any luck today??

[evinrude]

well i made it out from noon till 6 on three different ponds with no luck. you guys think the weather had somthing to do with that? howd youys do?

[JIvers]

I didn't go to Belva Deer this afternoon like I hoped (long story), so instead I hit a local pond, not expecting much.

I actually did really well so far as numbers go--I caught a lot of bluegills from 4:40 PM when I went out to 6:00, although most were small. It wasn't as good as the first ice bite, but for February it was pretty good. The fish were a little picky, but I could get them to hit with some coaxing.

This pond has been froze over since the first week of December, and has a good coating of snow to boot, but it has a stream running in to it. I think the little thaw we had, with the increased runoff, boosted oxygen levels and got the fish more active.

[evinrude]

well that gives me a little hope for tomorrow. the last pond i was at tonight showed alot of fish suspended at 10 foot in 14 fow on the vex,but no takers. i tried jig n raps, ants with waxies,gill pills. its usually a good crappie hole too even caught a 18 incher seven years ago there. i may try the golf course in albia tomorrow theres been some nice crapps gills come out of there this past week by a buddy.

[JIvers]

This time of year, I have found it's usually best to go light for panfish in ponds. Bare # 10 hook with a waxie, a bare # 14 with a goldie or spike, or a very small (1/32 oz) teardrop jig with a goldie or spike--sometimes they like that extra color.

The fish I was catching tonight went through phases of what they would hit as the light dimmed. Before sunset they wanted a spike on a small orange teardrop jig, then they wanted a yellow teardrop jig and spike, and as it got dark they wanted a waxie on a bare hook.

One of the nice things about being able to fish two lines is that you can figure out what works and what doesn't quicker than if you can only use one line. Tonight, like other nights, I saw that what the fish wanted changed pretty quickly as it got darker.

More generally, I've found during my years in Iowa fishing ponds that bigger baits work fine at first ice (and sometimes at last ice), but in the middle of winter it is usually better to go light. During mid-winter I have found that it is definitely better to fish right around sunrise and sundown, too--fish tend to shut off during the day this time of year.

Anyhow, I'm going to bed soon--I'm going to hit the ponds again tomorrow morning.