Shed hunting video

My friend Pat McSharry with a nice video about his trip up to shed hunt in Sunset Country last week...Enjoy.

-Gussy

Shed hunting

I have been shed hunting for the past week - hitting the woods hard in search of deer and moose antlers.  I spent four days with my friends Pete and Christie Zuk from Southern Ontario.  We found some sheds and even managed to catch a few bass one afternoon.  

Pete and Christie's haul for a few days.  A few nice ones mixed in.  

Christie next to a large rub we found in our travels.

Pete with a nice smallmouth he caught.

Rainy River walleyes

Last week my Dad and I had one of the best days of fishing either of us has ever had when we hit the Rainy River to film a segment for season two of Fishing with Gussy.  We pulled up to our spot, put the Talon down on a sandbar and did not move the boat until we went home!  In all, we lost count of how many fish we caught, but the number was high.  The most incredible thing is that most of these fish were in the 24-27 inch range.  

Jim Gustafson with a big walleye from the Rainy River.  Caught on his favourite - the "Northland Whistler Jig" tipped with a shiner.

I got a nice fish on a Northland Rattlin' Fireball Jig, also tipped with a shiner.  While we could have caught fish on Impulse and Trigger X soft plastic minnows, sometimes its fun to use the real thing!  Throughout the rest of the season I will use plastic more than I will use bait and I'll catch plenty of fish.  

This was the biggest fish of the day - a 30" plus fish that was likely in the 10 pound range.  

If you are going to fish the Rainy River, you need to get one of the LakeMaster "WOODS/RAINY" chips.  Not only do you have high detail mapping of Rainy Lake and the lower half of Lake of the Woods, you get all of the Rainy River in great detail, to reveal navigational hazards and good fishing spots.  

End of one season, start of another...

Ice fishing across Sunset Country came to an abrupt end this past week as super warm temperatures melted the ice two or three weeks earlier than normal.  We're looking at complete ice out across the region by the first weekend in April, earlier on many waters.  It's crazy!  

I'm not complaining...it's nice to get back in the boat!  Over the past week my friends and I caught some big fish on the ice and even managed to get on the Rainy River for a day of walleye fishing in the boat.  

Jaime Bruce with a big pike taken on a Northland Predator Rig beneath a Frabill tip-up.  We caught our own ciscos to use for bait on these rigs and caught several big pike last week.  

I had my friends from KrugerFarms.com up for a few days of fishing...fellow pro-staffers Dusty Minke (FLW Tour walleye pro) and Troy Jutting (head coach of the University of Minnesota-Mankato men's hockey team) catch and release a nice walleye.  

KrugerFarms.com boss Don Nelson with a nice walleye he caught on a BuckShot Rattle Spoon

My first open water fish on 2012 in Ontario - a chunky 24" walleye from the Rainy River that fell for a Northland Thumper Jig tipped with a shiner.  

Scott Dingwall with a nice Rainy River walleye to finish off our day on the River.  It was nice to get the Lund back in the water!  -Gussy 

ICE FISHING!!!

I have been fishing hard on the ice over the past couple of weeks.  We have some great days and some tougher days, but overall things have been pretty good.  Below are some photos from the past week on the ice.  

Brad Leuthner with a monster gator caught on a large cisco rigged up on a Northland Predator Rig.  Caught on a small Sunset Country back lake known for big pike.

Jay Samsal with a big pike at the end of a beautiful day in Sunset Country.  

Nice lake trout that feel for a Northland BuckShot Spoon

Owen Amundsen with a nice pike he caught on Frabill tip-up with a Northland Predator Rig

Dave and Owen Amundsen with a beauty lake trout

Kyle Moore with a nice walleye caught on a BuckShot Rattle Spoon

Al with his first lake trout of the trip