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Early Ice Walleye
by Mark Hutchinson

Early ice walleye fishing can be some of the best of the season since the peak activity of the fish seems to be at this time with the fishing action getting slower as the winter moves on. This isn’t to say that there aren’t plenty of good fishing to be had later in the winter, just that the most intense bite seems to be with first ice!

The first thing you need to do after making sure that the ice is safe to be on, is to find the fish! Easier said that done, right? Well, what I like to do is to start fishing in the same places that the “soft” water anglers left off. If you can find out, or know, where the late season anglers were nailing fish, then you have a great starting point! If you aren’t sure, some good places are hard bottom areas such as reefs, breaks, rock bars, etc. If there is a quick transition into deep water here, then you should be into some fish.

Don’t forget to try what’s left of the weedline as well. The last bit of greenery can definitely attract some walleye and gives you a good place to start looking. All things being equal, a weedline that breaks into deep water would be preferred. An even better scenario would include a little rock or gravel, interspersed amongst the deep weed edge, with a drop into deeper water.

The best time to fish these spots, as previously mentioned, is as soon as you can safely get to them. While it’s been stated that you can walk on two inches of ice, three or four is better, especially if you are going with some friends. Lakes don’t freeze at the same rate on the entire lake, so you can be on two or three inches here, but on something much less over there. As ice is developing, heavy winds can break it up, and leave some areas open, or with nothing more than a thin layer of ice. It’s this thin layer that can really get you into trouble, and you won’t know without constant testing. If your on good ice and intend to make a move, you better keep checking thickness by punching it with an ice chisel.

Once your on the ice, and you’ve found a good looking spot, it’s time to get fishing! One of the quickest ways I’ve found to land a bunch of early season walleyes, is jigging a spoon, tipped with a minnow, or piece of a minnow. While set lines, fixed with a plain hook and minnow, suspended below a float, do produce, you can usually do much better by aggressively jigging a spoon. Some of the new jigging spoons, have a built in rattle. If you haven’t tried rattles, you really should check them out. I’ve found from experience that they can help on a slow day, so it wouldn’t hurt to have a few in the tackle box!

I’ve found that aggressive techniques usually work best on early ice walleye, and they may even turn their noses up at more subtle presentations. As mentioned earlier, their activity levels are never higher than right now, and a hard snapping spoon may be the only way to get their attention. Smaller spoons, in the 1/4 to 1/2oz. range, tipped with half of a larger fathead, or all of a smaller minnow, are a great way to get started.

 While jigging an area, don’t be afraid to work the bait up several feet off the bottom. We’ve seen walleyes riding up high, especially when they get active. Start at the bottom, and work the jig for several minutes. If you have no luck, crank it up a couple of turns on the reel, and start the process all over again

Although first ice can make for some great fishing, don’t feel bad if the first time out is a little rough. It can take a little time to find the sweet spots where the active fish are. Be safe, have fun, and you’ll do just fine!