Ice & Fishing Report 12/13/22

Snow , Snow, Go Away, Come again another Day!

So far the 2022/2023 Ice fishing season has been EXACTLY what we always hope for! We are finding 6" to 13"+ of good, black ice on almost all area lakes. We have got a few inches of snow in the last 2 weeks, but transportation on the lakes right now is awesome, with just enough snow to bank up your angling house. We are just starting to see a good amount of ATVs and small vehicles on the lake, and saw many small to mid size permanent shacks go out onto the lakes over the weekend. The ice right now is AWESOME, but weather reports are calling for the possibility of a large snow storm over the next couple days. Let's pray we don't get much snow out of this system. We can afford a good storm, but we DO NOT need a storm to dump 12"+ inches on us. If we don't get much snow this week, we will be sitting really good for the Christmas season for ice fishing!

The bite has been very good for walleyes as of late, with anglers doing very well on Big Pine, Little Pine, Rush, Ottertail, and other area lakes. The best bite has been in the morning and evening low light conditions in 16-22 FOW. A mix of jigging a spoon or darting lure has worked well, as well as set lines with either a plain hook or demon type lure tipped with a sucker or shiner. Shoreline breaks and Mid Lake humps have been the best locations, and it is always best to put out a few tip ups if you can in different depths to see what depths the fish are biting in that day.

The majority of anglers right now are targeting walleyes, but we are hearing good reports on panfish. Big Pine, Rush, Star, Marion, and other area lakes are kicking out blue gill and crappie. Shallow weed flats with green cabbage weed are proving to be the best location for blue gills, while the deep water basins have been the favored spot for those looking to catch some crappie. Small Jigs tipped with waxies, plastic or a crappie minnow have been the ticket.

Alot will depend on the upcoming snow storm , so lets hope we don't get to much snow! As of now, however, the ice and fishing has been great! I will try to keep everybody posted on how much snow we get over the next couple days! We look forward to another great week of fishing!

Happy Fishing Everybody! And as always while on the ice, STAY SAFE!