Fishing Report

Good morning from the quiet lakes, another early report as we have another weekend out of town for hockey!  The current forecast has weather absolutely up and down from today through the end of next week.  Then things look to level off above freezing after that.  High temp on Monday of 55 and low Tuesday night of 7 with a 40% chance of snow.  Honestly it is kind of fitting for how this winter has been, mostly mild and very little precipitation of any kind.  

The fishing has continued to be good and we should have safe ice until the game fish season is over next weekend.  I am hearing pretty consistent reports of 8-10″ on lakes without moving water.  Some of the lakes that have river systems through them are a little less, but it sounds like safe ice regardless.  On Moose for example I am hearing about 6-8″.  Always be sure to CHECK, CHECK, CHECK ice this time of year as conditions can change rapidly with big warm ups like we have had.  

Targeting fish has been pretty consistent all winter as well.  It seems like the predator fish (walleye, pike, musky) have all been relating to shallower structure be it weeds, rocks, or cribs.  Look for those fish anywhere from 6-12 FOW and anywhere that structure transitions into the basin.  Walleye suckers, Shiners, and even Northern suckers under tip-ups or systems like jaw jackers have all been producing fish.  I have not heard of anglers jigging up many big predator fish but that is possible on these spots as well.  Panfish have also been fairly predictable so far this winter with all species relating somewhat to the basins.  Crappie have still been deep (relative to the lake) anywhere from 20-25 FOW, Perch still in that 10-15 FOW range and bluegill holding tighter to cover and structure anywhere from 6-12 FOW.  Anglers are doing well catching them on jigs, small spoons, and jigging type minnow baits.  Most are tipping those with waxies, plastics or pieces of minnow heads or tails.  

There is still time to head up and chase some gamefish through the ice! Gamefish closes next weekend (March 3rd) and by then the ice may be sketchy so head up and get on some late ice fish!! In non fishing related news, the Birkie is going on this weekend up in Cable and has been this past week. Good luck and congratulations to all that are going to/have skied so far!

Greg

Good morning, a few inches of snow fell out here by the quiet lakes area Wednesday night into Thursday but not enough for any kind of recreation. Bitter cold temps over the last two nights (it’s 7 degrees as I am writing this) is keeping the “good” ice we have in a great spot. Our area does look to have a pretty big warm up on the way with quite a few days in the 40s over the 15 day forecast. Low temps will still be below freezing so we should maintain good ice for a while yet. Reports on ice are varied, especially on lakes with moving water, for example I have heard Moose lake alone has spots of almost 12″ of ice and other spots down to 4″. Most lakes in the area sound like they are quite “safe” but as always anglers should check every lake, every time they go out. I am hearing pretty consistent reports of 6-10″ with some spots closer to a foot.

Fishing has been good to great lately, with anglers doing well on all species. Some of our social media friends (that I follow) are doing well on species such as bass and walleye, and local anglers and anglers up visiting are doing well on panfish, Northern, and even a few Musky through the ice. Honestly, not much has changed in the way of tactics to catch fish throughout this winter, predators are still being caught mainly by tip-up and panfish mainly by small offerings. A good friend of mine caught a walleye, pike, and musky on the same tip-up set up on a shallow to deep edge transition all within a few hours the other day. All of those fish hit walleye sized suckers that he had rigged up. My guess is the walleye may have come from deeper water and took the easy meal, while the pike and musky were probably cruising the shallower water in search of baitfish. My point is the transition is key, and can be applied to any lake. Almost all of the reports I am hearing on panfish no matter the species are of them relating to deeper water. Look for crappie in the +/- 20 FOW range, perch on that deep transition or out in the basin in 12-20 FOW and bluegill up just a little shallower in anywhere from 10-12 FOW. Simple small spoons or jigs tipped with minnow heads/tail sections or waxies or plastics on the jigs are icing some nice panfish.

Thats I all I got for this week. Any anglers that are set up to ice fish should come up and enjoy some of our lakes. There is great fishing to be had and all of the resorts/businesses in the area could use some help this winter. Hope you have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg