From shallow sloughs and oxbows winding off the Upper Mississippi River and Wisconsin River systems, to the slop-choked bays and flood plains of lowland flowages, and the ditches and small creeks inletting into drainage lakes, backwaters offer unreachable populations of big fish that are least pursued.
Across many northern waters, bass action begins immediately after ice-out. Where catch and release-only spring regulations are implemented in Michigan and Wisconsin, it’s now possible to target largemouth and smallmouth on inland lakes during March and April while other gamefish species remain closed. Nowadays, there is no waiting game for bass seasons to open,
March Madness is the most wonderful time of the year. Whether your excitement comes from college hoops matchups, tournament upsets and buzzer-beaters, or hook-sets into monster largemouth bass, this particular month is a prelude to spring. Both occupy my entire month in entertaining fashion. In Midwestern locations where mild winters are common, and ice
By Andrew Ragas Small lakes abound throughout the Upper Midwest, and are overlooked to the bass fishing world. Due to their small acreage, horsepower restrictions, difficulty of access, or limited fisheries, they remain the least pressured waters and fishing destinations for truly giant largemouth bass.
By Andrew Ragas Cold spring often follows a very cold winter, and this translates into a season of delayed growth. Late ice-out, cold water temperature, and lack of sunlight are preventing the growth of new weeds. Lack of greenery in the shallows means there will not be any cover and rich oxygen for largemouths and
By Andrew Ragas Bass thumb is what many of us strive for, and beyond these battle scars there is a lot to like about catching several bass in a day. However, if you fish often, there comes a certain point in the season where action fishing and routinely catching numbers becomes stale. Pursuing fish of
