Clear Lake ranks as ice fishing hotspot

by Lowell Washburn
When it comes to knowing exactly where and when the fish are biting on Clear Lake, no one knows better than Dan Fjeld.
Fjeld is the official DNR Creel Clerk for Clear Lake. Rain or shine, summer or winter, he’s out and about conducting hundreds of angler interviews while recording the numbers, size, and species of fish those anglers catch. Biologists use that information to make hatchery, stocking, and other fish management decisions.
Although ice fishing ranks as the most unpredictable period of the year, angler numbers and angler success have remained high at the lake throughout the winter.
“People were able to get out on good ice early in the season, and they immediately began to find good numbers of walleyes and yellow bass,” says Fjeld. “Angler success remained high, the word quickly spread and crowds grew.”
By mid-January, Clear Lake’s ice shanty village had grown to around 100 permanent houses. During late afternoons, the number of structures often doubles as anglers install portable ice houses in preparation for the evening bite.
This winter, angler numbers appear to be holding into February. Last Saturday, for example, a late afternoon crowd of more than 800 gathered in hopes of bagging a sunset walleye.
“Most people just want to catch fish and are happy with either yellow bass or walleyes,” says Fjeld. “I’m not seeing huge catches of yellows, like in the spring, but the fish that are being caught are very acceptable. Eleven-inch yellow bass weighing up to one pound are pretty common. A lot of people are taking anywhere from a dozen to 15 of those fish per trip. That level of success definitely keeps anglers coming back.”
“Walleye fishing has been the most consistent,” reports Fjeld. “The best action is during early morning or from just before sunset until dark. Most keepers are running from 15 inches to 16 inches in length. Some 20-inch class fish are also being taken. A lot of people are catching one or two legal walleye right at sunset, and some are taking limits.”

Although fishing success has remained unusually consistent this winter, schools have recently become “increasingly on the move” as under water predators explore new food sources. In order to achieve maximum success, anglers need to move with them.
“The people catching the most fish are definitely moving with the fish,” says Fjeld. “I’ve interviewed people sitting in a permanent ice shack in the morning and have come back in the afternoon to find those same people sitting in the same house 300 or more yards from where they were earlier that day.”
“Based on the people I’m talking to, there’s no question that Clear Lake is drawing anglers from a wide area,” says Fjeld. “I’m interviewing anglers who are making multiple [repeat] visits from Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, and even coming down from Minnesota. I think it’s kind of humorous that people are traveling down from a state like Minnesota to catch walleyes at Clear Lake. That’s how good the fishing has been here this winter.”
A summary of Fjeld’s Clear Lake winter creel census will be available during early spring.