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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Icepirate" data-source="post: 351362" data-attributes="member: 8079"><p>Open water is still relatively dirty up there, although it's cleared up quite a bit over the years. Once it's iced over with no wave action it clears up a lot by January. the zebra muscles have definitely changed ice fishing tactics. we first fished Lake Winnipeg in 2010 and I lived there from 2014-2020.  amazing how much clearer the water is. went from not being able to see the bottom of your hole, to seeing the bottom of the lake in 8 FOW from the top of the ice last winter. areas near the mouth can still be murky because of the Red, but you don't have to get too far away from the mouth and its clear water. Upnorth is definitely right that the walleyes are more cautious of rattle baits. there's still days and times that they work well, but the last 3 years I've probably fished 75% spoons. there have been a fair amount of days in the last 3 years or so that I'll hardly even mark any with a rattle bait, switch to a spoon, and start marking fish within minutes (usually after a cold front). It's also important to have a slip bobber or dead stick out now too. Last March (2022) I fished two days up there. granted it was after a cold front, but half the fish I caught came on a slip bobber with live minnows.  For anyone going up there, I would say just be prepared with everything and switch it up like always. You might still have a day or two where they hammer the rattle baits, but probably be thinking spoons and more traditional tactics overall. Also have a slip bobber rigged up and don't rule out buying live minnows if they're in a fussy mood. it's still really good fishing, just different then several years ago</p></blockquote><p></p>

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