Walleyes can get lethargic at mid-ice due to changing conditions and their cold-blooded nature.  Adjust to their mood and give them something to eat, even if they’re not all that aggressive under the ice. Simonson Photo.

By Nick Simonson

Fish and as a result, angling, both often slow down as the winter wears on.  The cold water obviously is the first factor for these creatures which are of course, cold-blooded.  That means the temperature in the world around them dictates how their body reacts and their biological processes are carried out.  You don’t often see fish moving in January as fast as you do in the summer months, where they’re smashing the surface for frogs or insects, or dashing after baitfish in the depths below.  Instead, things are a bit slower.

Additionally, as the winter season progresses, snow piles up, and ice thickens, the oxygen content of water drops.  This too weighs heavily on fish activity in certain lakes, and bites just aren’t as fast as they were at first ice, when oxygen content was high, or in the weeks to come, when meltwater will help restore those levels and fish activity.  Thus, adjusting tactics for finding fish, luring them in, and giving them what they want are a necessity in the heart of winter, namely the months of January and February in the upper Midwest.

Keep Punching

Mid-winter ice fishing often requires you to find the fish, to go to them and seek them out through a series of holes punched in likely places with access to various depths, habitat, and substrates.  Having a fully charged or fully fueled auger and punching the necessary holes will help cover water, eliminate unproductive places, and put your offerings on top of fish that may not be moving around as much as they were earlier in the season, when they were coming into your baits and biting more aggressively.

Once fish are located, or prime areas are established at mid-winter, usually those deeper stretches adjacent to areas where perch and walleyes roamed earlier in the season, punch a couple of holes for a two-rod deployment where legal.

Passive-Aggressive

This time of year, offering up a passive presentation is a great way to catch those neutral-to-negative fish, such as walleyes that might just be rolling around, looking for an opportunistic item of food, and not so much in a feeding frenzy.  A minnow offered up under a slip float or on a sensitive deadstick just below some split shots will provide that easy-to-grab target.  Remember that more weights placed closer to the hook will keep the minnow from swimming wildly, and will pin it down in a more narrow circumference above the bottom, making it an easier target and one that lethargic mid-winter opportunists can grab.

One can still deploy an aggressive, active presentation in the adjacent hole.  Using spoons, jigging Raps, and other attraction lures to bring fish in is a good idea, even though they may not bite.  If a sonar shows a walleye, perch or other fish entering the area, inspecting a lure, but not striking even after a rise, keep a close eye on the passive rod in the adjacent hole.  It’s likely that fish will see the more subtle flick of the baitfish nearby pinned firmly near the bottom and take that offering over the aggressively-worked attraction lure.

Fun Size

Finally, when selecting minnows as bait for those fish that predominantly prey on them – such as walleyes, perch and crappies – consider downsizing mid-winter offerings.  Instead of offering up the full-sized fatheads that the baitshop has for sale, consider mixing in smaller versions of these popular minnows.  Most commonly referred to as “crappie minnows” these smaller fatheads provide a snack-sized offering that many fish can’t turn down, and with a slightly down-sized hook, say from a #4 to a #6, they don’t lose any action and experience less mortality when rigged, and those smaller hooks can still get a good connection when walleye takes the offering.

These are just a few tactics to consider at mid-ice.  Sometimes a January thaw will trigger a strong bite, other times a massive cold front will slow things down even worse.  By staying mobile as conditions allow and finding those places fish are at, you’ll be set up for the best opportunity the middle of the season can present.  Go with the combination of a passive rod set up next to an actively-worked offering, and perhaps a smaller bait and lure selection to get those neutral and even negative fish turned into biters.  Follow their reactions and their behaviors on sonar or via an underwater camera, make the necessary adjustments and find the best ways to make the most of mid-winter on the ice.