Frozen Update

It has been extremely cold the last few days but that has not kept me off the ice.  Over the last few days I got out to do some Tip-up fishing for pike, angling bluegill and even a little spearing.  I took this picture in my truck on the way out to the lake Sunday AM.  The ironic thing is it said the same thing Saturday AM.  Maybe -24 is all the lower my thermometer goes.  Either way, it was cold out but without any wind it really wasn't that bad out.

So, how about that weather?  This cold front must have those fish shut down, right?  Wrong!  This kind of cold weather is the good kind of cold weather.  This is stable cold weather.  The fish don't know it is cold out.  They know the pressure is stable and there have not been any major changes or fronts since Christmas and the fish are biting.  Both the Bluegill bite and tip-up fishing have been been excellent and the spearing, well that has been fun too.

I haven't speared for about 20 years but since Minnesota has allowed angling while spearing I decided to get back into spearing this year.  The nice thing about spearing for me is not actually spearing fish, as I rarely even throw the spear but rather getting to see how fish react to certain things.

You can learn a lot by watching fish on underwater camera but you get to see everything while looking down a spear hole.  Plus, fish act much different while in shallow water then they do while they are in the deep, dark depths of the lake.  So, this year I am back at it spearing and having a lot of fun watching fish up close and learning lots.  Pike are very predictable but some of those huge bluegill that come in and take over a minute to size up your bait before they bite really test your patients.

Speaking of bluegill, I am still using the same Gill Pill, the White Tiger that I wrote about a couple weeks ago.  That same gill pill has caught me hundreds of Bluegill, plus an abundance of bass, pike, crappie and perch.  One would think the paint would be wore off but it is not.  I honestly have not changed ice jigs all season yet.  Hopefully it makes it the entire season....ok.....wishful thinking.  Actually, I just ordered a new supply from Custom Jigs and Spins online store which works out slick.  If you are looking for the best ice jigs, you can order them online right here

http://www.customjigsandspins.com/

and they will be at your house in no time.  Trying to find them in a store now is darn near impossible as I found out last week.

How is the ice?  Well, it is getting better fast.  There is about 3 inches of slush on most area lakes that is freezing up slowly.  Yesterday I was able to drive over the top of the slush without breaking through on many lakes.  Three days ago I was just about stuck on all those lakes.  The conditions are improving very fast with these cold temps.  Ice is about 14-16 inches in good spots with many thin areas still.  I heard two trucks went through in the Alexandria area, so proceed with caution.  That is it for now, back again soon with more.