With some cold weather and reports of people fishing north of Mille Lacs there is only one thing for an ice fisherman to do. Get a few days off of work and get the guys together and hit the ice. So that was our plans. After work on Wednesday we loaded up the trucks and we were northern bound. We hit the hotel early evening and asked about ice in the area. Our plan A lake was told to be wide open earlier in the week. After hearing that we soon came up with a plan B just in case we found open water in our first spot. So feeling a little disappointed to bed we went.
Just after sunup we set out to the lake to see if there would be fishable ice. Sure enough there we saw our bay froze over. So paring up into twos and ice picks in hand we walked the shore until we found the point that we wanted to go out from. Drilling many holes along the way to check the ice we found a nice clear 6 inches. So we drilled the area set up the houses and soon there were fish on the flashers.
Fishing an old early ice spot we knew what we were looking for. Our max depth would be 22 FOW and we had to find the breaks. The flat areas had fish but not a lot holding. The breaks is were we would find our fish holding and schooling up. After securing the location of the breaks were drilled across two of them and started to mark fish. About five minutes into it we were setting the hook. We soon found that the fish would rise up no farther than two feet and then they would put on the breaks. With no one go to lure being the trick it meant only one thing. Change the jig and change it often and that is what worked to get fish on the ice.
Day two would prove to be a lot more different than the first. After drilling the same location and marking a lot of fish we soon found that the bite that was positive to neutral the first day would be totally negative for us on the second day. It was not a lack of fish just a lack of ones that wanted to bite. Being persistent was the key. Working the fish and jumping hole to hole we still managed to catch a lot of quality fish and had a great time doing it.
Being on the ice was great. Early ice fishing gives some of the greatest opportunities to catch fish in a good mood to bite. Safety is always the number one thing when getting on the ice when it is fresh. Checking often and always having you picks at hand it critical. Having a game plan and keeping an eye out for each other is the name of the game. Never go out alone until you have good thick ice. We practiced all of that this past week and we all had a great time fishing and all were safe. Be safe as you venture out and may your catch be plentiful. We will see you on the ice.
Chris Barlage