๐ฟ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ค๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ง, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐จ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐จ๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐๐จ ๐ค๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ช๐ฃ!
By Cody Hill, CHill Guide Service|218-443-3813
In Otter Tail County each lake froze over at different times so ice thickness can vary greatly from lake toย lake. I have noticed thatย it can vary from place to place on bigger lakes.ย This time of the year I donโt trust any ice reports unless I drill the hole to verify myself and I suggest you do the same. Rememberย safety is veryย important,ย and it isย importantย to have on your safety gear before getting onto the ice because things can happen quickly.ย ย When going onย theย ice I wear myย ice cleats,ย Eskimoย floating suit,ย and myย ice picks around my neck!ย After I have on my gear I am going ahead of my buddy with a chisel and checking the ice every 10 to 15 feet as we walk to our destination.ย MN DNR states you need 3 inches of clear ice to walk and 4 inches to fish.ย
With the harsh winter we had last year a lot of our early ice locations froze out which is making this year more difficult to find safe ice and active fish. I am finding a lot more people in spots than I have in past years because of the winter kill has reduced the number of good spots available. Be kind to your neighbor fishing and you never know you might make a great friend out of the trip.
I have been targeting panfish and have been getting some amazing blue gills mixed with some good eating crappies. Fishing in 11 to 14 feet of water and the depth has more to do with fishing pressure than anything. Thin ice transfers a lot of noises from above the ice to water so you can spook fish, so the less noise made around the hole the better. As pressure increases, Iโm finding the fish are going into standing cabbage to hide from anglers.
Tungsten jigsย (4 mm size)ย haveย been working best andย the colorย of the jig hasnโt made a bigย difference,ย but the color of plastic has made the biggest factor.ย Chartreuseย and pinkย haveย been myย go-toย colors,ย and it can vary from day to day, or it can change multiple times throughout the day.ย Most of my fish are coming in 2 to 3 feet off bottom but my most aggressive fish are coming in 3 to 5 feetย fromย bottom. ย
With Livescope I can see fish 10 feet to the side of my holeย and when fishing I am seeing fish coming in 3 to 5 feet from bottom and those fish are focused on my lure and ultimately fly into the hole and slam my lure.ย The reasonย I state this is if you are not using a Livescope and using aย flasher like a Marcum withย your cone angle itย willย look like they are coming up from bottom to biteย butย reality is thatย theย fish are coming in sideways to bite.ย Focusingย on jigging 3 to 5 feetย fromย bottom is attracting more fish to your hole by being more visible but it is also enticing the more aggressive fish swimming higher in the schools to bite.ย
I have also had good luck with putting a tip up or a rattle reel set 3-5 feet from bottom with a sucker or shiner minnow in the area we are fishing for blue gills.ย This is producing everything from walleyes to bass because everything is swimming together right now. I have been seeing if your fish quickly drop towards bottom pike are in the area and the panfish are getting lower in the water column to avoid them.
Stay safe and never assume all ice is safe!
A gift of a guided trip will fit under any tree or great in a stocking!ย
If you are interested in booking a trip, contact Cody today to book a trip that will ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ! ย