January Spotlight and Fishing TipsBy Kristin Osborne
Brian “Bro” Brosdahl, renowned guide on Minnesota's Great Northwood Lakes, is known across the country for his infinite knowledge of both small and large lakes and his ability to find and catch monumental fish.
Bro teaches cutting edge techniques and has pushed the spread of modern ice fishing across the country. He travels throughout the winter teaching, speaking, and representing Ice Team.
This month, he shares his favorite tips for mid-winter fishing, as well as how to effectively catch fish in warm winter weather.
If needed, start driving north and pack light.
There’s almost always ice that you can drive to and when warm weather hits in January, so take advantage of the highway. This year the jet stream is further north and a lot of places that would normally have ice have very little this winter. If this is the case in your area, don’t despair, ice exists but you may have to travel to it.
If you’re traveling to a new lake or just looking for new hot spots in your usual lake, pack light. “A Clam Scout or Pro single house is ideal,” says Bro. “You can effectively spread out on the ice and explore. In a family situation, it sometimes helps to have the new kid or new person learn more on their own. Fish together, but be sure to spread out and cover some water and with this season’s warm weather, reliable lake maps and GPS are a must.”
Be flexible with different species of fish.
If you’re heading out for walleye fishing, bring smaller tackle for perch and crappies. If the walleye aren’t biting, you can easily switch to something more active. Bro always suggests bringing plenty of bait options, “whether your panfishing or walleye fishing, you can never have enough bait including minnows, waxies, or maggots.”
When packing your tackle, bring both light and heavy jigs, like the Lindy Genz Worm or Fat Boy. “These are great all around baits,” says Bro, “with the Frosty Jigging Spoon being one of my favorites.” He suggests taking the treble off and tying a drop line to it. Tying a 4 to 18 inch drop line below the spoon to the hook enables you to draw the fish to the spoon while they see a live spinning minnow.
Try new spots based on this season’s warm weather.
Bro suggests that as a group, have someone fish shallow and have someone fish deep. This year, on the edge of the dead weeds, he’s been finding perch. According to Bro, “we’ve had a lot of bright days and clearer ice, so most panfish are buried in the weeds. Also, fish are now biting later in the night because of the bright days.”
When perch fishing, try steeper breaks. Where the drop off is steep, or where there are deeper depressions, fish hide from predators. These areas should be stacking up with perch right now.
Bro’s Favorite Tips
With this year’s warm weather, pack your Vexilar and try this trick. Bring a pitcher or two liter bottle and when arriving at the lake, fill it with lake water. After picking a fishing spot, dump it on the ice and set your Vexilar Transducer on the wet ice. It will read right through. This is a great trick for reading depth through right through the ice. If there’s a light dusting of snow, one person can go ahead, scoop the snow away and dump the water, while the other guy drops the Transducer. With that kind of teamwork, you can find targeted depths quickly before drilling holes.
Be stealthy. Drill holes that you plan on fishing later so you don’t make noise when it’s fishing time.
Pick areas that are away from community spots. Small trucks and four wheelers create a disturbance and spook the fish away.