FISHING WITH THE GUIDES with George Langley - WEEK OF 12/1 to 12/8

Let the ice fishing begin! We started seeing folks come through for bait as early as Thursday last week. These are the desperate and brave anglers, who are willing to go out on as little as an inch and a half of ice. Current reports range from nothing to 4” of ice throughout the area. Ice thickness throughout the area varies pretty greatly, and a drive around to check out some lakes will show you that. As always, use extreme caution in the beginning of the season. Spud as you go and keep your eyes and ears open. Things will be much safer soon, with the weather forecast as it stands.

Walleye fishing has started, but because anglers are still somewhat limited in their ability to move around and get to the deep holes, we’re seeing action in the shallow weeds. So far, so good!  We’ve heard reports this weekend of good numbers and great fun under tip-ups, if you can find a good spot. It seems sometimes it takes a while to find these fish at the beginning of the season and to nail down their patterns on a particular lake. Start your search at the deep side of the weed edges, if you can get there. As for the Chain, people have been reluctant to get out there because of the current. Shiners under your tip-up, or jigging a rattle spoon have both been working great.

We haven’t heard about any musky being caught in the last week, as most anglers have just switched into ice fishing mode.  But we know there are still folks shore fishing in some places. That can be a fun way to spend a day, with a campfire going to keep you warm.

Northern action has started, but slowly, just as the walleye fishing. Give us better ice and you will see a lot of ice anglers fishing the deep weed edges. Look for the greenest weeds you can find.

Panfish action has been ok, also, with some bluegill being caught in shallow weeds. They should stay put, along with the perch and the crappie, in the shallow weedy areas until mid-winter when they tend to move deeper. When jigging for these fish in the shallows try both pulsing the jig and dead-sticking to see what’s working at the moment.  Once anglers are able to move deeper, jigging upwards through the water column can be an effective technique.  Most anglers looking for panfish have been using waxies for bait, but we’re seeing some going out with crappie minnows now, too. 

If you haven’t gone out yet, now’s the time to get all of your equipment in working order.  As long as we don’t see a big change in the weather, it’s not going to be long before we see machines out on the lakes.  Be careful out there and use that spud – and enjoy the quiet before the machines show themselves!

Good luck and good fishin'!           

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