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Trust your Vexilar!!!

Matt Breuer

By Matt Breuer
in Ice Fishing

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Matt Breuer Mentor

Matt Breuer

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This past weekend a couple of buddies and I were out scouting a few different lakes. Sled were neccessary, as travel is limited to sled or walking off of plowed roads in our area...

We weren't finding much, and were starting to get frustrated, until the Vexilar told the story of our lack of success... I had been fishing in the bottom 10' all day, looking for fish suspended 3-10' off bottom when suddenly I caught a glimpse of a flicker just below the ice. I ignored it at first... then it happened again. I didn't think it could be surface clutter, and within 30 mins. I was giggling and smiling ear to ear, as they were big perch, crappies, and bluegills. All fish were were VERY aggressive, and were hardly visible on the screen. I had to adjust my float and raise my transducer... the fish were 4-6' under the ice over 14'-21' of water.

Huge reminder to everyone... never ignore those random blips on your screen, and don't be afraid to fish just below the surface!

Here are a couple of fish that fell on back to back drops, 5' down... 36590102004761806091321.jpg

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Matt Breuer Mentor

Matt Breuer

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1 of 2 things... either food, or o2. Judging by their aggressiveness I would say it had to do with food. Possibly feeding on organisms high in the column, possibly even off the bottom of the ice. With the 26" of snow we've received in the last 2 weeks, light penetration is minimal. Zooplankton and other microorganisms may just be that high in the water column...

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Tony Mariotti Contributor

Tony Mariotti

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Saw the same thing tonight. IF the Zooplankton and other "bugs" are moving that high, I think we may be starting to see some trouble with the 02 levels! I've found fish right under the ice before, but usually it's late ice, with no snow and water swirling back into the hole. Tonight we were under 35" of snow and the crappies were aggressive and anxious to get to the top of the ice. I hope this isn't low oxygen levels!

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polarsusd81 Grand Master

polarsusd81

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I found crappie suspended 2' under the ice in 17' of water yesterday. There was a good 12" of snowpack on this lake too along with dirty water to begin with. The lake also has a strong history of winter kill, hope we don't have one this year. Those crappies will average 13 if they make it to next winter. They were showing up high with the Proview ducer, had to raise the stopper to get a better read on them. Set the hook, pull em through the hole, drop for the next one. Fun times.

Take care,

Tom

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Lawrence Luoma Collaborator

Lawrence Luoma

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During UPL and Team Extreme Tournaments on Pelican Lake the last two weeks we caught all our bigger crappies 2-3 feet under the ice in 7-8 feet of water. Most of the bites the fish had to readjust themselves before they hit because they came in shallower than that and came in right under the ice.

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