Well it’s that time of year… The fish houses are coming off the lakes, driving a vehicle on the ice is dangerous, and walleye and pike season is long gone… It’s time to go hunting for sumo perch! Many anglers give up on fishing once the toothy critter season comes to a close, and others stick to crappies to fill their days until the ice melts. Possibly the best and most enjoyable activity during late ice is to get out perch jerkin’!

Late winter is the perfect time for chasing jumbo perch. By then the walleye fishing can slow down, (maybe way down) so why not keep a good thing going and make a switch to a fish that keeps on biting, and biting. It's not that big eye poppin' perch suddenly turn on and go on a mad rampage as there are some good catches made all season long. It's just that by late ice they're more likely to be bunched up and the odds of finding at least a few that are in the right mood greatly increases.

Dave Genz, the recognized father of modern ice fishing, gets excited when he talks about ice fishing for walleyes. Just below the hard surface lies one of his favorite winter fish, even if his reputation was build on chasing down big bluegills.

Swimming baits can be the big ticket to solid early season catches and are always a good option for icing heavy duty walleyes. Some may argue "the always" point but when given a fair chance I've yet to find water where they don't produce.

There are many ice anglers out there, including myself who just can’t wait for the lakes to skim over and begin to build ice. Once we see that the open water is gone, we impatiently wait for the first “walk-able ice”. Everyone has a different idea of what is “safe” to them and the amount of ice under a person’s feet can vary greatly from one person to the next. I am not going to tell you how much ice is safe to walk or travel on, but instead would like to share a few safety tips with on how to be safe when you’re out on the ice.

It is the cool fall winds that bring about a chill that gives ice anglers "the itch". That "itch" that just can't be satisfied until we are able to drill that first hole through the ice and drop a baited hook into the icy waters. While on those icy waters, staying warm is of the utmost importance. Your ability to stay warm will make your angling experience more enjoyable and may just save your life.

Some of the most respected names in ice angling will compete head to head on determined lakes across the Midwest in an epic battle of sorts. Like the Ice Team Trap Attacks of years past, this epic battle is the NAIFC where many of the top ice anglers in the country will test their skills and luck. The NAIFC (North American Ice Fishing Circuit) has quickly earned a reputation as a breeding ground for many of the cutting edge tactics revolutionizing winter angling.

We have all had those times when you can’t seem to buy a bite out on the water, whether it be through the ice or in a boat. One technique that I have come to rely on for panfish in these situations is the Dropshot Rig. The Dropshot Rig has been popularized by professional bass fishing in recent years, though few fishermen use it for any other species. The same principles that make it work for heavily pressured, tight lipped bass work equally well for other species, especially panfish through the ice. The reason a dropshot works is that it allows an angler to present a small bait in front of a fish for a long period of time. We used a dropshot rig at the NAIFC Chisago Lake Qualifier last season to pick up fish in holes that had already been fished by other anglers; in fact most of our largest fish came on a dropshot out of holes someone else had just vacated.

Ice anglers who enjoy catching it all have a lot more fun, plain and simple. They have more options for one thing, and they can stretch out a season right to the bitter end for another. Getting hung up on one species really limits where you can go and what you can do and your timing has to be precise. The multi-specie angler on the other hand can almost always find something to fish for, and can take advantage of the good peaks that happen every hard water season.

For all the ice fishing he had done up to that point, Dave Genz had never felt so baffled by bluegills. This was back in the early 80s, down (for him) in Iowa, on Emerson Bay of Lake Okoboji.