fox chain of lakes area ice fishing report

Given the bluebird skies and late winter ice, I thought that conditions weren't the best and we were prepared for sluggish fish. Within the first set of holes we drilled we found that the bite was anything but lethargic. These guys were spunky enough that they were hammering spoons dangled 4 feet above their heads. Not a bad start and we had a few gills and a crappie on the ice before even setting the tip downs.

The tip downs produced some very nice perch and these guys were as big as we have ever seen them in here. A few of them hit on the drop before the minnow ever reached the bottom. A good reminder to actually work your minnow as it descends instead of just letting it free fall.

a nice in-land perch

We had one of the best days panfishing yet. Fish came in packs and for a steady 2 or so minutes, you couldn't get the baits down the hole quick enough. But, as fast as they came was as fast as they were gone. That went on and off every 15 minutes or so for a solid 2 hours and gave us enough opportunity to sort out a solid bag of keepers. 

the truck bed of death

Oh, yeah and one consolation bass...

the lone bass of the day

Given the forecast for the next ten days and the solid cap of ice over 10 inches thick, I think we have a couple more weeks of ice trips to go. I'm not so sure how long before I get back out on the rivers but I'm getting that itch, so it may be sooner then later. We will see...