHERVILLE, IA
4B
OUTDOOR CONNECTION
The authorʼs grandson, Hunter Wheatley with a nice bucket of yellow perch taken from Big Spirit. Photo by Steve Weisman
A look at the perch cycle BY STEVE WEISMAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
What a deep freeze! What else can you say about temperatures of -25+ degrees and -50 degree wind chills? It is pretty obvious that Mother Nature does her own thing. About all we can do about the weather is talk about it! It is hard to believe that we are moving toward midFebruary already. That means that we need to remember an important fishing regulation coming up. The walleye fishing season on Spirit, East and West Okoboji lakes will be open through Feb. 14. It will close after that date and reopen on May 4, 2019. These are the only Iowa lakes that have a closed season for walleye, there will be some excellent walleye opportunities on other northwest Iowa lakes as we move toward iceout. Even other lakes on the chain such as Upper Gar, Lake Minnewashta and Lower Gar will still be open for walleye fishing. Something that has been amazing is the perch bite that has been going on Big Spirit for the past few weeks. It takes sorting with a mix of 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 inch fish along with a few in the 11-12 inch range. To me, that is good news, however, because it means there are good numbers of multiple year classes in the lake. Most of the action has taken place out in 20+ feet of water on the north end of the lake. Just look for the “fishing town.” There are up and down days, but it seems anglers are catching fish each day. Small tungsten jigs tipped and spoons tipped with silver wigglers or wax worms are two go-to presentations along with a slip bobber and a minnow. The only issue now is the
drifting that has occurred, which makes travel a little tougher. Be patient and watch carefully for drifts. As always, be alert and careful of the ice. Some very close calls occurred during Winter Games weekend. After all, not all ice is created equal. The Perch Cycle As one of the large group of perch anglers, I know that we are an impatient group. When we get a great bite like this one, we become spoiled. However, sooner or later it will end, because this is the end of their life cycle. As a result, perch fishing is an up and down cycle as evidenced by angler harvest collected by the fisheries biologists at the Spirit Lake Hatchery since the 1950s. First, we must remember that perch have a maximum life span of 5-6 years. So, these perch are probably nearing the end of their life cycle. There really is no way to stockpile these perch. When the life cycle is up, it’s up! Whether a year class of perch reaches adulthood depends greatly on the life cycle. First, perch are one of the main forage fish for most of the predator fish in Big Spirit. They are also cannibalistic predators of themselves. So, everything including the big perch, will make a meal of the youngof-the-year and the larger perch. Ironically, if a year class is too large, then their growth slows as they compete for food, and they take longer to reach angler acceptable size. In other words, the bigger the year class and when there are back to back huge year classes, the fewer resources there are for each fish. So, although it does happen once in a while, the chances of getting back to back to back great year classes becoming 9-11 inchers is not very good. Let’s look at some recent perch fishing history. Going back to 2008, 2009 and 2010, we actually had back to back to back great fishing years. In 2008, the perch were mostly 8-9 inchers. That was followed by two unbelievable years of huge numbers and great sized perch being taken. It didn’t seem to matter where; anglers caught fish all over the lake. Anglers came from several states just to ice fish Big Spirit in 2009 and 2010. During the fall, boats bunched together in huge towns catching fish. Then the crash came in 2011, and for the next three years, it was tough going. For the past couple of years, the bite has gotten better and better. And now? Well, they’re back! Take advantage of what Big Spirit has to offer, because we know it won’t last!