Late Ice Panfish!

[Corey Bechtold]

I just thought I'd start a thread about what to look for when it comes to late Ice Crappies/Sunfish.

Some of the things I like to look for are areas that have moving water or spots where runoff can enter the water. This typically brings oxygen and food to these areas. When the Ice starts to thaw there are a lot of insects that start to hatch. Crappies and Sunfish will roam right under the Ice picking off these larvae insects while we can start to see the Ice flies starting to swarm above.

There is a lot that has been said about how fish move during late Ice and one of the most important has been that fish move more laterally than vertically. These fish know that spring is coming along with the spawn so they are feeding heavily and searching out areas for the upcoming spawn.

Weeds also become a factor. Weeds that were brown and dying start to come to life and green up and stand tall providing security for fish as well as more oxygen. Tiny micro-organizms also hang in these areas providing even more food for these fish.

These are a few of the things I look for during late Ice, along with catching these fish!

Get ready for what I think is one of the best times of the year to ice fish. Remember the suntan lotion along with the planks. Be safe and have fun!

Anybody else have some tips or suggestions for the late Ice season?

Good Luck,

Corey Bechtold

[decoy]

In my experience, this is when the late night bite starts in shallow water.

Huge sunnies and crappies biting late into the night hours. I've had some incredible outings, fishing shallow water late into the evening.

I recall the best time to move in on this shallow/late bite is always heralded by the returning of canadian geese... interestingly enough.

decoy

[Corey Bechtold]

Very True decoy! One thing I forgot to mention is that we should be careful and try and release those larger Bluegills. They are fun to catch but we need them in the system to insure future Bulls will be in the lakes. Crappie Tom, the Matt's and myself have talked about how important these big Gills are for our lakes. It is very hard to bring back the Bulls after they are taken from a system. I try and take the smaller fish (7"-8") and release the bigger ones so the genetics are still in the lake to produce future Bull Gills. Just another note.

Corey Bechtold

[Matt Breuer]

Very good point Corey! Late ice those bulls become easier to catch, so make sure you toss 'em back! Late ice is defnitely my favorite tome of year!!!

Here's a short take on late ice. http://fishingmn.com/fishinfo279.html

[TheGuy]

When talking about late ice fishing, when is that? For lakes south of the metro are we talking Early March? What about the metro? How about the Brainerd area and Northern MN? Are you saying that the last ice is when the ice has started to break up at the shore line? Is some warmer days in March when the little streams start flowing into the lake a good area and time?

Thanks for all the information on this. I'm thinking this late ice fishing may only be for two weeks or so.

[Corey Bechtold]

Late Ice is generally after the shanty's have to be removed from the lakes, when shorelines start to open up, when you can abandon your heavy snowmobile suit and wear only a sweatshirt. This winter has been strange with the weather but from now till open water is what I like to call "Late Ice".

Corey Bechtold

[huntingmaxima]

OK all you experts. I have a question for you guys. How do you tell a male from a female bluegill? This is not a quiz, I just want to know, for catch and release purposes. Thanks in advance.

[CrappieJohn]

Corey is our "in house" sex determinator. Saturday at Minnetonka he had a fish pole in one hand and his "how to sex a fish" manual in the other. It didn't work very well though. Every time he though he had the right sex for the right animal he found out the wind had blown the pages over. The guy was frantic.

Actually color intensity is one way. The females tend to be less dramatic in the color department. Another is body size and shape. Males will be substatially larger when they reach that "bull" stage, but perhaps the most obvious is the pronounced brow on the big males.

[Matt Johnson]

LOL

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Matt Breuer]

Crappie Tom is right, the "brow" or "hump" just above the nose is a surefire way to tell a bull male. Brighter more pronounced color and patterning in males too.

The bellies of larger females tend to be golf balled as well due to the ovaries.

[CrappieJohn]

Something to note here that has been mentioned by Matt Bruer in a different thread is that we do not want to keep those huge males. If catch and release is the goal 100% of the time, there will be no problem. It's when decision time comes during a session of selective harvest that we can make a world of difference in any water system. Those broad- shouldered, square-nosed bulls are the ones that need to be returned. Period. They are the genetic strength of the future. So many people see those females with the golf-ball guts ( good analogy Matt!) under them and toss them back. If I were going to keep a few of these for a meal, I'd be keeping these instead of the bulls, unless a particular female has an unusually long body as well as the big gut. Again were would be looking at superior geneology in this senario and she should be returned as well. What happens is thebig males get the best of everything...females, spawning sites, food. When they are removed from a spot, there are a dozen smaller males waiting in line for that position. These are likely to have soft genetics and will probably not grow to be as large as the original occupant of this spot, regardless of the amount of food. To replace that big boy, we have to wait years to see it happen. Keep those fat females, their reproductive energy is by far greater than that of the males especially when we consider the genes.

[Corey Bechtold]

Here is some more info I found about Bluegills...

Male bluegill exhibit two mutually exclusive alternative reproductive strategies. In the first strategy (parental care), males delay maturation, build nests in colonies, court and spawn with females, and show parental care. In the second strategy (cuckoldry), males mature at a much younger age and smaller size and "steal" fertilizations from spawning parental males by sneaking into their nests or by mimicking females.

If large bluegill males are present, smaller males will delay maturation and continue growing until they are large enough to compete for those central nests. But if large bluegill males are removed from a lake's population, the smaller fish will choose to mature at an earlier age - and while they are smaller - therefore reducing the overall average size of the bluegills in the lake.

Corey Bechtold

[CrappieJohn]

Great info Corey!

[Matt Breuer]

Yep, they call those smaller males "sneakers". They sneak into the nest, and essentially waste their sperm. It's actually somewhat of a transvestite situation.

[huntingmaxima]

Thanks to all you guys for yoour help. Oh ya, I would like to extend a special thanks to Matt, I just found out that when I was in high school I might have been a "sneaker".I am 52, and all along I thought that a sneaker was something I put on my foot.

[Corey Bechtold]

Too funny huntingmaxima. I was reading in another link from Crappie Tom and he had a great post about late Ice Crappies and how they can be right under the Ice.

Crappie Tom wrote:

"I mean RIGHT under the ice. Last year I was on open ice(no shelter) and saw something at the bottom of the hole that looked familiar, but out of place, so I yanked the jacket up to make a hood and took a "covered" peek down the hole and crappies were coming along popping the underside of the ice They looked as though they were standing on their tails! And the dorsals were fully up. They were actively feeding off the underside of the ice. This event took place about the second week in Feb. Before the winter fishing was done I noticed this activity two more times.

To fish crappies effectively, you need to understand that they will, at times, be found at places within the water column that we seldom look for them....like right under the ice. At this time of year we will see the fish begin to show how much the drive for food controls what and where these fish are found. Right under the ice is one place that few anglers look for the fish. It does require that you are quiet. And dark skies are almost a must. A shelter would be primetime for veiwing assistance. Sooner or later you will find them right at your feet. Remember, they do feed off the surface during open water. The ice just stops them from being visible in that respect."

That was awesome Tom! During Late Ice we see a lot of changes in fish activity. One of the reasons these Crappies and Bluegills will rub their backs on the Ice is that there are tiny Ice flies right under the Ice. When the Ice starts to honeycomb, shorelines open up, and temperatures warm, these Ice flies start to get active and this brings in the fish. I have seen swarms of these tiny flies when I've been out on the Ice. I've also seen the midges starting to come out of the Ice before they take off. Keep this in mind when your scouting for Late Ice Crappies and Sunfish.

Good Luck,

Corey Bechtold

[Corey Bechtold]

This Wednesday I finally get to take a vacation. The bad thing is that I might miss out on the start of the late Ice fishing. I hope you all get on the fish and I look forward to hitting them when I get back.

Take Care,

Corey Bechtold