Well if you still have the ice fishing gear out NOW is the time to take advantage of the "late ice" bite on area lakes. In-between snow squalls and mild temps I was able to get out this weekend for a meal of panfish. I was joined by a few fellow IDOers, Bob Bowman and Kooty! With Kooty and I having new babies at home the plan was to stay close to home in search of a good panfish bite, just in case mom!!!!
As the spring continues to grow and the meltdown begins these panfish will stage just outside of their normal spawning grounds and make for some easy pickings! The plan was to target this staging area in hope of finding some willing panfish. Well after drilling a few quick holes we soon found out these fish were stacked and on the chew. Drilling many holes and jumping from hole to hole was the key, since these fish were still roaming within the staging area.
These fish were not shy in any presentation that was put in front of them. A typical panfish presentation was all that was needed, however we seemed to find bigger fish on the Gill Pill’s with a larve. They were feeding very hard and aggressivley, often times you didn’t see a fish on the flasher then all of a sudden the huge red line would appear and a bull gill would come shooting up the hole. We were fishing in about 11′ of water which made for a short fight but these fish would not give up, often times running many circles during the fight, pulling drag all the way up! Classic blue gill fights!
As the ice fishing season draws closer to the end these fish will only become more aggressive. The warmer water run off into the holes on the lake seems to trip the trigger internally of these panfish setting them off into a feeding frenzy. A fantastic time to get younger fishermen and fisherwomen involved in catching some nice panfish on area lakes. Typically a person doesn’t have to drive too far to expierence this type of late season fishing, and to think…..its only going to get better!!!
Remember as always….no ice is safe, be careful!!!!
Good Luck!
It was great to be back on the ice with you boys. I’m hoping I can get out one night this week since I’ll be laid up this weekend.
Give me a call!
Nice report Cal and congrats guys on some nice bluegills!
And remember, I also live in the NW metro…
Nice report Cal! Good to see you and Kooty getting on the ice- can’t let all that daddy stuff get in your way…
Dandy gills guys!
Nice report Cal.
Boog
Those are some nice gills guys!
It was fun to get out and not have 30mph winds for a change. If you guys need a wheeler, mine is up for grabs this week, I won’t be making it back out until the weekend
wow, those are some big gills! Nice work!
Nice Bull Gills
Nice gills fellas and congrats on the new additions!
Did you hear that Cal. We can use his wheeler!! Does the saying “watch this” come to mind with that first heave??
The smile says it all!!!
Can’t wait for the Rainy
Easy there Sparky, your gonna need to pay my ticket first
I say we take the sled over at about 50mph….serious airtime….
Nice fish guys!
Great report Calvin and awesome looking gills
Did you lose a bet and have to take Kooty out with ya???
Nice report Cal, but it is time to get off the ice!
Right Bret!
The best is yet to come