By Steve Weisman

When I hear the words spoken “no two years are alike,” I think about this year’s ice fishing season, and I agree whole-heartedly. This year’s panfishing has been like no other. I don’t think I have ever seen a year when the fish appear and disappear so often. There has really been no consistent bite.

So, when Kevan Paul, Ice Team Pro, called to tell me that he along with Dave Genz, and Rod Woten were coming down to film an ice fishing show on Tuesday, February 18 for Ice Team, I was both excited and worried.

The bite was tough, and you know how it is when friends come from a distance to fish “your home waters.” You always want it to be the best.

However, I also knew that these three would figure something out and make a good instructional show/video.

Of course, Genz, Mr. Ice Fishing, has been coming to the Iowa Great Lakes for 25 years and Paul has been guiding here for several years. Still, it would be a challenge.

However, Paul made an interesting observation before we even started fishing. “So many times people get into just picking one lake and fishing it, even when the bite is poor. That’s what I like about the Iowa Great Lakes. There are enough bodies of water that somewhere, some place the fish will be biting.”

Sure enough, for the three Ice Team Pros, Lake Minnewashta provided everything needed to make a good show. They were able to keep 25 nice fish for an evening meal with some nice gills, perch and yellow bass over 10 inches. One yellow bass actually measured over 12 inches-definitely a proud angler fish! The show would, of course, show them catching fish, but more importantly (to me) were the little fishing tips that each angler would give. These tips give other anglers more opportunities for success.

Lessons learned

For me, this visit was a great chance for me to do two things: fish a little bit (and even catch a few!) and learn by watching and listening to these Ice Team Pros.

First off, I think I could write a book about the lessons Genz willingly shares to interested anglers. Instead of keeping his secrets to himself, Genz wants other anglers to succeed.

His first point as I visited with him was to “stay mobile. If the fish don’t bite in five minutes, move.” Over the course of the four hours I was with them, that is exactly what he did.

Of course, he has the best rig for mobility: an Arctic Cat Bearcat snowmobile. The front has an auger holder, while the rear of the snowmobile has an attachment that holds his portable FishTrap and the buckets containing rods and equipment. On the dash sit his GPS, Vexilar flasher and camera, so that he can sit on the snowmobile, drop his transducer down (whichever he chooses) and begin fishing! Genz jokingly calls it his winter bass boat! He also has another Vexilar rigged in a Genz Box so he can walk around and hole hop or move inside his portable if the weather gets bad.

With the three of them fishing, it was pretty easy to see the pattern and where the fish were. They did find it necessary to move often, especially when swarms of tiny yellow bass, bluegills and crappies kept attacking their baits.

Moving might mean only a few yards, and they kept leapfrogging their way past each other. When one got a good fish, the other two moved closer to try and capitalize on the bite.

Of the three, it was Genz who always seemed to be on the move. With temperatures warming into the upper 30s and the wind down, fishing out in the open and hole hopping was much easier.  However, to know what was going on beneath the ice, they all had their electronics going.

It was interesting listening to the three of them talk about lures and baits, because each had their “favorite or go-to” presentation.  They did agree that Clam’s new Drop Jig and the Ant Drop are two of their favorite lures, especially in the #14 or #16 hook size. Made from tungsten, the jigs drop fast, yet fish light and offer great action. When it comes down to it, Genz says he’s still a meat man. Yes, he will use plastics, but he still likes silver wigglers, Euro larvae and wax worms. Both Paul and Woten lean more toward plastics like the Maki Plastics, which come in seven different colors. Woten says the nice thing about the Maki is that you can use the entire plastic or cut off a piece. In other words, make your own plastic design to fit the bite.

There is one more thing about the day: camaraderie. On this day, it involved the usual good-natured kidding, laughing at one another when a 3-inch yellow came out of a hole and finally having a nice supper together.

To me, that made the day complete!

Oh, the fishing show will air on the Ice Team website (www.iceteam.com) in the next week or two.

(photo by Steve Weisman) Kevan Paul and Dave Genz admire a proud angler yellow bass.

(photo by Steve Weisman) Dave Genz fishes from his “winter bass boat.”