Late ice out/opener/spawn etc

[younggun]

Assuming the ice goes out for opener on the lake you fish. What, if any, changes will you make compared to an average April ice out? I haven't really heard anyone discussing this and I'm curious. If the ice goes out the day before you fish, do you still target a shallow reef near spawning areas??

[TCon17]

I will check the water temp to get a gauge of where they may at in the spawn cycle, and knowing that there is a big cold front coming through Saturday, I will likely be looking for some close staging areas to the spawning areas. If it isn't deep water where I find them, a lindy rig with a big minnow. If it is in deeper water, then likely vertical jigging with a minnow. By Monday hopefully they will be moved back in to the shallows.

[younggun]

Yea I'm planning on fishing reefs near spawning spots. Starting shallow and moving deeper until I find them. Big minnows on jigs and then casting or trolling cranks after dark depending on how deep they are. Should be interesting.

[Musky Buck]

I plan to lol not go on opening day. 48 and strong winds, sounds like a good day to avoid each and every headache that may come with those conditions lol. If I do go a boat won't be needed, fishing a river in a dense woods sounds great and the eyes should be in there with the suckers, redhorse, and carp, where the creek meets the river, the hole, should be loaded, bites could be few though, but to not deal with any people/landings/my boat etc.,weather really, win win for opener. NW with gusts to 40mph doesn't sound too good. A lawnchair, nightcrawlers, cooler, out of the wind, I can live with that.

[tunrevir]

No doubt it is going to be a tough opener due to the weather and approaching cold front. My game plan would to be fish shallow near rock or gravel flats with live bait and move very slowly. If there is an inlet on the lake with current I'd focus in that area and nearby gravel or rocks. I'd start shallow and work deeper until I contact fish. Deep water areas or hard breaks adjacent to shallow rocky shoals may rule the day.

Tunrevir~

[walleye18]

the fish in the brainerd area will be at spawn...I saw about 200 walleyes below the small dam on Ossie the other day.

Casting jig and minnow shallow on known spots the wallys are on will get you bit. Note that on clear lakes, the fish tend to drop down or become less active during the day time.

Long lining rigs will get you bit too.... in areas where the fish are at during the spawn.

[TroutYammer]

I wait until they are done spawning to chase the species. Hopefully most of the anglers going out during pre-spawn and spawn are practicing catch and release. Epscially with the big girls.

[Vitreus]

For you guys that went out today, what kind of water temps were you seeing?

[tolle141]

For you guys that went out today, what kind of water temps were you seeing?

West metro I saw 44 main lake, 52 in the warm back bay areas

[younggun]

39 degrees. Just north of Mille lacs.

[IceHawk]

Horseshoe chain Richmond mn 53 degrees

[Mike Stark]

Ely area lakes are 36-38 with ice still on most of the lakes.

[gwiff100]

typically what does the different water temps indicate as far as where fish will be located? obviously mid summer when the temps get really high you have to find some deeper cooler water... but what about this time of year when you can see temps range from 40 - 50 degrees?

[Musky Buck]

Opener was best maybe ever in our boat, went into it with no hope, had a monster walleye fry for Mother's Day, many I talked to didn't go because of the weather/spring, well they should've maybe. None of them had eggs when we cleaned them then again maybe all males, we never caught one over 20" and none under 17. And never caught anything else, no pike, no nothing etc. There were people with limits, took about 2 hours to get 6. Then again casting a rapala I wasn't likely to catch any of the suckers that were sweeping through with the walleyes. The walleyes were hitting it like pike and thought for sure bite # 1 of the day was, but wrong thankfully !

[oleWalter]

For those of you that got into them, what depths were you targeting and finding the most fish? I am down in SE MN and I typically only fish the river but I found a lake with decent #'s reported by the DNR and would like to check it out.

Appreciate and welcome any information provided.

[Vitreus]

typically what does the different water temps indicate as far as where fish will be located? obviously mid summer when the temps get really high you have to find some deeper cooler water... but what about this time of year when you can see temps range from 40 - 50 degrees?

There has been a lot of research done on walleye spawning behavior. In general, the range at which walleyes spawn tends to be 40-45 degrees F, but this can vary from region to region, year to year. It is necessary to become familiar with a body of water over time to figure out the patterns in that ecosystem. So, unfortunately, there is no magic formula for knowing exactly where the fish are. There are a lot of good articles out there about patterning fish during this time of the year though. Here's one:

http://www.in-fisherman.com/2011/06/02/understanding-spring-walleye-migrations/