Have you ever wondered why chasing late ice panfish is so popular? I think it's the nature of the bite that makes it so popular. After a long winter of dealing with panfish that are just lookers, teasers, sniffers or nibblers it's fun to fish for something that is willing to slam a bait with wild abandonment. Also, there is a lot to be said for sitting on the ice when the temperatures are in the high 30's to low 40's.

Finding a place to go
First, I keep all my late ice adventures local. It's extremely hard to plan for a late ice trip to a different region or state because the ice conditions can change so quickly during this time of year. It depends so much on weather patterns, ice thickness, snow cover and what has happened over the proceeding two weeks. It's not like planning a mid-winter trip where you know the ice will be safe and hope the fish cooperate. So I stay local when chasing late ice panfish.

You can generally stop in or call any local bait shop and get the direction to some of the community holes known to be good for late ice fishing. And there are a number of web sites that have forums that cater to ice anglers; those forums hold a wealth of information. Luckily late ice hot spots are not guarded zealously like early ice hot spots.

What spots produce?
Any spot that you have caught panfish from during the early spring soft water period will usually hold late ice panfish. Because we stay local when chasing late ice panfish we have found a number of locations that produce fish year after year. The two things that all these locations have in common is… they are shallow and have muck bottoms with hardpan bottom areas that support pencil reeds during the soft water period. A couple of these locations have feeder streams running into the bays. The second type of spot is a little harder to locate if you do not have a working knowledge of the lake you want to fish. Large expansive flats in 6-8 feet of water, that are weed choked during the soft-water period, will usually hold late ice fish this time of year.

Keep it simple.
Go as light and simple as you can. This time of year you don't need a lot of equipment and because of the ice conditions you will have to carry or pull everything out onto the ice by hand. No ATV's or snowmobiles this late in the season. On the first trip out to a location you should be able to get everything you need into a small Otter sled. Bring an ice auger on the first trip out to a location, as you will need to cut lots of holes when chasing late ice panfish. After that first trip out you can usually get by with a hand auger or spud bar, as previously augured holes tend to stay open or just develop a thin skim of ice over them this time of year.

Two or three rods will be more than enough. I usually put out a dead-stick rod with a Demon jig and crappie minnow on it. On the rods we use when hole jumping, looking for active fish; we use a little heavier style jig, something like the Fat Boy or Pounder. Since the late ice bite usually occurs in shallow water, rarely are we fishing in water deeper than 8-feet and most of the time we are in only 4 or 5-feet of water. The old style jiggle stick actually works extremely well for this style of fishing. It's simple, easy to use and doesn't get tangled up. The down side to the jiggle stick is if a northern hits your jig… it's gone.

Bait
We keep it real simple. For live bait, a small scoop of small crappie minnows to use on the dead-stick rod and a container of wax worms. Then a jar of Gulp maggots or waxies and some plastics like Little Atom Noodles or new this season Northlands Bro's Buggy Tails

Keep moving
That's why you need all those holes, so you can keep moving around the area. These shallow water fish just seem to roam throughout the area and if you want to catch fish you have to move around also. If you spend more than 10 minutes at any one hole without catching a fish, you've been there too long; it's time to move to the next hole. As strange as it may seem you usually only catch a couple of fish from a hole and then it will shut down, but if you walk 15 or 20-feet to the next hole you catch fish again.

Think safety first.
Late ice fishing can be loads of fun, but remember you're venturing out onto ice that is deteriorating, so use some common sense. Don't go out there alone; take someone with you. Make sure to have a PFD along or better yet wear one. Make up a throw line (safety line) with 50-feet of rope and a boat bumper, just in case someone takes an unexpected dip. And have the ice picks hanging around your neck at all times, not sitting in the otter sled.

As always, stay safe and we hope to see you on the water.

Wayne Ek is a fishing guide, tournament angler and writer, living in Alexandria Mn. For more information you can contact him at Agape Fishing Guides agapefishingguides.com