A good friend of mine from high school has been coming to Minnesota to fish with me for more than 20 years. Last week, he was on a plane, coming from his home in Houston to Minneapolis, when he came down with sepsis, a potentially fatal blood infection.
Steve Carney: A good friend’s close call, and switch to ‘hatchet’ hook pays off Read More »
I love early June, when fishing on lakes across Minnesota is going strong, especially for panfish.
It looks like crappies missed their spawn window; most are still hanging onto their eggs. The up-and-down temperatures of May just weren’t the right scenario for a solid slab spawn. On the other hand, panfish right now are moving to their early-summer locations and are active.
Steve Carney: Late spring in Minnesota means it’s time to catch panfish Read More »
I know I write a lot about hair jigs, but I can’t resist. These terrific artificials are a staple in my boat and account for more crappies and walleyes in a typical season than live bait does.
One of the things I like about guiding new anglers is establishing their confidence by pitching hair jigs and realizing success. Here are some tips – shortcuts into the world of hair jigs.
Steve Carney: Lots of love for the hair jig, and for good reason Read More »
The first week of the game-fish season in Minnesota has been wonderful, with cooperative walleyes and crappies – just as I expected. The warm weather leading up to the first week of season was absolutely perfect to create excellent conditions. High winds have made things a bit dicey, but the fish are biting well.
My first week of the open season for walleyes was spent on the shallow farmland lakes of central Minnesota.
Steve Carney: Fish Minnesota’s farmland lakes before algae arrives Read More »
My final spring trip to the South Dakota/Minnesota border waters was a success. The timing was perfect. Water temperatures leaped into the mid-60s, and I knew it would go well.
Crappies were the target this time, because the border lakes have become some of the best panfish waters in the state. This was not the case in the recent past.
Fishing from shore for crappies was standard practice for this fishing guide back when I was young. In those days, you could fish off of people’s docks and go most places without any hassles. Obviously, things have changed.
I’ve been shore-fishing the past two weeks with varied success. Some days, crappies are biting, and other days they are strangely absent. Here are some shore-fishing tips that have worked for me.
Steve Carney: Advice on shore-fishing for crappies, and some Minnesota opener tips Read More »
My second fishing trip to the Minnesota/South Dakota border waters of Lake Traverse and Big Stone Lake was much better than my first trip. Water temperatures had risen into the low 50s, and the bite was on.
Come early May, anglers can struggle during the daytime hours. Much depends on the weather.
Steve Carney: With spring fishing, timing is everything Read More »
In reviewing my logbooks from years past, I see that I’ve been to various hospitals statewide about six times in my career due to hooks embedded in my body. Most of the time, I get a handful of treble hooks from grabbing some support in my boat and accidentally placing my hand on a crankbait that’s lying on a gunnel.
But last season, I made a change. I came up with the perfect solution: lure protectors.
Steve Carney: Protect yourself from accidental hooking this season Read More »
The ice is becoming a distant memory in western Minnesota, but it has been a slow go. Anglers, as they usually do, have the drive to hit open water as soon as possible but often have a tough time finding ice-out crappies.
Here are some thoughts.
Steve Carney: For ice-out crappie anglers, patience is a virtue Read More »
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