Anglers Are Hitting The Ice In Iowa

[Phil Lilley]

There’s an old saying among diehard ice fishermen. It goes like this, “Early ice is best ice.”

And nowhere is that more true than on the Iowa Great Lakes.

Right now anglers are venturing out on four inches of ice in Upper Gar and Minnewasta lakes. East Lake and Big Spirit may have some safe ice as well.

This weekend will see a big push of anglers hoping to cash in on the early action.

No one has a better handle on the fishing in this region than long-time guide Jim McDonnell, “The Fishing Professor,” of Royal, Iowa.

“Guys will start venturing out on three inchs of ice,” he says. “And the first ice is usually on Minnewasta and upper Gar.

“They’ll be looking at perch, bluegill and maybe some white bass and yellow bass,” he continues. “There will be a couple of weeks of really good fishing.”

Shortly after that Big Spirit Lake will begin to freeze.

“Anglers wil get into good crappie, bluegill and a few perch off Templars, early,” McDonnell says. “The next option would be The Grade and there’s always a good crappie, perch and bluegill bite.

“Next would be Angler’s Bay but you have got to be really carefull out there,” he says. “As you move out from the shoreline you might have four inches of ice but farther out there could be only one inch. That’s because of the wind currents which set up with a southwest or northwest wind. So, be sure to use a spud bar as you push your way out.”

Anglers will be looking for clumps of still green weeds under the ice. Here the bluegill, crappie and perch will hang out.

There are no shortage of prsentations in today’s panfish marketplace. McDonnell recomends staying with products made by Lindy, Northland and other brand names. Everything should be tipped with a waxworm or a wiggler.

“Sometimes just a plain 1/80-ounce jig head tipped with a waxworm or a wiggler is as good as anything,” he says.

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For lines, Jim stays with the time-tested Berkley XL monofilament. For bluegills, he’ll go as light as two or even one pound test.

He also uses a fly fishing leader straightener to straighten the first 10 feet or so of his line.

“You can’t have your presentation twisting back and forth if you want to catch bluegills,” he says.

Most of the lakes here have good buegill fishing, but West Okoboji is clearly the leader in this department. Typically, the big lake freezes up much later than the smaller lakes, but when anglers can get out on Emerson’s or Miller’s they’ll find fishing for big bluegills as good as anywhere.

For information on fishing these lakes, call Oh Shucks Bait Shop (712) 338-2087, Fisherman’s Factory Outlet (712) 336-4535 or Stan’s Bait Shop (712) 338-2586.

“These are good starting points for information,” McDonnell says. “One phone call and you are way ahead of the game.”

McDonnell and his partner, Laef Lundbeck, operate an ice fishing guide service in the Lake’s region. They rent portables as well as permanent and delux ice shacks with all needed equipment.

Call (712) 933-5532 for information.