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The temps are plunging so we're coming in HOT ... with some hardwater tips you don't want to miss in this month's JPT update! BONUS... Don't miss out on the free Outdoor News Ice Fishing Insider Newsletter that is packed with tips from industry pros
Great way to round out the year guys! Jayden Karger of Minnesota speared this 33-inch northern pike on Dec. 29, 2024. and below, Ryan Lehman caught this crappies while fishing on Lake of the Woods, Ontario, Canada on Dec. 28, 2024
Spoon Fishing Strategies! Check out this video from AnglingBuzz ICE
PRO TIP FOR BIG BLUEGILLS Outdoor News contributor, Steve Carney has a trick for BIG Bluegills: Using larger spoons and no bait! In his experience, he says that this keeps small bluegills from biting.He wrote, "The smaller bluegills rarely hit an unbaited spoon, but they’ll hit like crazy if you put on a wax worm. The
bigger bluegills will slam the plain spoons." He said he has most success on spoons that are one-eighth ounce size.
Christmas trees for habitat! In Illinois DNR fisheries biologists are collecting live Christmas trees to be used as fish habitat in local lakes. The collected trees will be bundled together, weighted, and submerged at lakes, providing critical habitat for multiple fish species and promoting algae growth for insects that attract fish for anglers. The trees will naturally decompose over time. Learn more https://www.outdoornews.com/2025/01/06/illinois-mixed-bag-dnr-biologists-collecting-christmas-trees/
Did you know that NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a Space Weather Prediction Center that dials in to forecast the Northern Lights?
Some of their tips for viewing:
Location: The north magnetic pole is currently about 250 miles from the geographic pole and is located in the islands of north east Canada. Find a place where you can see to the north like the top of a hill or a frozen lake for an unobstructed view towards the north.
It must be dark: Go out at night. Get away from city lights. The full moon will also diminish the apparent brightness of the aurora (not the actual brightness).
Timing: Best aurora is usually within an hour or two of midnight (between 10 PM and 2 AM local time). These hours of active aurora expand towards evening and morning as the level of geomagnetic activity increases.
Here is another trick - look through your phone's camera. Often times what you see with your bare eyes doesn't capture all the colors. You will be amazed sometimes at the photos you snap in the dark of night.
Not seeing any aurora borealis - the night sky is still filled with some amazing treasures. Outdoor News can be a resource to help guide your night sky discoveries - and if you haven't checked out the OUTDOORS AFTER DARK column, you are missing out! A great tip that writer Bob Drieslein had in a recent column:Letting your eyes adjust to the dark is important. You’ll be amazed at how stars and planets become clearer the longer you’re out there. Having a red-lens flashlight along will help you find things and it won’t ruin your night vision.
JPT members are automatically entered into the weekly drawing. Get a bonus entry when you tell a friend to join!
Lets talk about OPTICS. The technology behind the optics available now, whether you use it with a rifle, shotgun, or bow are a great benefit to hunters who can lock onto greater distances due to innovative improvements in rangefinders and rifle scopes. Equally important is that dangerous weather conditions are noticed from farther away by advanced optics binoculars. The off season is a great time to dive deeper into this type of equipment, so you can keep an "eye out" for some on
the secondary or garage sale market! Click here for a great overview of hunting optics to consider
These two Pennsylvania hunters, Daniel Trumbore and Hunter Richardson, had success in their early December 2024 hunts. Congrats!
