3/11/2010
Well, unfortunately the "09-10 Ice Season" is coming to an end. Get off the ice before you can't...see video!!! Time to start cleaning and packing away the ice gear. It's a sad time of year, but there is the promise of an exciting open water fishing season. The 09-10 season was quite an experience for me. I learn more and more each year and had a ton of fun. Also, I had my fair share of frustrating moments, but that's fishing. Sometimes I lose track of why I am out there in the first place....because I enjoy it! When it becomes work, then it's time for another sport. Obviously in a perfect world, I would drop my lure down the hole and just label fish all day long. I suppose the dry spells make the catch that much better. As a side note, I truly appreciate all you that visited my site this season. It was surely a learning experience running the site this year and things will run much smoother next season. During the "Soft Water" season, I will be making some changes to the site. Also, there will be actual gear to purchase. Yes I know, my bad. There has been much interest in IceStriker apparel and it will be available by first ice. Anyway, expect a more complete site next year. I will post some updates/videos over the off-season, so check back from time to time. This has been a lot of fun for me and thanks again for all your support! -Bill Blavat
3/3/2010
Video...this guys catch would have been our largest Walleye. By the way, is he fishing from the back seat of his car...weird!!! Well, it only took me 3 days to muster up the energy to post what is certainly a horrible fishing report. My dad summed it up saying, "it started off slow, the it just kind of tapered off" Let's put it this way...I have never fished harder. First off, the weather was brutal. 40mph winds out of the North. The only thing that kept us from going home were the temps, which were in the upper 20's, lower 30's. The wind was wreaking havoc on tip-up holes and shanties alike. I had to take some aggressive measures to keep the Clam from being completely destroyed. 3 days of fishing everything from Sand Point in Escanaba, all the way to the flats in the Upper Bay. We ran into Perch everywhere, but we didn't hook a single Walleye. Very disturbing. We were trophy fishing and the fishing reports by others were much of the same up there. Everyone I talked to had either caught nothing or had a 27"+ Walleye bagged. However, I had a great time hanging out with my Dad. Father and son don't get to take many exclusive trips like that. Sorry I can't post anything more exciting. Believe me, I would much rather be telling a nice fish story. Oh well...Best of luck to all of you in the home stretch of hard water season!
2/25/2010
Hello to all you hard water fanatics. I am writing to you from my "Equipment Cave" as I gather up all my gear for an exciting trip. I am leaving with my Dad, Lee Blavat, for an ice fishing excursion to the U.P. It's been a long time since we've taken a extended fishing trip together. Little Bay De Noc is our destination and we will be targeting Walleyes in Gladstone, MI. As some of you may know, LBDN is an amazing body of water. It can be very fruitful, but safety is a major concern during the winter months. The ice can be sketchy and change from 2 feet to 2inches of ice throughout the bay. There are those that will push the limit, but this trip is about having fun, the fish will be a bonus. I will make sure to post video and blog about our trip upon our return. Best of luck to all of you and stay safe!
2/10/2010
While I was not able to get into this weekend's NAIFC Tournament on Delavan Lake, Nick and Ben caught 11 fish in the tournament. A good day, but not enough for the Top Ten. However, I was able to get out on Okauchee lake both Saturday and Super Bowl Sunday. Not much luck though. No flags and jigged out some small perch. A great weekend to be out there trying out my new gear. Auger and Shack. The weather cooperated and the snow storm stayed away until yesterday. Here in Waukesha, we reported 11.5" of snow.
1/26/2010
Little Lake Wissota, Chippewa Falls, WI – The NAIFC Ice Fishing Tournament – Ben, Nick and myself headed up early on Thursday the 21st to get a few days of pre-fishing. We had our fair share of problems. We loaded up and set out from Waukesha at 7am only to find that the lights were not operating properly on our 20ft trailer. Not good when you are making a 3.5 hour trip. We made our journey to Little Lake Wissota and pre-fished for 2.5 days, meeting up with my teammate Mark. We probably drilled 300 holes over the course of the trip and discovered some hot spots. We did bust one auger and purchased another. The fish catching was very minimal and we heard the same from the others fishing the lake. The word was that if you were catching a Crappie an hour, you were doing well. This was our first NAIFC event and the experience was invaluable. We met lots of dedicated people and learned things along the way. Check out the Ice Men show, which is on Versus Wednesday morning. This details the NAIFC event in the form of a reality TV show. The morning of the tournament was 34 degrees and rain, which had melted all the snow on the lake and turned everything into 3 inches of slush-water. Speaking for our two teams, we were sopping wet. My feet got wet before we started fishing, due to waiting in standing water. As brutal as the conditions were, there was immense excitement. The poor weather didn’t matter, the potential to come off the lake in five hours as a winner was all that was on our minds. Well, unfortunately all Mark and I could catch were Rock Bass and Walleye, when the tournament was for Bluegill and Crappie. However, Ben and Nick were able to get a couple Bluegills and put themselves 13th in the tournament. Ben had a shot at "Big Fish" with a Bluegill weighing .62lbs. Unfortunately, someone registered a .99lb Crappie. What a great time we had and we can’t wait for the next tournament at Delavan Lake. Thanks for stopping and good luck!
1/20/2010
-Well the weather has certainly improved, but the fishing has been slow. Got out in Black River Falls with my teammate Mark to knock off the cobbwebs. Saturday morning we fished Hoffman's Pond and could have filled a bucket, but no size to them. Mostly Crappie in the 8" range, mixed in with some perch and trout. That same afternoon we decided to do a little truck tip-up fishing. Mark, Jenelle and I headed out to Lower Lake. Beautiful weather, slow fishing. Actually, it started off slow, then it just tapered off...ha! 3 flags, one 18" Northern. However, the weather made it enjoyable. Look for video next week of the NAIFC tournament on Little Lake Wissota. Two teams for this event, consisting of Bill Blavat and Mark Hill and Ben Warner and Nick Kemos are making up the IceStriker Teams. Thanks again for visiting. Keep em' tight!
1/8/2010
-Happy New Year IceStrikers! Congratulations to Carroll...the winner of the December Hooded Sweatshirt Giveaway! Bob, I will contact you shortly via email for your mailing info. Hope all of you are being safe and enjoying the winter weather. The new year in Southeastern Wisconsin has brought cold weather and 8" of snow to the Lake Country area. Enough snow to get out and do some snowmobiling, but the conditions last night were not good for fishing. The practice fishing will continue in preparation for the Chippewa Falls tournament. Thanks to all of you for being patient, while the site is enduring some growing pains. Good luck on the hard water and thanks for visiting!
12/4/2009
- Thanks for visiting my site! I am currently at the 17th annual St. Paul Ice Fishing Show. I’m looking forward to meeting all sorts of ice fishing enthusiasts. The reason I made the 6-hour trip was to see all the gear and get fired up for the new season. Unfortunately, I was unable to book a booth, but if you see me walking around in my IceStriker Gear, stop me for the chance to win a FREE hooded sweatshirt. Hope to see you there. Please bookmark my site for a chance at FREE gear every month. Plus, check out the Funny Page for fishing humor, the Trophy Room for cool photos, and also don’t forget to weigh in on the poll question. This site will be sure to bring you new and exciting stuff every week this ice season. Thanks for stopping!
