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Don’t ignore deeper water for Michigan’s first-ice panfish

Don’t automatically assume that big panfish remain in shallow water where you last saw them during the autumn. Try targeting deeper water, which is where the author caught this slab bluegill last season. (Photos by gnatoutdoors.com)

Ice anglers wait anxiously for first ice, knowing it’s one of the best times to catch bluegills.
Anglers predictably gather off weed edges where they last made big catches in the fall. That can be a great location to make limit catches of average-sized ’gills, but the real jumbos may already have scooted to deeper water.

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