Crappie / Sunfish Ice Fishing Comparisons

[TackleBoxMike]

When ice fishing for Crappies and Sunfish are the fishing techniques you guys use pretty different or pretty much the same as far as how you guys ice fish for Crappies and Sunfish ?

TackleBoxMike

[CrappieJohn]

I think everyone has a pet technique or ten tucked away that will apply to about every fishing challenge they encounter. Ice fishing really forces people to look at different approaches to catching these fish. One of the biggest mistakes is to stay stuck on one technique when you know the fish are there , but not responding to what you are doing.

One of the beauties of ice fishing is the dead stick approach. You can set up a dead stick and stay busy with the other by jigging. Now, there are several rods and add-on components that will make this mode of fishing even more productive. At the ice show I saw rods that would bend in half at a mere breath....something necessary to show the lightest of hits. The trick with the deadstick is to have "just" enough weight on the rod to show a slight bend when at rest. When a crappie hitting from below takes the bait the rod tip will literally lift. Of course an aggressive crappie or sunnie will be a no brainer.

Many techniques will cross specie lines too. This can be evidenced by having crappies and sunfish come from the same hole randomly. Some days it will not matter what is being used or how. On other days you may have to change to something different to keep small sunfish from driving you nuts. You may have to change to keep small crappies from nagging you.

There is no magic number. You have to be adaptable and at times you have to be doggedly persistant. I have often said on this site ,and to others while talking about fishing, that the biggest limiting factor for fishermen is the lack

of imagination. To make my point: a friend and I did a mid- winter trip with the boat to the Mississippi River one day for walleyes and sauger. He showed me a tinsel jig that red/green/silver. It looked like a Christmas Tree ornament! I told him to keep the ugly thing way up in the front of the boat. He did. He caught fish. I drew a blank for the day. And of course he on had one of the jigs.

Doing something totally out of character or context has probably spurred more techniques for fishing than one can imagine. But you see, it was imagination the got all of the techniques we see and hear so much of today started. Don't let a technique get boundried by a species.

[TackleBoxMike]

This will be my first year where I'll get to use a flasher to help me with the suspended fish so I'm excited about using my flasher. I picked up a flasher at the ice fishing show both my son and me had a great time. In the past for me I've gone out and drilled holes and used a tape measure or a roll of rope where I've tied knots every foot and put a weight on it to help me in finding out what depth my ice fishing holes where at then I'd work at finding a drop-off. I'd set up the wheel-fishouse and start the wood stove and settle down and get to ice fishing. I've found that fish would be moving up and down the drop-off. I'd have times where crappies and sunnies would bite and fishing was good. Other time when the fishing was slow I'd be thinking a northern pike probably has moved in and scared the smaller fish away. Now if things stayed slow for a week I'd get back to work and move the fishouse to a new location. Now with my new flasher I'll be learning how that works. If you guys have any advise that be great. I've been thinking about how my approach will change.

Lets Keep Our Hooks Sharp.

TackleBoxMike

[Corey Bechtold]

TBM, sounds pretty primitive, welcome to high tech fishing. What area are you fishing, maybe someone from this site can help you learn and understand your flasher. Keep us posted, I'd be happy to help. If you want you could also e-mail me at [email protected] and I could answer some of your questions.

Good Luck

Corey Bechtold

[TackleBoxMike]

Thanks Corey, as soon as some ice forms I'll be testing out the electronic flasher. I can use all the help I can get.

Thank you

TackleBoxMike

[Kidd]

One quick tip I'd suggest is that you don't need to drill a hole to determine the water depth. Put some water in a jug and pour it on top of the ice, set your transducer on the wet spot and your flasher will read the depth through the ice. It saves on the back, not to mention your auger blades.

[CrappieJohn]

Or you could go real high tech and get a gps unit and take your boat with it and your locator along with a map and find these structures while you are waiting for the lake to freeze. At the rate we are making ice, it may well be a year from now before you have to worry about locating early ice crappies. lolng

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Tackleboxmike, a little easier method is to drop a line in the water with a weight and bobber stop, set the stop at the water line, then all you need to do is reel up move to the next hole and drop the line down. Use the bobber stop to estimate the depth difference. Might come in handy if your electronics take a dive someday.