By Bob Jensen

This year I’m looking forward to the open water fishing season earlier than ordinary. This year has been very weird for ice-fishing. After a great start to the ice-fishing season, we now have about half the ice that we should have at this time of year. In many areas, travel on the ice has been limited to walking, which means a lot of the best areas have been left untouched. That might be good for fish populations, but it does nothing for those of us who want to catch some fish. Maybe that’s why I’m looking forward to the open water season more than usual. Anyway, following are some things that I look forward to doing more of this year when the water is soft again.

I always look forward to chasing bass, both largemouth and smallmouth. They’re great fighters, they’re abundant throughout the Midwest, and, in many situations, they’re very easy to catch. I like fish like that.

A technique that has been rising on my list the past couple of years employs a Gulp! Sinking Minnow and a Jungle Jig-Loc. The Jungle Jig-Loc is made by Northland Tackle and is a weight, hook, and piece of cork-screw wire all molded together to allow an angler to present a plastic or plastic-type bait to bass in cover. It’s been a killer when the fish are a foot deep or fifteen feet deep. The Gulp! Sinking Minnow is preferred in cover because its shape allows it to slide through cover better.

I’m also looking forward to using my sonar more to find fish faster. The Humminbird sonar units that I run allow Navionics maps to be used with the sonar, which is a huge help. It’s like having a topographical map that shows all the structures on the lake in your sonar, then shows where you are in relation to those structures. Instead of driving all over an area looking for a particular piece of structure, you can drive right to it. This leaves more time for fishing, less for looking. That will result in more catching.

I’m looking forward to being on the water more when the sun comes up. When I was younger, seeing the sun rise was no thrill. Now I realize that being on the water when a new day starts is a pretty neat deal. The fish seem to think so too, as some of the best action occurs shortly after the sun rises.

I look forward to spending time on the water on warm spring afternoons, windy summer afternoons, and again on warm fall afternoons. The fish usually bite best on those types of days.

And I’m also looking forward to a few more days on the ice sometime soon. This weather has to get more normal you would think, which will allow us to get to those areas where we just know the fish will be willing to bite.

Most of all, I look forward to spending time on the water or the ice with family or friends. If you’re enjoying the people you’re with, it doesn’t matter if the fish are biting really good. But it sure is a lot more fun if the fish are biting.

For more fish-catching information, visit fishingthemidwest.com