Rob Manthei
02-04-2013, 09:17 PM
We've had several harsh cold fronts hit the area, followed by a couple warm ups. This unstable weather has made fishing difficult. Several 13 to 25 below air temp nights over the past 2 weeks have made travel on the lakes with trucks possible everywhere. However, the cold, cold weather has really put a damper on the bite.
Walleyes are giving me a short window in the afternoon to dark time period and some sparse action in the mornings. Tip ups with sucker minnows are my best approach right now. Walleyes are starting to use the deep mid lake structures of sand and gravel humps more readily. On the warmer days, the jig bite has picked up, however tip ups are out producing jigging overall right now.
Pike are all over the board...catching them in sandgrass, shallow cabbage edges, and suspended over mud....dead baits like ciscoes and smelt and large golden shiners are best.
Panfish bite hasn't been on the list, due to the extreme cold and difficulty of hole hopping with freezing lines,etc
Ice depths are consistant at 15 to 19 inches and driving on lakes isn't bad with 4 X 4 trucks...some landings are heaved up and drifted in, so use caution when getting on and off the lake.
Snowmobile trails are really nice right now, and should get a refresh of snow Tuesday.
Good luck!
Walleyes are giving me a short window in the afternoon to dark time period and some sparse action in the mornings. Tip ups with sucker minnows are my best approach right now. Walleyes are starting to use the deep mid lake structures of sand and gravel humps more readily. On the warmer days, the jig bite has picked up, however tip ups are out producing jigging overall right now.
Pike are all over the board...catching them in sandgrass, shallow cabbage edges, and suspended over mud....dead baits like ciscoes and smelt and large golden shiners are best.
Panfish bite hasn't been on the list, due to the extreme cold and difficulty of hole hopping with freezing lines,etc
Ice depths are consistant at 15 to 19 inches and driving on lakes isn't bad with 4 X 4 trucks...some landings are heaved up and drifted in, so use caution when getting on and off the lake.
Snowmobile trails are really nice right now, and should get a refresh of snow Tuesday.
Good luck!