Throughout my 34 years of guiding, I’ve noticed one thing that typical anglers ignore on both open and frozen water: shallow fishing opportunities. Why? I’m not sure. My guess is that it can be a little trickier to fish shallow-water areas full of weeds. My advice is to change your mid-wintfishing “rut” from “deep holes” to “shallow weeds.”

Baby fish need cover to hide to survive. Baby fish need food and oxygen. So, baby fish use shallow weeds as a nursery until they grow large enough to transition into main-lake areas, deeper water etc. Big fish eat baby fish. Sounds simple right? It is. And that’s why shallow weeds are loaded with fish all year long—including now, under the ice and snow.

Shallow weeds provide a ton of things not found in deep-water areas, such as cover, multiple varieties of food, and oxygen. What depth ranges? It can vary from lake to lake and region to region, but basically, I’d say the 5- to 12-foot range is a safe bet. Try to find weed beds near deep water (20-feet-plus). I find my most productive weed beds while fishing during the open-water season; it saves a ton of time poking around on the ice.

Finding fish in shallow-water weeds can be a little more challenging when the surface is frozen—even with electronics. Underwater cameras can really shine in this case because the proof is on the screen. Otherwise, if you’re using a flasher through the ice, just keep it on the ice a lot longer and focus on the screen until one of marks “moves;” that’s a fish, not a weed. Then drill a hole and try catch it. The beauty of the shallow-water weed bite is that it can last all day, and many times is the best during high sun! Even under bright light, charge your glow baits just like you would in low-light conditions!

The edges of weed beds are important. This is another reason to “map” the weed bed’s perimeter shape during summer, with your “map chip” recording and saving your boat trail while “tracing” the shape of the weed bed from a boat. Simply use the same unit or chip to navigate back to the weed bed under the frozen surface. I mount my Humminbird Helix 10 on my four-wheeler, and then into the truck; regardless, I always have it with me.

Even though the edges are great spots to start, always fish the centers of any weed bed as well—especially if there is a known thin spot or hole in the center of the weed bed.

I attack a weed bed with a two-punch approach. One rod has a small jigging spoon like a JB Lures “Big Bad Bo” or a Northland Tackle Forage Minnow (small enough for big panfish, but big enough for pike, walleye, or bass). The other has some kind of panfish-sized lure like a Northland Tackle Gill Getter or a JB Lures DUB’L D tungsten. Either bait is tipped with a waxie or a spike, or the head of a crappie minnow, for added scent.

I start with the jiggin’ spoon to catch the biggest, most aggressive fish first—and to also attract additional fish. After the initial flurry of aggressive fish, I drop down the tiny stuff and fish more traditionally. I stay in the hole until the fish are gone or it takes too long to catch a “watcher.” As Al Lindner says: “Never leave biting fish.” Everyone has their own definition of what “biting fish” are; I know what mine is and I stick to it.

You can typically take advantage of the shallow-water weed bite all winter long. Pay attention to the condition of the weeds on the body of water you are fishing. It’s possible, especially in years of deep snow, that by the end of February, the weeds may officially die and force the fish out to deeper water or to a neighboring weed bed that is still alive. Even so, they don’t all move on the same day on the same schedule. But once they’re gone, it’s time to move and find them again.

Captain Josh Hagemeister owns and operates Minnesota Fishing Guide Service. He has been in the fishing industry as a professional fishing guide going on 32 years, starting back in the days when he worked for In-Fisherman’s Camp Fish. He contributes to several outdoor publications, fishing reports and social media sites. Minnesota Fishing Guide Service, 320-291-0708; email josh@minnesotaguideservice.com; www.minnesotaguideservice.com, www.minnesotaicefishhouserental.com.