First ice walleye action tends to gain a lot of worthy media attention. Often times elite caliber fish are found roaming through shallow water haunts in search of an easy meal. Increased ice thickness and snow cover will begin to deplete oxygen levels as the season marches into January. I happen to believe it is the movement of forage to deeper water that ultimately spurs the transition of the bigger fish. Here are a couple keys that may help you uncover the whereabouts of the elite caliber fish on your fishery of choice. What is your main forage for big fish? Think outside of the box here guys; Yes if you have lake shiners, perch…….your walleye population will feed on them. Still what are the BIG walleyes feeding on?? Follow the the large snack trail and you will very likely pin down the elite caliber fish we all want loading up our jig sticks this season.
Here is an interesting observation when it comes to our fishery on Rainy Lake; Smaller Eel pout tend to be eaten by both large Pike and Walleyes all season long. I’ve learned this by observing “Pout” tails extending out of mouths on numerous big fish. Our Cisco population also spawns in the fall……
Anglers will often catch what indeed they are fishing for. What are you fishing for this season? Buckets of 13 inchers??
I approach trophy walleye fishing much the same as hunting elite caliber bucks. We all know too well the big one has away of eluding us. 
Still by placing yourself on the big fish highway this season you may have the chace to pull the trigger on your personal Best as she enters your “Circle of Trust”.
Remember IF your fishing for the big girl this year you need to go all in. From your fishing rod of choice to line, and bait selection. We all know it is rare to get multiple chances at the elite. BE sure if you get your chance…….Your as prepared as possible to seal the deal. 
A cheap fishing rod that doesn’t have a good taper allowing a nice load will enable big fish to shake your barbs on head shakes. This may very well be one of the biggest challenges anglers face while ice fishing simply because of the shorter jig sticks we use. Guys will walk onto the ice with thousands of dollars in gear and a $14.99 rod and reel combo that might even include some coiled mono. Don’t kid yourself here guys; A high quality stick like found in the Thorne Bros. Selection can and will make a difference when inititally sticking a fish and then fighting her topside. Your final selection of a rod ultimately needs to fit for your style of fishing. Many anglers find themselves needing multiple rods to match bites and presentations they find themselves fishing each season.
Don’t skimp on fishing line; There area numerous theories on line used for ice fishing. I’m not going to debate, but you can go too light and too heavy. Anglers need a line that won’t coil and is low vis. How you attain this is clearly up to you. For many years I’ve used a Power Pro 10/2 with a 30 inch Flouro Lead. If you elect to utilize a small swivel your connection between the two lines will be stronger.
Be SURE your hooks are RAZOR sharp. I mean hone these hooks until your afraid to touch them. When hooking a your bait remember some hook exposure is ultimately how you drive the barb into the mouth of a fish. If you have minimal gap exposure your hooking percentage will be decreased. A slight bend out may very well promote the lodging of a barb in the mouth upon hookset.
Set you drag on your reel and be sure it works smoothly. Again a drag that doesn’t work WILL cost you. a poor drag system may cost you by releasing line upon hookset, or it may cost you by feeding line in a “Herky Jerky” fashion. When anything in the fight of your fish isn’t smooth you are more likely by ways of too much tension or not enough to lose a big fish. I tend to click on my backreel using my drag to aid my fighting tools after my initial hooking of the fish. I believe I am able to feather out line manually while backreeling more efficient than most any drag system.
WHEN you get your chance this season……STACK the deck in your favor men!!
