Perch Came Twice as Fast Through Ice on the Same Lakes, Walleye Far Slower

IAfter Freeze-Up

Ice Beat Open-Water Rates on 77.3% of Perch Water-Years, 17.4% for Walleye

Every catch rate here divides fish by every angler hour in the season regardless of what anglers fished for. Perch came to 0.153 per angler hour on the ice and 0.078 in open water on 141 water-years. State creel programs supplied the surveys held in USGS CreelCat. Every survey in a pair covered at least 2,000 angler hours. A species qualifies on a water-year only if both surveys list it and catches in the two seasons total 50 or more of it.

Of the five species only perch had a higher median rate on the ice, and their ice rate topped open water on 77.3% of their water-years on 70 waters. Walleye topped their open-water rate on 17.4% of water-years and northern pike on 18.2%. Pike caught per angler hour on the ice came to 49% of the open-water rate, about half. Black crappie came closer at 63%. Bluegill had the largest gap, with 0.080 per angler hour on the ice and 0.460 in open water.

Ice anglers kept a larger share of some species too, based on medians across water-years. Perch had a median kept share of 41.4% on the ice and 21.4% in open water. Pike had a median kept share of 57.4% on the ice against 21.8% in open water. Black crappie stayed high in both seasons at 80.4% and 62.7%, while walleye differed little at 45.4% and 42.7%. The creel data offer no explanation for that. Anglers also fished fewer hours in the ice season. The median survey on the ice logged 25,050 angler hours against 57,390 for the median open-water survey.

IIWinter Walleye Waters

Lake Audubon and Devils Lake Topped 14 Waters for Ice Walleye

Fourteen waters have at least three walleye water-years. North Dakota's Lake Audubon and Devils Lake topped that group through the ice at about 0.21 walleye per angler hour. Each lake has eight water-years, with Audubon from 1988 to 2015 and Devils Lake from 1988 to 2016. Audubon's ice rate was 53% of its open-water rate. Devils Lake's was 30%, compared with a fast 0.704 in open water. Minnesota's Upper Red Lake (East Upper Red in CreelCat) ran 0.141 walleye per angler hour through the ice from 2006 to 2010 and 1.008 in open water. Those runs finish between 2010 and 2016, so look up each lake's newer creels.

Mille Lacs ranks near the bottom of that list and drives much of the difference between the medians. It has 26 of the 155 walleye water-years, more than any other water. Its median ice rate was 11% of its open-water rate. With Mille Lacs left out the median walleye rate ran 0.071 per angler hour on the ice and 0.131 in open water on 129 water-years, or 54% of the open-water pace. Leaving out any other single water instead puts the overall figure between 26% and 31%. The paired measure changes less, going from 39% with Mille Lacs to 44% without it. When each water counts once the ice rate beat open water on only 13 of all 71 walleye waters.

Perch kept that edge on every cut. The perch ratio stays between 176% and 245% when any one water is left out, and each water-year's own perch ratio had a median of 215%.

IIIBeyond Minnesota Waters

Water-by-Water Patterns Hold Outside Minnesota Except for Bluegill

Minnesota makes up most of the pairs, with 104 of the 155 walleye water-years. Most water-years come from Minnesota DNR large-lake surveys. Giving each water a single count stops Mille Lacs from weighing 26 times. On 45 waters the median Minnesota water ran 0.038 walleye per angler hour on the ice and 0.077 in open water. The median water outside Minnesota ran 0.050 walleye per angler hour on the ice and 0.128 in open water, with the ice rate topping open water on only 4 of those 26 waters. Michigan, North Dakota and South Dakota hold most of the 26.

Perch kept their edge too. Outside Minnesota the median water ran 0.282 perch per angler hour on the ice against 0.130 in open water, with the ice rate topping open water on 16 of 24 waters. Since 2000 the perch medians on 79 water-years came to 0.142 per angler hour on the ice and 0.077 in open water.

Bluegill broke from that pattern. In Minnesota the median water ran 0.185 bluegill per angler hour on the ice and 0.604 in open water. Outside Minnesota the median water ran 1.105 bluegill per angler hour on the ice and 0.670 in open water, although the ice rate topped open water on only 5 of 11 waters. That difference has weak support because it rests on 11 waters.

IVWhat Creels Miss

Targeting and Extra Lines Cloud the Comparison

CreelCat does not list what anglers were fishing for. If more anglers chase perch and fewer chase walleye in winter than in open water, that alone raises the ice perch rate and lowers the ice walleye rate. These figures cannot tell us how much of the pattern that explains.

The number of lines matters too. The Minnesota DNR's fishing rules page states "When the water isn't frozen, you must use only one fishing pole." Its page on ice fishing for walleye states "In Minnesota you can use two lines when ice fishing." An angler hour on Minnesota ice can therefore mean two lines in the water, so a per-angler rate there can differ from a per-line rate.

The two surveys in each pair share a filing year but cover neighboring seasons. We dropped 499 surveys that began in January or February and ran into fall, because they mix both seasons. Far fewer surveys support results outside Minnesota, and the pairs span only 1986 to 2019.

VPlanning a Weekend

Check the Lake's Winter Creel Before Planning Around These Rates

Our read is that through the ice on lakes like these the all-angler walleye rate ran well below open water, at a median 39% of that rate on the same water-year. Every angler's hours on the ice go into that rate, so it does not give a walleye angler's own pace. Only perch had an ice rate that topped open water on most water-years. Look up a lake's own winter creel before you commit a weekend there.