Trour throught Ice

[Fishin4fun_MN]

Has anyone ever catch any trout (rainbow, brown) other than lakers, through the ice? My nephew was asking me as he often catches them in open water and was curious as to if you can and what to use.

[JBMasterAngler]

I've caught browns and splake. Which kinda' answers your questions...yes you can catch them, and yes it's becoming very popular to target them.

Keep in mind, on designated trout lakes you are only allowed to use 1 line in the winter, and no live minnows allowed. Don't be afraid to fish shallow, as in less than 5 ft. However, they can be anywhere (especially rainbows), but the top 10 to 15 ft of the water column is usually where you want to target them. Basically just use the same tackle you'd use for panfish. You can scroll around in the BWCA or trout forums for more info also. Good luck if you decided to target them, it's a blast!

[dfeste]

We go north of Silver Bay, MN every year. We target splake, rainbow, and brook trout. I believe that January 12, 2013 is the opening date for inland trout this season.

As stated above no live minnows allowed on designated trout lakes. We have had a little luck with waxies and meal worms but most of our fish come from salted crappie minnows. I use my normal crappie fishing gear. Opening day last year we were fishing over 30 fow. It is really cool to battle a 15+" rainbow 20 feet down. Getting excited already.

[knoppers]

I have caught many rainbows and brookies through the ice. like said, fish shallow, and I use panfish tackle and waxies. a flasher is a must, to see if they like what you are offering.

[pushbutton]

Here is a DNR Link that briefly describes what JB is alluding to as far as trout water definitions. Good info about the lines and minnows stipulation by the way....I did not know that. On the left hand side there is a LIST of the stocked trout waters in the state referenced by county.

As far as tactics. For rainbows, which I am most familiar with, just grab a spot away from other people, as mentioned depth does not matter that much, be as quiet as you can, rig up something like a small frosty with a couple waxes or powerbait, set your presentation a couple to 5 ft below the ice, jig every once and a while, and play the waiting game. These fish essentially just roam around looking for scrapes that melt, fall, and collect just under the ice sheet.

[PGS]

I live in Rochester and there is a small ex-gravel pit that they stock with older brood fish from the hatcheries in SE MN. It has mostlty rainbows with a few browns mixed in. 90% of the rainbows come in only a couple of feet below the ice but some times they are more active close to the bottom plus the browns tend to be lower in the water column as well. Since it is not a designated trout lake you can use two lines (and fish year around ) so I normally set a line with a minnow 2-3 ft under the ice and then use the second line with Powerbait to move up and down in the water column. If the active fish are deeper I move the set line down. I put my camera up shallow and routinely see 20-30 fish in a couple hour trip but it is not always so easy to get them to bite! It is normally a good way to kill a day on the ice.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I fish stream trout in a few lakes up here and have had good luck using

crappie lures with Wax Worms or smaller walleye type spoons and lures with Waxies on them.

I like:

Rattling Walleye Flyers, small Swedish Pimples,jigging Raps or similar lures, or any other type of lure that resembles a minnow.

Gold or silver colors have usually worked best for me.

5' to 15' depths have been my most productive depths.

Jig vigorously a few times then slow down and then stop & quiver when you see them on your electronics.

Cliff

[Fishin4fun_MN]

Thanks guys. I knew I could count on y'all to give me the info I needed. I will be passing this on to my nephew. I am sure he will appreciate this.

[trapperdirk]

I haven't seen dew worms mentioned or spawn sacs . If your using a set line I really like to bob a worm on a windlass tipup .

TD

[dougger222]

Gotten a few rainbows ice fishing on a like in Central MN. You had to be there before sun up and the best fishing was in about 3-4ft of water. The bite only lasted about an hour to an hour in a half.