Anglers who fish through the ice know that early ice is probably the best time to take numbers of walleyes as well as some pretty nice ones.  The period of first ice is either here or near throughout the Midwest.  Although I have never felt a strong desire to be the first one out on new ice, it is always nice to be one of the first anglers to drop a bait to the walleyes that wait below.  As soon as you are sure the ice is safe, try to be on it to get in on some fast early-ice walleye action.  Here’s how.

 There are several guidelines for determining if the ice is safe.  My guideline is if there are other people out there, it is probably safe.  I don’t want to crowd too close to the anglers already on the ice, but I don’t want to get too far away from them either.  Courtesy and safety are two prime considerations on early ice.   When the ice is thin, the fish can be pretty spooky, so we don’t want to move too close to anglers already fishing.  However, we don’t want to be too far away either, just in case.

 Travel light on early ice.  All I usually take is a Lazer hand auger, a Sit-N-Fish bucket, a few jigging spoons, minnows, and a spinning rod.  The minnows go in the Sit-N-Fish, as do the spoons.  With this minimal amount of equipment I can travel light and quickly.
 I prefer the Lazer hand auger this time of year.  It will pop through a few inches of ice quickly and quietly, and is very lightweight.  When you might be walking quite a distance to your fishing spot, the lightweight feature is a bonus.

 I prefer to start the season out on some of the better-known spots and save some of the less-known, “secret spots” for later in the year.  Points and sunken islands can be producers early in the year.

 I like to use jigging spoons all ice season, but especially like them early in the year.  The new Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon has been a killer.  The perch color has been really good, but experiment with colors.  Tip the spoon with a minnow head.  10/4 FireLine is great with spoons.  Try different jigging actions until the best one is determined.
 Give a spot enough time to prove its worth.  Sometimes we have a tendency to move around on the ice quite a bit, but early in the year, it often pays to work a spot a little harder.

 The best times are usually that period just before and just after sundown.  Although the weather can still be warm, I like to fish in my Carhartt Extreme bibs.  You don’t need the warmth as much as you need the water shedding feature of the Extremes.  When you kneel on the ice while landing a fish you will appreciate not getting your knees and lower legs all wet.

Be careful, but take advantage of this early ice bite for walleyes.  It could be the best walleye action of the season. 

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