If planet earth conceals a finer fishing region than Grand Rapids (and Itasca County), Minnesota, I have yet to discover it. I live just an hour south, yet often choose trips to this rich aquatic locale over many more exotic destinations– even during a Minnesota winter. (Interpret that any way you wish.)

Set out a sheet of paper during a rainstorm, and leave it there for a few minutes. Now pick it up and examine all the drips, pools, and streams– these more or less approximate the watery topography of the region. Near Grand Rapids, the aquatic world really is your oyster.

Roughly west of Lake Superior, this 3,000-square mile region harbors over one-thousand lakes, plus reservoirs and streams galore. Did I mention the Mississippi River? It was born just up the road, trickling to life at Lake Itasca.

During a recent media trip to this angling oasis, a group of writers sampled the region’s bountiful ice fishing resource. We slid onto the ice a virtual life-list of species– many of them outsized specimens worthy of In-Fisherman magazine photos. (It’s here I venture several times each winter, capturing many of the photos you see in articles.)

On this trip, we iced sunfish exceeding 10-inches; crappies to 14; 6 to 9-pound walleyes; 4-pound largemouth bass. Plus trophy rainbow trout and northern pike to nearly 20-pounds. I could go on and talk about giant muskies on Frabill tip-ups. Or the region’s fine lake trout and splake fishing.

Finding fish isn’t the issue. It’s deciding which fish to find that’s the problem. A mass of waterbodies somewhat distribute fishing pressure. But some waters still need a little help from your friends, following years of un-selective harvest.

We recently stayed at Hidden Haven Resort on Bass Lake. Accommodations at this wonderful family facility included clean comfortable cabins with every modern amenity. Hosts Bob and Katie Barton greeted us with hearty smiles, handshakes and helpful fishing advice. Hidden Haven is not only located on a prime fishing lake, it’s a sweet central site for launching quests to a hundred other fisheries.

Bass, like several other lakes in the region is now managed for trophy sunfish, built around a 5-fish possession limit. Still, many of the area’s top anglers view these as special catch-and-release waters, where returning all ‘gills over 7- or 8-inches is more than a good idea, it’s a management tool itself that perpetuates the population. Countless other lakes in the area offer outstanding harvest-oriented fishing for midsize crappies, sunfish, pike and walleyes. So why remove those rare 9-plus inch bluegills from waters that hang on such a delicate balance?

Many of the area’s top guides agree, and here you’ll find a collection of the finest ones anywhere in North America (which makes sense, when you consider the caliber of fishing.) Hall of Fame angler Tom Neustrom, Brian Brosdahl, Scott & Marty Glorvigen, Jeff Sundin, and Rod & Nick Dimich can all put you on world-class bites– ice or openwater.

A fun exercise buddies and I often employ is to pick from the map four or five lakes in the region we’ve never fished before. After confirming adequate depth and access, we trek through the woods and terrain with a trusty Honda MUV. In a two day trip– underwater scouting with a pocketsize Aqua-Vu Micro Plus camera– it’s easy to effectively fish up to five small lakes. And in five educated attempts, we’ll often uncover a diamond among gems– that one small undisturbed waterway harboring hordes of humpbacks.

Where else on earth can you find hundreds of fishable lakes, all within a single hour’s drive; let alone a place where you can choose from more than ten lakes named after a Bass?

Funny thing. Fresh from the 2012 ICAST show, held within casting distance of Disney World, I can’t kick the feeling that I’ve recently emerged from dreamland again—only this time, luscious candy in the aisles has been replaced by tantalizing fishing tackle. In my world, this isn’t that big of a stretch.

Strolling up and down the rows of new angling gadgets and gear, I really did have the perpetual feeling that the next booth could reveal something special, or at least re-energize my passion for a particular category.

Beyond the cool new digs, what I also like about ICAST is that every company seems to be super jazzed to be there; folks like Humminbird’s Jeff “Kolo” Kolodzinski visibly buzz with excitement while explaining why you need to be fishing their particular lure, rod, line, tool or unit. Love it when someone’s pitch gets me fired up to fish.

Nowhere was this infectious enthusiasm more evident than among the rod masters from St. Croix. Following wins in two “Best of Show” categories, including Best Freshwater Rod and Best Saltwater Rod, Rich Belanger and Jeff Schluter could hardly contain their enthusiasm for the new Legend Xtreme. This rod, the boys told me, sports a totally original handle design that is covered in what they call Xtreme Skin—a semisoft material that sheds water and fish slime, and provides an incredibly comfortable grip. When you first throw baits on this rod, it almost feels too light. But that’s the beauty of it. The thing connects you to lures so directly and intimately that it’s almost like handlining, except with loads of power to spare. The Xtreme is one gem of a fish stick.

Right around the bend, I stepped into Rapala’s vast display and found myself talking to fellow writer and Great Lakes sage Dave Mull. Each of us couldn’t wait to spool up with Sufix’s new 832 Leadcore. Thanks to a dual outer layer of Dyneema and Gore fibers, the stuff is said to dive 30% deeper and offer 70% more strength than traditional ‘core. It’s also reportedly a lot more sensitive. We’ll see. It’s certainly thinner than the stuff I’m currently spooled with; and lets you load leadcore on a smaller reel than the traditional 5000 and 6000 sizes we usually use.

Company reps say because of its strength, 832 Leadcore is only offered in 12 and 18-pound test—because you’ll rarely require heavier. If it makes good on even half these claims, it’ll be a major advance in trolling technology. I’m all about things that make fishing easier, simpler—especially trolling. Mull concurs, grudgingly calling 832 Leadcore a potential “game changer”— a term each of us like to utter about as much as “cold front.”

Moving on . . . In the “we knew this was coming” department, Minn Kota unveiled the iPilot Link. To quote Keanu Reeves from the movie, The Matrix— “Whoa.” Your trolling motor now talks to your sonar, which also links up with your LakeMaster GPS maps—and everything is controlled with a handheld iPilot remote that’s got an LCD screen of its own. Johnson Outdoors’ Kolo showed a group of us how you can actually sit in your boat, parked in your driveway, and pre-program your trolling motor to follow specific contours on a digital lakemap.

I know a certain hump that’s holding mega smallmouth tonnage right now; think I’ll dial in the contour and let my Terrova take care of boat control. (Remember what I said about making fishing simpler?) You can also program the motor to parallel a specific depth contour—say a 12-foot weededge— while keeping you perpetually a cast away from the key zone. Whoa.

Anyone here speak Latvian? Sooner or later, some of the most radical ice fishing lures you’ve ever seen will arrive on North American soil. In the meantime, you’ve got to check out the jigs and lures from Shark. If you’re not fluent in Latvian, just click around on their website until you see some of their radical Mormyshka tungsten jigs and other tackle, including some of the coolest UV lures I’ve ever laid eyes on—super secret-agent stuff. I stumbled through communications with Shark’s director, Andrey Shipilov, who eventually conveyed that he’s working a deal with a particular U.S. company to bring his tackle stateside. Andrey was even kind enough to slip me a selection of his wares—at least enough to tide me over until the top-secret stuff arrives.

Stay tuned. If I ever leave the water again, I’ll be back for ICAST, part 2 . . .

Maybe I just pine a bit for the days when Marv Koep still manned the counter at his famous Minnesota baitshop– Nisswa Bait & Tackle. (Ever used a live waterdog? Might be the best big walleye bait of all time.) The rest of the blame rests with one of my fishing heroes, the late Bill Binkelman, who remains to this day the sport’s most under-appreciated walleye educator (more on Binkelman in future posts.)

Tell you something, reports of livebait’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. We in the biz like to talk about the proliferation of plastics in walleye circles. And most of the stuff is fairly dead on. So here’s the detour . . .

When fish are shallower than 20-feet, I’m there dude– swinging away with a favorite St. Croix Legend Elite (LES70MHF) / Shimano Stradic CI4 combo. Love throwing a 3/8- or 1/2-oz jig adorned with something like a TriggerX Paddle Tail Minnow or Castaic Jerky J Swim. Keep a long-nosed pliers on hand. You’ll need it to extract 4 to 6-inch baits vacuumed down the hatch. It’s a riot. Stange and Straw have written about this type of fishing a ton, and have taken us to a whole other walleye catching galaxy.

Consider a recent tour around my walleye neighborhood. Plenty of fish roaming shallow. And some real good ones, too. But the really big fish have been living deep. (And I mean BIG-BIG, including beasts above 30-inches.) In the last two weeks, we’ve boated literally dozens of 6-pound plus walleyes working 20 to 30 foot depths, feeding them a steady diet of wild 4- to 6-inch creek and horneyhead chubs– both native members of the carp family.

When walleyes cluster over confined deeper structures, livebait is, was and will likely always be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. In recent seasons, though, we’ve frequently abandoned the classic livebait sinker/snell rig in favor of a type of dropshot rig, or even a curious rig known as the sunken float rig. (Check out the 2012 Walleye Guide for details.)

Lots of these big fish suspend 3 to 10 feet off bottom. They’re glued to structure– or at least they hover in very close proximity to it. If you can’t put a bait within a foot of their level, you simply won’t catch these bigger walleyes. In a few cases, buddies have taken fish with an “in your face” jigging approach, using Jigging Raps and the Sébile Vibrato. Yet every one of the 6 to nearly 12-pound walleyes entering my Lund these past weeks have eaten a wild baitfish. That’s 100%.

As bassheads know, the dropshot is a precision system for presenting softbaits. Ditto for walleyes and livebait. Mark thick yellow boomerangs 8-feet off bottom on your sonar? Down goes the dropshot–1/0 VMC hook tethered to 6-pound fluorocarbon with a palomar, 8-feet above the sinker. Feel that baitfish buzz. Thunk! 

Beyond the precision of the dropshot, it also acts as a sort of short leash for wildly swimming minnows. Don’t get me wrong– wild bait is key. But a crazy lively chub darting around in all directions behind a long snell isn’t always a good thing. Walleyes sometimes swing and miss overly vigorous baits. Sometimes, too, it’s just all too much, and walleyes give up.

The dropshot pins the chub in place. When the critter writhes wildly against the restraint, it stays in place. It’s why you want to use only the wildest, jumpiest individual baitfish– regardless of species. Get your hands on a bait that thumps your rodtip– then get ready. I believe these violent baitfish body shakes are perhaps the very best strike inducing move ever conceived. Which makes sense, of course, when you consider that nature invented them.

As Bill Binkelman once said, “Let the minnow work its magic and you’ll rarely be without walleyes.”

Captain Marlin (great fishing name) releases everything over about 5-pounds, which the locals consider crazy enough. But it’s not even close to wacky, when you consider that he also trolls for catfish using contraptions such as planer boards. Trolling in itself isn’t particularly off-the-wall, of course, as many of the lake’s guides employ drifting methods to cover water.

But noteworthy is that the good captain, having spent years trolling for walleyes on Lake Erie, brought with him a stash of planer boards when he moved to Santee Cooper Country many years ago. They worked for bigwater walleyes, so why not cats?

Two to four rods set in rod holders terminate with one of Marlin’s special trolling rigs. Clipped to the line, 50 to 100 feet above each rig and cutbait is a Church Tackle or Offshore Tackle planer board. Two additional rods extend off the stern, each attached to another Ormseth original– the Herbie Float. These are 2-liter bottle-sized styro floats adorned with visibility flags and line releases. Clip a cat rig to a Herbie Float and let it drift off another 50 to 100 feet behind the boat. On Santee and many other waters, gaining separation between the rig and the boat spells more catfish.

More recent Ormseth innovations include his noise-making surface rigs (yes, surface rigs for catfish) and his latest experiment– a slow-release scent chamber rigged inline above a piece of cutbait.

We’ve talked often about the surface rig and Ormseth’s “noise makers” in In-Fisherman magazine, and there’s a piece online here, as well. The thing looks, well, a little goofy. But there’s method to Marlin’s madness, and I kind of dig the ‘funky’ aspect of his system, which feels like and is authentic catfishing. It’s a 3-part contraption: small plastic hollow bobber drilled out, filled with several balls of steel shot and resealed with epoxy; a cylinder foam float for buoyancy; and a plastic tri-wing buzzbait blade for surface disturbance– all rigged ahead of a 12-inch section of 50-pound mono or fluoro, and a 5/0 to 7/0 Rippin Lips Tournament Grade circle hook.

Think catfish won’t explode on the surface? Think again bubba. Last time out, over 80-percent of our strikes occurred on top, with blue, channel and flathead cats rising from 15- to 25-feet of water to crush his surface rigs. Day after I fished with him recently, he boated a 50+ pound blue this way. And there have been plenty of 30 to 70 pound blues and flatheads in this and other years. You talk about crazy– wait until the first time you watch or hear a 50 erupt on top. It’s mayhem.

If more anglers experimented with surface rigs for catfish, the whole perception of catfishing might begin to unravel, slowly progressing into something resembling bass fishing . . . (Ok, maybe we’d better rethink this deal.) Still, if it works on Santee, it undoubtedly works elsewhere. Let me know if you have any surface catfish experiments you care to share.

Speaking of experiments, Captain Marlin’s latest involves a hollow plastic “scent chamber” that he injects with a potent new product called Scent Trail. The chamber is rigged a foot or so above a trolled cutbait. As he moves along at .5 to .8 mph with his Minn Kota, the Scent Trail slowly oozes out a nice thick chum line of flavor. It’s another ongoing experiment, and one I suspect we’ll be hearing more about soon. Stay tuned catheads!

Thankfully, helping cushion the blow was Gary’s nephew, my trusted pal and legend-in-the-making in his own rite, Tony Roach. “Coldfront Cory!” T-Roach cracked, shaking my hand with a flash of his trademark gargantuan grin. Gary, the famed ‘Old Grey Fox’, emerged next, exuding the energy and enthusiasm of a third grader on a sugar rush.

Nearly before I’d rigged rods and hit the ON button on my MarCum LX-7 sonar, Gary and Tony had virtually disappeared in a fog of ice shavings and StrikeMaster auger steam. If anglers half his age fished with even a quarter of Roach’s verve, energy and skill, it would likely be even more difficult to pinpoint ponderous panfish lacking sore lips. This day, the three of us would cruise across the small frozen lake employing two contrasting approaches.

Inspired by the rewards of heavy metal—tungsten-headed micro jigs that fish like boulders in pebble-sized packages—I opted for fast-sinking offerings from my friends at Poland-based Bentley Fishing. 

With sink-rates nearly twice as fast as that of lead jigs of the same mass, pure tungsten jigs rocket down in the water column, putting your hook in the midst of more panfish. Given the pursuit’s already sedentary spirit, I’m always inclined to opt for active ice fishing approaches that help keep the blood pumping. Tungsten encourages rapid movements on ice. I dig that.

For T-Roach, who pioneered the concept hardwater fishers now know as ‘ice trolling,’ tungsten has been a natural next step. Not only are progressive manufacturers such as Bentley Fishing gifting hardwater anglers with the ultimate in Kevin VanDam style speed tackle, even industry biggies like Rapala have boosted the trend, offering a series of tungsten-headed ‘ice flies’ in their Blue Fox and Cortland “FoxeeFly” ice series.

Fishing with the Roach boys on ice is always a good time, because you never lack for new holes to ply. And so while Tony and I virtually sprinted from hole to hole, presenting the lake’s elder bluegill populace with jigs such as the Bentley G-Hopper and Northland Tackle Mooska jig tipped with individual wax worms, Gary hunkered down over what to him felt like instinctually “right” holes. Tied to his classic lead teardrop jig tipped with a single waxy, which descended at half the drop-speed, Roach kicked off his icy clinic with a bang.

It seemed that Gary’s subtler, slower approach—not to mention his nearly magical jigging cadence—was putting the hurt on one humpbacked sunny after another. “Whoa-ho boys!” he exclaimed. “’’Nother one—that’s number 10. What’s the matter, Cory? Need the Roachman to come over there and catch your fish for you?”

You’ve heard of trash talk during a pick-up game. But nobody talks smack on the ice like Gary Roach. And you don’t want to stay on the short end of the stick for long, else you’ll never live it down.

Thankfully, I eventually solved the riddle: present the micro morsel mere inches above each big sunfish, a move made possible by the staggeringly sharp resolution of the LX-7. Here was the other key—keep the jig absolutely dead still. No jigging, pounding, twitching or spinning. To eliminate the jig spins, I literally had to stretch my entire spool of line. Tying to a shoreline tree, I walked backwards out onto the ice, emptying the spool and gradually pulling on the rod and straightened the 2-pound test Sufix Ice Magic.

Now, when I dropped the tungsten jig and larva combination before discriminating bluegill eyes, the lure hovered motionlessly— absolutely no negative jigs spins. Eventually, sonar would show a thick red mark rising up toward the lure. With a sharp pop! another wide-bodied ‘gill would ingest the jig and throw a beautiful arc in my St. Croix ice wand.

Trash talk was flying in all directions—Gary, Tony and I each hoisting palm-stretching panfish in succession. The universe, it seemed, was once again humming along in perfect rhythm.

So, in what I envision as an ongoing experiment of sorts, let’s take a look at some currently cool, and in some cases obscure stuff that rocks fish or otherwise just plain makes our time on the water a little more sublime. To kick this off right, we’ll take a look at everyone’s favorite category—lures and baits. And by all means, if you’ve got something you’d like to share—a deadly unknown lure, or another cool tool—drop a note below. That’s what this is all about.

Jack’s Custom Baits – Perhaps not since the original Rapala Minnow have I seen such phenomenally realistic finishes on a dandy little crankbait. Each individual lure is hand tested in the field in Poland, and is accompanied by a written certificate of authenticity by the craftsman who made and tested it – bentleyfishing.com.

Sébile Vibrato – My friend and famed bass fishing writer Mike Pehanich put me onto these remarkable bladebaits last year during a smallmouth trip to Lake St. Clair, Michigan, where it produced bite after bite. Back home in Minnesota, the Vibrato has been equally impressive, be it for bass or walleyes during spring and fall coldwater phases – sebileusa.com.

Upton’s Custom Hand Poured Baits – Josh Upton lives near Diamond Valley Lake, California where he hand pours some of the most malleable, alluring softbaits on earth. Among a host of creations are his 4-1/2 and 6-inch Reapers and giant 8 to 13-inch Straight Tail Worms – uptonscustoms.com.

Maniac Custom Lures Micro Jigheads – I’ve looked for a tiny mushroom-style jighead forever, and Maniac’s 1/64 ouncer is a gem. Perfect for working 1 to 1-1/2 inch tubes, grubs and other trout-panfish softbaits – maniaccustomlures.com.

Rapala Ultra Light Shad – Destined for panfish glory, this diminutive shad bait is going to take a ton of big crappies, perch, white bass, trout and pretty much anything else you throw it for. Downsized cranks are hot on many fronts, and this one’s another winner – rapala.com.

Musky Armor Krave – Shame on you if haven’t trolled or cast this crankbait yet for muskies. Right along with the Jakes, Believers and Depth Raiders of the world, Krave and Krave Jr. are classic cranks in the waiting. With a flashy slab sided profile and side-to-side roll, these buoyant baits have tagged plenty of big fish for some of the sport’s top names – muskyarmor.com.

Rippin Lips Leakin Livers – From muskies to catfish, at In-Fisherman that’s how we roll. And I’d hate to let you go fishing for channel cats without a bag or two of Leakin Livers. The new wave catfish bait is made of 100% natural materials and is clean and easy to use. Pinching a bait “activates” the scent and flavor within, which continues dispersing underwater for over an hour – rippinlips.net.

Black Dog Baits Lunker Punker – Best big fish walk-the-dog bait I’ve ever thrown, end of story. Last year it produced many muskies up to and exceeding 50-inches for me, as well as several big largemouth bass. And guys who throw the lively Punker for stripers get whacked by 20s and 30s all the time – blackdogbaits.com.

Joe Balog’s Goby Replica – What I know for sure about gobies is that everything in freshwater seems to like to eat them. Actually, you don’t even need gobies in your lake in order to catch big smallmouths, largemouths, trout, pike and walleyes on this bait. It looks nearly identical to a mottled sculpin, which is more common across much of North America than most anglers realize. This soft, lifelike swimbait fishes best with a slow, bottom-dragging crawl. Or sweep the bait a few feet, then pause for several seconds. Fish will try to kill the Replica deadsticked, too – gobyreplica.com.

VMC Half Moon Jig series – Progressive designs built on the foundation put in place by the classic Gopher Tackle Mushroom head jig decades ago. VMC’s offerings feature forged shank Vanadium steel hooks, and flat head bases for snugging softbaits tight. Various head designs include the 60-degree Half Moon Jig, 90-degree Finesse, as well as Shaky and Darter heads to match a multitude of softbait approaches – vmchooks.com.