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I never thought I'd feel so happy to see temperatures in the twenties on the thermometer. We have officially hit the backside of February and March will be here before you know it. I've said it before and it bears repeating: The month of March is, without a doubt, my favorite time of year to chase panfish through the ice. Following the sustained weeks of funny business Mother Nature 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, the Government Center area on North Center, and the south end of Chisago near the A-frame and eagle's nest. All of these spots are good sunfish bets during March.

March crappies are also highly predictable and can be had every season out in front of the old Dew Drop Inn on South Center Lake, the A-frame and eagle's nest areas on Chisago (as well as the south bay off Co. 83), and, of course, the area between Sunset and Park Points on South Center. Poke around new areas if you wish, but the aforementioned locations are always perennial late-ice producers during the month of 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 two-day-old holes. The idea is to keep moving, if necessary, to locate fish. Once you do mark fish on your electronics, it normally doesn't take too many fancy tricks to get them to bite at this time of the year.

The arctic blast of bitterly cold temperatures we endured for weeks on end looks to be well behind us, so get out there and enjoy the relative warm spell we're experiencing right now. Fishing should indeed prove to be very good for the next month or so, and with catch rates normally quite high in late February and March, it's the ideal time of year to get the kids hooked on 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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