Ice Fishing in River Current?

[tjbassmaster]

How do you ice fish a river with all the current? Do you have to use more weight? With all the current how do you know when you are on the bottom? Another question i got is how would one use a flasher when fishing in current? Is it maybe better to leave the flasher and just fish with bobbers?

Sorry for all the questions, but I am new to ice fishing rivers. I have some spots that have safe ice that I would like to try. I also will be checking the ice very often to be safe.

[Steve Foss]

When I ice fished rivers more regularly I'd use a nice heavy buckshot rattle spoon tipped with a minnow head. You're generally not targeting the downstream current itself, but looking for seams or current breaks (downstream from boulders, or where the downstream current and the backwater eddy meet), so the current isn't as strong as a person might think.

Also, if I was in significant current, I'd cut two holes about 4 feet apart, one upstream, one down. I'd put the transducer in the downstream hole and run the cord up across the ice to where I fished with the Vex in the upstream hole. That way, as the lure was pushed downstream, it would end up in the ducer cone and would show up. It takes some finessing to get it dialed in, and depends on current strength, depth and lure weight, but the principle will work in any river current situation.

[slipperybob]

Heavier weight is first thing I do. Then when I need to, just set up flasher downstream.

[RiverFish]

Lindy rigs with floaters work well in current. You know you are on the bottom, yet you can set your depth off the bottom with the length of the floater snell. Typically use when I am walleye fishing.

Fatboy jigs work well also. They are heavier and show up well on the Vex.

I also drill two holes as Mr. Foss described above, tougher to see slight changes in depth but does work.

[RJMOEN]

I use buckshots, minnow raps, and plain jigs...they also make swim jigs that have a triangle shaped head that cuts through the water. Main thing to know is that on the river the ice thickness changes daily. Sometimes for the better sometimes for the worse. One of the spots I fish the ice is 12" thick in one spot and a few feet away only 6".

[Northlander]

I fish a lot or current and the 1st thing you need to figure out is where is the current at on the body of water you are fishing. Too much isnt good and none can be bad as well.

The other thing as stated above is cutting holes on top of eachother. Meaning 1 down river of your fishing hole and maybe 1 above. In the St. Louis River where I fish a lot we get a current that is normally flowing down river but we get a tidel current from Lake Superior that will puch baits up river. Sounds crazy but it happens several times through out the day.

As far as lures I have fallen in love with the Lindy Flyers. I used to be a huge buckshot fan, and still use them, but more often now my 1st spoon on is a flyer. Size depends more on fish mood than current. I can always see my lure if I have my holes cut at the right spacing.

Plain old jigs and a minnow deadsticked work. A lindy rig with a bare hook and bead or small float is deadly but the sturgies tend to get hooked up a lot more with bottom sitting baits. We can not fish for them here so i tend to not use the Lindy stuff as much as I once did.

My all time favorite current jig is the Whistler jig. Noise, vibration and color atraction is all there with that jig. Plastics or minnows can be used.

Fish are often shallower than expected in this current. They are usually active and feeding as well. Note too much current and these fish arent feeding there they are just moving through. No current to move food can be bad as stated before.

Inside bends, long straight flats with humps, big flats with mild current, tops of holes and trofts between humps and dunes can be great.

I always say look at a good map, think like a fish moving to and from spots for food and intercept them as they do.

Think shallow early and late and deeper mid day. How deep depends on where you fish.

In the St. Louis I like 6-9' early and late and as deep as 30' mid day.

Experiment a lot and try several spots in a weeks time. Some of my best spots I found messing around mid day while waiting for the "prime time bite".

[Ed Carlson]

Use more current friendly jigs and lures.

Blade baits are often best, and most flasher friendly in current.

Heavy is only good in moderate current, the shape of the jig makes it current friendly or not.

Thin is best, with less bulk.

Set 3 holes down current in a line, set the flasher in the one that best picks up the jig.

I fish 99% of my ice time on rivers, and I always jig. I never bobber watch.

[FrontenacPike]

I fish the Mississippi 3-4 times per week and deal with the current every time. Like they have told you above depending on strength of current will dictate how far I drill my secondary hole just for my transducer. I also always have a bobber down, your bobber will always sit on the side of the whole that is downstream. So I always set my shack facing downriver so I can see when the bobber goes under. Adjust your weight on the bobber rig accordingly with the current. When first setting up your bobber rig, use your flasher to see if you are actually at bottom, if not add more weight. On the river I tend to stick with the buckshots or rapala's jigging rap which gives me just enough weight to fish somewhat vertical.

RJMOEN you hit the nail on the head with your statement the river changes daily. I was fishing on 12 inches the other day and a guy fell through 50 yards from where I was previously sitting. I wasn't there at the time or I would of yelled at him. He didn't know about a underwater point that ran out 200 yards off shore. The current hits the point and goes up, weakening the ice above. On average we have 4-5 vehicles sink a year at my favorite spot. The river is ever changing and one cannot be too safe out there.

Yesterday morning on the Mighty Miss. Wish I had fish pics to show for!!!!

[Ed Carlson]

I was a bit rushed for time last night so I will try to be a bit more specific today.

Great recomondations too by the fellow River Rats already.

Safety is Rule #1 on rivers...remember this..NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING...it will save your life.

Reel Bait Flasher jigs makes an exceptional river jig. They are very river friendly and a lighter jig will fish as well as a heavy jig will in current. For instance where a 1 oz ball jig may be needed in the past, a 3/8 may do the job even better. The 3/4 is as heavy as I have ever needed, even in the hardest of currents. They offer very good colors and also have color patterns in Gold and metallic oranges and luminescent blues. The Reel Bait Red Tail Flasher jigs in the long shank is my personal favorite jigs for rivers. Punch up a search for Real Bait jigs, you will find them.

Blade Baits form a class of there own, and many styles are available. I feel the key is use blades that offer the 3 top connection points. The ability to trim the action of the Blade Bait often makes a difference in triggering a strike. Some models do well with the one connection point, yet the option to alter your action is a good option to have.

Heddon Sonar, Silver Buddy, Zip Lure, or the Bass Pro Shops Lazer Blade. The New Northland Fish Fry Minnow-Trap also falls into this group, and is a great new river jig.

Next step up that I use a lot is the Salmo Zipper, a bit of a hybrid of a Blade and a Chubby Darter with a Rattle Trap chatter mixed in. I catch a lot of my largest river sumo Eyes on this bait. Despite it's size, it is remarkably current friendly and can actually be swim up-stream/current on a series of short jigs. Very unique in its class as it also can stand on it's nose and dangle the rear treble up in the eyes face...great trick on bottom huger eyes and sauger. I often tip them with a minnow head on the rear treble hook.

(Salmo Zipper Luminescent Real Roach, Glow Tiger, Silver Blue Orange Zipper, and a Chubby Darter #4 Glow for size comparison.)

Slab spoons is my final class of jigs. This can be Northland Buckshots, Reel Bait Fergie Spoons, Cast Masters, Hopkins Spoons...ect. I still prefer thin as possible and the Reel Bait "Fergie" or the Reel Bait "Plain Jane" jigs is a very productive river jig in this class for me. Tipped with whole minnows or minnow heads, they are meat puppets, the more meat is usually better on this class of jig.

Reel Bait "Fergie" (top), and the Reel Bait "Plain Jane" (Bottom)

In situations where slower currents are normal, I may add some others to my list, such as Jigging Raps or Chubby Darters. Yet these have proven to me to be highly effective in situations I have faces in the rivers here in the USA and in Canada.

Lastly, I highly recommend ultra thin super braids for any river fishing on the ice. They cut the current better as they are thinner. You get a easier read of your jigs on the sonar and less drift in the current. I often use 2 diameter/10 test or 4/15 class braids. I seldom need a mono leader yet that is an option if the water is extremely clear. A swivel is always a good idea as jigs will develop a lot of line twist if you do not use them.

Hope this helps. Go catch a few river piggy's, catch a few for me too!

[Fever]

I have been fishing the Mn river for eyes for the past several years. I have a brother that lives a few miles from the river and I drive about an hour to meet him there several times a year both hard water and open water. Mn river walleye opener is tough to beat btw. Anyway. I agree with what Mr Foss said and can confirm it works. My brother and I fish moderate to heavy current up on sand flats adjacent to deeper pools and drop offs. These spots are very productive during low light periods or basically during the active time of day for feeding eyes. Mornings from 6-9 and evenings from 4-8 ish... The spots that we have fished have ranged from 5 feet deep down to about 8 or 9 but all are close to deeper water, all have rock, rubble, and sand, and all are basic fish highways. We fish primarily with 3/4 oz jigheads tipped with fatheads, and 3/4 oz buckshots (which are tough to find) and we too drill a hole about 4-5 feet down stream of our actual fishing hole for our transducer. One thing I did not see posted yet and am quite surprized, is the fact that if you drill your hole at about a 45degree angle with the current you not only will have better feel for your lure to make sure your on bottom, but you'll also make it easier to land a hog swiming into the current, not to mention the elimination of all that line abrasion as the current pulls your line away from your hole. I thought it was crazy at first but when I landed my first real nice (28) incher throught the ice, the angled hole made perfect sense. I wasn't going to post this because It was kind of a secret but I figured what the heck... I'll help out some fellow FM'rs. You other river rats out there give it a shot and post your thoughts. Maybe I'm wrong and most - all of you are doing this already. If so, my appoligies. Good luck and be safe out there on the river! I'll be out chasing walleyes this weekend using these methods. Hope to have some pics to share.