Lately it’s felt more like late spring ice fishing than early winter. Temperatures have been on the warmer side as we climb into mid-December. The warm weather — into the mid-40s on Wednesday — caused somewhat of a stall on building ice conditions. In some cases it has even taken steps back in ice progress. The lower St. Louis River, once covered in some ice, has again blown wide open on most sections, and the same goes for many big body lakes.
Many shorelines have softened up, making access from land to ice challenging on some waters. It looks like we will be dipping into more average seasonal temperatures this weekend which will help build up some ice. The good news is we still have not had any type of precipitation to mess things up on our early base of ice.
The only fishable ice we are finding are still in the walking stage, so no need to drag machines out quite yet. And don't forget to practice all ice safety protocols! Here is our weekly fishing report:
Lake Superior has welcomed back a few anglers taking to the North Shore in search of salmon. We've even caught wind of a few diehard boat anglers testing their luck. The very few guys that are getting out are finding success. Slow trolling near shore is turning a few fish as well as long-rod casting. Good areas to target are anywhere from Duluth to Two Harbors. If you are ambitious enough to take the boat back out, better make dang sure everything is in good working order. As far as any Lake Superior ice opportunities, we are still on standby.
We have not heard of anyone testing the walleye areas of the St. Louis River yet for obvious reasons. However, some anglers have been taking to shallow, back-bay sloughs in search of panfish. Thus far the bite has been so-so, but in the coming weeks things should pick up. Best tactic now is to pack very light and stay in one spot. If you bounce around, you’re really only spooking fish and pushing them away. Presentations should consist of small forage minnows tipped with soft Maki plastics or wax worms. Also, it's a good idea to have a small crappie minnow suspended.
Inland lakes have been the most-visited waters by anglers. Again, walking is the best and safest bet. We are not ready for machine travel yet as we found out with two unfortunate individuals on Fish Lake north of Duluth the other day when their ATVs dropped through the ice. Thank goodness no one was hurt.
We are continuing to plant nice spreads of set-lines and jigging holes in shallow, ice locked, productive areas. Most of the fish we are getting have been on the smaller side, but once in a while we do flirt with bigger fish. For the tip-ups, we have been setting up 20-pound nylon to a 10-pound monofilament with nothing more than a split shot, bright colored bead, hook and walleye sucker minnow. No matter what depths you are targeting (we have been in waters as shallow as 3 feet) it’s important to place live bait suspended in the bottom half of your water column. The set-lines have been taking some pike, bass and the occasional walleye. Jig sticks have been busy as well with small tungsten/plastics combos for gills, crappies and perch. Or, for walleyes, try small buck-shot rattling spoons tipped with a minnow head.
Let's all cross our fingers for some cold weather! Be safe, courteous and have fun!
Jarrid Houston of South Range is a fishing guide (houstonsguideservice.com) on Minnesota and Wisconsin inland waters, the St. Louis River and, in winter, on Lake Superior.
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December 11, 2020 at 07:00AM
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Jarrid Houston column: Fish are biting, but warm days have hurt ice production - Duluth News Tribune
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