The firearms deer season is over in the Bemidji area, but bow hunters are allowed to continue deer hunting until Dec. 31.
There are also an increasing number of deer hunters who prefer the solitude of hunting later in the season and will hunt the muzzleloader deer season, which begins Saturday and runs through Dec. 13.
Deer hunting with a muzzleloader is a one-shot proposition, much like hunting with a crossbow or compound bow. Hunters use open sights on muzzleloaders and have to reload the gun after each shot. Muzzleloaders typically take shots at distances of 50 yards or less, much like bow hunters.
The knockdown power of a muzzleloader is huge, with hunters often using 50 caliber rounds. The distance and accuracy are somewhat lacking on muzzleloaders, which adds to the challenge.
The weekend after Thanksgiving is traditionally when many anglers hit the ice for the first time of the year, but not this year. There is no safe ice right now in the Bemidji area. The weather has been too warm to make enough ice to support anglers on foot.
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Hopefully anglers won't push their luck and will be patient. There has to be at least four inches of good ice to support anglers on foot and it will take temperatures below freezing during the day and overnight temperatures in the single digits to set the ice and freeze-over the rest of the lakes.
Most of the deep lakes like Lake Bemidji, Cass Lake, Pike's Bay and Walker Bay of Leech Lake still have open water. There were still a few boats on some lakes this past week, with muskie anglers usually the last ones on the water late in the season.
There will be plenty of time for ice fishing this winter. If anglers want to risk their lives, they can go shopping on Black Friday and take their chances fighting the masses in the stores hunting for holiday bargains.
There are always a few new items for ice fishing in the stores, with many products being updated and many new products waiting for approval from the ice fishing public.
One of the advances is in ice augers, with a trend towards lightweight and portable electric units, instead of the heavy gas powered augers that have been the trend in the past.
There are augers that mount to certain types of electric drills and there are self-contained units that have an electric power head and use lithium rechargeable batteries for longer life between charges.
Ice fishing rods are also going more high tech, with rods using stronger titanium guides and more sensitive rod blanks, much like the high end rods anglers use in the summer.
Ice fishing reels have also been upgraded in some cases, with reels using more ball bearings and specialty winter lubes, so the reels perform smoothly even in the coldest conditions.
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The straight line reels on many ice fishing rods also continue to be improved, with the "no-twist" spools allowing the line to avoid the spinning lure syndrome that is such a turn-off for finicky biting fish.
Tungsten lures are all the rage with many anglers. Tungsten lures are small, but heavier than lead, so anglers can get their lures back down to the fish at record speeds.
Sometimes speed is a good idea, especially when the fish are in an active mode. The problem is the fast drop can also be a turn-off, especially when fish are not in an aggressive feeding mood.
When the fish are being finicky, lures with a much slower drop usually work better. Anglers may want to check out some of the lures that glide down to the fish at a slower rate, instead of dropping to the bottom like a rock.
Tricking out snowmobiles and ATVs for ice fishing is another thing that has gotten big with ice anglers. Mounting sonar, GPS, underwater cameras and ice augers to the sleds or ATVs helps anglers stay mobile and be more productive during the ice fishing season.
