Posts Tagged ‘Ice Fishing’

It’s official-winter is now upon us. Time to think positive, as the days will start getting longer and best of all we have ice! Deer season is over, the ducks have followed the retired folks south, and you should have shot your fill of pheasants by now. As a sportsman there is but one pursuit to focus on and that is of course, ice fishing.

A fact that most of us are aware of-but nonetheless need to reminded of-is that all creatures are by nature opportunistic…and will always take the path of least resistance to whatever they are seeking. There are two overriding biological forces constantly at work
in all animals, including humans.

For a fish that draws so much attention during the ice fishing season, the yellow perch is largely ignored come early spring. Once the ice is off and the states with closed seasons open, walleye mania hits the north country hard and most anglers develop a laser focus on the perch’s larger and at least this time of year’s more sought after cousin.

One of the distinct benefits of being an outdoor writer and involved in the fishing side of the industry, is being exposed to a lot of the latest lure and gear offerings. I’m fortunate to be called on to field test and evaluate prototypes before they’re available to the angling public.

This task, to say the least, can be overwhelming given the choices available. Looking over the vast selection of models, colors, and sizes at most bait shops can cause decision overload. By following a few simple guidelines, you can narrow your search to 3 basic categories and some standard colors.

By this I respectively am referring to Ice, Chubs, and Oversized Predators. Late ice is great ice, this most of us are keenly aware of. And, it goes hand in hand with fishing big chubs for the heftiest fish any body of water has to offer. I generally target walleye’s, but you will also undoubtedly encounter some huge pike as well. This system works equally well for both, just need to beef up your leaders if you target the slimy ones.

As we near the end of the Hardwater Season, (from late February till Ice Out) we’ve typically experienced: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The good being at first ice when Walleye’s are generally conducive to biting and the results are favorable for numbers, with a few good fish mixed in.

As we begin to enter the second half of the hard-water fishing season-and in my mind at least, the better half-we’ve experienced both good and bad. The good part being, we had favorable ice conditions form early on this year, and as is often the case-made for some fine fishing opportunities.

I’m not talking about the quality of the ice itself but the about your opportunity to enjoy some of the best fishing of the hard water season. Once the calendar roles around to late February or early March a lot of the enthusiasm for ice fishing has waned. Just as you begin to notice less and less anglers out, all species of fish activity will be increasing proportionally

In my neck of the woods (Northeastern South Dakota) I consider late ice, to be the period from mid February until you can no longer safely venture out. By this stage in the game most of the enthusiasm for drilling holes has greatly diminished.