Reign ‘em in…

Good day sirs and welcome to the latest Monday afternoon chat here at Ballard’s Resort.  Fishing, fishing, and more fishing…  (ice fishing that is) seems to be the hot topic today per volume of phone calls coming in.  AWESOME!

How’s it been?  What’s the latest?  We are we goin’?

Well…  Here’s the deal…  And for the first time in a long long long time…  We can honestly say we are fishing closer to the south shore and having more success…  Versus what we did encounter as we ventured out toward the flats.  Moving further out was not productive.

Normally, this time of year, you can expect the opposite.  Go figure!

Yes.  The guides have reigned in the fish houses.  And as of today we are actually moving back closer (and shallower) toward Morris and Pine.

If someone would have told us in late January of 2016 we’d be sitting a short way off the shoreline, fishing in 22-25 feet of water, we would have said “no-way no-how”.  But it’s true.  And we’re finding a sauger bite, mixed with the occasional walleye.  And it’s better than what we were experiencing when we pushed out to further depths of 30ft and beyond.

It’s been a considerable time, we’re talking years, since we’ve seen the bite stay this shallow for this long.  Not saying that it hasn’t happened before…  But we’re thinking it’s been fifteen plus years since we’ve seen it happen.

Obviously there must be a sizable forage base.  That’s why the fish are hanging tight.  And also, remember, even though we’re approaching late January…  We’ve only been out there chasing for a few weeks.

It’s been a different year so far.  Short ride to the huts.  Mostly saugers.  Some good, some bad, some so so.  Overall, during the peak of this past weekend, most anglers seemed content with the action.  Always fun!

Set the hook…