Long story short, after retiring last summer this is the first year in decades I’ve had the time to do much ice fishing. As a weekend warrior bird hunter I always hunted with my dogs until bird seasons were over and by then the ice fishing was slow to dead, so I’d just skip the late season ice. Now I wondering if the late bite is triggered by temperature and weather factors, or if it’s the longer daylight, etc.
That’s extremely variable to the weather in a given year and your location. For me it’s usually when I know some melt and runoff is consistently making it back into the water with a daily melt, but that’s primarily on the river. Fish the afternoons in relatively shallow areas exposed to the sun once the snow has melted off the ice. I use more spoons and other baits with a little noise if fish seem less lethargic. If you find some good fish, treat the area like a treasure with selective harvest and tight lips. Near the river, there are regularly people who will “fish” from their trucks with binoculars each Spring and move in when they see quality fish being landed.
I don’t really start getting back into ice fishing heavily until the second week of March. The last week of March and start of April are often the best. I fish up until Christmas for the early ice bite then again late ice. The dog days of winter and the pressure from trucks, wheelers, wheelhouses, etc. make the bite tougher and crowds larger.
I have found that warm weather/ melting is the biggest factor.
The extra sunlight helps also I think, but I’m waiting for a couple warm 40+ days with nights above freezing to get fish started transitioning into shallower water and getting more aggressive.
I have found that warm weather/ melting is the biggest factor.
The extra sunlight helps also I think, but I’m waiting for a couple warm 40+ days with nights above freezing to get fish started transitioning into shallower water and getting more aggressive.
For panfish and crappies I think this is a good answer. Fish. like almost all wildlife respond to available light [lengthening of daylight hours]. The temperature aspect also reflects on areas where warmer melt water gets into the lake or river and fish are super sensitive to this and will seek out the shallower waters during the day since that’s where the warmest water is. That warmer water also invites bug and insect activity as well and of course fish follow that food source, followed by minnows.
Your retired, go fishing they been biting all winter, just have to pick the right time of day , cloudy, sunny, time ect.
Now I wondering if the late bite is triggered by temperature and weather factors, or if it’s the longer daylight, etc.
Where I’ll be fishing tomorrow, the “late ice” bite is NOW. I’m guessing the ice will be gone on this lake in the next two weeks. (Feb. 29th)
I begin to see an influx of water coming into the lakes I fish which may be a factor in the late ice bite. It can be surface water or ground water but the snow and frost is melting and causing a flow of fresh water into all bodies of water. I’m sure this is only one of the factors which trigger the bite.
Seems like the melt water in late winter reinvigorates the panfish with a boost of oxygenated water. The snow melting gives the fish more light and some of the early season weeds, like curly leaf pondweed, start growing. I believe the combo is what ramps up the bite. I’ve seen it happen in early March most years in my area, conveniently right after the walleye season closes.
Great replies and much appreciated. I’ll be ready!
Something to consider during the early open water/immediate ice out is water temperature during the day. Small bays and inlets can warm very quickly on nice days with good sun and insects and minnows respond to the warmer water in a blink. Yet hit that same water early in the morning and nada, no biteskis. Try areas of deeper water that’s adjacent to those little late day gems, and by deeper I mean by several feet. Real early open water crappies and panfish will or may still have that “comfort that deeper water affords” engrained in them from the depths of winter. You may or may not have to go really deep to locate the fish that are using these deep late at night and very early morning areas before shifting to the shallower areas later on in the day: the depth fish will be found in the deeper water will be dependent on the barometer, sun exposure, wind, and over-night low air temps and how that’s affecting the water temp over the deeper water early on in the day.
On a completely different note….you can use everything you’re reading here only in reverse during the very later fall cold water transition period to catch crappies and sunfish. The transition from cold water to warmer in the spring is exactly opposite in the fall when the water transitions from warm to cold as far as these fish are concerned.
When the water starts running down old holes, cracks, and down hills/cliffs into the the lake and providing nutrients and oxygen is when I have my best crappie fishing in my area….I love late ice fishing. No need to fish only during the witching hours as it becomes an all day feeding frenzy as they migrate towards their spawning areas. Learned long ago the story about drawing a line from their deep basins to the spawning areas and just drill along the way is true. Find points and structure along the path and then finally early sprouting weeds in shallow and you will be on crappies right up to ice out.
Not sure what’s wrong with right now. Late ice is my best time for crappie, I’m in Duluth, and have found that right when walleye closes is usually when the basin bite heats up big time.
Dissolved oxygen levels are low, weeds are dead, the Crappie will suspend over the deepest part of the lake. Sometimes you think your locator is lying when you see a mark 4-5 feet under the ice in 35 FOW. It’s not.
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