Fishing On January Ice Gets Tricky With Cold Conditions

The recent extreme cold weather in the last week made a lot of ice in Central Minnesota.  Glen Schmitt from Outdoor News joined me on WJON.  He says we were at 10-12 inches of ice on most Central Minnesota lakes last week and are now in the 15-20 inches of ice range.

Activity to Increase

Schmitt cautions that no ice is 100% safe but ice depths have increased significantly.   He says big vehicles and large wheel houses are appearing on area lakes in large amounts recently.  Schmitt expects activity on area lakes to really pick up when temperatures move back up into the teens and 20s as early as this weekend.

January Can Be Slow

Schmitt says the bite in January is typically challenging on area lakes and that is the case again this year.  He says fish are less aggressive by nature this time of year with shorter feeding windows.  Schmitt says when the weather is extremely warm in August or extremely cold in January, fish just aren't as active.

Presentation

In regards to presentation... Schmitt suggests downsizing into smaller jigs, smaller spoons, and smaller minnows.  He says lower light periods are the best time to catch fish.  Schmitt suggests looking for suspended fish because panfish and northern pike that are suspended are likely interested in feeding.  He says it doesn't matter the water depth so much.  Schmitt is focusing on panfish right now unless he's on a known walleye lake.

Bait

Bait could be a bit more challenging to find.  Schmitt says minnow supplies tend to run out around this time of year.  He says rainbow and fat head minnows are more likely to be available than others.  Schmitt indicates sucker minnows and golden shiner minnows are harder to find.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Glen Schmitt, click below.