Ice Fishing 2021

It was a much shorter ice fishing season than normal for me, essentially only getting the first part of the winter in. I left for Florida to start my bass tournament season late January and that was about it for me this year. I love ice fishing so that is a little bit disappointing but we had some fun when we went out! 

Most of the time when we got we get after the walleyes and perch on Lake of the Woods because the action is so good but I got on a couple of crappie hunts and had fun with them as well. This was a 15", biggest one I pulled up this season. Caught on a Northland Eye Dropper Spoon - my favourite crappie bait. I'll usually tip it with a couple of soft plastic maggots.

In addition to the great walleye fishing we are starting to see more and more quality perch out there on LOTW. They are excellent eating and provide some good action so I'm happy about it! I just use the 1/4 oz Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon that I use for walleye and perch hammer them just fine, especially the bigger ones that we want to catch. Tip the spoon with a minnow head and you're good to go. 
The new G. Loomis IMX PRO ice rods that made their debut this winter are beautiful works of art...Very sensitive, good actions and extremely light - if you are serious about fishing, you need to check these out! 

In addition to the Buck-Shot Spoons, Northland Tackle also has a new Glo-Shot Fire-Belly Spoon, that has a glowing capsule in the center of the bait, instead of a rattle chamber. It gives the bait some colour in the dark water beneath the ice and provides a slightly different action. We caught a bunch of fish on them as well. 
For full details on all of the new G. Loomis IMX PRO rods you can check them out here at the G. Loomis website. 

Many anglers change out the hooks on their hard baits for sharper, stronger trebles, or maybe we want a slightly larger or smaller size to better match the fish that we're targeting. I have been using the Gamakatsu G-Finesse Trebles for the past couple of years on all of my ice spoons and they are a game changer. They are so sharp, if a walleye breathes on your spoon you will snatch it. They are also strong for their thin diameter and come in handy if a large lake trout or pike grabs your spoon. Check out all of the different hooks that Gamakatsu offers at their website.