The video below is No. 3 in a series of nine episodes. Called “The Crappie Chronicles,” the series aims to explore the fantastic ice fishing within 60 miles of downtown Minneapolis.

While Minnesota is known as The Land of 10,000 Lakes — and the vast majority are home to decent populations of crappies — series host/producer Adam Bartusek (above) and two of his buddies, Adam Griffith and Matt Waldron, believe the waters surrounding Minneapolis hold the biggest fish in the state.

I encourage you to watch all nine episodes of The Crappie Chronicles (in order is obviously best), but if you have time for only one, then episode No. 3 is my top choice. It’s titled, “The First Megalodon; River Backwater Beasts,” and the guys visit a river system in search of shallow-water crappies.

It’s important to note that Bartusek and his buddies aren’t fishing private ponds stocked with big crappies. Every hole they drill is on public water, and their goal is to teach you how to catch more and bigger crappies through the ice. Do they divulge their specific hotspots? No, with the one exception of Lake Minnetonka, which if you know anything about fishing in Minnesota is no secret. (Personal note: My son and a few of his high school buddies bumped into The Crappie Chronicles crew on the ice as they were filming episode No. 2. They all hammered the fish.)

Bartusek, Griffith and Waldron encourage you to explore (safely of course) new lakes and rivers in pursuit of giant crappies. And they provide solid tips for lure presentation and fish location on a variety of waters.

Watch and learn!

P.S. The three co-hosts of The Crappie Chronicles have extensive Instagram pages: Adam Bartusek, @AdamBartusek; Adam Griffith, @griff2205; and Matt Waldron, @mwaldronfishing.