Giant Panfish Report – Alexandria 12-21-11

The fishing in the Alexandria area is off to a fantastic start. With most of the lakes having a good 8-12" of ice on them, travel has been relatively easy. There are many large permanents out and plenty of ATV activity. Even though we’ve had some warm weather the ice is holding up very well. Just stay away from any moving water and you’ll find consistent quality ice.

This year I decided to give my usual early walleye spots a rest and target some of our better panfish waters. The last couple weeks I’ve been targeting shallow bays connected to larger bodies of water. These shallow bays are mostly 10-15 feet deep, so they freeze quickly making them a perfect early ice destination. These bays are also teaming with bait of all sizes, so they draw in fish from the connected larger bodies of water. Whenever you find concentrated fish looking for food you’re usually in for a good time!

I’ve been using a couple new horizontal baits with an offset hook design. The offset hook allows the optimization of a small hook gap. In years past when I fished finicky sunfish with a small #12 or #14 sunfish jig I’d miss a number of the larger crappie. Lately with crappie pushing 13"-15" and tight lipped sunfish pushing 10.5" I’ve had no issues hooking up on either species. As for color, I’ve been using a variety of green color combinations. Just tip that with a couple larva and you’ll be all set.

The larger fish have been suspended 2′ to 4′ off the bottom, so I usually start my jigging sequence at about 2′ off bottom. I’ll work the jig (slightly rocking the lure) up the water column slowly (about an inch every 10 seconds). Keep this pace for a couple feet and repeat. In my opinion there is nothing more deadly than a perfectly executed "catch me if you can" jigging technique. The big Gills and Slabs just can’t resist, so come on up and give it a shot. We have a ton of ice up here with no holes in it and as fast as my Solo is I still can’t do it all myself! Have a Merry Christmas everyone.