| | The year 2011 is here. Some anglers are focusing on ice-fishing, others are already anticipating the upcoming open-water season. Following are some fishing things that I’m looking forward to in the next days, weeks, and months.
More and more I look forward to late season ice-fishing. It’s warmer outside, the days are longer, and the fishing can be spectacular. As long as the ice is safe, if you like ice-fishing, you should be out there.
On late ice, be sure to try different presentations. The fish will have seen a lot of baits by late ice, so be sure to try different colors, sizes, and lure actions. If they’re not eating what you’re showing them, try something else.
 This year I’m going to learn more about the mapping chips that have become so popular. These are the chips that go in your sonar unit(you have to have a sonar that takes chips) and show you where you are on the lake. They show you where you are in relation to structure. These chips are great for finding fish or just finding your way around the lake.
Because I’m kind of challenged when it comes to technology, and because sometimes I resist change, I just haven’t become as well versed with chips as I should be. After hearing several angling friends ask me if I have a “chip” in my depthfinder, then seeing the advantages to using a “chip”, I became convinced this is something I need to investigate further. Most of my friends suggest that LakeMaster chips are the most accurate ones. I’m looking forward to figuring this “chip” thing out.
Over the past thirty years I’ve had the good fortune to fish in a lot of different places, but there are still a good number of places where I haven’t wet a line. I’m looking forward to visiting some of those places this year.
We live in a very mobile world. That’s good, but sometimes that ability to quickly get somewhere a long distance away means we don’t explore fishing opportunities closer to home. Often times we’re driving right past some very good fishing spots as we travel to a location farther away. This year I’m going to be researching the closer-to-home bodies of water. I’ll get to fish more, travel less, and that’s something I like.
I’m going to make a very serious effort to learn new techniques this year. One technique that I’m really going to concentrate on employs a couple of fairly new products: Guppies and Tadpoles were introduced by Off Shore Tackle last year. Both are trolling tools that will enable me to fish deeper and keep the bait in the fish zone much more effectively. And they’re both “green” products. They’re created from materials that are friendlier to our environment.
Lastly, I’m going to try harder to be a good steward to the environment. This is more than releasing some of the fish that I catch, although that’s a good thing to do and I already do that a lot. In 2011, I am going to be more diligent about not making a mess in the outdoors, and I’m also going to be more diligent about cleaning up other people’s messes. Litter is a bad thing, but we can clean it up easily if we just make a commitment to do so.
2011 is here and I’m looking forward to it. If I accomplish the above tasks, 2011 will be an interesting and productive year.
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