Pike - Musky through the Ice...

[RuKiddingMe]

Does anyone out there have any information on fishing pike and skies through the ice? I have a couple of tips up, just not sure where to place them as far as depth. Any info you could provide would be very appreciated...

[TomWehler]

RUK
Here are a few easy thing I do?

Easy thing to do is try to remember where a weeb line was from the open water season.
Pop a few holes until your on the inside or out side of it and place your Tip Ups along the weed line?
Drill some holes to follow the weed edges and play Hop the Tip up donw the line.

Moving one over the other every half hour or so to cover the whole area.
Get to the end, start over backwards or try jiging the area first before resetting.
Fun stuff.
Set your baits from 1' off the bottom to just under the ice and the fish will tell ya where they want it most.
Good to also jig in the weeds themselfs.
Find open holes in the weeds and have some fun.
3/8 to 1/2 oz Airplane Jig or Rocker jig and minnow can bring action fast.

Sometimes it is fun to just hang a nice fat minnow with a small amount of weight in the hole or along the weed line and let it go nuts trying to keep from sinking to mid depth.
Bang, Bang, Bang!

Deeper drops can be fished the same way as well as rock piles, saddles, points, mid lake humps and so on.
Experiment and have some fun.
If there hungry and in the area you will get bit.

Happy Hunting.

Musky Tom Wehler

[bry c]

In spring and fall we sometimes attract pike using sucker meat on the bottom from shore. It seems like they will pick it up and run until they feel resistance then drop it, never to return. My question is what would be the best rigging option to put deadbait on the bottom using a tip-up. Mine is spooled with heavy 30# gorilla braid, quick strike rig with back to back single hooks(not trebels) and 1/2oz egg sinker. It has been rigged that way 3 years and all I ever landed was a large crayfish that was chewing on the sucker. Will be fishing in very clear water with no weeds or wood structure at all.

[Guest]

"bry c" if you'r not picking up some pike on that rig.than I would suggest finding another lake. pike are harty fish and the cold dosn't slow them down like it will a muskie.it sounds like your fishing a big fish bowl,with such limited structure.if you can"t find other structure like points,drop offs.rock humps.stumps,ect.than try some were else.

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"I think about fishing ever 10 seconds"

[bry c]

muskiechuck,
These high elevation reserviors get drawn down pretty far in winter, points and drops and other structures are really easy to see and fish. We dont have large populations of pike, just a few places with big pike, so I have been told. Just wanted to make sure my set-up was "in the ballpark"