Tips for a good day on the ice ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY JEFF GUSTAFSON
The great thing about the Lake of the Woods region is that we have so many options for year-round fishing. Not only do we have the big lake, but there are also countless smaller waterbodies that offer excellent fishing for a variety of species. In addition to the plentiful walleye, we have lake trout, crappie, whitefish, perch, pike and burbot all readily available. Knowing some general rules to follow for your target species helps to put the odds in your favour. Knowing that pike and walleye spawn in shallow areas soon after the ice goes out, we should be looking close to these areas late in the ice season. Crappies group up in the deep basins of the lakes and bays that they live in and can be found much more efficiently in the boat late in the fall than by drilling holes in the ice. Whitefish are more active throughout the ice season than they are the rest of the year. An assortment of spoons can be used for walleye and perch.
Once you have an understanding for where to fish and are confident that you are showing your bait to a few of them, you can then start to tinker with different baits and colours. I typically keep it simple, using a ¼ Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon for perch and walleye, a minnow imitating soft plastic jerk shad on a 3/8 oz jig for lake trout, a smaller spoon tipped with some small, scented plastic pieces for crappie and perch, while a quick-strike
rig with a dead cisco rigged beneath a tip-up gets the call for pike. With the excellent mapping available now for many of our lakes, the electronics that we have and the ability to be mobile on the ice have made it easier to find and catch fish.
Keep it simple for walleye Walleye are by far to most popular species that anglers target in the winter on Lake of the Woods. The season for walleye is wide open all winter until April 15 so we can start fishing for them as soon as the ice forms. To keep it simple, I like to focus on main lake humps and points where fish will hang out in small groups. The best spots have flats on them in the 28 to 35 foot range, where the majority of walleyes are found throughout the winter. The humps and points that have these The Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon is a favourite flats in the ideal depth are walleye winter bait. always better spots than the structure that is a lot steeper or vertical. It's good to fish near a drop off or ledge, but not right on the ledge. As we get closer to the end of the winter season, I'll start to fish closer to the shallow bays where walleyes will spawn shortly after ice out. I use one bait primarily all winter, a 1/4 oz Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon tipped with a minnow head.
Title photo: There’s nothing like the thrill of pulling up a lake trout.
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Living Lake of the Woods Area News Winter 2021
