First few days after ice leaves a lake can be best fishing of the year

Happiness was in John Eklund’s voice when he looked over the side of the boat.

“Look at that water, still so clear,” he said as he lowered his elecrtic motor Thursday afternoon. “Things look perfect. We should catch a lot of fish.”

Less than two minutes later, happiness was in his hands as he netted a fish for a guest.

“That walleye will easily go five pounds, maybe six,” Eklund said. “That’s the biggest one of the year so far.”

By year, Eklund meant the previous five days, which is how long he and friends had been able launch boats and fish-favored areas as ice receded at Kanopolis Reservoir. On Saturday, two friends had found just one ice-free boat ramp. On Sunday, a large cove near where Eklund and Bob Roberts fished Thursday had been shrowded in ice. By then, though, conditions were perfect.

“When there’s ice, the wind can’t stir things up,” said Eklund. “That’s one of the reasons things are as clear as they are now.”

It’s also very clear that the first few days after an early March ice-out can produce some solid fishing for those who know where and how to fish.

Sunday was Eklund’s first day on the lake this year, and he and Roberts kept 34 crappie they caught from submerged brushpiles. Eventually they drifted to a deep, barren flat of water about 28 feet deep. It was saugeye city from then on.

“Monday we caught at least 40 saugeye. We (measured) 22 keepers and kept our 15,” said Eklund, referring to the lake’s 15-inch minimum length limit for saugeye and walleye. “There were times all three of us had fish on at the same time.” Tuesday afternoon fishing was slower, but the same three anglers again easily caught limits. They’ve never put in a lot of hours on the water all week.

Thursday, Eklund launched his boat at about 4 p.m. In less than an hour, there was the big walleye and a keeper saugeye in the boat, and Eklund had released a few sub-legal fish, too. All were in the same place they’d been the past several days.

Consistent water conditions are one reason Eklund says he does well day after day after ice-out. For the days or weeks when the ice is on, water conditions aren't changed much by the weather.

Conditions will change a lot, and often, when the heavy storms of spring arrive. The pressure changes of cold fronts can impact fishing, There will also be rains and the bigger the rains, the bigger the angling challenges for walleye and saugeye fishermen.

“When you get a bunch of rain, things are going to get tougher as that water gets muddied up,” Eklund said. “The muddier the water, the harder the fishing.”

High water can also mean water releases from the lakes. Since much of the best walleye and saugeye fishing is near the dam in the spring, that can empty a lot of ‘eyes from an impoundment in a hurry. At best, it’s usually difficult to catch fish on falling water.

Eklund was far from alone in his angling success last week. In addition to success at Kanopolis, Roberts had caught a batch of crappie at a state fishing lake north of Salina on Wednesday. Some other friends caught limits of walleye at Wilson Reservoir on Thursday. There was also talk of an angler using a fly rod to catch 15 largemouth bass on streamers at a Harvey County watershed in two hours on Tuesday. Friends had been catching white bass and wipers in the sun-drenched shallows at El Dorado since Sunday.

Thursday evening, a few anglers walked the rip-rap at Kanopolis, hoping to catch some precocious male saugeye headed to the shallows to spawn. Eklund found every fish his boat caught far out in the lake, in 28 feet of water, on a flat with no structure.

“I guess they’re staging out here, feeding up and staging before the spawn,” he said. “There’s no structure out here to speak of, but that’s sure where the fish have been.”

The later into the day, the better the fishing became, especially for Eklund. After several of his hook-sets, his spinning rod bowed deep, and all three anglers stared into the water.

“There’s no doubt this is the best time of the year to catch a really big walleye,” he said. “Once they start to spawn, they get their mind on other things and just don’t feed nearly as much.” Still, he said he’s had some fast action on smaller male saugeye during the spawn.

Thursday’s first-minute fish, the walleye, was the best of the trip that saw a combined nine ’eyes in the boat’s livewell. Five were more than over three pounds. Eklund had his limit of five keepers.

All of his fish were caught on a three-eighths ounce jighead, with a thin, four-inch white plastic body.“We didn’t catch as many fish as we have the other days, but the overall quality went way up today,” he said. “I’d take a couple of those bigger fish over the limits we caught a few days ago, any day.”

And with the forecast showing several more days of warm, stable weather, actual limits of those bigger fish maybe coming to Eklund, too.

This story was originally published March 14, 2015 at 3:08 PM with the headline "First few days after ice leaves a lake can be best fishing of the year."