Shallow Ice Northern's

[20lbSloughShark]

I have been aware for some time that northens will go as shallow as they can fit. It wasn't until recently that I found out some people wont even bother in less than 15' of water. There is so much to explorer shallow when lakes freeze over! The new InFisherman's article "Crawl Space Pike" is spot on. Pike prefer certain areas to be shallow (Ex: shallow bays, saddles, points, flats). I have found that the pattern is not a yearly cycle, but more of a lake to lake thing. Pike LOVE the shallow in lakes with bays, islands, etc., where a lake with the underwater structure of a cerial bowl might have pike cruising deeper. Lakes that I can think of that differ include Cedar lake in Annandale, and Washington lake in Buffalo. Washington has 2 fairly large bays that top out at 3' deep. In the summer these are bass haven, but when ice covers, pike move in. Ceder on the otherhand has shallows, but for whatever reason pike prefer the drop off's, which usally double as weedlines. My guess is in Washington (area of under 200 acres) has lots of panfish and suckers that die in the heat and end up preserved in the shallow bays. Cedar is much larger and deeper, so pike probably have to hunt to eat. If I drill a hole that looks promising and only find a foot or two of water under the ice, I don't hesitate to set a tip up. What some other thoughs/arguments?

[LPCrowRiverFisherman]

I have been on two shallow lakes so far this ice season. They have very few weeds and we caught some nice Pike in the bays of these lakes. We were setting up in under 5 feet of water. From my experience this is normal in lakes like this. It seems as if in these lakes (10-12 foot max) many Pike will stay in less than 6 feet of water all winter. Last winter I was fishing on a river and catching Pike in areas with one foot of ice and one foot of water. A general rule on most lakes though is the weed line, and weedlines vary on lake to lake, from say 3 feet to 14 feet of water. Setting up on the weedline is a good place to start on any lake with a decent population of Pike. Other things to look for are sharp drops either on the weedline or just off of the weedline. Underwater points on weedlines are also good ambush points for Pike. The depth at which Pike will hold in the winter varies with food and cover, figure out what they are looking for and have fun.

[ThunderLund78]

I know of folks who fish the sloughs of the MN river bottoms - 3ft of open water, so in the winter 1.5ft of ice and 1.5ft of water. Suckers pretty much right at the bottom of the hole on a tip up. Apparently 30"+ pike are not uncommon doing this. Haven't tried it personally but it's a goal for one of these winters.

[mrklean]

i know plenty of guys who spear really shallow, shallow enough where they still have spear in the house even after tossing it

[deerminator]

I got these guys, 27 and 25 inchers, in about 4-5 feet of water about 100 feet from shore on a tip-up Saturday. I let the kids come out to retrieve another one Sunday afternoon. It was about 8 inches of ice so I felt OK, letting them come out briefly and they carried the fish back together, leaving a nice coating of slime on their jackets. : ) Man, I am primed. I am just an ice fishing beginner but I got spoiled this weekend.

[erikwells]

Deerminator, we were out and about too this weekend. You might have seen us walking around the shore. Saturday it was too sloppy and Sunday we did some rabbit hunting. We will be out this weekend for sure. Well done. We pickled some pike we caught earlier this year and there may not be a better way to eat them in my opinion.

[20lbSloughShark]

4-5 feet is still pretty common. Aparently in some areas they cruise around in 6"-1' (or whatever they can fit in). Has fished less than one foot of water?

[hydro]

The biggest pike I have ever caught through the ice came from anout 4' of water with 2' of ice on top, so maybe 2' free run under the ice? One lake and the pattern reproduced for several years.

[Gordie]

The Longer that the snow is off the ice the better the shallow fishing is as it seams to keep most all the bait fish in the oxygen rich weeds and when this happens the pike are not far behind them waiting to ambush their next meal.

[AuggieDawg11]

One of the biggest pike I ever caught was in about 18" of water. My friends and I were fishing near a boat landing in WI one year and jokingly, I set a tip up about 5 yards from the shore. Minutes after setting up the flag goes up and the line was burning out. After about 10 minutes I had a 20lb pike on the ice. Ever since we make sure to pay extra attention to "narrow water".

[merkman]

I was spearing yesterday in 6 feet of water.... every fish that came in; came from the shallow side. Northern, sunfish, bull heads, perch, all of them were shallower than 6 ft

[SaintPaulPaul]

Was out fishing today on a favorite, metro lake. Nothing happening with 2 of us fishng tip-ups in 10-16 fow in a known producing area. I drilled a hole in 7' fow and put the shiner 2' below ice and iced a 30", 6lb mudshark that made the day...spent most of last winter in less than 10' and iced over 50 fish...along with the biggest northern I have ever caught, which was sent to outdoor news and published front and center...also released. Photo in signature area shows summer pike from same lake.

[EBass]

I drilled a hole in 3' of water with 2' of ice by mistake a few years ago. Thought what the heck. I put down a sucker on a tipup and caught a small pike.

[fishuhalik]

From what I've read, those super-shallow pike are actually looking for frogs. Since we can't target late season pike in MN, we can't really experience the best of that shallow bite, but I've heard that at last ice/ice out those pike cruise around looking for those hibernating frogs. Apparently they actually root around in the mud with their noses. So in summary, if you know the lake you're fishing has a good frog population, don't be afraid to set one in 1' of water in a muddy bay. Might be surprised what you'll find...

[fishadb]

The biggest northern I have ever speared came out of Marsh Lake 2 feet of ice 18" of water.

[Improvedarock]

Best pike fishing I have is when the shorelines break up on a hard sand bottom in 8-10 fow. Tipups with a frozen smelt, or for better results A live smelt if you can catch one.

[20lbSloughShark]

As far as shallow northern's go, this was a terrible year. The shallowest I got one was 4' or 5'. It seems like they stayed on the deepest weed lines all winter. I have maybe caught one northern accidentally while crappie fishing before, and I got two this year.