Mid-winter crappies??

[RIPN LIPS]

Everyone knows to look for suspended fish in the deep basin of the lake but what I am wondering is where in the basin would you start looking ie. deep inside turns, points or just right in the middle?

[bbfenatic1582813981]

IMO it depends on time of day. If fishing low light I always go to the the deepest depth and wait for them...if daylight hours I will drill many holes, one in the deep part than several back into the shallower basin all the way to a shallow spot and hunt them from hole to hole as IMO they are on the move more in daylight hours, then gather in the deep hole at dusk to feed on the bugs coming out of the mud. This strategy has put many a crappie on the ice for me over the years.

[Lawrence Luoma]

Find the depth of the sticky bottom as it's normally the first couple feet off of the main break and the first beginning couple of feet of the basin. Once found take notice on what is looks like on your Vexilar and then keep hole hopping till you find more areas like that. Remember the sticky bottom isn't straight mud or hard bottom but the transition between the two. When looking at a map look for contours that are running close together and then widen out right before the basin.

With that being said, a lot of tournaments are still won during mid winter in the weeds as they are always in play. On a new lake I always look for them in the weeks first then head out to the deep water.

[Rod Woten]

All of the above. Perforate as much of the basin with holes as feasible. Or break the basin down into smaller segments and work one segment at a time. This is when it's great to have partners. Initally drill holes 25 to 50 yards apart. Check holes quickly and if you don't see any suspended marks, move quickly to another hole. The whole key is to eliminate as much non-productive water in the massive expanse over the basin as quickly as possible. Once you do start finding some suspended marks, key in on those areas and drill additonal holes closer than your initial spacing. As the bite dies in one hole, try to follow the school....having lots of holes already drilled in the area helps immensely in doing this.

If there are any anomalies in the basin contours, definitely cover those areas well...small depressions, humps, inside turns, funnels, transition lines, old roadbeds, submerged bridges...anything that might force a suspended fish to pause as it roams the basin. Any of these areas that force them to pause will tend to concentrate fish. The "basin" of a lake will often contain some of the deepest water in the lake, so don't neglect to spend some time there, too.

-Rod

[Farley]

Whats are your guys's favorite bait to use when searching like that? Waxies, maggies or mostly artificials?

[Lawrence Luoma]

When in search mode always plastics. Also, I don't drop a line till I see fish on the Vexilar. I go micro or switch to live bait if I can't get those marks to bite.

[RiverFish]

When I go hole hoppin I use a small jiggin spoon with a minnow head or a jiggin rap. If fish come up but won't bite I will downsize to plastics.

[Matt Breuer]

Another trick when fishing over deep basins, to add on to Lawrence's advice. I like to leave out a lot of transducer cable, and I swing the 'ducer from side to side when checking holes. Gives me a wider view, as fish will be just outside of your cone when you drop in at times.

[Borch]

Reminds me of back in the day when we had a transducer mounted to the end of a 3-4 foot handle and have it angled to the side and turned the handle to see if there wasn't some fish off to the side and the direction of the school.

[Jason Durham]

Matt's comment on swinging the Ice-Ducer is a good one, and as stated earlier, I don't fish the deeper holes unless I see fish. Many times those "suspenders" are more forage relative than sturcture relative (though the forage often situates near minor differences, even in a basin). Rod Woten offers good advice with a greater distance between holes. During mid-day this is especially important, while during the low-light periods, the forage often lights up the Vexilar like Las Vegas, which is when you want to bring the holes closer together.

And if you're drilling holes with a great expanse in between, Rod hit it on the nose; use a team approach. One guy sits on the tailgate of the truck with the ice drill, the other guy drives (and hopefully a third person has a Vexilar in hand to check for depth, bottom type, the presence of forage and hopefully, fish.

I use a spoon on the first drop since it brings in fish from a great distance. However, I rarely use a minnow head. Typically I'll put two waxworms on only one of the hooks of a the spoons treble hook and I do more "shaking" than "ripping" to get crappies to approach. I slowly lift the spoon as I shake (with a very concentrated motion, your goal is to make the hook dance but keep the body of the spoon as still as possible) and once I hit the upper third of the water column, I let the spoon free-fall to the lower third. Then the entire process starts over. Often times you will have crappies chase the spoon up and violently attack, other times you will drip the spoon for the "free-fall" and see a fish appear above the spoon as it falls. That's your cue to quickly reel up and place the spoon just above the fish. They were interested in the presentation and started to follow it upwards as you were shaking, but were'nt within the realm of the transducer cone before you let the bait descend.

[Jim Hudson]

Great info, and what Ice Team is all about - sharing valuable info to make everyone better fish catchers!

Not much I can add here, as most summed basin crappie searching up, pretty good. The only point I can make, is that these mid-winter crappies, especially during the day, do not move a lot. You can have fish suspended 5 feet away from a hole you just drilled and they may not move when in a negative pattern. So, the trick of swinging your transducer is KEY.

Good luck out there.

[markmg]

this is an awesome post. I just got some great info. thanks guys

[g_anoka]

Very informative post. I am guessing I will see a few transducers swinging next time I am out on the ice, I know I will be. One thing I have learned when fishing two holes close together is that I get a better return when the transducer is below the bottom of the ice.

[Jim Kusuda]

I agree with all the Vexilar dudes on the swing of the Iceducer. When you see the top level icefishermen out hole hopping, thsy generally do not have the float on the cord, they suspend the 'ducer directly from the Vexilar. I tried for years to get my old tournament partner to do this to no avail, but have come to the realization that I can't change anyone, except hopefully myself.

Swinging is a mainstay in my basin fishing sack.

[Cyberfish]

There is also a tool called a circle scan, it is a pole with a sling to put your ducer on at any angle to scan to the sides for fish or structure.

This weekend while chasing sunfish on lake okoboji, I got lots of nice crappies in 6 to 8 ft between weed patches.

[Jim Kusuda]

I think that with the recent warm weather and rain, it is almost like first ice conditions and the weeds may stay lively with fish.

[dan z]

Wow! Glad I read the whole post never thought of swinging the ducer thanks for the post and tip!

[clayton08]

Whenever I fish for crappies which is almost every day first step is studying the body of water your fishing if never fished it before you gotta look at your lake maps and know what your getting into. You can drill all day or do your homework and make it easier on yourself and body. Whenever searching for fish I also rarely use live bait and if I do its a waxie or larva. If there is no fish on the vex don't bother dropping a line is my rule. Some days when we go out we have drilled up to 200 holes but that is pretty rare usually were not to far from the fish. When punching holes we usually stay about 30-40 ft apart. Usually start with a small frostee tipped with some plastic I know some other people like other lures but I've caught so many fish of frostee's its ridiculous. This year I have been pounding slabs a lot shallower than recent years. In my opinion with the little snow cover the weeds are producing more oxygen and fish are staying shallower I could be wrong but hey thats been my experience this year. I've been ice fishing for years and comes as common sense to me for all you people just getting in the game welcome and get ready for one of the best addictions in the world.

[Valleye]

Down here in the lower ice belt it's still first ice. Finding crappies shallow mixed w/ the gills in the weeds. Always fishing top to bottom. The most aggressive fish especially crappies will hit right under the ice in shallow water.

[amateurfishing]

funny & intersting...my 3rd year ice fishing & im learnng a ton. ironically my success rates & fish size has greatly increased this year (even with only 2 outings to date) yet everything ive been doing goes against the grain on this site (and a way from the masses on the lake). Punched 4 holes on sunday starting @ 15 ft of water & ended up in 35. decided to sit & wait a bit after very minimal results. after an hour in 35 fow, screen lit up solid from 20-30 ft. massive school of crappies going thru. rattlin flyer/jigging, pretty much anything with live minnow and the fun was on. no plastics, weeds, shallows, etc. all in a mid level lake basin

[clayton08]

Nobody said that you wont catch fish in deep water. Crappies do love deep water thats for sure some lakes I fish crappies in 40 plus feet all suspened in the water column. As far as minnows I jig with minnows all the time (plastics are easier when your on the move) and I always have a minnow on the deadstick when im sitting on fish. As far as me I hate fishing by people but sometimes those houses are on a good spot but id rather fish elsewere if its a zoo. Every situation is different theres always different ways to fish and can be successful in all different ways.

[aaron otto]

Another trick when fishing over deep basins, to add on to Lawrence's advice. I like to leave out a lot of transducer cable, and I swing the 'ducer from side to side when checking holes. Gives me a wider view, as fish will be just outside of your cone when you drop in at times.

One of the best tips I've read this season. Thanks Matt, used this Saturday morning to great effect.

[bbfenatic1582813981]

funny & intersting...my 3rd year ice fishing & im learnng a ton. ironically my success rates & fish size has greatly increased this year (even with only 2 outings to date) yet everything ive been doing goes against the grain on this site (and a way from the masses on the lake). Punched 4 holes on sunday starting @ 15 ft of water & ended up in 35. decided to sit & wait a bit after very minimal results. after an hour in 35 fow, screen lit up solid from 20-30 ft. massive school of crappies going thru. rattlin flyer/jigging, pretty much anything with live minnow and the fun was on. no plastics, weeds, shallows, etc. all in a mid level lake basin

You were rewarded for your patience and found perfect depth and they came in suspended which makes it more fun than having to jig them off the bottom. Some of us (me included) don't have that patience and want to hunt them down...especially in daylight hours...if it is dusk or early morning I always find a deep hole and setup and wait for them. Finding them suspended over deep water and hungry was your bonus.....great job and keep up the good work!

[Jarrid Houston]

I am a seek and destroy fishermen more often than not, but just goes to show that hunkering down will work as well. Fish can be in the move, just like sitting in a deer stand and waiting for Mr Big Rack. Patience can pay off greatly! Nice job..

[Matt Breuer]

It's been a mainstay of fishermen for generations. Hunker down, wait for the school to push through, whack 'em for an hour, and pack it in. I don't think anyone is saying that it won't work, I personally prefer not to wait for the fish. I like to hunt them down and follow the school. Just think if you had landed on that school an hour earlier...

Swinging the 'ducer is incredibly effective. Another thing to do is crank up the gain a bit while dipping holes. Might catch that one blip that's just escaping the bubble and be able to entice him back.

Durham brings up a good tip, search lures. I have been starting with Lindy Darter's or Cicada's or the like a lot this year when starting the search. These baits really make a ruckus and will call fish in from great distance.

Step 1: Find fish.

Step 2: Catch fish.