R.R. Shumway.

It’s already February. When the year began a month ago, anxious fishermen in the Great Plains wasted no time in starting up their search for their favorite species -- either in open water or through the ice. If you haven’t, you’re already behind.

With that in mind, let’s get started with the greatest fishing opportunities for the rest of the year in the Great Plains. And remember, that same ice on Devils Lake in January is still on the lake this month. So you’re not actually too far behind -- as long as you read fast.

JANUARY
Northern Pike
Devils Lake,ND
“Devils Lake is one of the best fisheries in North America,” said local guide Ted Robinette, “and to fish for northern pike through the ice this time of year is just a hoot.”

Count on it! Obtain a topographic map of Devils and stay in shallow water once you arrive. Northerns can be caught throughout the day and will average in the 4- to 6-pound range, with fish topping out over 30 pounds.

“We fish with tip-ups most of the time,” Robinette said. “It’s much more fun running back and forth than it is standing still and jigging.”

Using smelt and herring with a 1/0 treble hook, Robinette fishes these shallow areas and does his best to find spots near vegetation, which can be challenging on 150,000 acres of water. But if you can find these spots, as the man said, it’s certainly a hoot!

FEBRUARY
Striped Bass
Wilson Lake,KS
In the spring following ice-out, stripers can be caught in relatively shallow water in the backs of coves and in the Saline River.

“You have to pay attention to your water temperature in the early spring,” advised Jack Hoskinson, who has been guiding for stripers on Wilson for more than 10 years. “About a week after ice-out, I’ll start catching fish for three months straight.”

Hoskinson fishes with large live bait, sometimes traveling for as far as 300 miles roundtrip to locate what he needs. “Because Wilson is pretty sterile, if we have good ice, then we will have a good die-off of gizzard shad.”

The fishing that follows, he said, will be fantastic. Stripers in the 15- to 25-pound range are common, and most of his fish come off planer boards in water 5 feet or less in depth!

MARCH
Mixed Bag
Red Willow Reservoir,NE
OK, this time I’m cheating, but it’s with good cause that I’m doing so. I’m putting Red Willow in March because that’s when the fishing starts, but it certainly doesn’t end then. In the spring, look on shallow flats and in mouths of bays for wipers. Gradually move deeper toward summer, said guide Steve Lytle, and work off the lake’s deep points for more action with wipers.

Find shallow walleyes early in the year as well, looking for a food source that also moves deeper toward summer. However, also keep this in mind: “Last year we caught a good number of Master Angler walleyes in July and August in less than 15 feet of water,” said Lytle. “We paid a lot of attention to the thermocline, stayed just above it, and were able to catch walleyes during the hottest part of the year.”