We did another ice check yesterday afternoon and continued
to see ice thicknesses increasing. Most
of the main areas anglers like to target early season are in great shape. Waconia Bay has between 7 to 9.5 inches (with
a small marked area of 5.5 inches). The
walleye hole between the marinas has ice around 6 to 9 inches. Ice out towards the Deep hole in Wagener’s
Bay and Pillsbury is between 7.5 to 9.5 inches.
We continued our check north of “Under the Wires” between
the west end of the island and Lakeview Terrace. While the ice has grown there too, we still
found some spots in that area with as little as 4 inches and up to 7.5 inches.
We headed to Cemetery as well to get a better feel for the
varying ice there, and found anywhere from 5 to 8.5 inches. The newest ice which formed over part of
Cemetery and a little east has caught up nicely, however we have not been out
to Anderson’s, Reds or Kegs. We haven’t
assessed if the springs from past years in the 25 to 30 foot areas in the
east-central part of the lake are active yet, so keep that in mind if heading
that way.
As far as fishing goes, we’ve had some reports of successful
sunfish and crappie action off the weedlines of Pillsbury as well as Waconia
Bay in 11 to 14 feet of water. Walleyes
have been decent between the marinas in the walleye hole. Most of the successful bites have been on the
north side of the hole as depths climb in the 13 to 15 foot range. Jigging with fatheads has been working, as
well as set-lines with shiners.
With the warm up coming this weekend, it’s a great time to get
some sucker minnows and set a tip up or two!
We expect a good northern pike bite for those interested. Our big fish of the season so far was weighed
in at 9 pound 12 oz. pike on Tuesday by
Bob Leistiko.
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We hope to see you at the lake!
