It’s officially spring, but it sure doesn’t feel like it here in Northern Wisconsin! March has been cold and snowy and we are still hanging on to virtually all the ice we have made all winter so ice fishing will be available for at least a couple more weeks. That said, if you do want to hit the ice, we should start to see a very big movement of panfish back to the shallower weed beds as the snow melts off the ice and oxygen increases. These fish will be coming out of the midwinter doldrums and be getting fired up towards late ice. Hole hopping is key during this time of year and it seldom pays to stay in one place for long. Be prepared to drill lots of holes and use tungsten jigs or small spoons to drop quickly, fish a few minutes, and move on. Some of the heftiest panfish of the year, including crappies, bluegills and jumbo perch, are caught during our late ice period.
As far as early open water opportunities go, the Lake Superior tributaries early trout season opens on Saturday. Drifting nymphs, egg patterns, beads, or spawn bags through the deeper runs can be effective for hooking into a nice steelhead or two, or possibly even a lake run or resident brown trout or brook trout. The walleye run is also a great choice with rivers like the Fox, Mississippi, Wolf, and many other larger rivers running open seasons on walleye and sauger this time of year. Slow jigging blade baits or heavy jigs with walleye plastics are both great ways to put a pile of “eyes in the boat.
Caleb Wistad – Hookedupwi
calebwistad@gmail.com
715-338-0545
hookedupwi on YouTube
@hookedupwi on Instagram
Hookedupwi LLC on Facebook