Good walleye, panfish action; use caution on ice

We had a great week of fishing from Christmas to the New Year. Those warm temperatures early on made it easy to decide to go out — and the fishing was good! We lost an inch or two off some lakes, but now this cold is just building us more ice. We’re seeing from 10 to 14” throughout the area now. This is another year where you should check the ice you’re on often — especially if you’re not familiar with the lake. Vehicles? We’re seeing them everywhere, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe or smart. Check the ice at your location and be safe, people!
Walleye action has been good throughout the area. We saw things start this year rather shallow but then move deep, and it seems those deep weed edges are the key now. Tip-ups set with suckers or shiners at the weed edges work great. Late afternoon and evening are the best times as you’re intercepting the fish moving back and forth for feeding. Evening/night is definitely the best time for walleye right now.
Northern fishing has been great, and the fun thing about these guys is they’re hitting in the middle of the day. Use tip-ups set with large shiners near or over the weeds, and fish for these guys while you’re waiting for the walleye bite to start. The deeper the weeds, and the bigger the bait, the better.
Panfish action has been good, with bluegill and crappie hitting well. Look for these guys suspended in the deep water now — try the holes on any body of water and look in the 10’-12’ plus range.
Vertical jigs set with waxies or tip-downs, set with minnows or Rosie Reds, are working great. Perch are hitting pretty well near the bottom over muddy areas — so again, look deep.
While we’d love to see some big snow now that we’ve got solid ice, we’ll just have to be grateful for the winter we have. At least we have ice. It looks like the coming week is pretty perfect for fishing — and at least there’s no slush! It’s fantastic to see the ice castle being built again in Eagle River this year. Realistically, it’s still early in the season — so bring on the SNOW. We’d love to get some snowmobiling, skiing and snowshoeing in yet this year, too!
Good luck and good fishin’!