fishwithmatt.com

Over Due

2012-02-03T00:56:50Z

A FWM update is long over due-yes this I know. I apologize for the lack of fishing reports and ice reports. The season just got too busy and it has kept me away from my puter. I have been spending most of my time entertaining clients on Lake Minnetonka in search of gravel lizards. I can't say we have been killing the fish but we have managed to get many first time ice fisherman a walleye or two during a time of year when the fishing is as tough as pulling teeth.

As you can see from this picture of Bryan Culp from Texas not all the fish in tonka are big. As he would tell me, "everything is bigger in Texas"! But this time he was in MN on a frozen pond waiting for that tug from a 10lb walleye. His just happened to catch a 10" walleye. It was fun to see these fellas taking in their first ice fishing "experience" and also catch their first fish walleye through a ice hole. We enjoyed a great fish fry, many laughs, and many first's for the boys from the south.

Good ole Goergie boy didn't even get out of his chair to catch this giant 11" Lake Minnetonka walleye. It's not always about the size of the fish, but about the size of the smile. I am in the business of making memories and smiles one willing anlger at a time. I have been on trips most days the last week and half. I will attempt to get another update up soon. I can tell you we have been on a streak of small lizards on Minnetonka. Which is fairly typical with this time of year. I can report that there is lots of good ice. I have been driving all over the east end of Lake Minnetonka and the ice conditions are as good as I have seen in years. We have 14-18" of great black ice due to the lack of snow. Until next time, Fish On!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

2012-01-16T14:26:52Z

So often I sit down to write a blog or post to my website and I struggle to find the words to put on the page. I think back to the fishing action, the trip, the laughs, and the people I am fortuante enough to share that with day in and day out and I can't find a way to put all that emotion into words. My most recent trip/adventure is no exception. Once again this outing went too fast...it felt like I had just arrived and next thing I know everyone had come and left....guess time really does fly when your having fun and catching fish!
I have been blogging and posting fishing reports for 10 years to the internet and I sit down and just think "WOW", people are not going to believe this.....I have that feeling on 8 out of 10 times I sit down to post to this "space" known as fishwithmatt.
I have thought about changing my domain (or buying another) to catchwithmatt.com. Since I am my own marketing manager, one would think that would make more sense when trying to sell people on fishing adventures, catching is usually the key to success. Not many people just want to go fishing, most want to go catching(or so I think). This past weekends trip and fishing adventure was all about "catching"! I have spent 15+ years training for days like this past weekend, at times it shows...tough to beat experience. Prolific in the art of "catching"!
On Friday morning I headed back to Lake Mille Lacs to get back out on the ice and chase the gravel lizards and the jumbo perch. Thanks to my Navionics chip in my Lowrance GPS I headed to a new area in search of fish that have not had any pressure and I was able to find a spot all on my own right away. Shortly after getting set-up on my "juice" I had my company arrive and we proceeded to put the "pappy" on the fish. We started the afternoon with a few lizards and quickly started catching nice jumbo perch. That was until about 4:30....
At about 4:30 in the evening (give or take a few minutes), we started catching lizards and they didn't let up for the better part of an hour. When the fun and chaos was all over we had picked off our limit of "eater" (slot) lizards for everyone and had thrown back lots of fish, numerous big fish(overs)! The above photo is one of many nice limits we were able to catch over the weekend.
When I say "chaos" I mean chaos! The fish would come in so fast and furious it was nearly impossible to get the bait down fast enough. At times I had 3 or 4 fish on my vexilar fl-20 waiting for my bait to get back down near the bottom.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Here is a short slide show of a few big fish that we were able to catch and release over the weekend. You will see that Jarrett was not waking up for very many of the rattle reel bites, so I continued to catch fish and take self photo's with him sleeping in the back ground. I did manage to catch a 27" er that was tagged, but unfortunately the tag was so old it had grown a heavy coat of moss that I could not get any info off of it. :( It was still pretty cool to see a tagged fish come through my ice hole, especially one that big and old! I also managed a 40" pike yesterday with a young man who had never ice fished before-he was totally freaked out. He thought I was going to hand it off for a photo-his response was "no way"! He thought that thing was pre-historic. The young man's name is Tucker and I can tell you that he is an ice fisherman for life after the great day we had fishing together yesterday. Cool to introduce new people to the sport I love and am so passionate about. When it was all said and we finished the weekend with more over fish then I could count and as many eater size lizards as we wanted to catch. I know we landed over 60 or 70 lizards under the 18" mark. We did also manage a pail full of jumbo perch-bonus!
Now for the part you are all waiting for.. All of our big fish(overs) this weekend fell victim to a #2 gamakatsu octopus hook in either fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink tipped with a golden shiner set about a foot off the bottom on either a tip-up, or a rattle reel. We did also manage some eater size fish on the set lines as well. Most of our eater fish came jigging one of three different baits. I managed a good portion of the fish on a northland spoon-the best 2 were the forage minnow and the macho minnow. The third go to bait that also produced a ton of fish was a #3 rapala jigging shad rap in glow fire tiger. This little bait tipped with a minnow head produced over 40 eater size walleyes over 2 days! All the baits we were jigging were just tipped with a minnow head. The ice report on the north end of Mille Lacs is good. We had 13-15" of good strong (black) ice. There were lots of trucks, cars, and people on the ice this weekend. I am not sure how the bite was for everyone else, but I will tell you that if you want to get into the fish and have a great time I may be able to assist you. ;) Now I have to get packed to head to Vegas for SHOT show. Then I will be back on the pond chasing tail again. Until next time, Fish On!

Fine Piece Of Equipment

2012-01-11T18:08:27Z

I stopped by the Mathews booth to get some info on the new offerings for 2012 and we were not disappointed. These guys really now how to engineer bows. The new Heli-m is amazing and I look forward to shooting one in both leagues as well as the tree next fall. It's never too soon to start shooting. Practice will make you more comfortable when it comes time to make that shot. So don't wait until September, get out and shoot at your local archery shop and stay tuned in and dialed. Even though I am busy chasing fish I still find time to shoot a few times a week all off season. Another words; there is no off season in bow hunting.

Sweet Spot

2012-01-10T01:28:25Z

The "Raw Rye" bite continues to be killer every where I seem to drill a hole in the ice. Not only have I caught lots of eater fish, but I have been on the big "Raw Ryes" this winter. I work hard to catch big gravel lizards and this winter has been no exception. This fish measured in at 28" and I have already been apart of over 50 lizards over 23" this winter. I have been on the big fish in a big way. Every person I have fished with this winter has caught at least one walleye over 23"; many have caught numerous fish over 23" on a single outing. I have witnessed numerous anglers catch their personal best walleye with me this winter.

I spent last week on Lake Mille Lacs chasing gravel lizards and jumbo perch. We ended up catching a good #of both species. My best bite still seems to be on the tip-ups or set lines of some sort. For the gravel lizards I have two things on the end of my set-lines, either a #2 Pink Gamakatsu Octopus Hook or a Northland Doodle Bug w/ a #4 hook. I am rigging a med-large golden shiner on the set line rigs. The other way we are catching fish and most of the perch is jigging. We are doing tons of ice trolling and producing nice jumbo perch with some lizards mixed in. I have been jigging a few different things. Most have been some sort of Northland spoon, whether a buckshot, a macho minnow, or a forage minnow; they have all been working well. The last thing in my aresnal right now is some sort of vertical jigging presentation. The three must haves in my box are the Salmo Chubby Darter, the Nils Jigging Shad, or the Rapala Jigging Shad Rap. All these baits have been working well for me this winter. Typically I start with something that resembles the forage best. For me it has been something in perch color and I am tipping it with a minnow head.

This is one of many nice fish that Eric (Peach) was able to land while on last weeks adventure to Mille Lacs. I am still booking guide trips for this week and next if you are looking to get out and have a chance at this killer gravel lizard bite. On guide trips we provide the gear, the bait, and the houses. All you need to do is get to the lake and get ready to do some catching. Looking to book groups of 3-6 anglers. Get a hold of me asap if you want to get out on the ice on either Mille Lacs or the metro, days are becoming limited. Lake Minnetonka and Lake Waconia both have fishable ice.

I do have some bad news on the ice report/ice condition front. Lake Minnetonka ice report/ice conditions is not the best. The ice I have been fishing is great 6-7" but there are plenty of areas that are not in the best shape. There are a few areas of open water on the west end of the lake where there was a pressure ridge and now the crack has opened up about 150 yards due to wind and warm temps. The Lake Waconia ice report/ice condition is still pretty good. Most of the lake is sitting at about 8-10" of good ice. There are a few small cracks and areas to look out for, but most are flagged so you should be able to see them. Please use caution when venturing out on any ice, ice thickness will often vary.

Pistol Pete

2012-01-07T19:59:29Z

A short clip of a recent day on Mille Lacs fishing for gravel lizards and the tip-up action was hot and heavy for Pete and Peach. Had a great week of catching "raw rye" on the big pond. If you have always wanted to learn how to catch fish on Mille Lacs or want to have fun catching fish both jigging and tip-up fishing now is the time to get a hold of me. Until next time, Fish On!

The Hook

2012-01-03T06:01:34Z

This is a short clip of a Mille Lacs dandy that fell victim to the #2 Pink Gamakatsu Octopus hook. Once again a giant walleye on a tip up at dark. :)

When In Doubt

2012-01-02T16:27:46Z

When I think about going raw rye fishing and think about where I might set-up for a guide trip or outing I am always wondering if they will bite. All of my fishing decisions are based off past experience and I usually have confidence going into an area. On this particular trip to Mille Lacs I opted for the "easy" route. I was in doubt of being able to get out to where I really wanted to fish so I stayed close to shore and fished the shoreline break outside of the Harbor Inn in Garrison.

We arrived on Thursday and had high hopes for what the next few days of ice fishing on Mille Lacs may bring. After getting set-up on what my fellow guide friend PK would call a "wiggle" we proceeded to put the smack down on the gravel lizards for 2.5 days straight.

I was joined on this adventure with Jen Herzog and Brennen Herzog and as you can see in the above 2 photo's they were able to scream "FISH ON" and land some really nice walleyes. Many of the fish we caught over the 2.5 days were giants but we did manage to catch plenty of "eater" size fish for the oil as well. We ate fish 2 different times throughout the trip. Most of our fish over the weekend fell victim to a #2 Fluorescent Pink Gamakatsu Octopus hook tipped with a golden shiner. It is a really difficult rig.....not. It is as simple as it gets and sometimes keeping it simple is good. Don't over think it. The other thing we had luck on was a gold colored Northland Macho Minnow.

Even the guide got to catch a couple....

This fish measured in at 27". I think it's my jammy pants, they have been good luck the last few outings. :)

Here were a couple "eaters" I caught on Saturday morning. The set lines(tip ups, rattle reels) really seemed to be the trick on this trip. We did catch some fish jigging but most of them came on set lines. We did also manage a few nice jumbo perch, with the biggest being caught by Peach and coming in at 13"(below).

As for metro and other area ice conditions. Mille Lacs had 11" of great ice on the west side but with the "crack" still being an issue there was a couple hundred yard stretch of open water. We were plenty far enough away from the water and tfhe crack was not an issue to us. I set up only 200 yards off shore on the break line. Lake Minnetonka ice conditions are improving and there is 4-8" on most of the lake now with much of it being 6"+. But there are still areas to look out for so be cautious. Lake Waconia has 9" of great ice or more on the entire lake. I have been driving wheel houses out with my 4 wheeler for the last week. I am going to be guiding Waconia the next few days. The crappie bite has been good on Waconia. If you are looking to catch gravel lizards you should get with me for a Mille Lacs adventure. The bite has been fire. I am headed to the lake and ice as we speak. Stay tuned. Until next time, Fish On!

Setting Them Up

2011-12-29T02:43:56Z

Here I am again, back at the puter trying to get an update up with pics, a story, and ice reports. As the year comes to a wrap I can't help but think about the fact that I have been blogging and reporting on my adventures here on FWM for almost 10 years! Where have the days, years, and time gone. When I first decided it was a good idea to start a updated fishing report I was ahead of the blog curve, I was ahead of Facebook, I was ahead of myself. Who even knew what a blog was in 2002?! This blog entry is going to be like no other, will be one that I won't soon forget, and will mark a new era. At the same time going to be one of the toughest blogs I have ever had to sit down and write. It leaves me wondering....

I sit here now and look back on a lot of amazing adventures, fishing outings, tourney events (wins and losses), and what I have decided for 10 years+ to call my "life". I can't help but think about what this all means to my life and where it has brought me in the past years. I have ventured as far north as the far reaches of Canada and south to fish Bonefish in the Bahamas....and everything in between. I think there is a song for this one... "I've been every where". That's not to say there aren't still a few places I would like to fish(Brazil is one). I have enjoyed the fruital waters of the Keys, I have embarked on bass adventures in Mexico, and I have been fortunate enough to get to fish lake trout and smallmouth through the ice. As I think back on the years and think about all the great places I have got to chase my dream I think about how this has all happened so fast. I think about what it is about fishing and hunting that drives me every day to get up before it is light out and want to make it a day I never forget......

I have got to share in so many great adventures with so many great people and know get to call them all friends. When I was guiding on Red Lake I think I got to fish with and meet so many new friends. In the process we caught thousands of crappies over 5 or 6 winters.

None of this would be possible without the support I have recieved and am receieving. I have a great family, friends, mentors, and last but not least list of sponsors. Without my family having believed in my mission and my sponsors also willing to take a chance on a kid with a dream and passion, none of the past 10+ years would even be on this website!! You would not be able to sit down at your computer and get an up to date ice report, fishing report, crazy adventure story, photos, or any of the other things I try and offer to my followers and readers..... I can't thank those that have helped me enough. I work hard to align with good companies that make good products, and in turn I ask that you please support them. They support me and my mission and without them I wouldn't have the drive and motivation to sit here and pour out the best fishing and hunting info that I can.

This brings me to my next point. I want to say, "thank you" to everyone that has fished with me in the past 15 years of guiding and all my readers/followers. That is what it's really about. I do this for you! I want to be able to pass along the info you need to become better anglers, make good decisions with your time on the water, and enjoy something that I am so truly passionate about. Thanks to my vision and passion I was able to help my good friend Travis Frank bring his website(now ever so popular) to fruition. I still have to beg to fish with him... hmmmm. :)

I strive to help grow this sport in a time when so many are getting out of it, or not willing to expose their kids to the natural resources. We all live in this crazy fast world; where one day we don't know if the market(or whatever you wanna call gambling) may crash and we may loss everything. Don't live in fear of that day and not have enjoyed what is right under your nose. Stop making excuses and get out and enjoy what God has given us. You won't regret it-promise! Enough on that tangent.

As 2011 comes to a close in the coming days there are a couple key moments I would like to touch on. The first one being the fact that I sat out the 2011 FLW tour and opted to stay closer to home(MN) and guide and fish. I as the spring and summer got going I wasn't thinking it was such a good idea, but looking back on the decision now I can say it was a great idea. I got to enjoy the MN fishing opener with good friends and absolutely pound the big walleyes on Lake Waconia. Before I knew it, I was back in a tourney here in MN on Whitefish and I was fortunate enough to win that small July derby. The fall brought some great muskie fishing and BOWHUNTING! I put the boat away and was lost in the woods for about 30 days. No giants to show for my efforts but a good time nonetheless. The brings me to where I am now-ICE FISHING! I have been ice fishing my arse off the last 3 weeks and the fishing has been on fire. I can't seem to do wrong. All the lakes and trips we have made have produced decent or better action. Now we put 2011 to bed and get ready for an even better 2012......

This last part is going to be the tough part, the part I have dreaded for years. Let's cut to the chase. As good as things have been over the past 15 years of guiding, as much fun as the adventures have been, and as hard as I have worked at this....all good things must come to an end. 2012 will be the start of a new FWM. I am no longer going to just be fishing, guiding, and blogging, I will be working alongside the industries best. I am going to be taking a JOB! Not to say this isn't work, but this is going to be a new adventure for FWM. I am extremely excited about it and also looking forward to new challenges. I will continue to guide and blog-fishing and hunting is my core! I will still bring you stories from the water and field. I will work hard to have the ice reports(lots have been contacting me and asking for updates). I will continue to search for the next crush session day in and day out. The dream I live will always be alive. Thank you for reading, following, and being apart of my surreal "life"!

Now that I have that out there let's get to a current Lake Minnetonka and Lake Waconia ice conditions and report. Last night I fished on Lake Minnetonka on the big part of the lake they call "upper" and had 6" of great black ice and managed 4 nice eater walleyes(pic below). Much of Lake Minnetonka is sitting aroung 4-6" of ice. Some areas have a little more, but I think 6" is a pretty common theme. The walleye fishing was hot from 4:50-5:15-yeah I know, short bite. But the ones I caught were good for hot oil. :) That is a nice change from all the big gravel lizards we have been catching else where. These fish were all caught on set lines on either a Northalnd Eye Dropper or a #2 Pink Gamakatsu Octopus hook tipped with a golden shiner about 12" off the bottom.

Lake Waconia ice report and fishing report is decent as well. Waconia has 7-9" of ice on most of all the lake and the crappie bite at sunset has been great. If you are looking to try and hit the ice get ahold of me as soon as you can. Off to the wrapper for some rest, headed to pound Mille Lacs tomorrow for a few days before I have to start this JOB! Fish On!

Ice Trolling

2011-12-26T23:12:51Z

Tony G and I hit Mille Lacs last week and when we embark on a lake we don't hold back. I give the fish and the lake all it can handle. As some would say, "I am mad at the fish"! On this particular evening we had left "base camp"(the wheel house) and opted to run out on the wheeler to a flat. First thing we do when we arrive on a spot is drill lots of holes up and down the edge of the flat and in the area where we expect the fish to be. We cover as much water as fast as we can. Never fishing a hole more than about 10 minutes. The idea is to stay on the fish as them move up and down the flat edges. Sometimes the fish are on top, other times they are on the edge or in the basin. So we "ice troll" for them. We fish and chase them up as they come up to feed and we will follow them back down. The first 2 major keys to success in this run and gun style of fishing are drilling lots of holes and a Ice Armor Extreme Suit. Thanks to the great suits we are able to fish outside in wind and cold for hours and still be warm and comfortable. I can't tell you how important that is. It allows us to be ultra mobile and stay on the move in a instant. The old way of setting up and just waiting them out in one hole is a thing of the past thanks to the great equipment available today. The third thing that is a must is a Lowrance Handheld GPS or fishfinder GPS combo for finding the areas that may hold the fish. The particular unit that I am using on my 4 wheeler is a HDS8. This unit may be over kill for some so don't think you have to have the 8". It is nice, but any of the Lowrance units will work great. Lowrance has done a great job of making the units user friendly and very simple to read. Thanks to Navionics chips, you no longer have to carry a lake map or hope you are on the spot. You can see the detail and lake map right on your GPS and where you are in relevance to the "spot" or structure you are looking for. That allows us to pull up to a reef or flat and drill lots of holes in the area that we think the fish are going to be on the spot. Another key piece to our arsenal is a Vexilar FL-20. As you will see in the video, I am always looking at my Vexilar to see if a fish is coming into the bite zone! It tells you what is going on in your hole instantly! That is a huge key to our success. I can pick up my Vexilar and carry it with me hole to hole and always know what is going on; once again staying mobile and on the fish. We also set-up a set line or tip up in the area we are fishing around. This allows us to move holes often but always have a second line in the water. On this particular outing Tony and I managed to catch 9 gravel lizards in about a hour or two period of time; 4 of which measured in at over 22" with the biggest being 27" If you have any specific questions in regards to how we get on these giant fish not only on Mille Lacs but also on Minnetonka and Waconia please message me. If you are looking to get around, hook, and land more fish try staying mobile and using a few of the great tools that are available to anglers today. Until next time, Fish On!

The Pond

2011-12-23T19:17:22Z

This was one of many giant walleyes we caught on Mille Lacs in a day and half. The fishing was great. Having good warm gear to be able to stay out and fish all day was very crucial to our success. The fish were feeding at many different feeding times throughout the day. Do not leave home without your Ice Armor Extreme Suit and Clam portable house.