Fishing Report

Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, I think we can officially call “ice out” on at least the Quiet Lakes and the Spider chain. Moose lake is open as well, so I think we are going to be in good shape for the opener in a couple of short weeks! Those storms that came through yesterday brought some crazy wind and rain. We did have some small hail as well. Much cooler today with a high of only 39, although we look to get back into the 60s and 70s this week, and then back down and stable in the 50s over the next 15 days. Not too bad to start the season if that holds true!

Lake levels are looking good from everything I have seen, although most of the ponds along the roadsides are still very low. We could really use a rainy spring to keep water levels in check and make sure they aren’t low come fall. I have got a few pics of a buddy already doing well catching some crappie, and he is finding crappie around 10 FOW. Look for deep edges of weed beds and look for weeds that are already getting green.

That is all I have for this week’s report. A couple of short weeks and we will get into the full swing of species breakdown reports! Time to go through the boat, charge batteries, check trailer tires and most importantly make sure the boat plug is in good shape and present!! Have a great weekend and we will talk soon.

Greg

Good evening from the Quiet Lakes, sending an early report as tomorrow I will be joining my son for his youth turkey hunt!  Gotta get after them early and not sure if they will cooperate so might as well get this to you tonight!  It looks like we are going to have a wet week in front of us, with rain all through the weekend and pretty high chances multiple times throughout the week.  It does appear we will be getting into some ice melting temperatures with temps ranging from the 50s and all the way up to 72 on Thursday.  I checked the Lost Land boat launch Monday after work and there is still a lot of ice out there.  Lost Land was still locked up, and I checked a launch on Spider Lake this evening and it looked the same as Lost Land.  My original guess of ice out by April 20th is looking a little premature, as now I am thinking more like the 25th–27th.  I definitely think we will have open water by the governor’s opener, especially with the current forecast.

Although we don’t have ice out, I would say we could probably call the ice fishing season done.  I know most of the rivers and streams are open, and while I don’t know the exact trout regs, it does appear anglers can fish inland streams, springs, and spring ponds for trout as of April 4th.  Small inline spinners such as rooster tails, small floating jigs, and flies (fly fishing) can all be great tools to target trout.  Be sure to check the reg book for limits on catching trout. Anglers can also target both largemouth and smallmouth bass in most areas of the state, although no harvest is allowed at this time.  

That is all I have for this week’s report.  We are getting closer every week to opener, although anyone with a turkey tag can start scouting the woods as turkey seasons are getting underway very soon!  Have a great weekend, enjoy the warmer weather, stay dry and we will talk soon.

Greg