Thursday, March 22, 2012

How will early Red Lake, ON ice-out affect fish?

Summer rain on Red Lake, ON
It looks certain like a record-early ice-out on Red Lake, Ontario this year.
Summer-like temperatures have wiped out the snow, rain has softened the ice, and ice-out should occur probably no later than April 15. The previous record was April 20 and normal ice-out is May 8.
So how will all the warm weather affect fishing?
Well, at Bow Narrows Camp at least, we can expect walleye fishing to be going gangbusters right from day one, which is May 19.
Walleyes at the western end of Red Lake bite the best when the water is warm. There is so much deep water at our end of the lake -- 100-plus-feet deep -- that the water never gets too warm. In fact, our walleye always prefer the warmest, shallowest, bays right until the water begins to cool off, normally in late-August. Then they move to the deeper water. We still catch them but our locations change.
The spawn for both walleye and northern pike should be long over by the time the season opens. Northern pike start spawning just as the ice is melting around the shorelines and walleye spawn as soon as the ice is off.
We're assuming the weather is going to continue warm through the spring but that may not happen. There's really no predicting what can happen anymore. But the odds are the water is going to be warmer than usual first thing this fishing season.
Northern pike are likely to prefer artificials rather than dead-bait this year. The dead bait works best when the water is cool.
Lake trout will likely have gone to deeper water than normal when fishing season opens. They like the cold water.
As far as the summer goes, my guess is it is going to be a block-buster for fishing. If the warm trend continues the fish are going to be more active than ever. Minnows and other food sources are going to reproduce like crazy and the fish are going to be feeding, feeding, feeding.
Warm weather is a good thing for us.
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