By Mike Frisch
As I write this blog in late November, the open water fishing season for 2024 is done, at least in my area. I must say that 2024 was one of the best fishing seasons I have had in recent years, both on my “for fun” trips and while filming episodes of Fishing the Midwest TV. Here is a look at some 2024 fishing highlights.
The season started for me on Big Stone Lake on the South Dakota/Minnesota border. We targeted big panfish, including crappies and bluegills. Per usual, Big Stone guide Tanner Arndt had us around lots of fish, including several big ones. We used the new Mr. Crappie Shoo Shiner Jigs and some Mr. Crappie plastics as well. Some of the bluegills topped 10 inches and crappies over 13 inches were part of the catch.
From Big Stone we traveled to Alexandria (MN) and got in on some outstanding multi-species action. The highlight was a just-under 30” walleye that Shane Gesell, who lives near Alexandria, put in the boat! The fish ate a nightcrawler fished on a “plain rig” which is a simple two-hook plain snell rig that flat out catches walleyes.
We also travel to northern Minnesota each year and fish various lakes. This year we targeted walleyes and, once again, the plain rig came through. The first walleye of the trip was a 25” fish and several more topped the 20” mark. We put a bunch of smaller “eaters” in the boat on the trip as well.
We travel to top Midwest fishing destinations for our television series and we also detail fishing techniques on our show that anglers across the Midwest can use on their upcoming fishing trips. One topic we covered in depth this year was shallow water bass fishing. We pitched Texas rigged plastics and jig/plastic combos to docks, overhanging trees, and shoreline cutbanks with very good success. The highlight of our fishing was a 5 ¾ pound largemouth that ate a bait pitched under a dock! In addition to that giant, a bunch of other fish in the 4-pound size range came into the boat from shallow cover this year as well.
In addition to pitching “bottom baits” like jigs and Texas rigs, we also threw horizontal “moving” baits a bunch this past year as well. The highlight of that fishing came on a beautiful September day when a partner and I were throwing KVD Squarebill 4.0 crankbaits. We were catching a decent number of fish by throwing the baits on top of weedy mid-depth flats. Included in the catch was a fish in the 5-pound range. During late afternoon, however, the wind kicked up a bit, the sun went behind some clouds, and the bass went on a feeding rampage! For about a half an hour, until the weather conditions reverted, we got bit on just about every cast. Many of these fish were in the 3 to 4-pound range. One key was apparent, the Natural Bream colored 4.0 bait was the bait color the fish definitely wanted.
We were fortunate this past season to use baits that the fish wanted a great deal. Lots of this fishing will be part of our Fishing the Midwest TV series starting in January 2025. We hope you can tune in. Until next time, be safe on the water and ice and remember to include a youngster in your next outdoors adventure!
Mike Frisch hosts the popular Fishing the Midwest TV series on Sportsman Channel, World Fishing Network, and FanDuel Sports. Visit fishingthemidwest.com to see TV schedules and all things Fishing the Midwest!
Photo – The Natural Bream squarebill crankbait shown here was a dynamite fish catcher this past season!