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By Louie Stout
Time to Gather Ice Fishing Bait
Sure, the weather is still warm. Yes, we just came out of 90-degree weather and the lakes are far from freezing.
But it’s not too soon to start thinking about ice fishing. Or, as Danny Moran does, get nutty about it.
If his name sounds familiar it’s because we wrote about his favorite, albeit unusual, panfish/ice fishing bait last winter: acorn and hickory nut worms.
Years ago, Moran’s uncle showed him that tiny grubs thrive inside those nuts and they make great fishing baits, especially when panfish are looking for bitty morsels, such as during the ice fishing season or during the spring.
“Now is the time to start collecting them,” said Moran, who has hardwood trees around his Osceola home. “The nuts are really falling now and I’ve already collected a bunch of the grubs.”