It’s Just About Winter!
By Mike Frisch

Okay, I’ll be honest maybe my excitement in writing the title to this story is a bit much. I must admit that I’m not a big fan of winter and the accompanying snow and cold. However, if winter has a bright spot, it has to be those first couple of weeks when the ice first forms on lakes. That’s because that time period usually brings some of the year’s hottest walleye fishing action.

Iced walleye

Finding early ice walleye fishing action for me usually starts along shoreline drop-offs. Specifically, areas where big flats come out from shore before eventually dropping into deeper water become key targets. Finding places where weeds are still green or where the drop-off bends in or out usually make a spot even better.

Not only will these spots often produce good fishing, but they can be spots that will often produce year after year during early ice. In fact, even though we outdoor writers often warn against “fishing memories”, this is one time of year when I rely heavily on experience from previous years when searching for fishing action.

Another thing to keep in mind when searching is that early ice walleyes can often be caught in places where you caught them during the year’s other seasons. For example, one of my favorite early ice spots is a spot where I’ve also had some very good fishing action from a boat during both spring and fall.

Finding early season fish is a key to good fishing action. Once found, early ice ‘eyes can be relatively easy to catch. Swimming baits, jigs, and plain-hook bobber rigs will all produce first-ice walleyes. My favorite presentation, however, is a jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head.

Various jigging spoons work, but since it was introduced a few years ago, the Buck-Shot Rattle spoon has become my favorite. Tipping this spoon with a minnow head and fishing it with short, erratic jigging motions really seems to attract the walleyes. Sometimes they come right in and really “smoke” the bait. At other times, I see less aggressive fish that can be triggered by a simple pause in the jigging motion.

Though early ice walleyes can be easy to catch using this approach, they still require a stealthy approach as relatively thin and snow-free ice can make the fish spooky. A quiet and mobile approach is often necessary under these conditions. For me getting to a fishing spot early and quickly popping holes with a sharp auger is one key. Having my gear organized in a lightweight sled that also doubles as a fishing shelter is another.

I use a Jiffy ice auger to quickly pop holes and I haul gear from spot to spot in a Ranger Solo shack which also provides protection from winters cold and wind.

Yes, early winter can mean cold and wind. However, it can also mean hot fishing. In fact, anglers who head to the lakes during the first ice period can get in on some of the year’s best walleye fishing action. Good luck on the ice!