Fishing Report

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, an absolute nasty holiday weekend is underway for the Northwoods. Snow/sleet and ice accumulations are going to make travel unpleasant today, but we should start to see all of this mess going away as soon as tomorrow. The week ahead looks decent with temps in the 40s and 50s, however I am seeing some chances of rain Wednesday and Friday. Aside from a low of 10 degrees Monday night, overnight temps are starting to creep up to around or above freezing and that should help really start knocking some ice down.

It does not sound like anyone has been fishing, and we have had no customers in for bait over the last week. The ice has to really be starting to get questionable, and no fish is worth risking going through sketchy ice. Anglers should use this time to make a list of new stuff they need for next ice season, clean and put away any and all ice stuff and start getting open water rods/reels and tackle boxes ready. Only a few short weeks until boat ramps will be busy and cabins and resorts will start filling up.

Hooks are probably one of the more overlooked pieces of terminal tackle to go through in the off season. Most anglers just put baits back into the spots in the tackle box and just grab them back out when they are ready to fish. Now is a great time of year to touch up all of your hooks on baits (yes even for walleye, bass and panfish). Musky guys may be the exception as they are generally over the top about hooks! Hooks can get brittle over time and treble hooks can lose points after catching lots of fish or hitting structure. Jigs also take a beating getting bounced off of rocks, timber, and bottom. Sticky sharp hooks can be the difference of catching the fish of a lifetime, or the one that got away!

Sorry I don’t have more on the ice conditions or fishing, but that is where we are at this time of year. Have a great weekend, travel safely if you have to get out, and we will talk soon!

Greg

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, a little cold snap yesterday and last night as I am seeing current temps sitting at 13 degrees.  Today goes up to 45 and from here on out daytime temps look to be above freezing.  Even the lows are creeping up to the upper 20s, low 30s.  It looks like there is some chances of rain on Wednesday and next Saturday.  That should just about take care of the ice season for this spring.

If anglers feel the need to be the last ones out chasing fish on the hardwater, they should take caution.  It sounds like some of the shorelines have become quite sketchy, and the main sheets are starting to get thin in spots as well.  One couple told me they had about 15″ on the sheet yet on a smaller pot hole lake in the area with the North shoreline completely open.  I also had a buddy get a hold of me who is fishing a larger lake just a little North of us and he says he can still get to his spot, but the ice is only about 8″ and honeycombed pretty bad.  Panfish should be pushed in slightly shallower and feeding on small offerings getting stirred up from the bottom near river/creek inlets or weed beds where smaller organisms are starting to come to life.  Small jigs and plastics/waxies are the best bet for late ice panfish, as they will closely match what is coming off of the bottoms and getting stirred up.

Anglers may want to start going through open water stuff, as the open water season is fast approaching!  Just over a month away, so now is a good time to go through rods/reels/tackle to make sure everything is still in good shape from last season.  I think starting next week, we can start going over some of the open water to start the season a little more in depth.

We can’t stress enough anglers should check ice everytime they venture on to the lake this time of year. Ice conditions are changing constantly and no ice is safe ice!! If you made it this far in the post, leave a comment on when you think official “ice out” will be. My initial thought is April 20th. Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg