It's PANFISH time! By Chris Haley

[Chris Haley]

Well everybody it's here. My personal favorite time of the winter to fish. Perch are moving and feeding and the Crappie and Bluegill are thinking the same with them.

This last weekend I was out with some friends. We fished Perch on Sat. and found them in 18-30 feet. Fishing was good with 40 9"-12" fish coming in about 2 hrs. The key being a lot of holes. Panfish of all species will mill around during the day. Many holes allows you to walk around and follow the milling school.

Our best success for the whole weekend (Crappies included) was to look for the hard to soft bottom transition line. All the fish we caught (Perch Sat. and Crappies Sun.) Came from these areas. The mud is giving up blood worms and larvae, this is why the fish are here. A majority of lakes, the soft(mud) bottom was in about 40ft. Drill a bunch of holes, walk around and look for lines on your depth finder. I did not fish a single hole this weekend unless it had lines down there waiting for me. Some holes on Sun had 5-10 lines before I even put my line down. Once these spots are found, fish above the lines trying to entice a taker up. I would wait until I saw a line on the move and as it got closer to my jig I would reel up ahead of it bringing it up even higher. The higher you can get them, the better chance of a hit. I'm not sure if my theory is correct or not. I believe that the higher in the water column the less pressure on the fish, giving the fish the same sensation as needing to fill the stomach. I don't know maybe I'm wrong, but I sure catch a lot more bringing them up than taking them down.

Another very important factor is rod selection. I like a VERY sensitive tip, and the longer I can get with that sensitive tip the better. I also love spring bobbers, my favorite being the metal tape type. I like to bend it upward so that when I put my jig down the spring is straight our from the tip. This way when a fish hits it in an upward motion, the springs bends upward. Set the hook!!!!!!

I hope this info will help you to get out on the ice and be more successful!

[cluelessfisherman]

Great report Chris! I wish I was able to enjoy the weather you have had there lately and get in on my favorite time of the ice season as well!

I have been down in TN the last 3 weeks working, so missed out on the blizzard too. One more week here and then 2 in Washington and then back to Bemidji through fall!!! Bring on open water!

[kosterguide]

chris how much ice is left i am trying to come home in the next week what does it look like

[ac777]

Still drivable for smaller vehicles

[Chris Haley]

Drivable with just about anything.

Loren

There is still a solid 3' left and with the 5 degrees last night, the landings should hold up through the weekend.

[kosterguide]

hey chris i did not make it up lat week but am coming up on thursday night what you predicting is there going to be ice or am i done for the year

[Chris Haley]

I'm kind of waiting to see myself. If we get freezing temps over night for the next couple nights, we'll be good to go. I'm hoping for another weekend. I only fished 6 different lakes last weekend. I have a few more I want to hit.