Ice Fshing Summary

All in all it's been a good ice fishing season this year. Shakey ice conditions from the start limited my fishing to areas within walking distance. The great thing I learned from this was that you don't have to go to the other side of the lake to get to good fishing. I did just as well close to where I parked the truck as when I ventured to spots farther out in the lakes. The good news is that all of the slush that we had early on has forzen over and ice depths have now allowed for vehicle travel on most lakes, although caution is always advised whenever and wherever you drive out.

Personally I spent most of my time early in the season fishing for walleyes and did very well with my best action coming on #7 jigging rapalas. In January I started splitting time between walleyes and whitefish and again having good success on both.

The first couple of weeks in February I have been spending most of my time chasing panfish and catching nice mixed bags of crappie, blugill, and perch. The most impressive fish I have caught have been the bluegills with nicest quality size I have caught in years. Jigs tipped with waxies or various plastics have been the ticket with waxies producing slightly better.

I'm sure the mild temps we've had this winter is the reason for the good fishing. I look for the crappie bite to pick up as we get into late February and then March.