What's workin' now : ICE

[The Grebe]

Time to get er cookin! We were up on a Kannebec Co. lake yesterday and we even got some fish!

Threre is plenty of ice to walk on in most places, but you still had to keep your eyes open...there were a couple of spots that were thin from springs.

No matter, if you have 4 or 5 inches of ice under you, when it is clear and you can see the weeds and rocks and stuff, it is still spooky!

When you come back off in the dark and you step from the foggy ice onto the clear stuff, it looks like you are stepping into open water and your brain says "NOOOOO! don't do it!"

We tried several spots, starting at about 2:30 in the afternoon and all we got was Perch. We would work the area for about 15-20 minutes, long enough to let the fish settle down from the hole cutting commotion.

I do believe that the bite is much harder when the ice is clear, with no snow cover. Sound is not muffled and travels further, movement is magnified, especially in clear lakes, or shallower water.

On this pretense, we moved our operation onto some cloudy ice, which we found out was about twice as thick as the clear stuff.

We drilled holes from about 9 feet to 14 feet and set up shop...it was a little windy and there was a definate nip in the air, enough to rosey your cheeks and flash freeze your minnow when you moved to a different hole, but all in all, it was great! Never did have to set up the portable.

The bite started out in the deeper water first, we picked up some nice sunnies with standard proceedure, foot off, waxies, ants and demons.

A blip came through, I raised up to it and got about a 16 inch Walleye on the waxie! Not knowing what restrictions were, having forgotten this lake was in the treaty area, I let it go.

The next fish was a nice Crappie and after the smoke cleared, we had a nice little pile of panfish.

I don't think it was so much the spot, as it was the prime feeding time...about when the sun goes down and for about 45 minutes after that. There was a fella that had sat near this spot from the time we got there and all he got was Perch.

He left just prior to the bewitching hour and I don't believe he was even off the ice when we got the first nice sunnie?

Although the fish showed up on the Vex and you could coax them up off the bottom a ways, after the prime time was past, they would'nt hit anything we put down!

You get cold fast when the fish stop hitting, the temp drops even more and the wind picks up! We folded our tent at 6:30 and called it a trip. Great time.

[Corey Bechtold]

Well I finally got a chance to hit the Ice last night with my dad and his friend. We pulled his big house out and set it up right on a tight break. On one side of the house was 15 feet of water and on the other side was 19. The top of the hump was about 20 feet away from the house and the base of the drop was just 5 feet away from our deepest hole. Everything should have been textbook but it wasn't. When we drilled the holes and got set up we noticed that the water clarity was less than 2 feet! Needless to say the fishing wasn't good. I walked around outside with a water bottle and my locator to see if there were any suspended fish over the deep hole or even up shallower near the weeds. There wasn't anything around! Some presentations that were tried were jigging spoons, vertical jigs and Crappie minnows, horizontal baits with spikes, vertical jigs with colored eurolarvae. I hope to get out again soon and search some different areas on some different lake and see what happens.

Good Luck,

Corey Bechtold

[Corey Bechtold]

Well, I made it out on the Ice today with the kids and we had a ball. I fished with Bailey and Cole for a couple hours and then exchanged them for Brooke and her Cousin and friend. I found the Crappies and Sunfish in 24 feet of water and they were scattered up and down the flasher. I tried several presentations but had my best luck on a small horizontal jug tipped with a couple spikes. After a while I switched to a piece of plastic and the Crappies went nuts over it. It was also nice because I didn't have to re-bait so much. It was a good learning day for the kids because the fish were there and fun to coax on the locator. We used only one rod all day and took turns with the fish. Boy was it nice to see them hooking those fish! All in all we iced nearly a hundred fish total. Most of the fish were on the small side but we did get some 8" Sunfish and Crappies up to 10" for a meal. The kids are excited to have fish for dinner this week! I hope everyone had a good New Year!

Take care,

Corey Bechtold

[arbuck]

It's great getting kids out fishing. I took my 4 year-old boy out this morning in the portable. It was his first time on the ice and basicly his first time fishing with his own rod. It was awsome. The fishing wasn't great but all in all we probibly brought in 10-12 small crappies.

It went great until it was time to release the first fish he had ever cought all by him-self. Then the tears started rolling

Alex - "I wanna keep it!!!!!"

DAD - "but its too small"

Alex - "But I wanna keep it for a pet"

DAD - "but he wants to be down there with all his friends"

Alex - "I want Momma!!!!!"

That is the short version. Tears the whole time. Almost broke my heart! Test my patients at the same time.

It was a great morning though. We used a pink and white Ratfinkee and a pink and white Shrimpo that seemed to be the color they wanted. Tried green and didn't have much action with that. We were over about 23 feet of water and fish would come in any where from right next to the bottom and 4-5 feet up. They would come up quite a ways to get the lure.

Thanks for letting a proud papa brag for a while.

arbuck

[Liar]

Great story arbuck. Reminds me of taking out my kids for the first times. Just wait in 10 years he will be pulling the portable for you. I went out with my youngest last week. As we were walking out, I was thinking this it the first time EVER, I haven't pulled out my fishtrap to the fishing spot. It was a bit strange, reminded me of how old I am...

[Corey Bechtold]

Well I made it out on Sunday to try my luck again with Cole (age 3) as my fishing partner. We found the fish again in the same area but there seemed to be more Sunfish than Crappie. After catching several Sunfish I switched to a Scenic Tackle Go Devil 1/16 oz jigging spoon. That seemed to ween out the small Sunfish and turned on the Crappies! Then after dark the fish seemed to just look at the spoon without hitting. I pulled it up and the fish disappeared on the locator. So, I put 2+2 together and put the jigging spoon down in one hole and set it over my boot so I could jig it a bit and in the other hole I jigged a small horizontal glow jig and coaxed the curious onlookers over to the smaller bait. It was a great way to keep the leary Crappies in the area and help me pull up some more fish as well. Cole and Myself had a blast that day and I'm looking forward to taking him out again soon!

Good Luck everyone,

Corey Bechtold

[united jigsticker]

You're lucky.

I went to Red Lake last week and slayed the biggies during the day.

I don't know...maybe I caught 50 Crappies that were between 13 and 15". I didn't count. All I know, is I had to throw alot of them back. The limit is 10 afterall.

I also know that I ate them all in one sitting.

I am fat. I ate them with mayonaise (I'll catch gruff from some, so it was really Miracle Whip)

I started a new job this Monday as the New Year came in. I hate it.

[CrappieJohn]

Well, well...the dead is risen! Finally off that honeymoon, eh?

[united jigsticker]

Yeah Tom,

Only, the honeymoon hasn't taken place yet, I'm already fat, and did I mention the new job that I hate?

And to reply to "the dead has risen" comment...I've been here the whole time, splashin' around with the beachball, but you guys have so much good info that my creme has gone sour.

But that's ok. Out with the old, in with the new.

I'm dusty and rusty, and my fingers don't type as much. My brain got humble, as did my heart.

I used to think I knew it all, I now think I need to learn it all.

Teach me, I am all ears.

I caught some catfish a few weeks ago, all cuz Matt J. gave me some pointers, going to show that you guys are smart, diverse, and capable of anything.

I love chips and dip, which brings me back to the beginning...I'm fat already.....and I havn't even gone on the honeymoon yet.

Kripes.

[CrappieJohn]

I think I hear a violin with either broken strings or a few that are way out of tune. lol Good to see you back on site for a blink. Gonna hang around a while now?

[Corey Bechtold]

Well it seems that the Crappies of late have been more bottom oriented. They also seem to prefer depths of 20 or more in the lakes I've been hitting. Some of the lures I have been having luck with are:

Scenic Tackle's Go Devils

JR's Ice Minnow

tipped with larvae, plastic, or minnows/minnow pieces. Sunfish have also been taken on the small horizontal jigs as well.

What seems to be workin' for all the other guys?

Corey Bechtold

[bmc]

Had a decent daytime bite today for crappies north of here. 2 of us ended up with 17, all in the 10-11" range. Extemely finicky biters!!! I think my jig was 1/250th and they still did alot of inspecting before deciding to bite. It seemed waxies worked better most of the time, but we did catch a few on minnows. 28-30 fow and fish were anywhere from bottom to 5-6 off the bottom. I was using a spring bobber and they'd barely move it, definitely light biters, if a guy would've been sitting outside of a shack, it woulda' been tough to detect the nibbles.

Brian

[Corey Bechtold]

There is a lot of talk about lite biters and I am seeing the same. This Sunday I was out fishing and I found plenty of fish on the locator and camera, the real trick was finding what tickled their fancy. Most of the fish were Sunfish and they weren't to much of a problem to convince to bite. I had to stay with live bait to get more fish on the Ice but the same horizontal jigs turned the fish. Horizontal! Later towards evening the Crappies moved in on the locator and camera and they didn't seem to have any intrest in what I was throwing at them. I continued to watch these Crappies and observed them opening and closing their mouths. They were feeding on such small invertibrate that I couldn't see them on the camera. It wasn't until sunset when the Crappies turned on to my presentation. Glow baits seemed to work to get their attention but it was a totally finesse presentation that got them to bite. These Crappies simply took the weight off the line and they were there. It was a fun trip and I learned that patience was the key to getting those lite biting Crappies. I hope to get out again and explore some other lakes' Crappies to see how they are biting.

Good Luck,

Corey Bechtold

[missedoneagain]

Went out last night to a metro lake. Crappies were very aggressive. 90% of fish caught on glow jig and euro-larve. Anywhere from bottom to 10 feet up. Been a slow year for me so far, was fun to really get into them yesterday.

[Corey Bechtold]

This forum has been a little slow but I hope it's not from a lack of people fishing Crappies/Sunfish. I haven't been out a whole lot lately but what I have noticed is that the fishing is still pretty good. The presentations that have been working have been:

Small Horizontal jigs with larvae/waxies/plastic

Jigging spoons with minnow heads/larvae/plastic

The key to staying productive has been mobility, patience, and subtle presentations.

What has everyone else been seeing with the Crappies/Sunfish bites?

Good Luck,

Corey Bechtold

[CrappieJohn]

I had an interesting post in the Roch forum earlier that was about using plastic before even trying bait. The person posting found a good bite on the plastic, even better than the live bait he tried later on the same day. Plastics for him were long and thin. With the temps on the rise the bite should begin to get better.

[Stratosman]

Was out this past Sunday and had decent results, found a school of crappies and they bit very consistant and were very aggressive, caught and released probably near 75, not the size we were hoping for but fun nonetheless.

Most fish came on a blue glow shrimpo, with some on a demon as well tipped with a couple spikes. This leads me to a question regarding glow, specifically glow red. Now even as aggressive as I found the crappies yesterday and bluegills and crappies other times this winter as well, I have had zero success on glow red, different lakes, different states even. I have read some post from Tom and others regarding glow red and the success they have had under certain conditions with this color and I have yet to find the same results. Even yesterday the crappies would come charging off the bottom and were nailing the shrimpos (blue) demons (glow green/white) and non-glow firty girty's (orange), I thought man this is the time where I might have success using the glow red, aggressive fish, stained water. Well, it actually had a negative effect on the fish, they would initially rise off the bottom to take a peek and shoot right back down after getting a sniff. Never a bite or a tap.

Now, profile was a horizontal, and the other lures mentioned above are not, was that the determining factor in the lack of success? Was it the color? I don't know and I havn't been able to solve my glow red stump yet this winter. I give it a try every time out, on every body of water, at different times of the day, different light conditions. It seems that many times I have caught fish on the same day in the same location on various colors, types and styles of jigs, but whenever I tie on glow red.... nothing, nada, zilch.

So I guess the point I am trying to make after all this rambling turns out to be more of a question.

WHY?

[Corey Bechtold]

I may be able to shed a little light on this one. Not all "glow red" lures actually glow red. For example I bought some Lindy Glow jigs that are red in color but glowed more of a green color. I have tried plenty of different "glow" jigs and have found that the reason they work for finicky Crappies is that it just helps them find the jig in periods of low light. Red colored jigs definately work good before dark but after I try to stick to a bright glow. There has been some research about red being one of the first colors to disappear under water. Is this totally true? I don't have fish eyes so I don't know. Color is a huge factor for all fish because some see different colors better. In-Fisherman had a couple issues that addressed master angler catches. These magazines had plenty of info reguarding what these anglers caught their fish on. It broke down top producers of presentations and colors as well. Muskie colors were more in the Brown and Blacks and Firetiger. Walleyes tended to be more natural colors which probably matched the forage they keyed in on. And if I remember correctly, Crappies tended to prefer white, black, pink, with white being #1 overall. I have seen this to be absolutely true. I think that might be why the glow white jigs work better for me. I hope this helps a bit. Fishing is pretty technical but you still have to let the fish tell you what they want.

Good Luck,

Corey Bechtold

[Iceman12]

2 of us were out on Friday morning in the Chisago area and we caught almost all of our fish on small jiggin spoons. We caught about 50-60 crappies and sunnies and 2 were caught on a bobber. I never have had that happen where a jigging spoon out fished a bobber by that much. The jigging spoons were tipped with waxies, minnow heads or tails. All of them worked.

[CrappieJohn]

Stratos.....I fish a stained lake primarily. Red glow....the stuff that actually glows red.... has been a super color there. It has performed like a trooper in the Mississippi River backwaters. It has work like a barn stormer in some of our local sandpits (quite clear water in these). And in hearing from other anglers, the verdict is the same.

In conversations with two of the sponsors to FM that make jigs with this "new glow" or "glow in the color" technology, the amount of glow one gets depends on how much of the glow pigment is put into the paint. And as Corey has just mentioned, the package might say one thing and deliver quite another. Be certain that the product you purchase as a "red glow" actually does what it says.

When I am fishing this particular color I tend to fish much smaller sized baits because it can cast a very large "aura" around the jig. The glow blue you were using is, incidently, the weakest in glow of all colors and casts virtually no aura. But it does illuminate enough to be noticed even under high skies.

The mention of a horizontal presentation seems to not be an issue, as you stated that the fish were active and aggressive. But how deep were you fishing may become pertinent. And did you actually try to target specific water for larger fish?

I think I said in a different forum/thread that these new jig paints create new challenges. Learning what and how the new colors work and understanding specific applications are just as new as the paints themselves. I started using products with the "new glow" last year and was met with some so-so successes as well as some total flops. This year I have nothing but these "new glow" products from various makers. Each maker's tackle is in it's own box so I can determine exactly how well it works for me. I have four such boxes and three of them are FM site sponsors. I have about eight rods that accompany me to the drink each time I fish. They have identical lines(#2 Vanish) and actions(super ultra-light), the only differences are the reels and the baits(as determined by manufacturer). Any onewho has sat with me in the shack knows that I am always switching this rod for that one and this bait for another....one profile or presentation for yet another. I do this even if I am catching fish. I do it more when I am not doing so well with the bite. The one box I did not mention earlier is the old box with five hundred jigs of various supply without the the "new glow" paint. Some are glow, yes, but just not with the new technology. The box is in the sled or bucket too, just hasn't been used this year. This is how I meet the challenge offered by this new stuff. As for why it is not working for you, I cannot say. I do know that it works for me and many others who fish the heck out of it.

I had the occasion a while back to chat with Jeff Beckwith from Scenic Tackle, a site sponsor, regarding this new kind of paint. He offered up some pointers to me that might help you in finding answers to this question of non-success. He deals with the stuff daily and has had to get an good solid understanding of how this works for you while fishing. His business depends on it. While I am sure Jeff is busy, I'm equally sure that he'd be willing to give you a pep talk and help you to understand some of the mysteries as well as the hinderences regarding glow lures much better than I am able to do. Give him a shout....scenictackle.com

[Stratosman]

Thanks for the response, the color in question from yesterday was the new glow, and yes, I always check the glow color for my own eyes and indeed it does glow reddish.. kinda pink too, the lure in question is the fat boy, after my first post I went and looked again at the jig in question and I guess the actual paint itself is a pinkish color, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Water depth was 8' in a lake that has no water deeper than 15'. Do you think that the smaller crappies would have a tendancy to shy away from this lure even though they were actively nailing other presentations? Don't worry, I'm not losing sleep ever this, just kinda been buggin you know! I hate when I don't succeed. Maybe I need to try a couple of the other brands types of new glow and then see what the verdict is. I need to do some shopping now, darn.

Thanks for the insight.

Scott

[Matt Johnson]

I've had the best luck with size 10 or 12 presentations lately. The Shrimpo in size 10, glow, without any bait worked well this weekend on crappies and gills. Still had to keep in moving at all times. Just a little quiver was all it took. Crappies were staged in 45 feet of water, gills in 18...

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[CrappieJohn]

Scott....Those fat boys are a larger profile lure even without the glow aspect. So are the vertcals you mentioned earlier....just a different color. You also mentioned the flirty girty, another larger profile bait only without the glow. I'm going to have to guess that the glow red yesterday was too much when used inside that profile. As Matt suggested, the smaller baits might be the ticket.

Something I overlooked before....is the time of the season. During the deep winter months like now, we see the need to start looking for smaller and smaller baits, more tiny horizontal baits and the utilization of whip or rat tailed plastics worked very unaggressively, but almost always worked. As we approach the end of winters grip and begin seeing the ice to degrade a little you'll begin to see an increased need in larger bait size and you'll also see the red glow come back into it's own. Right now is when things can demand very tiny baits and the red glow can cast a shadow around the smaller baits even that causes them to look much larger than they actually are.

[Corey Bechtold]

PROFILE ! I knew Tom couldn't resist. Once again Tom hits the nail on the head. I would only add that one reason these fish start going small is that as winter rolls on, the snow piles up on the Ice, weeds die off and oxygen starts to decline. One reason these fish may go to smaller baits is that they don't want to expend too much energy feeding.

On the other hand in a few weeks we are going to see snow starting to melt, weeds start coming back to life, new oxygen starts to enter the lakes via runoff, and these fish are going to start to feel "The need, to feed". That coupled with the upcoming spawn are going to put these fish in a frenzy and upsizing your baits could help upsize your catches. Something I have started doing during late Ice is to go from live bait to a larger plastic. This keeps the smaller fish from getting the hook, they just swim off with the bait and eventually let go and then some larger fish can get the hook. This is a timely tactic but works wonders.

There are a lot of variables that are starting to come in to play right now. Just make sure you have a good variety of presentations to take with you when you're on the Ice.

Good Luck,

Corey Bechtold

[The Grebe]

I have to admit that I for one, have not made it out fishing as much as I would like to...when I had the time weather did'nt cooperate. Been out eight times so far this winter.

There are other things that sometimes take the front seat over fishing and you just can't work around it.

I'm sure the weather also played a big part in the slow response and lack of posts....kind of tough to be mobile when the temp is way below zero and the wind chill is so cold it checkers your tires!

Finally going to go out again today, got all my maintainence done, gonna try the afternoon and evening bite for pannies, up near Mora...we'll see what the deal is?