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| A limit of BLUEGILLS to start the season |
The season rolled in quickly this year catching many anglers off guard. Last weekend marked he first "safe ice" in Iowa for anglers to enjoy. "Safe ice" of course is a relative terms and one not to take lightly. Same lakes in Iowa are still wide open with water, while others have 8 or more inches on them in areas. SAFETY is the most important thing to keep on your mind this time of year with the varying ice conditions. I get asked all the time, "How do you know the ice is safe?" I always say, "There is only one way to find out for sure, go test it." Accessing lakes with a safety strategy and the proper safety tools is a must this time of year. These include: a spud bar, rope, flotation cushion, and a Friend. A spud bar will help you gage the ice as you hit it on the ice for every step. This allows you a test that shows how hard/thick the ice is before you walk on it. It is a must this time of year for exploring new ice. The most important tool...is to take a friend. Fishing alone this time of year, or fishing without a rope or flotation device is simply a STUPID thing to do. Check the ice often...and you will fish another day.
The 2025/26 season started off on the Mississippi River for me. I headed to a local community hole, Bussey Lake on Friday, December 5th. There were many anglers out with reports of "catching" by the local bait shop. The ice was solid in the area, ranging from 5-6 inches. I started to pick up a few bluegills right away in about five feet of water. I was not seeing very many fish coming through the area on the Vexilar FLX38, so I decided to hop around a bit to see what else was out there. I quickly some water that was a bit shallower and had some nice weeds present. Fish, especially bluegills love weeds. I immediately started catching gills once I was in the weedline. The fish were coming through at a regular rate looking for their next meal. Not only do weeds hold a lot of small creatures for these river bluegills to eat, the weeds also provide great cover for the bluegills from predators like largemouth bass and northern pike that swim in the area too. For the next 5 hours or so I sat on two holes of the Mississippi River backwater and caught gill after gill. The weedline was one of the keys for locating fish today. It allowed me to keep my limit of 25 fish, enough for a couple of meals for my parents and a meal for my family. I also caught a half-dozen largemouth bass and a crappie on the day too. It was a great way to start the ice season!
