S5E8 - Max Losche from Strike & Catch

We talk to Max from Strike and Catch learning about the ice fishing culture in Sweden.

 

Current Events and Listener News Hard Water Freaks Event

Jeff and Jason will be attending the hard water freaks event for more information go to the event page.  https://bit.ly/3He0Zpg 

 

Brandon - Big Northern

We discuss what is the best way to get a big northern out of the hole, like the big one Brandon caught and send a picture in of a 38 inch 19lb Northern.

 

Lisa G - Fly Fishing in Alaska

We discuss fly fishing in Alaska with some help from former guest Colby Sabutis.  

Question

I enjoyed the interview with Colby. I was especially curious as both a fly and ice angler/guide, was there any fly techniques or tricks that he uses for ice. 

I am up in Alaska and have fun jigging flies under the ice (woolly buggers, beaded nymphs) with good success. We can’t use any live bait to ice fish.

 

Colby's Answer

Use the VMC bull fly jig similar to this one https://amzn.to/3Ho6cLr  for both applications. No bait just the fly/jig. When using a woolly bugger I usually jig up then let it flutter down like you would in normal fly application

  Trzebiatowskihunts

 Wrote us that he is having a hard time finding some fish.  We give a few ideas

1. Head to a local bait shop and ask

2. Don't feel bad, we go fishing all the time and don't catch fish.

3. Look for a Pike and Crappie lake.

4. Sometimes when you are on the lake people will share information about the lake.   

5. Ask your local Fishery department

 

"Old Tricks Still Work" by Vick Attardo December 10th Outdoor News

Vick listed some old tricks he used for ice fishing in this article.  A few of them were discussed on the show.

1. Put minnows in a jar and drop to the bottom of the lake

2. Don't shock your minnows, add some lake water to your bait bucket to equalize the water temp

 

"Staying warm on ice from head to toe" by John Teruliani in Outdoor News December 10th

We agree with a few of the points made in this article

1. Eat oatmeal or pancakes, carb load,  instead of protein before you go out on the ice for the day.

2 use toasty toes in your boots to keep your toes warm

3. Gloves vs Mitts - Jeff suggests mitts are better than gloves.

 

Fishing Report Mille Lacs Report

Jeff was out on Mille Lacs he did not catch a fish, Jason suggested that he should just record a clip as it happens to often.

 

Southern Minnesota Fishing Report

Jeff and Jason met in southern Minnesota at a small lake.  Fishing was slow but a few fish were caught.  It was a great day, the weather was so mild we did not even put up a shack.  Kept on drilling and moving until we found some fish.

We used Jason's Eskimo Pistol bit https://amzn.to/3qzMHIO  and a DeWalt cordless drill and it worked really great for what we were doing.  We went through a 5AH battery. The light weight was much appreciated as we were walking.

 

The ice was clear and you needed yaktraks https://amzn.to/3EuVMru  for sure or you would fall over.   We saw someone ice skate across the lake. 

 

When to Talk to People on the ice

A great time to chat with people on the ice is when they are on the move.  This changes on different lakes, each lake has its own culture.  

Gear

Beaver dam tip ups https://amzn.to/3sVZngf  are still one of my favorites. 

 

Max Losche from https://strikeandcatch.com/

We talk to Max Losche from Strike and Catch about ice fishing in the Baltic Sea and smaller inland lakes in Sweden.  Max tells us that pimpling is actually a verb. In Sweden a pimple is a small spoon used for ice fishing.  It' s more about the method than a lure.  For an auger Max uses hand augers, they don't use any power augers.  They use Mora augers similar to the same thing you can buy in the US.  They hole size is 8 to 10 inches but in Sweden they use the metric system so we had to do a conversion. 

When fishing in the Baltic for Pike a wooden stick that you ram into the ice and a spool with some basic ice line with a metal arm with a red tip. You put a loop in the line on the red indicator, then the flag goes up.  Everything is above the ice unlike the beaver dam tip ups. 

These are also used to catch Zander which are like walleyes but larger, up to 40 inches.  Mostly Zander are targeted with dead sticks running bait feeder reels.  These are put on a quick strike rig, or leader with two trebles on a wire leader.  

Ice houses or shelters are not used really in Sweden, most just fish on a chair on the ice.  Heaters are not used much nor are fish finders.