When the weather warms up in January some refer to it as the “January thaw.” This year we’ve had to wait a few weeks before experiencing warmer weather and then it was almost a record-setting few days. I know that this has put an end to outside ice at the parks and for many ice fishermen with the bigger houses, it seemed like a good time to evacuate the lakes — at least temporarily.

Rain and running water can make the ice dangerous because even though ice is 18 inches in one spot it may be less in others. This is especially true with bodies of water that have a current flowing through it. The fishing in the channel of Albert Lea Lake has been spotty this year according to a few fishermen I’ve talked to. It seems that you had to be in the right spot at the right time to catch a few nice fish.

I don’t claim to be an expert fisherman but it seems to me that fishing is basically a matter of being in the right place at the right time whether it be “hard water” fishing or open water. You can put yourself on the water and even chart fish on a depth finder but if they don’t want to bite they won’t. Of course there are experts out there that will tell you how to catch fish during cold fronts or in cold water or just about any type of weather conditions. In my years of fishing I’ve followed outdoors writers and “expert” fishermen like Al Linder and Babe Winkelman and found that I am usually not on the same lake that they were when they were catching all those “lunkers.”

In my younger years I followed these expert fishermen religiously. Although my fishing success was usually not worth writing a book about I did get some very useful fishing tips which I still use today. I think that just like anything else, experience is the key ingredient. I can remember the first time I saw Al Linder’s “In-Fisherman” show on TV, I was glued to the set and could almost feel the tug on the line as he reeled in fish after fish in just the short amount of time the show was on the air. How long it took to film him catching all those fish I’ll never know for sure. I do know that I’ve never had that happen with consistently large fish but there have been just a few times when I’ve reeled in fish after fish.

The last time it happened to me was last summer when fishing with my grandson Trevor and his grandma. We were on a lake near our cabin and although the fishing on the main lake was pretty good I decided to try a bay where we had caught fish in previous years. It was great! We caught a lot of crappies, some bass and even a few small walleye. Not all the crappies were in the “slab” range but we did catch quite a few of them. I counted one time that I made 10 casts in a row and had a fish on every cast. These are moments that you live for as a fisherman. We had some great eating that night and most of all it was just a lot of fun catching fish.

A few fish tales from around the state:

ELY — With the limited lake access due to areas of drifted snow and slushy spots more and more anglers are turning their attention from the pursuit of walleyes to catching nice lake trout, rainbow trout, brook trout and splake and browns. Burntside Lake tops the list lately with a proliferation of anglers targeting lake trout. Most are being taken by jigging near drop-offs and humps in the forty-five to fifty-five foot range. Top baits are rainbow chubs followed by jigging everything from white tube jigs, chubby darters, bucktail jigs to airplane jigs. The fish aren’t choosy; it’s the presentation that’s important. When the flasher screen lights up with the passing of a school of smelt, you have to start jigging more aggressively. Apparently this imitates the wounded or crippled bait fish. Jigs with minnow heads and jigs or jigging spoons such as Northland’s buckshot spoons tipped with waxies are accounting for more of the other trout species on lakes such as High, Dry, Miners and Tofte. The shallows from five to twenty feet seem to be harboring the most fish. The crappie bite is picking up on Bass Lake, One Pine, Low and Johnson. Crappie minnows on a dead stick or small jigs tipped with waxies or eurolarvae are the winning combinations. Northern pike are falling for suckers and shiners in 5-20 feet of water. Stop in at Babe’s for the right bait combinations for the fish that you are targeting.

PARK RAPIDS — The walleye bite is kind of slow; the best has been in 28-30 feet of water on Fishhook. The northerns have been active all over, in about 14 feet of water on the Crow Wing Chain. The bluegill action has really been heating up in 14-16 feet of water on the Crow Wing chain and on Fish Hook out here too. The crappie action, guys are just starting to get them more on Big Mantrap suspended in about 30 feet of water. Travel on the lakes is getting better, the snow has settled down a bit allowing more vehicle traffic.

RAINY LAKE — The best walleye bite is around American Narrows right now. Try jigging with a minnow in about 30 feet of water. Northern pike are hitting minnows on bare hooks around the mouth of Black Bay. The biggest advice is to get away from the ice roads, which tend to concentrate anglers and noise. People with portable gear are doing well in several areas farther east on Rainy Lake, the snowmobile trails are staked and well packed and the land trails are in excellent shape.

RED WING — Guys have been heading down to Methodist early in the morning for some walleye action. They have been getting some good limits of fish jigging with rattling spoons tipped with fathead minnows in about 20 feet of water.

UPPER RED LAKE — The fast and furious walleye action that we saw in December and the beginning of January has slowed down quite a bit. But guys are still able to at least catch a limit of them. The more you are able to be mobile, the better you will fare.

LAKE OF THE WOODS — The temperature here at Lake of the Woods may be cold but the fishing action is heating up! Anglers have been moving their houses around the lake in search of the next “hot spot.” Right now the bite has been strong is 32-36 feet of water using a frozen shiner, and the fish continue to be suspended a few feet off the bottom. A nice variety of sizes have been caught lately, and several walleye over 30 inches have been reported. The bite is definitely picking up and is sure to get even better as the season continues.

BATTLE LAKE — People have been doing okay. Catching some walleyes on Ottertail, some fishing shallow in 10-15 feet of water, but the majorities are coming from around 35 feet of water. Also catching some perch out there too using fatheads. Also try Battle Lake in the middle on the humps.