Usually we are all well acclimated to the frozen Central North Dakota Tundra, but up until about two weeks ago it has been truly tropical and some of us have been able to get out and enjoy it.
Starting about two weeks ago, we final got those negative temperatures that are needed to make the good ice that we are used to.
Even with the brutal weather conditions the fishing has been pretty good.
This is the time of year we’re the fish, especially the pike and walleye, start to make their seasonal moves to find food and to find their spawning grounds as they move up shallow in early preparation for spring.
For walleye, its really just sticking with your basics. Spreading out with some tip ups and set lines over main lake points, and then jigging in between them to bring the fish in.
When it comes to catching big pike, here is what you need to look for. Right now, the pike are out deep, moving towards the creeks that they are going to spawning in and around when spring time comes.
What we have found works best to catch these fish is to use heavy tip ups with Northland Predator Rigs, and using big suckers, herring, or smelt.
Live or dead bait has been producing fish, but we have found that it generally needs to be placed within a few feet of the bottom.
When it comes to actually finding these big pike. Setting your gear out in a diamond pattern over key locations, like creek channels and saddles that these fish relate too will produce numbers of nice fish.
