Sportsmen's Empire - Fishing

Matt Johnson talks with Lee on episode 23 just before Matt heads out for the highly anticipated Minnesota fishing opener. Every year anglers in Minnesota count down the days until they can keep a few walleyes for the fryer again and celebrate their yearly traditions. However on this episode Matt shares with us why we should be looking to stay away from the crowds out on the big lake to focus on cr...

On this episode, Dan talks with Steve Weisman about the resent Walleye Weekend held throughout the Iowa Great Lakes. Steve talks about the 37 year history of the event as well as the tournament results, including the biggest stringers for pan fish, bullheads, northerns and bass. They also discuss other activities that happen during the weekend and touch on activities like camping, hiking, and biki...

Spring time typically brings warmer weather and more sunshine, but it also can bring lots of rain and changing winds. On this episode Lee talks with Eric Long of Long Line Charters. Eric talks about his day on the water and how he had to change his game plan when the wind picked up and temperatures dropped. The boys also go over how to make the best of the white bass (silver bass) run starting soo...

On this episode, Dan talks with Todd Reed about the details of catching spring time bass. Now that all the ice is gone we can get the boat back on the water and start locating these hungry fish. Todd shares with us what baits he is using in a variety of scenarios including rivers, lakes, and farm ponds. Then Todd gives us an in-depth look as to what the fish are doing this time of year given a var...

Typically when you hear custom paint jobs you are expecting someone to talk about their car, Harley or painted rims. In this episode however, we get really drippy with some custom lure talk. Drake Herd is the owner of Renegade Manufacturing and Renegade Outdoor Innovations and joins Lee on the podcast for episode 21. Whether you are fishing hard baits or soft plastics, see why Drake and R.O.I stan...

Well it is officially springtime!! How do we know you might ask? Well living around The Great Lakes a good indicator is when fresh “chrome” a.k.a steelhead start to stack up in the rivers. On this episode Lee is joined by Dan Stewart of Chrome Seekers Sportfishing. Lee talks with Dan about how he grew to love chasing after these beautiful fish and how he evolved into a charter boat captain. The bo...

On this episode Lee records an in-depth handlining seminar in front of a live audience at Domka Outdoors in Monroe, Michigan. He is joined by Wes Smith of Metro Detroit Walleye Stalkers, Philip Kirk (P.J.) and Theron Hoffman. You may remember a few episodes ago Lee sat down and talked with walleye pro Bill Shimota a little bit about handlining and how important it is to have in your arsenal of ang...

On this episode, Dan chats with fishing guide Brad Durick of South Dakota about the strategy and tactics to catching spring and per-spawn catfish. The two discuss ways to identify good catfish habitat like current tunnels, holes and other underwater structure. Brad share with us important information about why water temperature is so important when fishing for catfish and how, with just a little b...

On episode 18, Lee is joined by Travis White and Alex Sherbinow of ProNav Marine to help you get ready and start preparing for the open water season. ProNav is a very unique product in that it is the worlds first Wireless Bluetooth GPS Autopilot for fishing boats to be driven by an app on your smartphone and or tablet. As any angler knows, boat control is everything when trying to stay on and or l...

On this episode of the Freshwater Bite Podcast, Lee and his buddies share exactly how they break down large bodies of waters in the Great Lakes, specifically Saginaw Bay. These large body of waters can be intimidating to anglers who have never ventured out on them before. It is an entirely different animal to attack and preparation is everything. The boys break down how to adapt to changing condit...

On this episode Lee is joined by professional walleye angler, Bill Shimota. Bill has been fishing in the big leagues for many years now and has become a staple name on the Cabela’s National Walleye Tour. The boys go over how Bill got into one of his current business of rigging boats for other pro’s and walleye anglers. They discuss what items Bill has seen added to boats that are “game changers” i...

On this episode of the Iowa Sportsman podcast, Dan and returning guest Steve Weisman get in to a great conversation about the details of Ice Fishing. Steve shares how ice fishermen locate fish before a tournament and what kind of structure and depth they are hiding in. Steve also talks about the "Okoboji Jiggle" and different ways to present bait while ice fishing. Lastly, Steve discuss...

On this episode of the Freshwater Bite Podcast, Lee is joined by his buddy from Minnesota, Forrest Leitch. Forrest is part of a crew called Hang Loose Outdoors and they recently returned from a trip up to Canada chasing big Lake trout through the ice. Forrest shares how him and the crew broke down the body of water to find these powerful fish, types of structure they relate to, tackle and lures us...

On this episode, Lee is joined by Ashley Rae, creator of the popular blog and website shelovestofish.com. Ashley has been blogging about her adventures fishing since 2009 and has become a well known ambassador in the sport of fishing. She was named as “one of 11 outdoorswomen transforming the face of hunting and fishing” by Field and Stream Magazine. Topics discussed are how she got her start in f...

Growing up some of us have aspirations of maybe moving away from home for a while to explore new and exciting places to live. If someone were to ask you, what would be the first place you would say? I bet not to many folks would say North Dakota. Not that there is anything wrong with the state. It’s actually a outdoorsman's paradise. It has endless opportunities for those who wish to pursue amazin...

On this episode of the Iowa Sportsman podcast, Dan chats with Rod Woten about basics of ice fishing. The guys discuss the importance of if ice fishing safety and the proper ice thickness to begin fishing and drilling hold. Then the conversation turns to gear, Rod talks about augers, rods, reels , dead sticks, and other ice fishing tackle. The guys also talk about the proper bait delivery and prese...

Leading up to Christmas seems to be the busiest time of the year for some of us. Typically you are worried about if you have the right Christmas card photo, rushing to get your shopping done, sending out the Christmas cards, what to eat on Christmas day itself… well you get the point. Episode 12 of the Freshwater Bite Podcast will help you pick the perfect gift that will make a lasting impact. Lee...

It's that time of year again. First Ice! I am just as excited as a kid on Christmas getting out all of my ice fishing gear. Rigging up new ice line on all the reels, organizing my tackle box for ice jigs and making sure my tip-ups are ready to go consume many evenings after a work day. However, I'll be one to admit that while getting all of the gear together is fun I often can be guilty of over lo...

In the past, it seemed in order to be a “Pro” staffer for a company in the fishing industry you were typically catching the biggest fish or winning the big tournaments. People would then think that the pro really knew what he was doing and is a valuable asset to companies because of the gear they use. This is all true to a certain point but field staff positions have also changed and evolved over...

On this episode of the Iowa Sportsman outdoors podcast, Dan chats with guest Todd Reed about cold water fishing strategy and tactics. Todd shares with us different strategies that he uses throughout the month of November on both rivers and lakes, this includes what tackle he prefers and when to use them based on differences in water clarity and current strength. If you are a fishing nut and don't...

When you walk into your local bait shop or Bass Pro you'll find that there are aisles full of the latest and greatest sonar technologies, GPS, lures, rods and all sorts of things. You may think you have to spend a pretty penny to put more fish in the boat. Not always the case though. Social media platforms and online forums have become an anglers digital bait shop it seems. Not to mention blogs an...

On the is episode of the Iowa Sportsman podcast, Dan chats with Billy Pryor about way you can locate and catch your biggest fish of the year. The guys discuss why the fish are biting this time of year, why throwing big baits means bigger fish, what baits lead to more bites, and different fishing strategies for different air and water temperatures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm....

Typically when my alarm clock goes off in the morning it takes a few minutes to clear my foggy brain and tell my feet to touch the floor. Instantly there is a flood of confusing tasks that run through my mind as I mosey over to the bathroom to start getting ready for the day. However, when it comes to a day when I am going hunting or fishing, I almost greet my alarm clock prior to it going off. Th...

On this episode of the Iowa Sportsman podcast Dan talks with Billy Pryor about locating fish in hot weather. The two discuss what to look for when trying to locate fish in warmer water temperatures, what tackle to use, and different tactics for for different species of fish. A majority of this episode is dedicated to largemouth bass fishing, but also includes fishing strategy fro smallmouth bass,...

If you are from the state of Michigan or a walleye fanatic like I am, I'd be willing to bet that Mark Martin is a name that you have come across hundreds of time. You know him as a PWT world champ, fishing promoter throughout the U.S and Canada, "Mr. Walleye at Night" and a member of the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame just to name a few. I have to admit with a resume like Mark's I'd tho...