It’s that time of year again, and for those like me who do not really love ice fishing, its finally that time of the year again. The ice is breaking apart and even gone farther south, up here in the north lands we are counting down the days until you can get a boat in the water. That brings to light one of the most difficult times of the year, (in my humble opinion anyway) to catch those finnicky eyes.

It is a pretty widely accepted notion that they will start to spawn around 40-degree water temperatures, and the Pre-Spawn migration will take place before getting to those numbers, so the fish are on the move and not necessarily food oriented. The best piece of advice I can give you is to try and stay ahead of the migration. If you still have safe late season ice, focus on the deep break lines and points just outside their spawning habitat. If you are finally getting the boat wet, you are close to the early spawn. Focusing on the last places you were ice fishing, and working your way towards their spawning areas will produce the best success.

Most people will tell you the only way to catch a walleye this time of the year is slow fish the smallest jig you can with a minnow. Us live bait haters have figured out a few different ways to catch some of the pre spawn giants. The big basin fisherman will be slow trolling big stick baits like the Walleye X Brawler or Rapala Husky Jerk. Long lining on monofilament can help dampen the movement of the bait even more for those cold-water fish that don’t want to chase. Starting at 1mph and slowing or down or speeding up as the fish dictate will get you some meat on the deck. For those of us who are #teamnotroll, and don’t want to spend all that time with live bait. There are a few slow presentations that can be deadly for the early season scoping. Shaking a minnow as the Bass guys call it will be deadly year around; you just have to understand your hatch. The young of the year baitfish from last year are getting pretty big, so upsizing can be beneficial. While that may be true, the finnicky nature of the fish this time of the year can lead to better results downsizing. I usually start with a 2-inch soft plastic and a 3/16-to-1/4-ounce tungsten jig and will fish as deep as allowed by those weights. If they don’t seem to be interested in the 2-inch don’t be afraid to go big 4 1/2-inch plastic or even bigger. They are used to eating big baits by this time in the cycle. If the soft plastics aren’t the ticket, my next step in the day will usually be a lipless crank. The WalleyeX Ripper and Rippin Raps are going to be great, and if you have some dirty water the rattles can help them pinpoint your baits.

The best part is… Warm weather is just around the corner. The boat is ready to come out of storage. The big girls are going to be up shallow and congregated into one area leaving probably one of the best opportunities of the year to catch a trophy. So… no matter if you are still getting those last bites through the ice, out on a river, or patiently waiting for the last ice chunks to disappear off your local lake. Late Ice and early spring can be both tricky, and extremely rewarding for those dedicated enough to brave the ever-changing weather and conditions.