IRON MOUNTAIN — Ice anglers are landing panfish as the transition to spring starts to quicken.

“Fishermen are catching good numbers of crappies,” said Doug Whisler at Whisler Outdoors in Florence, Wis., mentioning rosy red minnows as a good bait.

A few smaller walleye were caught on boundary waters, he added.

A 12 1/2-inch perch leads the monthly contest at John Grier’s Whispering Pines Outpost on M-95. “There’s a few people going out fishing, and probably more this weekend,” he said.

A new fishing license is required April 1 in both Michigan and Wisconsin and both states are also offering leftover spring turkey permits.

Northern pike fishermen report slow fishing on tip-ups at the mouth of the Peshtigo River, although the fish being caught are fair in size, according to Ben Ewoldt, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources fisheries technician at Peshtigo.

Snowmobile trail conditions are deteriorating, but with some remaining in fair shape.

The Michigan DNR reported the following Upper Peninsula fishing activity:

Keweenaw Bay: The slush and most of the snow is gone and there is now some honeycomb ice on the top layer. The thickness varies so anglers need to use caution especially near any holes that were previously drilled. With warmer temperatures this week, be sure to check the ice with a spud every time you head out. The coho bite was very good in 10 to 14 feet but the action slowed. The lake trout bite was good in 150 to 200 feet and the splake action was hit-or-miss in 15 to 55 feet. The whitefish bite was also slow but usually starts to pick up this time of year in 55 to 80 feet. Smelt fishing had been slow. A few brown trout and steelhead were showing up in front of the river mouths.

Marquette: Had slow fishing again. The Upper Harbor near the “Bubbler” is now open water and a few anglers launching small boats from the beach were picking up the odd coho, brown trout or Chinook salmon but most were not having much luck. The ice in the Lower Harbor was holding with cold temperatures freezing any water and slush on top so it was slippery for those walking. The only anglers out there were the few targeting burbot at night. Daytime catches were almost nonexistent.

Little Bay De Noc: Access has been extremely hard this year. Saunders Point has open water so avoid this area. Perch fishing was spotty although anglers were getting enough fish in the Kipling area to keep them interested. Most were caught on minnows or wigglers in 30 feet. A few were also found in and around 17 feet. Of the fish caught, some were very nice jumbo perch. Fair to good whitefish catches were reported off Sand Point with minnows or spawn in and around 75 feet. Anglers were trying to remove their ice shanties, but many were frozen in. Shanties must be off the Bay by midnight on March 31.

Munising: Still has ice fishing however catch rates were poor with only a few coho and splake caught. Coho anglers were jigging a Swedish pimple or small jigging spoon. The whitefish action was slow. Night anglers targeting burbot and smelt did good for burbot but slow for smelt.