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We’re on the backside of February and March is coming up fast. I’ve said it before that March is, without a doubt, my favorite month to chase panfish through the ice, and with the funny business Mother Nature has recently pulled on us, I’m really looking forward to milder weather and warm sunshine. Each season I await the aggressive panfish bite during late-ice, and it’s a welcome change indeed to sit outside with the warm March sun on my face and hands.

If you’re after bluegills, I’d suggest Pancake Island on South Center, out in front of the Government Center on North Center and the south end of Chisago near the A-frame and eagle’s nest. All of these spots are good bets during March.

If it’s crappies you’re after, the water out in front of the old Dew Drop Inn on South Center has always been a perennial late-ice producer and, of course, the area between Sunset and Park Points is always good water during March. Jigging any of these spots from mid-afternoon until dusk will most likely yield a mixed bag, so wherever you do decide to fish, bring along both waxies and minnows.

One benefit to late-ice fishing is the fact that if other anglers have recently worked an area you intend to set up, you can often leave the heavy gas auger at home and get by with a chisel alone - a few whacks with a spud bar will easily open 2-day-old holes. The idea is to keep moving, if necessary, to locate fish, and once you’ve located a school of sunnies or crappies, it shouldn’t be too tough to get them to bite, particularly at this time of the year.

So get out there and enjoy the weather next month. Bring along a portable radio and catch a Twins game while you sit on a pickle bucket and soak up the late winter sunshine. Pack some sandwiches and a thermos of hot cocoa and bring the kids along. The weather will be so pleasant that you finally won’t hear, “I’m c-cold! I wanna go home!” Yes, as far as I’m concerned, you can’t beat March ice fishing.

Dan Brown’s weekly outdoor column is brought to you by Frankie’s Bait and Marine, in Chisago City, and St. Croix Outdoors, in St. Croix Falls, Wis.

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