Ice Fishing Report 3-4-20

By Garett Svir, Slab Seeker Fishing Guide Service

Ice conditions are the best we’ve had all season in Otter Tail Lakes Country. The days are getting longer and the panfish have been biting great. It’s a great time of year to be an ice angler.

Finding crappies deep on some lakes and shallow on others, it really varies by the lake. As water starts running down the holes we’ll start to see more oxygen in the shallows again and it will really start to fire up that shallow water bite again. One great tip this time of year is to make sure the transducer on your flasher is all the way to the bottom of the ice. This will eliminate the surface clutter you see and allow you to see the crappies that are literally right below the ice in the top couple feet of the water column. This is a late ice pattern that often goes overlooked and anglers will sometimes fish below the fish.

As for bluegills this is the best time of year to look for some of the biggest fish in a particular body of water. Pick a shallow weedy edge with access to deep water, if it has some hard stem bulrushes on the top even better. Drill holes and move along quietly fishing each hole briefly. The edges are already showing signs of wear and tear so only a couple weeks left. Get out and enjoy it.

On a side note May crappie and June bluegill trips are filling up fast. If you’d like to get out in the boat for a day this spring/ summer call or message soon to reserve your dates. Tight lines!