WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
April 10, 2008

Yikes, mother nature takes two big swings at us here in the Northland and one is to hope that is the last of this Winter. Just as we thought those Spring days were upon us, we get hit right between the eyes with snow and a bunch of it. Has it slowed down the thinning of the ice? Absolutely! We will have open water on May 10th? I hope so, as most years have it we do, but at this pace it could open as late as the day of opener. By the looks of next weeks forecast, we will finally be rid of Winter and those open water days will be right around the corner.

Last week, I talked about cold water opening days and keys to increasing your success with those jigs. This week I want to talk about another couple of keys to that cold water fishing rod action and line, specifically line size and rod action.

A few weeks back I talked about a new rod that many anglers have probably heard very little about to this point, the Jason Mitchell Elite Series. This rod is something that I would highly recommend looking into. Jason Mitchell has taken a few of the finest options from both G-loomis and St. Croix and perfected a rod for us here in the Northland. Being that Jason is a guide from Devils Lake, North Dakota, he fishes very similar presentations as we do and these rods are built for our specific applications.

The 7-foot jigging and rigging rod will be my first choice for those early cold water jigging days and will be the rod I and many anglers will find for nearly all Walleye applications when running live bait. The key with this rod is the extra sensitive tip and the amount of back bone built into the rod. The sensitive tip will allow you to feel the lightest of bites and the backbone will allow you to increase your hook up percentages with those fish that are barley hanging on. It certainly is a rod that will allow you to fish hard and successfully all day long.

As for the line, keep it light. More times than not when the bite gets tough a simple change from 8 lb. to 6 lb. will turn non-active fish into biters. Now this is not always the case, but you might be shocked at how many times a simple change like this will make a difference. On cold water openers, don't be afraid of the 4 lb. line. What the lighter line will do is keep the presentation of those extremely light jigs as life-like as possible. The line allows those jigs and shiners to swim very naturally without a stiff look. The light line will also increase your ability to feel what your presentation is doing at all times. Many times with the cold water a Walleye will barely grab the bait and more times than not drop it before it is felt by an angler.

The line I would recommend taking a look at for this season is also new to the area, it is called Vicious. It is built as a copolymer and a fluorocarbon, so no matter what your looking to do with it, Vicious has you covered. One of the neatest things that I can say about this line is the simple strength and sensitivity it has, but also no more guessing on how one applies it to the reel. It has a built in line wrapper and line cutter to make even adding line to that reel simple. So, if you're looking for something new this year, take a look at the new line and rods, you won't be disappointed.

Last week I talked about things to think about this season as we progress during the year, and I want to make sure everyone is thinking the same, so I have highlighted what I think most people are thinking on these things. Things to think about this season:

Cold water:

• How fast would you move after the initial shock? After jumping into 35-50 degree water, most of us and the natural bodies reaction would slow down to virtually nothing. A fish has the same reaction, there movements are limited, as they try to preserve energy.
• How willing would you be in chasing a meal? When your body is cold, or the outside temperatures hit below zero, most of us are more then likely wanting to stay home, those dinner dates are for better times.
• Where is the warmest water on the lake? If you hadn't eaten much over the last six months, where would you go to eat, maybe a fast-food restaurant with a buffet. The warmest water will attract all level of the food chain, where the bait (buffet), the walleyes will be there as well. The shoreline where the wind comes from predominantly is the warmer water.
• Where is the easiest meal found? Here again, where is the warmest water for those cold opening days, but after that, what is plentiful and easy to find? It may be mayflies, leeches, young of the year perch, or better yet large schools of shiners or smelt. Keeping track of the plentiful bait will increase your odds.

Think warmth,

Sean Colter
member of NMGL
seancolter@seancolter.com