Late ice is one of the most productive times of the year to be fishing and the Alexandria Lakes area is among the best places in the Midwest to spend that day on the ice. With literally hundreds of lakes to choose from, your options are endless. Whether you’re after eater size or trophy size panfish there’s a lake for you. We still have plenty of ice on the lakes for travel by foot and yet many are still ATV accessible. If you’re wondering what to do this weekend make a drive up. We are only a couple hours up I-94 from the cities and the fish are going hot!
With it being such a beautiful night last night I decided to hit the ice to do a little scouting for this weekend. Typically this time of year the sun starts to shine brighter and the fish become more aggressive. This makes finding the fish relatively easy. Even though fish this time of year can be caught anywhere from a couple FOW to as deep as 25 FOW, you should generally be targeting the 5’ – 7’ range on most lakes. This is exactly what I had planned to do prior to hitting the ice last night. I targeted a couple weed beds that usually stay green well into the winter months. I drilled a series of holes over these beds, zig zaging the contour from 5’-7’ FOW.
I started with a number 8 moon glow and a wax worm. The first few holes only yielded a few small sunfish. The next few were about the same, the only difference was I noticed a few bigger marks on the graph that seemed interested. It appeared that the small sunfish were getting to the bait before the larger ones, so I made a change that’s worked for me in the past. I switched to small Demon jigging spoon by Custom Jigs and Spins, tipped with a Finesse plastics Ratso style tail. This technique will deter the smaller sunfish long enough to give the bigger ones a crack at the bait. It’s a common misconception that when panfish aren’t bitting that you need to go to a smaller bait. Although this is sometimes the case, quite often a bigger presentation will turn em on fire. Mixed in with these sunfish will often be large aggressive crappies, so with this lure you’re set up to target both large sunfish and crappie. In just a few minutes I knew this was the right move because in a short order I was able to ice a bunch of nice sunfish with over a dozen slab crappies mixed in. I hadn’t planned on keeping any but after having a few crappies inhale the jig I decided to keep a few for the pan.
I can’t stress enough that this isn’t just me being on the right lake at the right time. There are literally dozens and dozens of lakes that are putting out great fish right now. With some effort a productive day on the ice is almost inevitable. Just this past week I’ve heard reports of fish in the hundreds in just a couple hours of fishing. One friend of mine iced 100 crappies and another iced 200 sunfish with three of those sunfish fish going over a pound; 1lb 4oz and two 1lb 6oz. Please come up and enjoy yourself but keep in mind that whenever fish are vulnerable like this to be respectful of the fishery. Please let the large fish go and only keep what you need for a meal. The old saying, “if I don’t keep em somebody else will” no longer applies. Almost everyone I meet these days are letting large pan fish go to ensure quality fish for the future. There’s no reason to freeze buckets of fish just because you can. It looks like a great weekend; so good luck, be careful and I’m sure you’ll have a great time.
Awesome report, Joe!
Here’s my favorite part… “Almost everyone I meet these days are letting large pan fish go to ensure quality fish for the future.” I’ve seen more and more of the same. 9″+ bluegills and bigger crappies being released versus the guaranteed death sentence. And I like you have no issues with keeping fish to eat but it is nice to see some selectivity to the harvest.
I’m heading north tomorrow evening for a shot at the perch out on the ice. IT has been awhile since I got into a good perch bite.
Awesome report Joe!
Very good information on re-sizing your bait. Many anglers will continue to use the same presentation thinking that sooner or later a big one is going to eat it. They waste valuable time sorting and sorting and sorting. As you pointed out, sometimes the larger fish don’t get a chance to eat your bait simply because of the competition of the smaller fish.
Good job out there and keep the reports coming!
P.S. How is your Snosuit working out for you?
Thanks Brad!
I’ve put a lot of hours on my Snow Suit already and I’m positive it’s the nicest piece of clothing I own. I’ve had the chance to try a couple other brands and there’s really no comparison. I went on a few trips this year with friends and I was the only one out of the whole group that was dry. They aren’t the cheapest but you get what you pay for. This was one of the best investments I’ve made. Thanks for recommending them to me Brad.
Thanks for the great report Joe. It’s a fun time of the year as one has to choose between open water (river,small lakes) or a late ice trip. So many choices- so little time.
Hi,
I am new to the forums, but I will be fishing the Alexandria area on Memorial Day weekend for the first time. We will be renting a cabin on Lake Reno and will be targeting bass, walleyes, and large panfish. How is fishing during this time of year? Any tips at all on where to find fish? What kind of fish does Reno put out well? I see on the DNRs site walleyes are pretty good. Maybe if anyone is willing to meet up, I would be glad to. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Just wondering if you would be kind enough to share what lake you caught the panfish on?
Shawn
Hello, I’m glad to hear you’re coming up to enjoy the area. Reno is a great lake and puts out great walleye and panfish that time of year. In fact you can go there right now and probably limit on crappie and sunfish. It got fished pretty hard this winter but there will still be plenty of fish. It’s a pretty well know lake so you won’t be alone out there. There’s usually quite a few people on the weekends fishing. If I was you I’d concentrate on walleye that time of year. As for where to fish, there is a ton of spots on that lake. Concentrate on 10-20 feet of water. You can jig or pull lindy rigs with minnows. I’m a guide in the area so if you needed me to show you around for a few hours I’m sure we could work something out. Thanks for the inquiry and welcome to IDO. As for what lake the huge sunfish came out of
that would only be disclosed upon you booking a trip. 
Sorry, I have to make a living somehow. If I don’t talk to you have a good trip.
Nice fish and Great information Joe!! Great area to get on some nice panfish!! Keep up the good Work!!
Thanks Chris! I think we’re both a little spoiled when it comes to the area we get to fish
I’d love to make a trip up your way though. I’ll see if I can fit in a little vacation this year? 
Hey Joe
How’s the ice in your area? I would imagine access could be getting a little dicey.
James, I was guiding on the Rainey River the last couple days, but I’m back now. I walked out this morning for a minute. There was water on the edge but with a pair of taller boots you can still get on the ice. It’s not going to be long now and the ice fishing equipment will need to be put away around here. I plan on fishing this week, but I think by the weekend access will be limited.
I’m heading out on wednesday for one last go at the ice. I hope to stay dry! Thanks for the report.
Aaaah Yes we are Joe!! Spoiled indeed!! Not a day passes me by that I don’t pinch myself being able to make a living catching fish!! Life is GOOD!! Look forward to hooking up with together!! Sounds like it maybe soon!!