As the New Year starts, there is always some reflection on the past year. It’s a time for resolutions, to do better at the things that are important to us, especially from a health or performance standpoint. When I look back at the 2024 fishing season, one element stands out to me and that’s the different weather that we continue to face. Dealing and adjusting to some of those changes will be a key to finding success on the water and staying safe on the ice in the years to come.
There is no doubt that climate change is having an effect on our fishing activities. We’re seeing more dramatic changes in water levels than ever before. We used to get an unusually high or low water level year mixed in occasionally but they seem to be a lot more common in recent years. Water levels probably have the biggest effect on our local fisheries, especially Rainy Lake and Lake of the Woods, which are connected via the Rainy River.
Both of our big lakes have a massive current to them that obviously increases when the water is high and decreases when the water is low. When these changes happen, most of the fish in our lakes alter their locations and having an idea of what they’ll do can help you out greatly in your search for fish. Find the fish and you’re likely to have a successful outing.
As a general rule, when the water is high, you’re going to find more fish in shallow water, relating to much of the cover like vegetation, rock and wood that is available. This goes for nearly all species, except some of the deepwater fish like lake trout and whitefish but current showing up stronger in different locations can influence those fish as well. When the water is low, there is going to be less current and most fish are going to be found in slightly deeper water. I almost always prefer high water because it makes the fish more predictable and they seem to bite better.
Current is easy to find for the most part. Look around in the neck-down, skinnier areas where the water is going to be forced through. These types of places will almost always hold fish of all species and bait throughout the year. When we experience less current, I think more fish tend to suspend and float around in open water.
We seem to be having milder winters than in the past. Last winter was a cupcake and while this year has seen a solid amount of snow fall early in the winter, it’s been mild in general and we’re now fighting with sketchy ice conditions on many waterbodies across Northwest Ontario. That will change with the cold weather forecasted over the coming weeks but it’s something that we probably didn’t have to worry about as often in the past.
I’m all for less of the extreme cold but hopefully the rest of the winter will give us normal snow levels and temperatures, that is the best way to avoid unusually high or low water levels for the upcoming open water season.
This past fall, we saw warmer temperatures later into the season. I have fished the fall bass tournaments across the region since I was a kid and we used to never fish less than twenty feet of water after mid-September. This past year, I hardly caught a bass deeper than 20 feet of water until mid-October. More fish stay shallow, with some effect on that surely from the warmer temperatures.
What I’m getting at is, try to keep an open mind on the water in the New year, both on the ice and in open water. If you aren’t catching fish in your usual hot spots, keep moving around until you find them. Your lure and its colour are unimportant if you aren’t putting your bait in front of some fish. You have to find the fish to catch them.
All the best in 2025 and I wish all of you tight lines.
