Larvae vs. Minnows

[Corey Bechtold]

Friday I hit a lake with my Dad, Daughter, Cousin and my Dad's friend. Panfish were the targets. We went to a big permanent shack ace to help my 8 year old learn). The perch were on the bottom but reluctant to bite. They liked to look at the minnows but I caught mine on larvae. Then I saw some fish off the bottom that looked nice on the locator and with a little coaxing I caught a 13 inch Walleye. Then nothing until 4. Fish showed up 5 feet off the bottom. 3 Vexilars in the house saw the same thing. I caught a few dandy Sunnies (8"-9"c+r). Then nothing for a little while. My dad and his friend each had 2 lines each with crappie minnows, me and my daughter had 1 with larvae. I noticed some fish(or so I thought)in all the interference. I raised my jig above the flashings and started catching crappies. 1,2,3,4,5,6 :0. Those guys started getting miffed. I tried to tell them what I was doing but I couldn't be specific because I had so much interference. When dad would go outside for a smoke I would turn off his vex so I could read mine for a while. 7,8,9,10:0 Then they started to make excuses. Lucky holes, side of the house, that sort of thing. My dad left at 6 to go to his shack on the other side of the lake to fish with a couple guys using his house. We kept fishing and catching. I lost track after 25 and the other guy had only caught 1 small crappie. He left at 6:30 to go to a party, feeling defeated I think. My daughter and I kept banging away taking turns with the 1 line. She caught the biggest crappie of the night for us at just over 11.5 inches. I was pretty proud of how she caught on to catching those light biting Crappies. We kept a few for a meal around the 10 inch mark. Oh and my cousin was in his portable house 50 feet away and caught 3 sunfish, 1 walleye about 14" and only 7 crappies. He caught his crappies on small swedish pimples and just the head of a minnow but they were smaller than our crappies. Overall my daughter and I put on a clinic with 1 line and a small jig with 2 larvae on the hook. Pretty amazing to sit down, have some laughs and tell you fishermen about this trip out on the ice. Sorry It was such a long post.

[Matt Johnson]

Sounds like you had a fun time on the ice. Those crappies can be fun once you get into them and find an active school. Sometimes crappies prefer minnows over larave, and other times its the other way around. Can vary from day to day, time of day, lake to lake. Pays to have a few different presentations with you when you head out on the ice. Congarts on a good day of fishing!

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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[CrappieJohn]

Good work Corey. In addition to Matt's post, I'd add that if you are or can be content taking just the sunnies, use the larva. When crappies are included in your target menu, you need to take about everything that will catch crappies with you. They can change from preferring a certain bait one minute to another in a blink and that can be the case on an "all-day" basis. In my opinion, crappies are the most challenging of fish to persue thru the ice for that reason.

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[Corey Bechtold]

True, very true. I usually experiment a lot, sometimes it hurts my catch because when the fish are there I change around to see if they like something else better. Last year I found that my summertime go-to lure was banging up on them late ice. I was around about 30 minnow dunkers and we were hole jumping in the shallows. People were getting upset with me because I was doing well and they couldn't buy a fish. Just goes to show you that experimenting can pay off. But back to the topic, this is the second time this year that this has held true for me. I like the control with the larvae over the minnow. Maybe later they will become more agressive to minnows. That is usually true on that lake. Time will tell, that's why I love fishing so much!

[fishnutbob]

Corey, Sounds like you had fun with your daughter great to get the kids on fish young or old. I posted on skunked again,Jt4 and I talked about crappie fishing with Larvae, I prefer them over any bait during ice season. You will out fish a crappie Minnow with larvae almost everytime icefishing. The hook size is important and you need to dangle the Larvae I like three or four on a number 10 or 12 Hook. I use a Genz fat boy as it reads better in deep water and has a lazer sharpe hook which makes it easier to hook thru the two dots on the head of the larvae. I fished with Dave Genz on a little Lake in Wright county last winter I see your from Big Lake lots of sweet panfish Lakes your way. We fished a lake and you can only keep 5 sunfish 5 crappies no Bass, Dnr is trying to raise Bigger Blue Gills, the five Dave his friend I kept were all 8 to 9 inches and some hit ten. Five from this lake is a nice meal, for one or two any more you better pick up a five Lb sack of potatoes. I like to fry them whole with heads off and skin on just can't beat the taste of a sunfish with the skin on. Good luck

[Corey Bechtold]

fishnutbob, I think I know the lake but I have never fished it. After hearing that reply I might have to get out there and try it.

[fishnutbob]

Corey, If you have the correct lake its two different lakes connected if you use the public access be careful just after you get on the lake the narrows just to the right never freezes solid it has current and usually a ice ridge, I stay to the left or right close to land and cross over, the narrows is only about 50ft wide, before you cross walk up and look at it, my buddy who lives on the lake went thru with his four wheeler only four feet deep but he was wet. Good Luck Bob. I plan on being out there one day this week. Corey email me with the lake you have in mind Ill let you know. [email protected]

[This message has been edited by fishnutbob (edited 12-29-2003).]

[Icemandu]

fishnutbob,

I have fished this lake before. There are nice gills in this lake, but they can be a challenge to find. Late ice last year, I ran into a bunch of them. I'm not sure that any of them reached ten inches, but they were all good sized.

Icemandu

[fishnutbob]

Icemandu, I went out yesterday and fished the lake about 10" of ice no truck traffic,ended up with a 9" one 8" and three 7" sunnies fished at 2 and left at 4:30 biggest sunny was caught in 12Ft most came off the bottom also had a big bass on didnt land it. Did take some photos Ill see if Rick will post them. Bob

[Icemandu]

fishnutbob,

It's good to hear that you caught a few out there. Did you go through the channel and work towards the deeper water? The one time I was there in early ice, I caught three small craps, a bunch of little perch, and a little bass. As well as nice gills, there are some semi-jumbo perch in this lake (I've caught up to 11.5 inches), and some real nice craps (up to 12.5 inches), but they are few and far between. I'd like to get out there again sometime with someone. Anyone interested?

Icemandu

[Guest]

I normally prefer grubs/maggies/spikes but the one's I've been getting on my lake show a definite preference for minnows and so that is what they are getting.

[Corey Bechtold]

Give them what they want!

[fishnutbob]

Icemando, yes went accross channel fished off the first point on the left, in 12 ft got the 9" there, then moved to the main Lake in 16ft. You can get big perch,also have caught walleyes in the evening,they fish walleyes to the left by the Island. Bob