Catch The Late Season Panfish Bite
Longer days and warmer sunshine mean one thing on the ice—late-season panfish! Armed with the right Lindy lures and strategies, the hardwater crowd can enjoy some of winter’s finest fishing from now through ice-out.
Lindy legendary iceman Dave Genz, father of the modern ice fishing revolution, considers true “late ice” the period after meltwater begins flowing into the lake through holes augered in the ice. “Once that happens, the ice actually floats upward, tearing vegetation from the bottom in shallow water,” he says. Coupled with oxygen from incoming tributaries and the emergence of new weedgrowth, the upheaval breathes life into the shallows.
Genz looks to bays on the north side of lakes, where the late-winter sun burns hottest. Bluegills and crappies venture into these areas to feed. At the start of the late-ice period, deep weedlines can be hotspots. But as ice-out nears, panfish may venture into extremely shallow water. Through it all, seek out areas that hold lush vegetation in the summer, and avoid barren sand flats that offer little in the way of aquatic life.
Where winter lingers longer, late-ice is still weeks if not a month away. In such scenarios, going deep is key to consistent catches now. Lindy’s Dan Johnson recalls a March-into-April sojourn on mighty Lake of the Woods last winter. “Crappies were still in deep, offshore basins and midwinter tactics applied. The shallow pike bite was hot, but the panfish weren’t in yet,” he says. “All the action was in deep water. But the funny thing was, back home in central Minnesota, when ice-out was only a week or so away, I caught crappies in 20 feet of water on a midlake basin there, too. As long as food and environmental conditions are right, never overlook the deep bite late.”
Lindy’s lineup of ice lures shines bright at late-ice. Genz is never without a Lindy Fat Boy tied on at least one rod. Other horizontal hangers like Lindy Genz Worms and Genz Bugs also work wonders, adorned with soft plastics, waxworms or spikes. Johnson fishes these as well, but favors the flash and noise of a Rattl’n Flyer Spoon. “Sometimes you need a horizontal presentation, but more often than not I can catch more fish, fast, with a spoon,” he says.
“It goes without saying that safety is a huge concern at late ice,” Johnson adds. “Rotten, honeycombed ice supports a lot less weight than clear ice. Always play it safe, because no fish is worth your life. And after all, they’ll keep until open water.”