Early ice offers active, shallow fish but also demands a quieter, more strategic approach. Focus on healthy weeds, subtle structure, and smart drilling to avoid spooking fish in thin, clear ice conditions. Natural gliding spoons and downsized jigs shine when fish get finicky. Staying warm, safe, and mobile is essential...
Early ice is an electric time of year. Fish push shallow, stay active, and many of them have not seen a lure in months. At the same time, first ice is unpredictable and demanding—thin ice, fast-changing weather, and easily spooked shallow fish can make it harder than it looks to truly take advantage of this opportunity.
To consistently catch fish during early ice, you need the right strategy AND gear that actually works for you. Let me break down what I've learned over years of chasing early ice fish.
Early ice hot spots include:
During early ice, panfish and walleye fish cruise the edges of these spots, especially at dawn and dusk. Panfish sit right inside the weeds and walleye will be inside or right off the closest break.
The best part about early ice? You don't have to walk miles out onto sketchy ice. Fish are literally under your feet in areas you can safely reach.
Why my DSG suit matters during early ice: Early ice means a lot of walking - pulling sleds, using a spud bar, covering ground. My DSG suit actually fits my body, so I'm not fighting bulk and stiffness with every step. Less fatigue before I even start fishing.
Early ice is thin and clear and LOUD. Fish can hear and feel EVERYTHING. If you're stomping around on early ice like it's January, you're pushing fish away. This is the biggest mistake I see new anglers make this time of year.
What I do during early ice:
It sounds like a small thing, but staying quiet is hugely underrated during early ice.
If you remember nothing else about early ice fishing, remember this:
Weeds = Fish. Especially if you find healthy weeds.
Healthy weeds during early ice hold oxygen, baitfish, insects, and cover. It's where fish are feeding during the early ice period.
An underwater camera is a perfect tool to evaluate shallow weeds this time of year.
Early ice fish are predictable if you know what to look for. Of course these rules don’t apply to every lake, all of the time… BUT they do help you figure out where to start in a variety of situations.
Walleye during early ice: In classic clear water, structured lakes found in Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin - look for them on the first major drop-off adjacent to shallow feeding flats. During early ice, they'll cruise these edges during low light, then slide deeper during midday. Points, inside turns, and weed edges are great during early ice. In shallow pothole lakes, fish can still be found near shorelines, but often roam. Any sort of slight structural change in these lakes can be productive.
Crappie during early ice: During the day, you’ll find crappie in shallow bays or weedy shorelines along with most fish. They will often transition to deep water during the night.
Perch during early ice: Roamers. During early ice, they travel in schools over sand, gravel, or the outside edges of weed lines. Once you find one during early ice, there's usually a dozen more nearby. They are often found on the bottom. They do transition to deep holes as winter progresses.
The key to early ice success is matching your approach to how each species uses the structure.
Here's a trick that'll save you tons of time during early ice: fish don't migrate far when the lake first freezes. If you were catching walleye on a specific weed edge in October, guess what? They're probably still there during early ice in early December.
Same goes for panfish during early ice. That shallow bay that was loaded with crappie in late fall? Hit it first when the ice is safe for early ice fishing.
The transition from open water to early ice is way shorter than most people think. Fish haven't moved to their mid-winter locations yet during early ice - they're still in fall patterns.
If you don't know the fall bite on your lake, talk to anglers who fish it in the fall or check fishing reports from October through November. Those spots are your best starting point for early ice fishing.
Here's the balance during early ice: you need to be mobile, but you also can't drill 20 holes in one area without spooking every fish nearby.
My early ice approach:
Why DSG works for early ice: When you're moving between areas during early ice and being strategic about your holes, you need gear that doesn't fight you. My DSG bibs and jacket don't bunch or restrict movement. The adjustable inseams and stretch panels make kneeling, drilling, and moving between spots way easier during early ice.
When your suit moves with you instead of against you during early ice, you stay out longer and fish more effectively.
Early ice is incredible, but you have to respect it. During early ice, I always bring:
The float-assist technology in my DSG suit matters MOST during early ice. If the ice breaks during early ice, that built-in flotation could literally save your life.
Early ice fish can be picky, so lean on baits with a natural, gliding fall instead of loud, fast-dropping options. Slow-falling flutter spoons shine here, giving fish time to track and eat without spooking.
What to throw during early ice:
Do not be afraid to downsize during early ice if marks are lookers instead of biters; matching smaller forage and softening your fall rate often turns neutral fish into eaters. Start with a profile you trust, then go smaller and more subtle when the bite tightens up.
If you're cold, wet, or fighting stiff gear during early ice, you won't stay out long enough to capitalize on those early ice opportunities.
This is why I switched to DSG for early ice fishing many years ago. It's designed by women who actually fish, so it solves real problems during early ice:
It's not men's gear shrunk down. It's built for how we actually fish during early ice. Most importantly, it keeps us warm!
Early ice is short. You've got maybe 2-3 weeks of prime early ice fishing before everything changes. Look for back bays/weeds, stay quiet, drill strategically, and keep moving when you need to during early ice.
And get gear that supports you instead of holding you back during early ice. When you're comfortable and safe on early ice, you fish more confidently - and catch more fish.
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