Fishing Report

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, we didn’t get as much rain yesterday as forecasted and we will see what happens tonight into tomorrow.  My phone is saying we are under a winter storm warning, and we are to expect 2-5″ snow, some ice and wind.  As I write this it is windy but we have had very little precipitation.  The ice is hit or miss, most of the sheets are still strong, but some of the shorelines are getting sketchy.  

Anglers should renew fishing licenses for the year as they expire on the 31st of this month.  Fishing opener is roughly a month away so it’s time to get the boats ready to go.  Checking or charging batteries, going through boat plugs and organizing tackle are all good places to start.  Respooling reels and checking rod eyes/tips are also good things to go through before the season!

Ice out will be here before we know it.  Looking at the long term forecast, I am going to guess ice out is going to be right around Easter. 

Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg 

Good evening from the Quiet Lakes, the mild temps have had some effect on the ice and I am hearing conditions are all over the place.  According to the weather app I have we are going to get down into the single digits tonight.  It looks like some snow/rain mix on Sunday with snow accumulations from 1-3″. It then appears we will see the 40s and 50s by the end of the week.  As stated before ice conditions are varied all over and I know an angler who went through on the Eau Claire chain just north of here.  He is fine and has been back out since! MAKE SURE TO USE CAUTION if heading out for a late ice bite.  I am hearing the sheets have anywhere from 12-15″ of ice yet, but getting out can be sketchy.  

The panfish bite seems to be pretty good right now and fish should be pushing into shallower water with better oxygen than in the basins.  Jigs and minnows or waxies seem to be working best.  Look for fish anywhere from 6-12 FOW and look for deep edges or points adjacent to deep water.  River or creek inlet areas can be good late ice spots too, again use caution around these areas as ice may not be solid in these spots.

Anglers should think about renewing fishing licenses for the year as their current ones will expire at the end of this month.  Most anglers I have talked too have packed up the ice stuff for the year and are getting their boats and open water set ups rigged up.  We can dive into some of that over the next few weeks more in depth.

That is all I have for this week’s report.  Not much for anglers going out, and that will continue until ice out!!  Have a great weekend, pray for no snow and we will talk soon!

Greg