A master of the shallow-water, flat-land bites of South Dakota’s Glacial Lakes and Prairie Region, Quintin Biermann tackles walleyes with an aggressive approach and has a soft spot for sumo panfish as well.
Q: What makes the bite the toughest in your area and how do you overcome it to catch fish?
A: The biggest thing is pressure on shallow, small lakes. Fish are turned off by noise. To counter this, fish early – be coming off the ice when others are coming on – and fish late. Wait it out. Also, fish non-typical structure, like shallow weed edges for perch, when everyone else is fishing the basin bite.
Q: What’s the biggest myth in ice fishing?
A: That fish are not aggressive. Fish are predators and are always eating. I rely on big baits like Rapala Jigging Raps [Product 'Jigging%20Rap' not found!] and Jigging Shad Raps [Product 'Jigging%20Shad%20Rap' not found!] to consistently put big perch on the ice. Don’t sit idle with tiny jigs and small minnows waiting for a bite – go to the fish!
Q: What’s the number-one thing you see other anglers doing wrong when they are not able to get consistent bites?
A: Continue using a pattern that is not working or fishing the same spot. When the fish are off the mud bite eating small invertebrates, fish a point, tip or mid-lake hump with a large spoon in silver or bright colors. Trigger your own feeding frenzy.
Q: In what specific ways does using the best products in the industry help you catch more fish consistently?
A: I use my Otter Pro XT1200 [Product 'Pro%20XT1200%20Shelter%20Package' not found!] to stay on the ice longer and be more comfortable than most anglers. This allows me to wait out late bites that other people miss, because they are too cold or have been worn down by a long day fishing in less than desirable conditions.
When I use my LX-7 [Product 'LX-7' not found!] to graph large schools of perch, I know by the separation features whether I’m in a school of jumbos or a school of dinks and need to move on.