Ice fishing is worth the effort. Warm weather anglers who keep fish are sometimes looked down upon. On the ice, the byword is “catch and release – into the grease.” Catch a mess of pan fish, cats or walleyes and you’ve got the makings of as good a dinner as can be found. That said, how can we pull enough fish from our ice holes to make up the basics of a fish fry heaven? You need to go on the attack. Sure! You can drill a hole in the ice and pull your shelter over it, sit down and wait for the fish to find you. That’s not for me. You have to stalk your prey. You need to pick a lake that you’ve had experience with. You can’t pick new waterand start drilling holes at random. Pick
somewhere you’ve fished during summer. Remember where the weeds and drop-offs were located and begin there. I hope you have a gas-powered ice auger, better yet, a friend with one. Be repared to drill a lot of holes. Serious ice anglers will drill twenty holes in a small area. Use your sonar to look for depth and weeds. Fish will haunt weed beds more than any other area. If you can’t find weeds, you can drop artificial foliage like “Weed’Ez” into your hole. Don’t just sit over one hole, you’ll need to move from one hole to the next looking for your prey. The fish move and you need to chase them. It’s cold out there and my priority is to get a quick limit and get inside in front of a nice beverage as soon as I can. Moving and chasing the fish gets me off the ice quicker than just sitting on a bucket. Moving also keeps you much warmer than just sitting around. What baits should you use? If you’re fishing tip-up rigs,you’ll probably want large minnows for walleyes. Frozen smelt is
highly effective for pike. If you’re jigging for walleyes, jigging spoons work well, as do Rapala jigging lures. Pan fish will swallow waxworms and spikes. “Spikes” is a more polite way of saying “maggots,” which is what they really are. Start with one spike or waxie on your ice fishing jig. If
you use waxies, mash them a little so their juices flow into the water. Use light line and a light jig and let your bait drift gently to the proper depth. If the fish are passive, they want barely any motion. If active, you can jig the tip of your rod a little. If you seem to be attracting only smaller-sized fi sh,
try fishing a tungsten jig. They’re the same size as lead jigs, but heavier and denser. They will get down deep more quickly, where the bigger fish sometimes hang out. They’ll get down to the bigboys before the dinks can swallow your bait.
Good luck!
somewhere you’ve fished during summer. Remember where the weeds and drop-offs were located and begin there. I hope you have a gas-powered ice auger, better yet, a friend with one. Be repared to drill a lot of holes. Serious ice anglers will drill twenty holes in a small area. Use your sonar to look for depth and weeds. Fish will haunt weed beds more than any other area. If you can’t find weeds, you can drop artificial foliage like “Weed’Ez” into your hole. Don’t just sit over one hole, you’ll need to move from one hole to the next looking for your prey. The fish move and you need to chase them. It’s cold out there and my priority is to get a quick limit and get inside in front of a nice beverage as soon as I can. Moving and chasing the fish gets me off the ice quicker than just sitting on a bucket. Moving also keeps you much warmer than just sitting around. What baits should you use? If you’re fishing tip-up rigs,you’ll probably want large minnows for walleyes. Frozen smelt is
highly effective for pike. If you’re jigging for walleyes, jigging spoons work well, as do Rapala jigging lures. Pan fish will swallow waxworms and spikes. “Spikes” is a more polite way of saying “maggots,” which is what they really are. Start with one spike or waxie on your ice fishing jig. If
you use waxies, mash them a little so their juices flow into the water. Use light line and a light jig and let your bait drift gently to the proper depth. If the fish are passive, they want barely any motion. If active, you can jig the tip of your rod a little. If you seem to be attracting only smaller-sized fi sh,
try fishing a tungsten jig. They’re the same size as lead jigs, but heavier and denser. They will get down deep more quickly, where the bigger fish sometimes hang out. They’ll get down to the bigboys before the dinks can swallow your bait.
Good luck!
