As we head into Thanksgiving, the rhythm of late fall continues to define conditions. Over the past week, fishing felt very “winter-waiting-room”: silent woods, low sun, and lake water cooling into the upper 30’s especially on cold mornings. The cold has brought skim ice on smaller and medium sized lakes and the clear water and settled structure made for very deliberate fishing for those going out. Truthfully, right now 98% of those who want to be outside are either hunting or waiting for ice. In light of that, let’s talk about early-season ice fishing.

The first ice of the season provides good enough fishing for walleye and panfish anglers to be worth the risk for many. As always, use extreme caution as the first rule for a good day out on the early hard water. That means fishing with a buddy – which makes the outings more fun, anyhow.  We expect to see some ice by the end of the weekend and in the shop, our first load of shiners will arrive Friday. Hopefully this first “real” snow isn’t too much of a factor going further into the season– and it shouldn’t be, as long as we get some good, cold winter weather during the next week, as is predicted.

Annually, we see some nice walleye caught by the folks who go out early in the season. In turn, there’s also some nice perch since they tend to mix with the walleye. Anglers are setting tip-ups usually on the deeper sides of the weed beds (if they’re accessible) so as to not scare the fish as they come in.  This is a good setup to try to intercept the walleye as they move towards the weeds to feed. Medium shiners are the bait of choice most of the time, but walleye suckers are a close second. Then, later in the evenings they will move shallower into the weeds for these same feeding fish.

We mentioned perch above – these fish can provide good fishing in those same areas right off the bat, also. They can drive walleye anglers nuts by hitting their shiners under the tip-ups. They’ll carry the shiners off a little and then drop them. As a general rule, you can perch fish in these same areas with waxies on jigging rods. Some of these perch are good sized.

The first ice of the season always means anglers need to be patient and careful.  Quiet and little movement is the name of the game. Get to your spot, get set up and sit.

All told, this week feels like a sweet spot. It’s not quite full winter, but the patterns are locking in. Enjoy the quiet and the cold, crisp air, have a happy Thanksgiving and if you’re planning to hit the ice as early as possible this season BE CAREFUL out there!

Good luck and good fishin’ – and huntin’ and eatin’, too!