Northern Minnesota Fishing Report - Spring 2019

Lake ice conditions in the northern part of the state have improved immensely! Great fishing opportunities are available. The panfish bite on numerous lakes is hot right now and we have started to see a majority of the crappies moving towards the break lines where they will eventually push up and spawn later this spring.  However, finding the fish the last couple of days hasn’t been the hard part. Detecting some of the lightest bites has proven to be the most effective strategy and icing some of the crappies we have been chasing. It was apparent in a community spot over the weekend! Anglers who were using to stiff of rods and still running a bobber approach were struggling! Small tungstens and a plastic was the key! When the fish would move up on the bait I believe everyone was expecting that indicator to set the hook. The indicator was not even noticeable on 75% off the fish we caught. Expecting the fish to be breathing in the bait and reeling down to load that tip up proved to be very effective. Also using plastics kept a lot of the other species of fish away, like the rock bass that seemed to be joining forces with the crappies schools.The die hard panfish anglers are going to be at it for a few weeks yet. Wheelers with chains and track machines were being used on all the more popular spring fishing spots. We will be updating with weekly fishing reports from the Grand Rapids Area for the remaining ice season and into our open water year! Tight lines everyone and enjoy that sunshine.