First and foremost, PLEASE USE CAUTION ON THE ICE!!!
Right now there is a lot of weight on the ice, water, slush and heavy snow. There are places where you will find a good 10 iches of ice and others that only have 5-6 inches. I have been watching a lot of truck traffic on the local lakes and it has me worried, be safe guys. Its not worth dropping a truck into the lake to get after some fish. Atv and snowmobile traffic should get you anywhere needed to ice some fish. The bite has been good but from what I have seen on the last few outings, the window of fish activity is very small. The bite has been great during the low light periods but during the day, the bite has shut off.
We have been focusing our time as of late on the evening bite. Gills, crappies and bass have been active late in the day. Seeing a lot of fish on the flasher during this time has been common, getting them to eat has been difficult. Working fish by pounding the jig has coaxed a few good fish up the hole. Red glow jigs with red spikes have been the ticket. Keeping that jig glowing has helped a lot when the sun goes down. With the window being so small on this bite, it turns into chaos when the fish finally turn on. It never fails, I always seem to have line tangles, spring bobber issues, or something seems to freeze up, just about the time the fish show up, right Steve!
We have been hitting the ice early, drilling a ton of holes and then stay on the move until we find fish on the flasher. Staying on the move has been key to staying on top of the aggressive school. Fish a hole for about 5 minutes and if nothing shows up, move on. Some days we don’t have to move a lot once the fish are located, while other days we are only able to get one or two fish out of a hole and then it shuts off. The aggressive nature of the fish will tell you if its worth sitting longer or moving. Some of the gills have moved up and down in the water colume a number of time chasing the jig. Very soft bites, almost like they are licking the spikes and then the spring loads up. If you set the hook right away you can feel the jig pull out of the fishes mouth. Giving them a little time to load up the spring prior to setting the hook has helped increase the hook up percentage greatly. The crappies have been hitting the baits from below, pushing the spring up. It takes some getting use to this kind of bite. If your not watching the spring, your missing the bite, at times its that soft.
The last trip out for me was on Sunday. SLUSH, slush, standing water, and more slush were the conditions. Staying dry was difficult to say the least. Steve and I hit the ice and found lots of water under the snow. The wheeler broke through the top layer of snow and below was water and lots of it. I don’t want to preach but please use caution. It won’t take long with the weather we have on the way to lock that water and slush back up. Go out with a buddy, let family and friends know where your going, but most of all never assume that the ice is safe.Error on the side of caution, its still early. Truck traffic on local lakes is not a good idea right now.
Happy New Year and happy fishing!
Good advice and great report Bob!
Great advice! Thanks for the perspective. I’m finally going to get on the ice tomorrow. I’ve been waiting all winter to go, people keep asking me, been ice fishin yet? I was all ready to push the envelope, blaze a trail with my truck, perhaps now I will be going by sled.
Thanks Again,
Erik Osberg
218-251-8306
Just the laws of nature for an icehead
Awesome read and Gills Bob
Preach away Bob, assuming fisherman are the ones that get in trouble out there, that’s why your advise is so important.
Great fishing report, and those gills?…………NICE!!
Very nice bluegills!
Nice Gills
Nice fish guy’s!!!
I like the talk of “window of activity.” Even though its just bluegills, when they start biting and you see one on your flasher, your heart starts pumping to get that bait down there… Then you realize your line is frozen in every guide and tied in a knot
. We have been out a lot the past week, and found that window of activity to be different just about every time. On the local lake we have been fishing, the fish have been getting active in the middle of the day and almost shutting down when its getting towards dark… Seems really strange, but I guess some lakes are weird like that.
Great job on the gills Bob.
Awesome gills, Bob!
Congrats on the great fish Bob! Not only do they hold well to a tape, they’d probably tip the scales a bit too. Chunky fish that have some great color.
I’m with Red in that the fish we encountered today seemed to feed in these small windows.
Bob, it seems like your best windows (just judging from the photos) are at or after dark. Not many lakes I’ve fished have a decent bite for gills after dark, especially fish of that quality. Did you guys find most of your better fish being caught after dark? Any other experience with this?
Joel
No gills after dark at all. They are still down there, but getting them to hit is next to impossible. The best bite is happening for us right at dark and then its over, very short window. I have not had a chance to hit these fish in the morning hours yet, but I plan to change that this weekend. With any luck,there will be an AM bite too.
Have a happy and safe New Years everyone
Very nice Gills Bob! Been noticing the same thing with super short but spastic feeding windows at about the same time in the evening.
In the last week there has been a big change in the time of day these windows open up. Moon phase seems to have a lot to do with it
There have been a few days where that window is opening in the middle of the day and the bite has been very good. That evening bite has not been very good for me in the last week. Thats fishing, having fun either way
The ice is in great shape
Alex likes that because he gets to drive the truck
I got a chance to spend a little quality time with my old man today, it sure felt good
We did not get out on the ice until late but we were able to find some willing gills to keep us entertained until dark. Glow red jigs and again wax worms out performed the spikes for us this afternoon. Thanks for a great time on the lake Dad 
Great to see you enjoying time with Dad ! Nice blue ear he’s holding too
Great report Bob. Those are some really thick and heavy looking fish!