The following articles were authored by N1P

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Kids on Ice

One of the most fun thing is t pass on the tribal knowledge of ice fishing to the next generation.  Over the last couple weeks we had a blast teaching kids to fish.   One Saturday it was the kids from the D.A. Blodgett – St. John’s Home.    They have there own Adventure Lady  that takes the kids out to see the world around them.   Chas met up with them in 2016 at the Grand Rapids Steelheaders meeting.   They were giving the kids fishing poles and asked if MI Ice Guys could help out with some lures.    A big bag of K & E Stopper jigs rounded out the donation, but 2016 ice was gone by the time the MI Ice Guys returned from Ukraine.  So the first saturday in Feb some 20 kids got to experience ice fishing.

On the second Saturday of Feb 25+ Cub Scouts joined us on the ice.    Steph had the AquaView camera out, Joppie from the Grillin Guys Radio Show brought a Grill and our sponsors came through with some great donations to make sure every kid had a bucket, jigs and a rigged pole!   Mrs. T (Chas’ mom) even embroidered up patches so these future addicts of hardwater fishing will always remember fishing and eating hot dogs with the MI Ice Guys.

 

We even had one family come from Ionia to join in on the fun.   After we got the boys and some of the moms catching fish,  settled down to practice some palm rod.    I got into some 6 inch perch and was hitting them about 1 every 30 sec.    One of the biggest things was trying to keep the boys from walking on my line when I threw the rod.

Check out the some pics below from our adventure with the boys.

MI Ice Guys host MI Practice for USA Ice Team

Even though Anthony is not traveling with us overseas this year he did come up with a great event with Chad.   The NAIFC tournament was canceled last weekend, so he and Chad went out and found a great lake just north of GR that was full of small fish.   The goal was to have a practice to put some pressure on the USA Ice guys that came out.   He invited Past, present and some future team members to have a palm rod throwdown!

Chas and Steph served as officials and were able to practice some spotting techniques as the games were held.

Myron Gilbert, the fishing legend  from Brooklyn, MI, whipped the boys in shape in the first round of first angler to 24 fish.   He had many words of wisdom for the younger guys who didn’t keep up to the 2 time NAIFC Champ.

The Second round was a timed round where our hot prospect Keith Kniffen from Eaton Rapids, MI, quickly took a lead in the shallower water we had moved to.    As anglers caught a fish they showed it to Steph or Chas to be counted and then released.    Chas called Keith’s name so often another competitor mentioned he was tired of hearing that name.

After a bit of Schmohz IPA that Chas brought, the third round in much deeper water.   Chad Schaub got his game on and showed the guys how it was done.   With a bit of a twist the fish were at 5-6 ft in 30+ feet of water.

We all had an awesome time and the guys got some great practice for next week in Latvia.   Mike Bodecker even came over with Myron to help coach the guys.  Bo is a master of fishing.  It was really great to hear the experiences of a double World Gold Medalist!

 

2017 WIFC – Rīga, Latvia

Well the countdown is getting close for Steph, Chas and Chad to head over to O’Hare (ORD) and meet up with the rest of the team.  We will be flying through Frankfurt Germany (FRA).  Just over 8 hours = nap time.   We are scheduled to land in Germany at 7:25 AM.    We have 2.5 hours to find breakfast beers and a bite before our next leg  FRA – RIX  that should take about 2 hours.    The guys who were able to advance fish last month tell us it is about 15 min to the hotel.    They tell us 20-30 min depending on traffic to the lake.  And most importantly the ice is great.

Check out the official website http://www.wifc2017.lv

Also make sure to subscribe to MiIceGuys.com  at the bottom to stay in touch.

During the trip we will be posting a lot of our information over on our private subscription site.    Consider donating, to help offset the costs of travel that we incur.  http://wifc.miiceguys.com

 

 

Beer Batter Fried Fish

  • 2/3 Cup all purpose flour.
  • 1/3 Cup Corn meal.
  • 1/3 Tsp of Garlic Salt
  • 1 Cup of beer (preferably Schmohz John T Pilsner)
Deep fryer using Peanut oil. Temperature was 380 Degrees.
Cook to a golden brown
. Enjoy with some malt vinegar or just as they are, yummy.
PS let them cool a bit I know it’s tempting to sneak one early.

Gun Lake Tournament

2016 Ukrain Video

Check out the video Kelly compiled of our competition in Ukraine last year here 

Panfish with Herbs

Ingredients:

1 lb. panfish fillets
1 lemon
1 tsp. each chopped parsley, chives, and rosemary
1 tb. butter

Directions:

Melt the butter and pour into a shallow baking dish. Arrange the fish fillets in the dish. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze about one tablespoon of lemon juice over the fillets. Sprinkle with the herbs. Slice the remaining lemon half into thin slices, and arrange the slices on top of the fish. Bake in a preheated 450-degree oven for 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Pan Fish Tacos

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp lemon pepper
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 6 TBS fresh lime juice, divided
  • 2 sliced white onions
  • 1-1/2 lb bluegill (crappie or perch) fillets, filleted and cut into 1/2″ strips
  • 4 (10″) corn tortillas

Combine lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and 4 TBS of the fresh lime juice in a resealable plastic bag; add fish. Seal and shake; chill 30 minutes.

Grill fish ad onions on cast iron griddle over medium heat 4 to 6 minutes on each side or until fish flakes with a fork.

TOPPINGS:

  • Chopped Cilantro
  • Fresh Salsa
  • Chunky Guacamole or Avocado
  • Red Onion Slices
  • Tomato Slices
  • Jalapenos, sliced
  • Mango Salsa
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Crappie Pasta

Thaw and drain 1 lb of skinless fillets.   Place in quart bag and cover with Italian dressing.

Boil 1 lb bow tie or rotini pasta and drain.

Heat a non stick skillet to medium heat.   Place dressing covered fillets in pan 1 layer deep.   Soft saute until edges of fillets are cooked.   Flip fillets and add hot pasta.  Saute until all fish is just done.   Plate and garnish with parmesan and red pepper flakes.