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Latest Minimalist Fishing Articles & Videos.
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Fly Fishing: A Powerful Tool for Environmental Education and Digital Detox for Young People
Disconnecting from electronics. It’s more valuable today then every before. As a child, I heard “you’re rotting your brain with that TV!” more than once.…
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Rowboat Bass Fishing for Big Fat Hidden Largemouth
Good morning brothers. I’ve been gone for a bit – traveling (and fishing) with family, writing for a few new outlets, and just being blessed…
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Be a FLEXIBLE Fisherman… It Pays Off! (Bass Fishing After a Storm)
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The jon boat was finally ready, loaded, and trailing behind me as I sped toward my favorite canal.…
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Versatile Bank Fishing: 1 Bait 2 Ways for Largemouth Bass in Midwest Ponds
It’s early – but not too early – as you stand on the bank of the pond. To the novice, it looks empty. Calm. Still.…
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Canal Fishing for Big Bass (Simple Largemouth Bait)
*pop* *pop* *pop-pop* *POP* The rhythmic sound of what seemed like hundreds of topwater strikes made the hair on the back of my neck stand…
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Big Swimbaits. Big Bass.
Are you looking to up-size your swimbait artillery? The Huddleston Deluxe 8″ Rainbow Trout is a big bait that calls out the heaviest bruisers to…
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Midwest Smallmouth Strategies (Early Spring Bass Fishing)
Good morning brothers. I’ve got the itch. No, not one that requires a cream or ointment or a salve… I got bass itches. (You should…
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Wisconsin Fishing: Wild Rice Lake by Copp’s Cabins
Good evening brothers. Let’s talk about Midwest Fishing. Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin… I’ve come to…
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Bank Fishing
Good morning brothers. Are you tired of the cold yet? Tired of the wind? The chapped lips? The dark dinners? Heart-attack shoveling? Split fingers? The…
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Most Popular Minimalist Fishing Articles.
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The Ultimate Guide: Best Baits for Big Wisconsin Bass (Minocqua Fishing Tips & Tackle + AJ’s Base Box)
Good morning brothers. It’s chilly again, here in the Midwest. The days are shorter. The nights are colder. The daydreams are beginning to intensify. There is a picture frame that lives on our counter. One of the best investments I’ve ever made. It cycles through photos from…
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Bruiser Bass in the Muck: A Mucky Muck Base Box for Fishing BIG Midwest Largemouth
Have you ever set up a Base Box? Good morning brothers. I’d like to share a few tips that have helped me minimize the pre-trip stress that comes from overthinking. You know what I’m talkin’ about: “welp, better take this, and this, and THIS, because they might…
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Top 8 Baits for Borrow Pits
Good afternoon brothers. Fishing starts Monday. I’m hitting the water rain or shine, enough waiting – tomorrow we’re headed to Southern Illinois for Prison Ministry. I am excited for both of these things. The other day we talked about Fishing Borrow Pits. What they are, where they…
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Top 4 Stickbaits for Largemouth Bass (NOT a Senko!)
Stickbaits catch largemouth bass. Period. Article over! (Just kidding.) Stickbaits work… but… WHY? Why do bass attack a piece of cylindrical plastic that resembles a cigar? (Or if you’re 6, that “look like a doo-doo“.) Why do bass hang on? Carry them off? To put it simply,…
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Popular Bass Fishing Presentations for EVERY Feeding Strategy
Happy Friday, Patriots. Today, we’re talking fishing. Straight. No chaser. So buckle up, wipe off that booger-pickin’ finger and get to scrollin’! (Sorry… I’m already through an entire pot of coffee…) I REGRET NOTHING! LET’S TALK BASS FISHING! Last time we discussed The 4 Feeding Strategies of…
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Top 5 Swim Jig Trailers / Get Better at Swim Jig Fishing
Even though we just took the time to list out the Top 10 Swim Jigs – the trailer that you pair with your selection is what will seal the deal. In dirty water with low visibility or in very thick cover, it might be best to go…
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Top 10 Swim Jigs / Get Better at Swim Jig Fishing
In the previous article we talked about when and where to use a swim jig. It’s a great way to get started and absorbing this basic knowledge will make you a better angler – but today we’re going to look at 10 rock-solid swim jig options for…
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Top 5 Baits for Streams & Rivers / Learning to Fish Rivers & Streams
Over the past two weeks we’ve pulled together a plethora of information to explain the makeup of rivers & streams; how they change, how fish in these systems position themselves, where the food comes from – and all of this came from the note-gathering process as we…
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Midwest Outdoors
AJ Hauser @ MWO.
Fishing Booker
AJ Hauser @ Fishing Booker.
AJ Hauser @ Narcissistland.
Minimalist Fishing Archive.
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Canal Fishing
Good morning brothers. What comes to mind when you think of canal fishing? Is it slop? Ditch pickles? Mucky mayhem? Garbage fish? Hot sticky days surrounded by stagnant, stinky water?…
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Spring Cleaning (Fishing for Rainbow Pike)
Good morning brothers. It’s still rather chilly here in the Land of Lincoln. Been very cold for quite a while actually. So much so that our heater couldn’t keep up…
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The 2 Best Seasons for Big Bass (and How To Catch Them)
Good evening brothers. The following article was sent to me by my friend Jason Kaefer over at Wild Outdoor. We’ve been talking for a while about sharing experiences and articles…
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How to Lubricate a Spinning Reel (Oil & Grease Step by Step Fishing Tutorial)
WARNING: Skipping gear maintenance is the fastest way to ruin a fishing trip. (Don’t ask me why I know this…) Good evening brothers. You’ve likely encountered some version of this…
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Ebike Fishing (Best Ebike for the Money)
Good morning brothers. It’s been a minute. As we close in on the (bitter, cold, dark) end of 2024, I find myself following the traditional year-end routine. Reviewing notes. Looking…
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Fishing is Built for Memory Making
Good morning brothers! I hope that you have experienced the tightest of lines this season so far. We’re well into the “dog days” now in Illinois, and the bite has…
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Catch MORE BASS with The 80/20 Rule (not what you think…)
Good morning brothers. It’s raining here in the Midwest. Rained yesterday, too… and the day before that. Honestly, it doesn’t seem like it’s stopped raining this spring. At night the…
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2024: The Return… and Writing for Midwest Outdoors
Good morning brothers. I hope that all of you are having a great 2024! I’ve been quiet lately and wanted explain why… Last year, one of my big goals was…
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Illinois Topwater Bass Fishing (Post Spawn)
Good morning brothers. The Post Spawn Period, I have come to learn, is surprisingly unique. Bass can have an insane case of lockjaw, and at times they simply will not…
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Illinois Bass Fishing During Post Spawn (Tough Bite Tips)
Good morning brothers. Isn’t it amazing how much a body of water – or more importantly, the bite – can change from day to day? This can be true during…
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How To Catch Your Next PB (Personal Best)
Good morning brothers. Here’s a fun question: will Minimalist Fishing lead to your next personal best? Yes. Full stop. Why Does Minimalist Fishing Leads to More PBs? The primary tenet…
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Ron D’s Bait Modifications: V1
Good morning brothers. Periodically readers will contact me to share tips, tricks, strategies – even send me physical gear and lures for use & review. This is really cool, because…
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Vintage Fishing Ads: A Stroll Down Memory Lane
Good Morning Brothers! First & foremost, I own nothing on this page. It’s a collection of fishing ads plucked from social media sites, forums, plus extras that were emailed to…
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Best Baits for Midwest Bank Fishing (Top 3 List)
Good morning brothers! Have you ever stopped to think about the baits you would pack to fish from the bank if you had to limit yourself to just your top…
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Important Tips for Fishing With Your Wife
Good morning brothers. Have you ever fished with your wife? Yeah? So… how did that go?! Hold up: before we go down the all-too-common path of “my wife drives me…
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The New Jon Boat Battery: THANK YOU READERS!
Good morning brothers! I write today from the snow-covered Land of Lincoln. (Yes… already… ugh…) This year, I was able to avoid getting stranded in the ‘ol jon boat –…
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How Much is TOO MUCH to Spend on Fishing Gear??
Good morning brothers. Please note: my wife did not secretly write this article… truthfully, she doesn’t really say anything about my fishing expenditures… because she benefits from them as well…
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2 Topwater Fishing Secrets: Dingers vs Frogs?!
Good morning brothers. Today, I’m going to let you in on a little secret for packing light and fishing mucky water. Well, 2 secrets actually… let’s jump right in. 1.…
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The 5-Minute Jerkbait Guide for BIG BASS by Rick Vogelbacher
Good morning, brothers. Have you ever struggled to keep up with something? I have, and to be honest – I’m having a rough go of it lately… What do we…
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MONSTER BASS at Snapping Turtle Pond!
Good morning brothers. So, I have these hooks… and they are vicious looking little dudes… but, I haven’t been able to find a good use for them for years. Gear…
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3-Second Fishing Rod Holder (Very Clever Product)
Good morning brothers! I am happy to report that my ridiculous nose-infection has dropped back down, from 100% swollen to about 12%. So, that means it’s back to work, and…
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2 WARNINGS for ALL FISHERMEN! (I’m in SEVERE PAIN right now…)
Good afternoon brothers. I almost didn’t make this video because… well… LOOK AT ME. I’m a grotesque mess, and this infection (or whatever it is) came as a direct result…
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Don’t Give Me Any Lip! (A Lipless Crankbait Story)
A few months back I received a “care package” from Ronald Richards, who I affectionately refer to as Brother Ron. That package contained about 20 lipless crankbaits – different sizes…
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Father & Son Bonding Through Fishing
Good morning brothers. It’s Monday, and there is a YouTubes I’d like to show you. First, a quick story: when I sat down at my computer to edit this video,…