| Late Ice? Heck Yes! |
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| Written by Daryl B. | |
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After a long cold winter, the thoughts of many anglers turn to warmer days, open-water, and the hot fishing that lies just a few more weeks ahead. But in the words of Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friend.” Before planning the first open water fishing trips of the year, do not forget that late ice almost always produces some of the very best ice fishing every winter. In fact once the bite picks up in late winter, I find myself wishing that the ice would never go away. Any discussion of ice fishing late in the winter must begin with ice safety. The rule of thumb is that 3-4 inches of ice is safe to walk on, but late ice can be an exception to that rule. By the end of the winter, ice weakens as it begins to thaw, and in some cases 6 or 8 inches of ice at the end of the season may not be safe. Caution should be exercised whenever venturing onto the ice and that is especially true on late ice. An ice chisel or spud bar is an excellent tool for checking ice conditions. With a spud bar an angler can strike the ice every few feet to see how hard it is and holes can be punched every few yards to check the thickness. As the ice honey-combs and weakens late in the season, it will become a lot easier to punch through with a spud bar. When you can punch through the ice with only a few blows, regardless of the thickness, it is time to get off. Special care needs to be exercised near shore as run-off from melting snow begins to create a margin of open water along the shoreline. In some cases once that open stretch of water is negotiated with a plank or even waders, anglers will be able to access ice that is safe. When doing that keep in mind that you will have to get off the ice at the end of the day, and on a warm afternoon you might find that rim of open-water a lot wider than it was in the morning. On the warmest of days ice conditions can deteriorate enough throughout the day that it becomes unsafe—check ice conditions throughout the day and get off when it begins to deteriorate. Be careful around objects like flooded timber that extends up through the ice as ice conditions can be worse around those objects as they absorb the heat of the sun. When in doubt, go with a partner, wear a life jacket, check ice conditions frequently and do not risk it. The warming and thawing conditions of late winter are exactly why the fishing picks up. The longer days and thawing signals that spring is coming, and fish will become more active under late ice. The fish will begin feeding more than they did during the middle of the winter. Depending on the species of fish, they may simply become more active and catchable in the deep water areas where they spent the long cold winter, or they may begin to move back towards shallower water. Species like northern pike, walleye and yellow perch may begin moving towards spawning habitats they will use shortly after the ice is gone. Other species like bluegill, crappie, and largemouth bass may drift back towards shallow areas where there is an influx of warmer melt water and more prey that can be found there. Being versatile and mobile is always a good idea for any ice angler and that especially applies to pursuing fish on late ice. Since the fish tend to be more active and willing to feed, sitting in one spot trying to make fish bite will likely be a poor strategy compared to drilling lots of holes to find active, late-ice fish. Then once fish are found, that spot may remain hot right until ice-out as the increased activity levels of fish keep bringing new fish to the area. Anglers can generally “tackle-up” from the small baits and spider-web lines needed to coax fish to bite in the middle of the winter. Larger baits that can be fished more aggressively are usually the best baits to start with on late ice; then drop back to smaller finesse baits and wait the fish out if the bite is tough. Jigging lures like a variety of spoons, jigging Raps, and Chubby Darters can be fished aggressively and offer active fish a slightly larger meal they may be more likely to eat. Larger, lively baitfish can be a better presentation option on late ice than during the mid-winter slump when smaller, less aggressive baits were needed. Be sure you are safe, but do not be too quick to “throw in the towel” on late winter ice fishing. There is nothing better than standing on the ice in shirtsleeves on a warm, late winter day experiencing some of the best fishing of the year. Go fish! |