In my region it happens somewhere around late March or early April; the ice starts to pull away from main lake shorelines. When it happens streams, creeks and culverts start to run hard with melting snow or rain. Finally, it’s time to chase ice-out panfish. At this time of year you don’t even need a boat; in fact fishing from shore may be more productive. Now is the time to be mobile and willing to jump from lake to lake, culvert to culvert or backwater to backwater. You need a full tank of gas and a willingness to check as many fishing locations as possible. You also need to keep it simple, no live bait, no stringers, no arsenal of rods or multiple boxes of lures. The simpler and less cluttered you can make this, the more successful you’re going to be.
What to look for:
The main criteria for this type of fishing is to have a number of fishing spots that are close to roads or other access points. None of the spots that I fish are more than a 50-yard walk from my truck. And make sure that the lakes you’re going to scout or try are good panfish waters; otherwise you’ll just waste a lot of gas and time. When I’m scouting for new spring shore fishing spots these are the types of places I look for:
- Shallow back bays or canals that abut a public roadway.
- Streams or small rivers running out of or into a bay on a good panfish lake.
- Culverts…not bridges, but culverts running under the roadway, which are less than a block upstream or down-stream from a good panfish lake.
- And a sleeper. Wildlife management or waterfowl production areas, with ponds or small lakes connected to a good panfish lake.
One of the easiest ways to find good ice-out panfish locations is to take a drive around your area in early to mid March. Look for the clusters of anglers ice fishing for those late ice crappies and “gills”. Those fish that the late ice anglers are now chasing are the same fish that you will be chasing in a week or two. So if you can find running water, shallow bays or canals in those areas; you have probably found an ice-out panfish spot.
What to use:
The equipment I have along with me is pretty simple, as you will see.
- Knee-high rubber boots, as it’s usually pretty sloppy this time of year.
- A pair of chest waders (hip waders work also) as some of the spots I fish you need to get 15 or 20 feet from shore before you’re even in knee deep water.
- Two spinning rod/reel combinations
- A small Plano bag, for tackle.
- The ever present 5-gallon bucket, with spin on top
- And a cooler of ice
Let’s go over each piece of equipment.
Boots & Waders: It’s pretty self-evident as to what they are for. And 90% of the time you can get by with just a pair of knee-high rubber boots.
Rods & Reels: The two spinning rods are important. One is a long rod (9-feet) with a size 20 or 30 spinning reel. This rod allows you to make long casts with light line and small presentations (small jigs and plastics). The long rod does the yeoman’s share of the work. Long casts are needed this time of year; as panfish in shallow clear water tend to be extremely spooky. The other is a short (6-foot) light rod, with a size 10 or 20 spinning reel. I use this rod on small culverts or narrow channels. Mainly where accuracy is more important than distance. If you do purchase a long rod or short rod for float (bobber) fishing, consider this. Float fishing is mainly a visual presentation, so the rod does not have to be a super sensitive high priced item. It just needs to be durable and have a medium or parabolic action. Okuma makes a line of very durable and reasonably priced long rods called the Connoisseur Steelhead Rods, that will work great for spring crappies and then later in the year as a slip-bobber rod for walleyes.
Line: I like monofilament at this time of year for two reasons. First you’re fishing with bobbers, so sensitivity is not an issue. And two, you’re going to get a lot of line twist fishing with bobbers, so much so that sometimes it’s just easier to re-spool and monofilament line is so much cheaper. I will switch to a fluorocarbon line later in the year, when I start using the boat. Whether using mono or fluorocarbon lines I like to use 4 or 6-pound lines.
Tackle Bag: I use a small Plano tackle bag, with a shoulder strap. I think it is called their “crappie bag’’. This bag is durable and compact, but still holds all the tackle and tools I need for chasing panfish from ice off to ice up. Then in the winter I use the same bag for my ice fishing tackle.
Containers/Coolers: I’ve been using a 5-gallon bucket (from Mill’s Fleet Farm) with a spin on, spin off top. If I decide to keep a meal of fish it’s convenient to keep them in it while fishing. And if the bucket gets knocked over, which it will; the spin on/off top keeps the fish in the bucket. The cooler is loaded with a bag of ice and that’s where I put the fish as I jump from spot to spot. (Note: In Minnesota you cannot transport minnows or fish in lake water any longer because of the invasive species law.) Hence the cooler, plus fish stay fresher in a cooler with ice, rather than sloshing around in a bucket of warming water.
Tackle and bait: Remember, no live bait; it will just slow you down. I only use small jigs and plastics for this type of fishing. Right now the fish will be sluggish and spooky. This is not the time for reaction baits, with a ton of action. Their time will come in a couple of weeks. Right now you want something that just hangs quietly under a bobber, sitting in their face, until they swim up and inhale it. The rigging for a float rig is simple. A small weighted bobber. I use both slip-bobbers or pegged bobbers. A couple of small split-shot sinkers and finally a small jighead and plastic tail. I like the Strike King Lures Slab Hammer line of tubes and crappie grubs. This year I’m eager to try out the new panfish lures that Darren Jacobson (Northern Account Manager for Strike King Lure Company) said would be available this spring. The new Stubby Butt and Pad Hopper plastics should be a big hit with panfish anglers.
If you don’t have a boat to fish from, give running and gunning for panfish from shore a try. Even if you have a boat, still give it a try. We have a couple of different boats to chose from when we want to go fishing; but for those first couple of weeks in the spring they just sit on the trailers. Because this brand of shore fishing is so easy and productive, we leave the big rigs at home.
As always, stay safe and we hope to see you on the water.
Wayne Ek
Wayne Ek is a fishing
guide, tournament angler and writer in Alexandria Minnesota.
You can reach Wayne Ek at Agape Fishing Guides, agapefishingguides.com
