By: Matt Johnson Both Northern Minnesota and Southern Minnesota lakes have the potential of growing pound-plus sunfish. Many Northern lakes that are “untapped” will see some excellent large sunfish populations. However, these populations can fluctuate and produce trophy sunfish one year and not produce any the next. Some lakes will experience year classes of stunted…
How much does a trophy sunfish weigh? Is there a length-to-weight way to gauge the weight of a trophy sunfish? What makes a sunfish weigh-out the way it does? Here are a few answers or “theories” to those questions… The weight of a sunfish can definitely vary depending on the time of year and body…
As anglers we find ourselves needing a reason for the decisions we make. We need to justify that the decisions we make will have a positive outcome on our day of fishing. Let’s face it; we don’t want to make decisions that result in a poor day of fishing. So we analyze the situation and…
By: Matt Johnson Modern day society continues to push the mentality of doing things “big” and bold. “Go big or go home” is no longer just a term used on the sports field, but also rather in the office, at the factory, or even in the classroom. We are wired to take things to the…
We make mistakes as anglers, and oftentimes it’s those mistakes that make us sometimes no matter what you do, things don’t seem to go your way. Don’t get discouraged. Bass fishing can be a game of “walking the tightrope,” where Understanding that there are situations where you need to buckle down and take things…
By: Matt Johnson is different for everyone. I’m also sure it can vary depending on the body of water or region you’re fishing in. The answer might be a swim bait for those targeting giant California bass. Or maybe a live red tail minnow for those searching for trophy smallmouth bass on the Mississippi…
By: Matt Johnson Pinpointing these broad-shouldered sunfish can be an all-day endeavor, but it’s a day well-spent once you hook into a true pounder. Sunfish in the nine to eleven inch range are in a class of their own, and once they surpass that ten-inch mark you’ve got yourself a real trophy. Light-biting, drag squealing,…
By: Matt Johnson When we think of drop-shotting, we typically think of vertical, finesse fishing over a rock pile or piece of isolated structure. Or maybe even a tactic used to pick-off schooling smallmouth bass along expansive flats. Drop-shotting is without a doubt an effective way to deploy a finesse presentation. But what about casting—or…
