CHill Fishing Report 12-15-2022

Fishing Report 12-15-2022

By Cody Hill, https://www.chillguideservice.com/

Ice season is officially upon us. As eager as we all are to catch that bite, ice safety should be always at the forefront. Most of our local lakes are getting to be ATV safe. I have even seen a few big side-by-sides and small cars on select lakes, but I have been still walking out. Each lake is different. I had a situation where I found a small area that was 3 inches thinner than the surrounding area without a reason for the difference.

The panfish bite has been great especially if you can get away from crowds. Try to limit the noise made on top of the ice. Most lakes have minimal snow cover and I’m watching fish spook by simply walking across bare ice. They will flee when a gas auger starts drilling a hole.

The crappie bite has been good, and we are having the best luck jigging above a school focusing two to three feet above the schools. A 4 mm tungsten jig wh soft plastic has been my go-to. If it gets tough add a wax worm or spike to encourage the finicky biters. If fish are more aggressive small spoons or Z-Vibers have produced our better-quality fish. Using the bigger baits is better to get back into the bite zone quicker but can spook neutral fish.

The walleye bite has been surprisingly good but the estbest bite has been in low light conditions. I have been seeing daylight activity especially if you are near the structure. I am finding them in the same spots I was finding on my last trips out in the Lund. Livescope was showing that they were using deeper cabbage for cover and would use the cabbage to ambush its prey on the edge of the weed line. Surprisingly, didn’t get them to bite in the cabbage. Even though they investigated my baits but using the same lure on the edge of the cabbage produced fish.

Fishing is fun because you never know what you will hook. In the past week that has been keeping us wondering about each hook set.

This past weekend I had the privilege of assisting a client with his personal best fish which is the biggest fish I have ever handled in my life! Only using a 4-pound test, he was able to land a 42” muskie with only a tungsten jig. It took us 85 minutes to land that trophy and the best part was we had 6 cameras rolling from hookset to release!  We have also been landing random walleyes only a few feet below the ice thinking they were crappies swimming suspended.

Christmas will be here soon, and It’s not too late to book a trip or gift a trip in a form of a gift certificate to someone.

To book a trip contact Cody Hill, CHill Guide Service, 218-443-3813.