By Chip Leer

Catch The Pre-Ice Bite!

Don’t pack away your open-water tackle just yet. Winter’s impending arrival means it’s time to take advantage of a unique and highly productive fishing pattern I like to call the “pre-ice bite.”

Make no mistake, the lengthy feeding periods, extended strike windows and aggressive behavior of mid-fall are history once water temperatures dip into the lower 40-degree range. So the pre-ice bite doesn’t produce daylong action on active presentations like casting and trolling.

Instead, you have concentrated bursts of fish activity during prime times such as the last hour or so before and after sunset—with fish congregated in very predictable places. In most cases, you’ll find them in the same areas you will at first ice.

In the case of walleyes, look for classic structure like hard-bottom humps or transition zones at the ends of points going into the basin of the lake. Panfish may school over deep holes or soft-bottom basins, depending what the lake has to offer.

When you locate the fish, hover over them and subtly work vertical presentations like rattle baits, jigging spoons & minnows, plus swimming and ball-head jigs tipped with a minnow, plastic or combination thereof. Gentle jig strokes interspersed with pauses that give the fish a chance to take the bait are generally your best cadence.

While the pre-ice bite is different that the patterns we enjoyed earlier in the fall, it offers anglers a great chance to get out and enjoy a few more short but productive open-water trips before winter locks down the lakes for the season.

(Based in Walker, Minnesota, noted fishing authority and outdoor communicator Chip Leer operates Fishing the WildSide, For more information look to www.fishingthewildside.net or email Chip@fishingthewildside.net)