Good morning from the Quiet Lakes, the weather does not look favorable for the ice situation moving forward. The next 15 days all look to be well above freezing with highs at the end of this week reaching the mid 50s. Current ice conditions have reports anywhere from 8-11″ but we will lose it fast if the temps hold up as forecasted. Fishing has been pretty good overall with folks still doing well on tips-ups and jigging.
For walleye, pike, and bass anglers are using walleye suckers or shiners underneath tip-up rigs. Set rigs in shallow weeds for bass and pike and try to get right on the transition from shallow to deep water for walleye. In most lakes, shallow weeds would be in the 5-8′ range and the deep transition will be in the 10-12′ range. Most times you will pick up a pike or two on that transition as well.
I am hearing reports of anglers doing well for panfish in the deep basins. Dropping small tungsten jigs or small jigging spoons down to 20-25′ FOW can find some nice crappie right now. Some lakes may fish shallower than that depending on the depth of the lake. Waxies on jigs or chunks of crappie minnows on the treble hook of a spoon can be great options for aggressive crappie, perch and bull bluegill.
This may be some of the last good ice we have of the season. It’s definitely been a strange winter with very little to no snow and moderate ice at best. My guess is that the shorelines may start to get thin if this weather holds up. The only upside is we may be able to get the boats in the water by March!! Have a great weekend and we will talk soon!
Greg