9/14/05

So here's the latest: For all of you that have had the opportunity to ice fish with me, you know that it is a passion of mine - and something that I take very seriously. For those of you that haven't – you are missing out on an amazing adventure. I have many years on the ice and in an icehouse which brings me to what I am up to now.

This passion has led me to go into building and selling ice houses.

We have started a NEW line of ice fishing houses under the name PRO FISH ENTERPRISES. We are building ice houses for Gander Mountain and customers that have ordered them. In the next few weeks you will be able to visit profishenterprises.com and order one for yourself. These houses are going to blow your expectations out of the water, and we are willing to do any special request. For example, we have a customer that wants a gas fireplace in his house. That is something that we can do!

If you would like to purchase a house, or just tour the shop to see what we’re about, feel free to stop out any time and I would be more than happy to show you around. We are based in Watertown, Minnesota (701c HWY 25). So, if you have been wondering what happened and why I haven't been updating the site, it's because we’ve been hustling.

As far as fishing goes, Minnetonka has been on fire for muskies. Waconia is really slow right now for everything but muskies. The fall smallie bite has started and is GREAT. If you would like to sneak one more trip in before you hang it up for the year, consider smallmouth. I will try and keep the site more regularly updated now that we are caught up at work. Until then, good luck!

7/14/05

The bass bite has been good the last few weeks in the metro, with a lot of fish starting to school on the outside weedline. We have been doing best fishing a jig worm in 10-16 feet of water. Walleyes are still running on the small side, but the numbers have been good. I would stick to a jig tipped with a minnow on the outside weed edges and breaks.

Canada, here I come. Jeremy Bester and myself are leaving today for the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship. The tournament takes place over three days on Rainy Lake. I look forward to catching some giant smallmouth over the next week and a half. If you would like to follow how Jeremy and I are doing during the tournament please visit www.canadianbass.com. Every day they will have up-to-date results and live weigh-in. Until then good luck and fish-on! Choy!

6/7/05

Extra, Extra! The new boat is here - check it out!

If you are looking to catch bass, Waconia has been on fire. Jason Boll (Booger) and I have fished the last few days on Waconia with fish numbers pushing 40. Today the biggest fish was a little over 5 pounds.

The primary presentation has been a wacky worm. For those of you that are not familiar with this technique, it is a senko hooked with a plain worm hook right through the middle. We are fishing it with no weight, and having great success dead sticking (fishing slow) it. All of our fish have been caught in less than 8 feet of water.

Tonight we did boat 5 walleyes, with only one being over the 16" minimum. Those fish came on both jig/minnow and jig/leech. We were only able to fish for about 45 minutes and the storm started to roll in.

Crappies are still up shallow in the bulrushes and around docks. They have been running a little on the small side.

4/10/05
One last trip to Red Lake proved to be a good one. Between four of us we caught 47 crappies all over a pound in less than 20 minutes. However, we did have a few scary moments involving bad ice and a 7x14 fishhouse. All in all, it was a success.

I arrived home on Friday to open water in the Twin Cities. Waconia and many other lakes are open, and are starting to see some spring crappie action. With summer fast approaching make your plans and book now for a walleye, bass, or muskie outing on your favorite metro lake. My new Z20 Miller High Life Ranger boat will be here soon, and is sure to be one-of-a-kind to ride and fish in. I will be posting my summer schedule soon. You will have to make a point to come to one of my events or seminars just to check this boat out - it is going to be that cool! For now the crappie bite is on.

03/21/05
Upper Red Lake is still producing some real dandy crappies for us the last few weeks. We have been fishing primarily out of Hillmans. Our fish have been coming on red buckshot spoons and shrimpos, both of which we are baiting with a full crappie minnow.

Two weekends ago our group finished with over 180 crappies for the trip and we ate fish 'til we were stuffed, didn't we fellas (Jim, Wayne, Bill, and of course, Gary)? All went well and I hope to be back up the first two weekends in April.

The ice conditions are great, and so is the fishing in April. If anyone is looking for that trip of a life time please call or write. If you want to come up or need a place to stay, we can offer you both a guide and also a place to stay right on the shores of Red Lake. We have extra houses on shore that we can put guys in over night and all the equipment (four-wheelers, portables, and houses) that you will need for a successful trip.

Nice going on the fish catching up there, Matty Rauenhorst.

2/22/05
Fishing, fishing, and more fishing - that is all that I have been doing. Yes, it is work, but I have to admit I love what I do. Sorry that I haven't taken the time out of my busy fishing schedule to update the fishing report. But for all you die hard readers, here is the latest news:

The metro lakes have been over crowded and tough when it comes to fishing. Waconia is still giving up a few nice crappies now and then. A majority of the crappies we have been catching out there have been 8-9" with you occasional 10+" mixed in.

Upper Red Lake: WOW, it has been great. I have been spending most of my time north and been doing very well. We were just there this weekend with four guys and caught over 90 crappies in three days. Average crappie there goes about 1 pound 5 ounces. If you are headed that way make sure to bring your auger extension, or you may be out borrowing one in a hurry. If you are looking to get one last ice fishing trip in this year, call or e-mail now because I am planning on making a few more trips to Red before the ice is gone. It is good right on through the first few weeks of April. Good Luck!

1/24/05
I just got back from a few days at Upper Red Lake over the weekend. The first two days were great with fish numbers over 40 each day, and a lot of fish over a pound and a half. The final day was tough, only catching three crappies. As soon as the wind started blowing the snow around, the fish shut off. Don't need an extension quite yet, but soon.

The local walleye bite is nonexistent. Waconia is still producing lots of small crappies, with a few nicer ones mixed in now and then. Minnetonka has been tough - just a few walleyes each night. I stay all night, but its nothing like it was around Christmas. The ice seems to never end. We have some of the best ice we have seen in years. There are people driving everywhere, and in areas where they normally would never had before. Hopefully the walleye fishing will pick up, otherwise I will just have to keep going to Upper Red Lake.

I want to say thank you to my sweet girlfriend Joni for being so understanding this winter. If you have a fishing report of any advice you would like to give or receive, please e-mail it to me and I will put it up.

Good Luck,
Matt

01/03/05
The ice conditions are in great on most lakes around MN. The last few weeks I have been fishing Waconia and Minnetonka for walleyes and crappies. The walleyes have been biting good on Lake Minnetonka with our bigger fish are being caught by the weeds. The eater (14-17") fish are biting pretty good on the rocks.

Waconia is still putting out some nice crappies and a few nice walleyes. Jim Nichols, his godson Jimmy, and his father were out on Waconia with me on 12/30/04 and caught about 10 crappies and one walleye pushing 7 lbs. What a great time, guys!

Friday I will be leaving for the hot crappie action at Red Lake.
I will get back to you soon and let you know how the bite was.

Good Luck,
Matt

12/25/04 Merry Belated Christmas!

12/19/04
Just got back from a week at Lake of the Woods. The fishing was okay at best for early ice. We went out from Morris Point to the small gap and had about 12 inches of ice. Was able to only catch a few over 22". Great time just being out on the ice.

Put my 7x14 out last night with my four wheeler on Waconia. The ice is from 5-7" thick on the whole lake. We ended up with two walleyes, one bass, and about six crappies. I will be going to Minnetonka tonight so I will update the ice report from there. Keep checking back cause I will try and keep you updated on ice conditions. Good Luck.

12/06/04
The 2005 Reel Bachelors Calendar is getting tons of press, most notably in the Star Tribune today and the Pioneer Press tomorrow, 12-07-04.

"What a great way to get women interested in the sport," said the calendar's creator, Theresa Timmerman. "Can't get them to bite unless you've got the right bait."

The anglers are tastefully clad, without beefcake. Why are none topless? "Two words: tan lines," Timmerman said.

12/01/04
Matt the supermodel, in stores now. The 2005 Reel Bachelors Calendar features twelve of Minnesota's hottest pro bass anglers along with tips and trivia about the wildly popular sport of professional bass fishing. Full color, 12" x 9". Order yours before they're sold out!

He managed to be the cover model too. Email Matt with comments or questions.

10/20/04
The summer has once again flown by. I will always remember this summer for the odd fish patterns and weather. It wasn't always cooperative, and neither were the fish. I will also remember my accomplishments with the two tournament wins on Minnetonka and Whitefish.

I have been drawn to be in the 2005 Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship on July 17-24, 2005. I'll be fishing for $50,000! It's great news, considering I was one of 141 people chosen for the top 35 spots.

The end of September brought great walleye fishing on the weed lines. Two nights in a row I caught over 20 walleyes with numerous fish in the 18"-23" range. Now that we're well into October and the hunting season the bite has slowed for me. My time is obviously split between fishing and hunting this time of year, leaning more towards hunting. The last time I was out fishing was on Sunday the 17th, and it snowed. We boated one small muskie and one 3 lb. largemouth. With better weather forecasted I may get out one last time, but it's not looking good since I am selling my boat.

I am also going to be busy with my girlfriend Joni. She and I have a lot planned before ice fishing guide trips get rolling.

With that said, I would like to invite everyone to try and get their ice trips booked now. The window of opportunity is small, and the days are numbered. I have about half (or more) of my winter booked. It should be a good ice fishing season with multiple year classes of walleyes in Waconia now maturing. So go ahead and e-mail me or call and I will set-up the most phenomenal ice fishing experience of your life!

09/10/04
If you're looking for muskies, now is the time of year to be out fishing for them. The reports of 50 plus inch fish just keep coming. I was out at six o'clock this morning chasing the elusive muskie on a guide trip. The wind was blowing pretty hard out of the south so I stuck to the south shore, north side of the island, and Wagner's bay. We tried everything from topwater to buck-tails with no luck. I think the changing weather this morning hurt us.

The best bite has seemed to be from 5 p.m. until dark during the last few weeks. Stick to the weed edges and reefs. Throw a black buck-tail or a topwater right before dark and you will raise some fish.

For those of you that know Matt Oscarson, I have to add that he caught a 40 plus pound (he claims) muskie on Tuesday night while trolling a spinnerbait but lost it after breaking the net. Congrats to Matt, and good luck to all!

08/26/04
What can I say...This has been the weirdest summer when it comes to weather that I have ever experienced. One day it's 80 degrees and the next night it's frost. The fishing has been tough statewide the last few weeks. I just wish we could get some stable weather so I could get two or three good days in a row. Well, I have determined that is not going to happen so I just sneak out when I can.

08/24/04
Started on the west side on Coney Island flippin' in about 13 feet of water on the edge of a milfoil turn. Only about three casts into the evening and I see a Muskie swimming right in front of the boat. I throw my bass jig on 50 pound spiderwire out in the general direction and WHAM she hits it. I battled it to the boat a few quick pictures and I sent her on her way. It was 39 inches and about 17 pounds. The bass bite was tough. I continued to flip deep with no success so I tried a few shallow spots and only caught small ones. I will try and get out after them again this week and next and I will keep you posted. I am also going to try and get all the new pictures from the summer up.

The turnover is coming so get out and fish as much as you can in the next three weeks. The Muskies are going crazy on all the milfoil reefs. Lots of reports of sightings and hook-ups. The walleye bites should pick up on the outside milfoil edges. I would run a 6-8 foot leader with either a crawler or a minnow on it and run up and down those good outside edges. If they won't go on that, slow down and vertical jig them with a jig and minnow. If you catch one stay in the area...others are close by feeding.

I spent Aug. 14-17 up on Lake Vermillion with Dave, his wife Susan and Joni. The weather was pretty nice but the bite was a little tough. I focused my time chasing smallmouth bass. The fish were a little hard to locate. I caught some on Storm Rattlin' Chug Bugs and some on Rapala Jointed Shad-Raps. Our best fish came the last day on chug bugs with the biggest going 19 inches and Joni with two 17 inchers. I was able to catch one Muskie that went about 40 inches. Caught a few smallmouth on green tubes and also a few pike so all in all it was a success.

We did not catch a single walleye. One of the lodge guides was out six hours and only caught two keeper walleyes. So we didn't bother trying to catch any. Thought we would catch a couple while throwing crankbaits but had no such luck.

7/28/04
Wow! Had a great day of fishing today on Waconia. Was planning on going to the Mississippi in St. Paul for smallies when I saw a storm front moving in. So instead Joni (mattsgal for some of you guys) and I headed out on Waconia to catch a few largemouth before it rained.

We didn't beat the rain but it didn't keep us away. The rain was quick and the bass were biting even quicker. The first spot we pulled up on was a milfoil weedline. The boat was in about 13 feet of water and I was flippin' a jig tipped with a plastic trailer up to the weeds. Three of my first four casts I caught bass. Ended up with 6 out of the first school, the smallest going about 1 1/2 pounds, and the largest going about 4 pounds.

We headed to another deep weed edge, fished drop shot rig and jigs again. Joni caught two nice fish on the drop shot rig. I caught a few small ones and one nice one on a live rubber skirt jig tipped with a plastic trailer. Joni was ready to call it quits shortly after that. She can only take so much..LOL. I was proud to see her catch them on a drop shot rig and take them off. I will be at it again tomorrow chasing smallies and this weekend. Report to come soon.

7/15/04
I've fished Waconia all week and had good success on the bass. The warm weather has brought them to a feeding frenzy. Numbers of fish are coming on tube-jigs and jig & pigs. I have had a few this week that were over 4 pounds, and lots of fish that were two pounds. Deep weed lines have finally started to hold good numbers of fish. I haven't done a lot of walleye fishing lately, so no report there. I will be on Whitefish again this weekend for another tourney. Then I am going to Rainy for a week for the Canadian Championship. Hopefully I will have as good of success as I did last weekend. The bite was good on Whitefish also. I will update as soon as I get back. Good Luck!

7/10/04
Today Matt took First Place in Denny's Super 30 Bass Tournament on the Whitefish Chain along with Matt Rauenhorst, with a total prize of over $2,700. Way to go, Matt & Matt!

6/28/04
Today Matt won First Place in the Second Annual Minnesota Twins' Doug Mientkiewicz Bass Fishing Classic on Lake Minnetonka - way to go Matt! The event raised $60,000 for Wildlife Forever, a Minnesota-based non-profit conservation organization dedicated to the preservation of fish and wildlife. The money, which was the most ever raised by a single event for the group, will be used to fund grants for sportsmen and conservation groups throughout the country.

6/24/04
Fished Waconia tonight with Steve, a.k.a "Can Man". We had a great night of bass fishing. We caught 40 fish with two of them tipping the scales at 4 pounds. The majority of our fish came shallow on flukes and jigs. Tried the walleye bite for about an hour with no luck. We fished jigs and leeches for the walleyes and ended up with two sheepsheads and one bass.

I think the reason the walleyes were biting was because the sun was too high and the cold front. Hopefully this week we get some stable weather and the fish turn on. Was surprised to see how well the bass were biting with this cold front. Good Luck to all!

P.S. I have a wedding this weekend so you won't be hearing from me until next week.

6/14/04
Alright, alright I will update my fishing report. Sorry to all who check it often I have not taken enough time away from fishing to update. Well here we go...Was out this morning on Waconia and had some good success. Hit the water at 15 minutes after 5 this morning. The weather is hopefully going to stabilize and bring with it better fishing. The walleyes bit very well on the outside weed line with a jig and a minnow. I also caught 20 bass with the biggest being about 4 pounds. Early this morning I was able to catch a few bass shallow if I fished a Senko really slow. It had to be dead sticked for at least 30 seconds. I also caught a few bass on the outside weed line. Hope that this helps and I will try and keep it updated. Thanks, Matt Peters

6/12/04
The tournament today went just how I was afraid it was going to go. I ended the day with a limit, but it was a small limit. The bass are NOT shallow. They are very hesitant to bite. The biggest fish I landed was 2 1/2 pounds, which is pathetic for myself on home waters. There were a few nice ones brought in, with numerous fish over 5 pounds weighed, with the big bass going to almost a 6 1/2 pound fish. I am hoping to figure out the rising water this week. The water has come up almost 2 feet since spring. My usual bass patterns are not working at all.

6/11/04
I was on Waconia today practicing for tomorrow's bass tourney. I tried all my best shallow water with no success. I tried deep, still nothing going. Finally I found a few bass on the inside weed line. I caught about 8 fish, all between 2 and 3 pounds. The bait that seemed to be working the best was a Lucky Craft rattle trap-looking thing. Doesn't look too promising for tomorrow's tourney.

6/5/04
Waconia has been producing a lot of walleyes, but not much for size. The bass are done spawning and all the shallows are ruined and stirred up by carp. Carp are everywhere shallow.

6/1/04 - 6/3/04
Fished on Minnetonka with ok success. The smallmouth pulled up to their beds and were biting pretty good on the east end of the lake. There were still some largemouth on beds with about 50% being done and pulled off. The walleyes were still biting in the channels and in the dirty water by Halsted's.

5/28/04 - 5/31/04
Went to Black Duck to fish Upper Red for spring crappies. I also wanted to fish walleyes on Cass. I was not able to do either. The wind and rain was severe all weekend.

5/16/04
Fished in the metro for opener and didn't have too bad of luck. We had seven walleyes on Saturday morning. Last night Nick Geller and I caught four more. Now tonight Brad Grams and I had some real dandies. We had two over 23" and a five others.

Brad and I fished a few different patterns with most of our fish coming on shallow rocks with crankbaits. We caught a few on a bobber and leech and a jig and minnow. We fished just outside the milfoil today, 13-15 ft of water and caught a few. At sunset we worked the shallow rocks with cranks. I will try and get some pics up ASAP. Nice healthy looking fish. Good Luck!

05/10/04
Got the itch to catch a few crappies, so I dumped the boat in Waconia and chased them around for about three hours. Had some pretty good luck, but not much for size. They are still in pretty shallow. I caught all of my fish in less than 6 feet of water. A bobber and flu-flu without bait are still producing a lot of fish.

The lake has been very busy with panfisherman for three weeks. Living here all my life I have never seen this many boats on Lake Waconia in the spring, ever. I am a little concerned being that most of the panfish are very vulnerable to harvest with the low water. They have no other spawning grounds except the bay, and it is full of boats. If you haven't heard, they have closed many of the shallow bays on other lakes this spring due to low water and fish vulnerability. People are taking pails full of fish home every day. I am not sure what the long term effects are going to be, but if you want to have fish for years to come, all of us have to protect the resource and let them go. I can only hope that this weekend's opener takes the focus off the panfish so they can try and recover. It will hopefully alleviate some of the pressure since most guys will be going after game fish.

When you see pictures from the 1950's, 60's ,and 70's with all those fish they used to catch, doesn't it make you sick? Are we are doing the same thing? We have to preserve our resource, not drown it.

04/27/04
Fished on Lake Pepin today and battled some wind in pursuit of the elusive bronzeback, a.k.a. smallmouth bass. I fished a lot of rip-rap on the Wis. side. Fished two different size spinnerbaits, 1/4 oz. and 3/8 oz. Tried a few different colors, with my best luck coming on white. The largest smallmouth I boated was 20 in. I also had two others that were about 2 1/2 pounds. The bonus fish was a three pound largemouth and one about a pound. The smallmouth will continue to bite on Pepin for a few weeks yet. The water temp was 56 degrees.

4/25/04
Fished out on Waconia again today with Joni and Nick and caught some nice crappies in Waconia Bay. The fish are biting anything you throw at them. Bait is not necessary. If you want to catch the bigger crappies try throwing a beetle spin. You won't catch as many but they will be better quality. Flu Flu's are still catching a lot of fish. The wind has been blowing pretty hard so the water is starting to get stirred up. Keep checking back for up-to-date reports. If anyone has a report or a story please submit. Also check the fishingmn.com website for info. My screenname is Basmastermatt. Good Luck and Good Fish'n.

4/22/04
Fished Waconia today and caught about 35 crappies. They are getting hard to catch. The few we caught were up shallow, and still by the park. We tried a few other spots with no luck. Same presentation that I have been using. Work the 2-4 foot range until you find them. They are not very big but you can sort through to get enough for a meal if you would like.

4/21/04
Fished Waconia with Can Man and caught 125 crappies. Can Man out-fished me and also caught 12 Largemouth Bass. We fished by the park again in Waconia from 4 until 8 p.m. The crappies were a little harder to find then they had been. Once you find them in about three feet of water anchor up and start catching. We were using 1/16 oz. flu flu jigs in white/purple under a bobber with no bait. Good Luck and Good Fishing.

4/19/04
I fished Waconia with Joni today from 6-7:30 in the evening. We caught 60 crappies (she said 50, but I think 60), 15 bluegills, and 10 bass all in less than 3 feet of water by the park in Waconia Bay. Water temps were in the 50's. The water was very stained and murky from the big storm last night. Eight other boats were fishing around us, and everyone was catching fish. The In Towne Marina has bait and an open boat ramp.