Give up ice fishin not yet

[Lee Borgersen]

 Don't give up on ice fishing season just yet :fishing2:

 Mar 26, 2015
 
  ...........
Cold temperatures have slowed down the melting process on the lakes. This has extended the ice fishing season at least one more weekend for those anglers who just can't get enough.

There is still more than 26 inches of ice away from the shoreline on most lakes. The ice is soaking up more water on the bottom of the ice, but there is still more than a foot of solid ice sandwiched between the top and bottom layers in most areas.

A few accesses have had too much traffic and are breaking up, but there is often more than one way to get on most lakes. Anglers are using ATVs to access most lakes, with some groups of anglers making several trips to haul all of the anglers and gear onto the lake.

Fishing has been good for perch, crappies and sunfish, with many lakes experiencing heavy fishing pressure this winter due to the excellent ice conditions.

The number of old holes in many of the more popular lakes after a busy winter of ice fishing is stunning to see. Most structures on the walleye and perch lakes are covered with old holes and most basin areas in the crappie and sunfish lakes have also been "drilled-out" by anglers this winter.

Perch on most of the larger lakes have not moved up into the shallows yet, with most of the fish holding along the breakline on shoreline connected structures.

Most of the active perch have been feeding between 12 and 18 feet of water, with a few perch even deeper in some lakes. Most of the schools of perch have been on the move, so anglers may have to drill extra holes if they want to try following the fish as they move.

Perch will bite on a wide range of presentations when they are active. Many anglers default to a jigging spoon and a minnow head for their "go-to" presentation for perch, but they will also bite on jigging minnows, jigs and wax worms or jigs and scented plastics.

Many anglers have been heading to Lake of the Woods to fish the extended seasons for walleyes, sauger and big pike.

The Rainy River is the spawning destination for many fish in the south end of Lake of the Woods, so the Pine Island that blocks the mouth of the Rainy River is a popular destination for anglers on late ice.

There are also good opportunities for big pike along the south shore of Lake of the Woods in Zippel Bay, "the ditches", Rocky Point and Buffalo Bay.

Most anglers use tip-ups for the big pike tipped with large live sucker or shiner minnows. Dead baits also work well for late ice pike, so anglers can also use cisco, herring and smelt on tip-ups for big pike.

Anglers anxious to fish out of their boats can fish the spring walleye season on the Rainy River. The river is open several miles past the Birchdale access and some local anglers believe the Frontier Access may be open by this weekend.

The best walleye fishing in the Rainy River is usually before the river gets muddy, so anglers should go early or risk missing the best fishing past by waiting too long.

Jigs and minnows are usually the best bait for walleyes in the Rainy River, with anglers using ⅜-ounce or ½-ounce jigs to keep in good contact with the bottom in the current. Some anglers also use three-way rigs with live bait or crankbaits to target the larger fish.

Anglers should plan on getting to the Rainy River early, to help insure they will be able to find a parking spot, especially on the weekends.

Anglers still ice fishing have been finding crappies on shoreline connected structures, with the best bites in the mornings and evenings. Most crappies have been in 15 to 25 feet of water, with many fish suspended off the bottom.

Bluegills and sunfish have been holding on the edges of any standing weeds near deeper water. If the fish aren't in the weeds, they are likely suspended on the side of the drop-off down to about 16 feet.

Wax worms and eurolarvae on ice jigs have been working well for both crappies and sunfish in most situations.