2014-15 Ice Fishing Season off to an Early Start

With much colder than average temps over the past couple weeks, anglers in most of the northern Midwest have found themselves replacing their boats with their ice fishing gear!  This cold has been so persistent that even the larger bodies of water have frozen over and are being fished by brave anglers...

This weekend is calling for a brief warmup with rain, then it appears as if temps will once again stay below freezing for the foreseeable future.  The forecasted rains and winds could change early ice conditions fast, so please be safe when venturing out on the ice this weekend, especially if you are travel long distances to fish!

With an early onset winter like this, there are lots of great early ice opportunities to take advantage of!  The shallow bays will hold Panfish and Pike, while Crappies can be found both shallow and deep.  Walleyes are sure to be lurking the remaining green weeds as well as the mud flats, and Great Lakes Trout can be found in both the rivers and harbors.

Whatever species you decide to chase during this early ice, make sure to play it safe and enjoy yourselves!  I will be posting updates on my early ice trips which will hopefully begin next weekend...

2015 National Walleye Tour Schedule

The National Walleye Tour has wasted no time preparing for the 2015 season, as they have released the 2015 schedule on November 3, 2014!  The early release of the schedule is great to see, as anglers will have plenty of time to make arrangements to fish each event in 2015 if they desire!

2015 will be the third season of the Cabelas National Walleye Tour, which has quickly become the elite Walleye Tournament in America.  Expect more of the same from the NWT in 2015; impressive payouts, high angler participation, great media coverage, and of course a television show which will air shortly after the season concludes.

The 2015 season will start out on the Mississippi River and Lake Pepin out of Lake City Minnesota on May 8-9.  Anglers can expect a strong post spawn bite during this event (if mother nature cooperates) with the potential for 30 plus pound sacks of Walleyes.  There will be many different tactics employed here to catch fish, so expect the top anglers to be spread out fishing using multiple techniques to bring their fish to the boat.

The second stop of the 2015 season will land the pros in Leech Lake Minnesota June 12-13.  Anglers will be limited to one rod per angler as they compete for the title, which will all but eliminate the trolling patterns.  Anglers will likely be jigging and rigging for this event, which should come down to a game of ounces as overs will be tough to come by and those 20"-26" fish must be released.  The anglers that can find those perfect "unders" and manage to get an "over" will have a real shot at taking the win!

Green Bay is no stranger to large scale Walleye tournaments, and 2015 will be no exception as the NWT will be in town from July 24-25.  This event is being held out of Green Bay, Wisconsin which will make each anglers decision on where to spend their time prefishing very important.  By July, Green Bay Walleyes will be spread out across the Bay with pods of the right sized fish becoming difficult to locate.  Expect long runs from takeoff with potential 40 pound bags if things fall into place.  This will be a shoot out you won't want to miss, as open water trolling, structure trolling, and even jigging structure will all have a shot at being the winning tactic!

For the 2015 Championship the NWT will be heading to Devils Lake North Dakota to top off an exciting year of competition September 9-12.  Devils Lake offers a very diverse fishery that allows an angler to fish to their liking as many different tactics will put fish in the boat here.  Expect a great bite that will come down to the last competitor to weigh in to determine who will be named the winner of the 2015 Championship!

The 2015 schedule looks to be an even more exciting one than the past two seasons have been, as there are multiple tactics likely to be used to reach the top in each event!  For those anglers/fans looking to catch Walleyes in ways other than trolling, this is your year to fish the NWT as either a pro or co angler!  Look for more information to be released on sponsors, rules, payouts, etc. by visiting the National Walleye Tour Website 

2015 NWT Schedule
May  8-9              Mississippi River - Lake City, MN
June 12-13           Leech Lake - Leech Lake, MN
July 24-25            Green Bay - Green Bay, WI

Championship
September 9-12    Devils Lake - Devils Lake, ND