Top Tips for Successful Ice Fishing
Ontario’s Sunset Country Region is a popular destination for open water anglers looking for their dream fishing trip for many reasons. A multitude of great places to fish, a variety of species to catch, easy fishing and some of the most beautiful bodies of water in the World. It’s the recipe for a special place. While ice fishing is not for everybody, Sunset Country also offers some of the finest ice fishing opportunities found anywhere for many of the same reasons that attract anglers during the open water season.
Throughout my teens and twenties, I spent nearly every minute I could on the water. To avoid getting a real job, I even started guiding on the ice, fishing from freeze-up until thaw. Over the years, I’ve taken a bunch of TV show hosts, outdoor writers, and we’ve even tested tackle and equipment for a number of fishing companies. Everybody wants to come to Sunset Country because of the fishing, the scenery, all of the different waterbodies, and places to stay.
Ice fishing opportunities abound, with guided trips available, shelter rentals on some fisheries, and do-it-yourself options at several resorts. One of my favourite aspects of \the region is the variety of species. In a single day, it’s possible to catch six or seven species. If you just want to catch walleye, or lake trout, trophy pike or crappie, there are top-notch options for all species. Here are a few tips on planning your next ice fishing trip.
The Best Time to Come
The best time to visit Sunset Country during the ice season really depends on the species you want to catch. January 1 is the annual lake trout opener, so many anglers arrive on New Year's Eve to get after lake trout on the 1st. It’s a good time to get after lake trout because they haven’t been fished in months, so the fishing is usually pretty good. There is also less snow and ice earlier in the season, so it’s not as difficult to get into the best trout waters, many of which are remote.
Throughout January and February, fishing can be great for most species, but we get real winter in Northwest Ontario, so you could face tough weather. If you like to fish in a shelter, then it’s all good. There are some shelter rentals available across the region that are set up for good fishing locations, so you just need to show up and have fun.
My personal favourite time to ice fish in Sunset Country is in March and early April, as long as the weather permits us to get out there. The days are longer, the weather is usually nice, and the fishing is good. Many of the fish we target, such as walleye and pike, spawn in the spring, so they show up in predictable locations late in the season near these spawning areas. We see some of the biggest fish of the year during this timeframe.
The season is open for all species right through until open water, except for walleye. They have a closed season from April 15 to the third Saturday in May, but it’s not often that we can still safely get on the ice after the 15th of April.
Choosing your place to fish
Across the region, there are camps and hotels that stay open throughout the winter to cater to ice anglers. Choosing where to go depends on several factors, like the species you want to catch, whether you want to have easy access, where you can drive your vehicle out on the ice, or whether you want to use snowmobiles to access remote waters.
You really can’t go wrong across the region; there is World-class fishing near every community, but some areas are better for certain species. In general, the farther north you go, the more remote you get, and some phenomenal fishing opportunities exist. Usually, these places require snowmobiles to get on the ice. I’ve made a trip to the Red Lake area several times and have had amazing trips for walleye, lake trout and trophy pike.
We have some excellent crappie options, but most of the best crappie fisheries are in the SW part of the region, around Rainy Lake, Lake of the Woods or the Dryden area. Lake trout are widespread across the region, but the Atikokan area is known for kicking out some trophies, as is the Lake of the Woods region, around Sioux Narrows. Sioux Lookout has a bit of everything, including some of the best walleye fishing in the World.
As far as places to stay, many of the resorts that offer ice fishing packages will have access to the ice right from your cabin. Some will require snowmobiles; some might have ice roads plowed to fishing locations. That’s something to ask about when considering where to stay. If you want to fish multiple waterbodies or target several species, staying in a hotel in one of the towns that dot the region might be a good choice. If you like to cook your own food, it’s tough to beat a cabin at a resort, but if you’d prefer to hit restaurants for breakfast and dinner, the hotel route might be best.
My Top Tackle Choices
Most days, the fishing is going to be really good, so when it comes to packing gear for your trip, you really don’t have to go crazy. I almost always fish by snowmobile, so I try to pack kind of light, bringing just a handful of tackle that I know I’ll use. If you’re coming to do a multi-species adventure, which is what I’d recommend, here are a few of my top tackle choices.
Walleye: I almost always use a ¼ or 3/8 th ounce spoon tipped with a minnow head, but thousands of walleyes are caught year after year on a jig tipped with a live minnow. In some of the shallower lakes, these are hard to beat.
Lake trout: My biggest ever, a 43” jumbo from Lake of the Woods, came on a Northland Airplane Jig, but I seldom use anything but a jig head tipped with a soft plastic minnow. The same Z-Man Scented Jerk ShadZ are among my top bass baits in the summer. Lake trout are aggressive, so anything that gets their attention and can fit in their mouth can work. Spoons and rattle baits also work really well.
Pike: While you can catch smaller pike jigging with lures, almost all of the big ones I’ve caught have come on quick-strike rigs like the Northland Predator Rig, tipped with a dead 5-8” cisco or sucker minnow. Set them about a foot above the bottom in front of the shallow bays where they’ll spawn after ice-out and you’ll catch fish.
Crappie: The challenge with crappie is finding them. They are usually easy to catch. Most of the crappies are going to be found in relatively deeper water, 20-35 feet, so you want a small bait that can get down to fish you see on your electronics. I always run a 1-2 punch of a small spoon tipped with some plastic bugs or a small jig tipped with a plastic tail.
Whitefish, perch and burbot are other plentiful options across the region. Spoons are my go-to for each of these species as well.
Come visit us in Sunset Country for an ice fishing adventure!
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