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