Trust Your Depth Finder For More Ice Fishing Success by Bob Jensen The pond froze over early this year, at least two weeks early and in most years it would still be a month before ice comes to the small body of water that I see most days. Although the ice isn’t safe yet, if the weather stays like it has been the past few days, we’ll be walking on the ice within a week. This time of year, safety is the Number One consideration. There’s no need to take an icy bath just because you want to catch a few fish through the ice. There are a few things to keep in mind throughout the ice-fishing season that will help you catch more fish from under the ice from now until ice-out. The most important thing to do for ice-fi …

There are plenty of good first ice destinations but these are my personal pics and they’re some dandies. From big walleyes to giant pike to eye poppin perch you can take your pick and it really is all good. Sure they all probably require some extra drive time but they are all about as close to a lead pipe cinch as you can get.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Lake Erie is resilient, bouncing back from some mediocre spawning seasons over the last decade to produce a 2014 hatch that should boost yellow perch and walleye populations for future fishing season …

Great late ice options should definitely include some bluegills. By late winter you can expect ‘gills to stay active and actually turn it up a notch and is when you can do plenty of catching. Some of their positive attitude can be attributed to diminishing snow cover and increasing light penetration which pumps up the oxygen levels. It’s a good situation for anglers who want to get in some serious pole bending before it all comes to a screeching halt.

Access is the key and by now you should be able get just about anywhere you want to go. If that’s the case the next question is; where do you really want to go? Deciding on a starting spot can be a bit of a head scratcher especially on bigger water like Red, Winnibigoshish, or Lake of the Woods.

Good ice came early last season, earlier than it has in recent memory and was welcome news for those chomping at the bit to get it all started. In some of the northernmost parts of the country; anglers were even out on the shallower lakes before Thanksgiving, and it’s been years since that has happened. The attraction to the early season is action and lots of it, especially when it comes to walleyes. They typically start out gangbusters and slow down steadily as the season progresses and some of the most exciting bites come early in the season.