The spring thaw is moving along very quickly! Despite loads of snow cover from the winter, last week's temperatures nearly melted everything. Unfortunately we received a few more inches of snow over the weekend, but today's warmer temps and sun have already melted it for the most part. Ice conditions are deteriorating pretty quickly with lakes starting to pull away from shore, but there are still plenty of anglers venturing out on foot where conditions permit it. We're going to be a little cooler this week, but should still make some progress. Currently we're expecting at least a few ice outs towards the end of the month.

Panfish have been biting very well in the shallow water on most area lakes including Birch, Stony, Leech, and a lot of smaller water. Day bite bluegills with some crappies mixed in are pretty commonly reported coming out of less than 10 feet of water. This pattern should continue until the ice finally breaks up in the next few weeks. 

Some anglers are venturing out onto the Leech chasing perch as well, and the bite has been great for those making the effort to get out there. Most jumbos are coming out of less that 10 feet of water on small jigging spoons with crappie minnows or minnow heads if they're slow to bite. 

Tullibee have been a tough nut to crack this year with the conditions we've had. Fishing should be very good, but many of the areas you would typically find them are difficult to get to on foot. Ice conditions have dropped off so fast that ATV's and other vehicles aren't recommended to get out there.

It won't be long and we'll see some open water!