River Monster

Last minute outing to the river on Sunday, February 19th to wrap up the 2022 fishing season. Slow day but we caught about a dozen bass, 2 carp and a buffalo. A tug-of-war battle with a carp that ended up being my biggest carp to date! We didn’t get a measurement but estimating close to 30 inches and between 15-20 lbs. Pulled drag and gave a tough battle! A big credit to my cousin and the best net man Binh. A fun memorable season!

One Last Outing for 2022

Smallmouth craze! Today might have been our last open water outing but if it is it sure was a great way to end a phenomenal season. Binh and I made another visit to the Mississippi River in Monticello. Nonstop smallmouth action for a good couple hours and then gusty winds blew debris downriver ultimately effecting the bite. Here are a few highlights from this morning’s action. Until next season… tight lines!

Mississippi River Monticello Smallmouth

What an epic day on the river with Mahigan Outdoors! My cousin Binh Nguyen and I caught and released well over 30 feisty brown bass including a pair over 20 inches, 5 fish over 19 inches as well as many others on the Mississippi River near Monticello. Matt put us on the spot, it almost felt like a fishing frenzy for awhile! Video is currently in production. Anyone looking for a trout or smallmouth guide trip, I highly recommend Matthew Doth of Mahigan Outdoors for your next fishing adventure in the Twin Cities area. He is first class and you will have a great time!

Big Turtle Lake Smallmouth Fishing

Stacey, Joshua, and I made our fifth family vacation/fishing trip together to Arcadia Lodge up on Big Turtle Lake. This was probably by far our best fishing trip to Arcadia Lodge!

Weather was hot and humid the first three days and cooled off a little bit. A couple of strong severe storms came through in the late evening and overnight causing power outages to all of the cabins. With the late ice out and the extreme hot temps that brought the lake temp up about 10 degrees, the smallmouth moved shallow to begin the spawn process and the fishing was fast and furious! I caught too many to count, but most fish were in the 3-8 feet ranging from 16″ to 18.5″. Everything seemed to work but majority of the fish were caught on the Clackin’ Crank, Pop-R, blade bait, jig & craw, and Ned rig.

Check video below for the full action!