Alright now the fish are in trouble

The temperature has dropped finally into good ice making ranges. Clear nights of -18 or lower are expected for the next few days will freeze up the lakes nicely in Central Ontario. Most small and mid-size lakes without current will now have 6 inches or more of quality ice from this recent cold spell. The bigger lakes like Simcoe and Bay of Quinte may still need some time.

With the new ice comes new opportunities. A recent trip to Rice Lake resulted in some big perch and other panfish for us. This fertile body of water is a factory for producing panfish and has been called the best panfish fishery in North America. I would have to agree. Early in the winter season hordes of perch, crappie and sunfish roam the shallow weed flats chasing bait and it seems drilling a hole anywhere will give you some decent action. Of course that is not good enough for us and we drill dozens of holes over a large area looking for the spot on the spot.

As the winter progresses perch will start moving towards deep water basins in the Kawartha's. Flats with 15-25 feet of water offer good forage, oxygen and the protection from  ambush predators found in open water. The sunfish tend to use deep sand points and crappies like deep weeds. Granted you will still find numbers of all three species in shallow spots but when your looking for trophy size panfish seek out the best habitat available at the time you are on the water. Try to avoid fishing the same spots over and over. This will cause several problems. Anglers repeatedly fishing the same spot will attract the attention of other anglers. Also the best available habitat is constantly sought by fish, oxygen levels change, new forage opportunities arise and fish relocate themselves to adapt. Anglers sitting on the same "hotspot" will find their action changing, usually for the worst. Most anglers claim the bite was off or the weather has them shut down but if you look around you might find a new honey hole nearby.
Have fun and be safe.