There are plenty of great places for ice fishing in the Midwest, and Brian Brosdahl can help you find the best ones near you.

Anglers in most parts of the Ice Belt have something a little different in mind when they talk about “first ice.” It might be shallow parts of a flowage in Wisconsin, small shallow lakes in Minnesota or shallow lakes and overflow ditches in North Dakota. Veteran anglers know their surroundings and have their own list of areas to check.

Most first-ice spots are at the north ends of waterways because of the angle of the sun. This doesn’t necessarily mean the north end of the lake; it is the north ends of everything, including the south bays or connected waters. It is the north end of the water, where the angle of the sun gives the environment a head start beneath the thin canopy of newly formed ice. We are talking percentages, and it is not 100 percent.

The first check on the ice conditions is usually a little road trip with the truck, looking through a list of places anglers already have in their minds from past seasons on what and where to check.

Topo maps provide clues for those who don’t have good ideas of where to start fishing on their local waters. Even veterans like to look at maps; it can give them new ideas or refresh their minds on what an area looks like.

Looking and planning where to go is fun and can result in having a spot you can return to for years, unless you spill the beans or get picked off by someone using other people as search tools, and not doing their own homework.

Anglers in my part of the country have one of the best options anywhere for walleyes early in the season. Upper Red Lake is as close to a walleye mecca as exists anywhere in the Ice Belt. Miles of shoreline freeze fast and are loaded with literally tons of aggressive day-bite walleyes living in shallow, stained water.

The stained water means you can use 8-pound-test Sunline and more aggressive jigging patterns. You can also use cheaper fathead minnows and bright-colored lures, although I like shiners and Northland lures like the Fire Belly Buckshot Spoon with the light stick, and also a good selection of Rattling Puppet Minnows. Gamakatsu #4 and #6 Red Octopus hooks with a live minnow also excel.

You can fish all day on Upper Red Lake because of the stained water, then have a good flurry of action at low light, and still have a good chance for a night bite if you want to stay late once the ice gets thick enough to support houses. I don’t think there is much Upper Red Lake doesn’t have for early-season walleyes.

My part of northern Minnesota has many more options for early-season walleye spots that are also good for other species, many of which are connected to the shoreline and can be accessed without crossing over any basin areas. Some of these areas include the south shore of Lake of the Woods all the way from the Gap to Zippel Bay, to Long Point, to the Ditches, and all the way to the northwest corner near Rocky Point and Arneson’s Resort.

Lake of the Woods also has stained water, so the day bite is the key. There are tons of walleyes of all sizes, lots of smaller sauger to fill your limits, huge pike, jumbo perch, and oddball fish including a couple of lake trout that wander south every winter from the deep, clear, north end of the lake.

Another area for early-season walleyes and perch is the north end of Portage and Sucker Bays on Leech Lake. There are both rocks and extensive weed beds to check out in both bays. Steamboat Bay and Boy Bay also have other options for early ice. The water is clear, so the bite depends on clouds and low light, but the fish are always there.

Finally, Devils Lake in North Dakota has plenty of spots for early ice, with even a series of ditches holding nice fish. It is a good part of the country to visit at any time of the year.

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