Jeff Sundin's Fishing Stuff For Sale!

In case you hadn't heard, I'm planning on making a move, looking for a home somewhere in the Grand Rapids area. That means that I'm doing some pre-move, thinning of the stacks of stuff in the garage and shop. As I stumble into interesting items, I'll offer them up to you first, before I list 'em on the popular sale sites.
G. Loomis Musky Trolling Rod Model MUR946C 7' 10" NEW, Unused Retails For $275.00 Selling for $175.00
G. Loomis Drop Shot Rod Model Mag Light, 6' 10" 1 Piece NEW, Unused Retails For $250.00 Selling for $165.00 >> Contact by Email

Lake Winnibigoshish, Joe Thompson, August 29, 2016 Four Seasons Resort

"The northern fishing dominated our week here at the Four Seasons. The Jerry Anderson family was the group that inhabited most of the resort. They are some of the best northern fishermen we have during the season. 
They had two meals for 50 people and also took home limits of northerns. Sucker minnows and jerk baits were their main baits.
Jake caught and released this beautiful 52" musky on a Suick. The suicks also did the trick on this 26" walleye I caught. Always a surprise when you get a walleye on a 9" jerkbait!
The walleyes were not pursued this week. Will have an update for you next report. We have walleye fishermen in camp this week and I also have trips this week and will be walleye and perch fishing.
The fish continue to cooperate. Look for that trend to continue throughout September. Our specials kick in this week. The weather is nice, the fishing is great, and we have fall colors coming soon." Joe Thompson, Four Seasons Resort 218-665-2231

Fishing Report August 28, 2016 - Fall Crappie Bite; Bowstring Lake

The report from Erin Charlton at Trails End Resort July 26, 2016;Trails End Resort came to my inbox as a single sentence; "Howdy from Bowstring! The Fall Crappie bite is ON!!!!"
You can read whatever you want into that report, but as it happens, I’ve been on Bowstring a couple of times myself this week and I can vouch for Erin’s succinct report. Crappie action does seem to be ramped up and the fish are holding in a variety of locations.
Everybody has their favorite way to catch Crappies and for me, jigging is the most fun. On Friday, we caught fish doing that, but after a few hours of struggling with heavy weeds, Pete was inkling about trying to catch ‘em with spinners. I was a little reluctant, water temperatures were lower, now down to about 66 degrees and the idea of getting our Little Joes snipped by small Pike was haunting me too. Still, it was a good idea and I knew that it was worth trying, so I got everyone rigged up and started trolling and … Wham!
Despite my reluctance to abandon the jigs, the Little Joe Spinner, tipped with a minnow was working better. In fact, they were just as productive now as they were a couple of weeks ago when water temperatures were in the mid-70 degree range.
We only fished 3 areas on Friday; all of them were weed flats and they all contained respectable numbers of Crappie. On Wednesday though, I fished some deeper water too and there were crappies holding out there as well. Many of the lakes reefs, especially those on the north end contain rocks and these rocky spots were the preferred territory for Crappies.
A welcome by product of our trolling was a few bonus Walleye and Jumbo Perch. Right now, I don’t think that I could promise a limit of good size Walleye by “spinning the weeds”. That’s because with the cooler water temps, Walleyes are more prone to strike slower moving baits and on Wednesday, I proved that to myself.
With a nice “Walleye Chop” and a good drift produced by steady southeast winds, a 1/16 ounce Lindy Live Bait Jig tipped with a fathead allowed me to pull a limit of good size fish out of the shallow cabbage. On Friday, without the benefit of some wind, the jigs were less effective, but even then, we gathered enough for a good fish fry. The action just feels slower when it’s calm, the weeds feel a lot heavier and it takes too much concentration for some folks; especially when your primarily goal is relaxation.

Alexandria Ottertail Area, Capt Josh Hagemeister; August 27, 2016

"What another great week for fishing in north central Minnesota area. This week there was a big uptick in the smallmouth bass action on all the lakes in the area with the smallmouth bass in them. The fall equinox is upon us and causing the fish to school up more heavily and become more aggressive in preparation for winter so feeding is constant. I've been catching a lot of nice bass on shallow rocky gravel areas using a jig head tipped with a plastic crawfish. If you're into live bait use nightcrawlers on a Jig as well. The walleyes are split down the middle with many fish still using the weed lines in the 15 to 20 foot depth range well others are schooling heavier on steep drop offs leading to Deepwater as far down as 40 feet each lake is different so try both. Live bait options range from a 3 to 4 inch minnow to a nightcrawler. Many of the big bluegills can be found roaming deeper flats adjacent to weeds the flats seem to be best at 15 to 20 feet in depth. Using your electronics to find the schools and then simply drop down a small tube Jig to catch them. The larger northern pike can still be found suspended out from the weed line over the basin of the lake. Using a crank bait that may dive down to 10 to 15 feet cast away from the Weed line towards Deepwater and reel it back towards you that suspended northern pike will attack. Good fishing!" Capt Josh, Minnesota Fishing Guide Service 218-732-9919

Fishing Report August 26, 2016 - Another "Crappie" Fishing Trip!

It didn't take long, all I had to do was post a few pictures of Crappies and the next day, emails and texts started coming in, questioning the whereabouts of Mr. Speck and his extended family.
Well, so far the migration of Crappies from shallow weed edges into deeper water has been slow, maybe even a little bit behind schedule, but they are starting to trickle out there.
Thursday, we managed a respectable score on our entrance exam into the U of SSU’s advanced fall crappie class. Just a half day of fishing and the two of us, I and Pete scored 17 out of a possible 20 fish limit, a solid B+.
For anybody who’s ever fished with me during the peak of fall Crappie migrations that will sound like slow fishing and in some ways it was. But it wasn’t so slow that we ever lost interest, it was simply that the schools of fish are very small and not all of them were striking aggressively.
The takeaway from today’s report ought to be that it’s not a bad idea to start checking some of your favorite deep water holes for Crappies, but don’t give up on the weeds. On the lakes that I’ve fished, that’s still where the majority of fish are located. In fact I’m going to test my theory today by spending most of our trip fishing in and around the weeds, instead of looking in deep water.
Surface temperatures hung in steady at 71 degrees yesterday despite chilly, mid-sixty degree air temperatures. But as the water cools and shallow vegetation dies off, fish will continue to trickle out into open water.
The presentation we used was straightforward, a 1/16 ounce Lindy Live Bait Jig tipped with a small Fathead. For folks who have fished with me before, this jig is very familiar and is absolutely one of the best lures there is for presenting live bait. The colors we used were both Pink and Glow Perch, neither of which seemed better than the other.
The Glow Perch color could seem a little bit offbeat to some, but for me, it’s a great color to use when you’re testing the water for Bluegills and by tipping it with a cut piece of night crawler, I am frequently able to discover Sunfish in the vicinity of our Crappie holes.
I’ve written about the early fall pattern before and for details about locating fish,  it’s easier to refer you to this >> Crappie Fishing Report August 2014
By the way, the 1/16 ounce live bait jig also works great with 2 inch action tails and this is what I use for casting to the weed edges for Crappies, Walleye and Pike.
So get your ultra lights polished up and get ready for a Crappie fishing trip of your own.

Fishing Report August 25, 2016 - Cooling The Coolable and Working the Workable

I know, it still feels warm and the sun is still shining, but look close; the trees are beginning to change color and summer is slipping away.
On Wednesday, the Humminbird reminded me that surface water temperatures are slipping away too. Mainly still above the 70 degree mark, there were a few 69 degree readings popping onto the screen. Cooler water means changing fishing patterns and the changes are beginning to show up in daily fishing patterns.
Crappies typically begin to dominate the conversation during early fall and I’m sure that you’ve noticed more Crappies in the mix lately. I’ve spent a fair amount of time looking for “Good Schools” of them, but until yesterday, the fish have shown up only in small, isolated packs. The school of fish that we found on Wednesday was good, and it represented the first really productive episode of vertical jigging for suspended fish during this 2016 season.
Despite what I just told you about this single school of suspended fish, I think your best bet is to continue pursuing Crappies in the weeds. Most of the fish that we’ve caught during the past week have been weedline fish, inhabiting water depths of 7 to 12 feet, depending on the weedline on your favorite lake.
Casting 1/16 ounce Live Bait Jigs, tipped with 2 inch action tails, we’ve turned up Crappie, Sunfish, Walleye, Bass, Perch and of course … Pike-O-Plenty!

Fishing Report August 22, 2016 - A Taste Of Fall, Water Cools Down, Action Heats Up!

Oh I know, there's another heat wave bearing down on the Itasca region, but the weekend weather provided a welcome hint of cooler times lying just around the corner. Hot muggy weather gave way to the cooler air temperatures delivered by a cool northwest wind.
In typical, early fall fashion, the cold air mass forced surface temperatures on Lake Winnibigoshish to plummet, falling 6 degrees in 2 days, leveling out at 68.8 degrees by the end of our fishing trip on Sunday.
For me, planning a fishing trip after cold fronts of this proportion can cause jittery nerves and sleepless nights. But on Sunday, Walleye and Pike shrugged off the chill and fed steadily for several hours.
No matter how you look at it, this is good news and it reinforces Joe Thompson’s comments this Sunday; “If you follow my fishing reports over the years, you know that I only say we have a hot bite once in a great while. So if you are considering a place where you will catch fish, you need to come see us very soon.” Based on my own experiences, it’s hard not to agree with Joe, the fishing has been reliable and during recent days, it’s been steady, even when I didn’t think it should have been.
The familiar pattern of trolling Little Joe Spinners over the weed tops continues to produce fish. But as of yesterday, I began carrying a supply of larger minnows for jigging, just in case I arrive at the same time that the fish switch their feeding preferences. Even though surface temperatures will rebound during this next warm period, the trend downward will prevail. As temperatures sip into the mid 60’s, jig and minnow presentations will become reliable. Drifting, backtrolling and vertical jigging will overtake the fast moving trolling presentations.

Marcell Area - Edge of the Wilderness, Frontier Sports, August 21, 2016

"In this area, in late summer, Weeds Matter! Last weekend saw both Walleye and Pike in the heavy coontail weeds in water depths of fourteen feet to twenty four feet. These beds appear on your graph as a solid mass of yellow. In the deeper weeds you’ll find that the top of the weed beds are around seven feet from the surface. In situations like this I’ll troll lipless crank baits like the LIVE TARGET Yearling Baitball Rattle Bait right over the top at three miles an hour, periodically ripping it as I go.

Deer River Area, Brian Castellano , August 19, 2016;

Fishing Report August 18, 2016 - Fishing Good?

I'll bet that after reading yesterday's comments about the full moon, you're curious about how our fishing on Winnibigoshish was on Wednesday. Rightly so too, because I don't think the weather could have delivered any more perfect conditions under which to test my theory.
Under a bright sky, and floating on calm seas, fishing was good. Catching; that was a little tricky, but the reasons for that didn't concern the fish. The Walleye were there and they were willing to bite, we just didn't get them as efficiently as usual.
We had enough opportunity; any missteps that discouraged us from filling our bag were caused by our own slip-ups, over-anxiousness and a crowd of anglers who had trouble learning how to "work together".
That’s the way it goes sometimes, you can do everything almost right, and still not hit the nail on the head. Under the circumstances though, I still think we had a respectable showing, we CPR’d several nice “slot-fish” and still left the lake with 7 good keeper Walleye along with a couple of bonus Pike.
The contrast between this day and Tuesday, gave me a chance to make another observation about my own personality. I love tinkering around a lot more than I like “hard core fishing”.
Bob and Joe, arguably two of the most relaxed fishermen that I know, love to go with the flow; they allow me to putt around the lake sniffing out the nooks and crannies for interesting things to do. They don’t really care what we fish for, they just like having fun, so I turn up a good Sunfish bite, and that’s what we do. Crappies, Pike, Perch, and Walleye … whatever, every species are fair game. It’s a blast for me; in fact you can read the story I wrote last summer about >> Bob abd Joe, “the Ideal” guide customers.
On Tuesday we sifted through weeds, rocks and deep breaklines and we stumbled into Crappies, Sunfish Pike and eventually, landed on top of Walleye Bob’s  grand finale’, boating lots of Walleye. It never felt like I was working at all, we were just wandering the perimeter, stumbling into whatever came along to tickle our fancy.
On Wednesday, the goal wasn’t exactly Walleye or die, but it was close. Pike would serve as an adequate alternative, but we were definitely not fishing for any fish whose dimensions could be taller than their length.
Before you get the idea that my crew was pressuring me, don’t. They weren’t and they never would, they are the easiest folks to get along with in the whole wide world, they would never pressure me; I do that to myself.
I can’t explain why, but for me, the heightened sense of importance always seems to make me jittery and on Wednesday it showed. I hooked and lost at least a half dozen fish, probably more; that’s pretty unusual, but it does happen. That made it even harder to focus on my crew and their success and that leads to even more frustration. At the end of the day, it makes the fishing seem harder than it really was.
I just went a long way around to make this point, but here it is. I believe that the secret to catching more fish is to have more fun during the pursuit of them. Everybody loves reeling ‘em in, but truthfully, that only happens for a few hours, even on a good day and it’s the conversation, the shenanigans and the banter that makes the fishing trip fun.
Whenever it gets too serious, the fish figure it out and I think they believe that they’re doing us a favor by leaving us alone. Yes, I think that when we’re too serious, it’s like hanging the do not disturb sign on your door; they perceive us as needing “quiet time”. But whenever they hear us joking and laughing, then they want to join the party too.
Sound silly? Well maybe it is, but I don’t think so.
Statically speaking, the fishing conditions on Winnie typical of late summer. Surface temperatures ranged between 70 and 72 degrees on Winnie. Cutfoot Sioux featured warmer temperatures, ranging between 72 and 75 degrees. Despite the warm sunshine and calm seas, surface temps are slipping overnight and I think that the warmest water period of the season is now behind us.
Weed flats continue to hold good numbers of fish and this has been the primary focus for several weeks. I do believe though that there are also good numbers of fish on the larger, mid-lake bars and there are liable to be fish on sand flats too. Partly for a change of scenery, partly to check my intuition, I plan on moving away from the weeds and into open water for a day or two.
Watch the reports for a progress report and you’ll be the first to know how the mid lake action stacks up.

Fishing Report August 8, 2016 - Warm Water Fish; "Hot to Trot!"

It depends on which lake you fish, but I'll bet that your favorite one has the potential to provide you with a "mixed bag, action bite".
Surface temperatures are nearly 80 degrees on many of the Itasca area lakes and most of the fish are on a rampage to chase down fast moving baits. During the warmest part of summer, fish metabolism is racing and they feed extremely heavily. In fact, if you've been fishing the weedline and haven't had great action, then most likely, the remedy will be to get moving faster.
Over the weekend, I was on a busman’s holiday, fishing for fun with family and friends and I'm convinced that's part of the reason we had so much fun.
When I let everyone know that I didn't plan on cleaning any fish, the pressure of trying to fill the creel disappeared. The fish seem to KNOW when there's no pressure and that's when they really bite. In just one small bay of the lake, we caught and released Bluegill, Bass, Pike, Rock Bass and even Walleye all using the same weeds. Some were easier to get than others, but generally speaking they were just about as aggressive as fish get.
Finding them wasn't hard either, there was only one rule; locate weedy flats that lay adjacent to deep water. Whenever I found weeds, there were fish, most often they were Sunfish, but Bass, Pike and Walleye were in there too.
I can't think of many baits that are easier to use and more reliable than the Little Joe Spinner and this day was perfect for trolling with their #3 gold blade and a cut piece of 1/2 night crawler. Speeds of 1.3 to 1.6 MPH were perfect, but when you cover water that fast, the trick is to find a spot that's large enough to allow a fairly long trolling run. Small points contained fish too, but we whizzed past them so fast that our efficiency suffered. I tried stopping and fishing slower using live bait jigs tipped with action tails and it worked, but not as well as the spinners.
Today, I have a crew that's looking for just this kind of a spot, so we're gonna take another run at it. This time, I'm bringing a big supply of jig spinners too and we'll try casting them on some of these smaller points. I'll bet that it works, but I'll have to make you wait until tomorrow for proof.