Walleye are the most-targeted ice fishing species in the Upper Midwest. Mille Lacs, Lake of the Woods, Leech Lake, and Upper Red Lake all support major walleye ice fishing economies — wheelhouse villages, resort towns, and weekly fishing reports that span December through March. The same fish that anglers chase across open-water structure in summer…

Northern pike are the trophy targets of ice fishing. The same aggressive predators that crush spinnerbaits in summer still feed under the ice — just slower, more deliberately, and with a strong preference for sustained presentations over fast action. This makes pike the classic tip-up species. A baited rig sitting motionless over a weed edge,…

Yellow perch are the high-numbers ice fishing target — the species that fills the bucket on a productive day. They school in dense groups, feed actively throughout the daylight hours, and produce some of the best table fare in freshwater fishing. The technique is mobile: drill many holes, find the school, fish until they move,…

Lake trout are the cold-water specialist of ice fishing. Where walleye, pike, and panfish operate in the moderate temperatures and shallower depths of typical Upper Midwest lakes, lake trout demand deep, cold, oxygen-rich water — and they reward anglers willing to fish at 50-100+ foot depths with heavy spoons and patient vertical jigging. The technique…

Crappie are the panfish anglers chase for the slab — those 14+ inch, 1.5+ pound fish that fight hard on light tackle and eat exceptionally. Winter is one of the best windows of the year for crappie fishing because the fish school tightly in deep basins, making them locatable with electronics and catchable in numbers…