IceLeaders Show - Chequamegon Smallies -1/11/05

[Pete Riola]

Check out the action from Chequamegon Bay with Matt Johnson. Some solid tips and some real nice fish.

Click here to view www.iceleaders.com/video.html

You can find the Custom Jigs and Spins Slender Spoons in the Walleye Kits at TackleCity.com - CLICK HERE

[Tom Linderholm]

Nice Video guys, what day were you out there?

Just as a heads up I am going to share what happened to us out in the bay while we were set up for coho's. We were out about a mile and after walking out of the house and realizing that the first coho was missing off of the ice. I walked over to IlltakewhatIcanget's shack to ask them if they took it, while doing so I looked over to my truck and noticed that there was some furry little creature under the truck and that there were little footprints with drag marks leading to my truck.

So the mink had its lunch up in my engine block, I popped the hood and there he was sitting on top of my block with urine all over the place, needless to say not a good smell. He hid behind the engine and we managed to poke the coho out with a gaff and recovered it for dinner

We then started prodding it out of the truck with the end of the handle of the gaff which now has teeth marks on it. There it went hauling out from underneath the truck.

Then into some unexpecting permanant, Door flies open and 2 guys come hauling out. Seems he popped up into their house and scared the bejeezes out of them. Well it took residency under the house and continued to spread scent underneath. Well worth the trip out there just for the excitment. Fishing is great and you never know what is going to be on the end of your line out there.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Awesome video guys...

FMers... you can really learn some stuff from this video.. We all know Matt Johnson is a great ice angler, and really knows his stuff.. What I would like you to watch is how little he is actually moving the lure when trying to coax a fish to bite... I really think many times people jig too much. Matt showed how its to be done, and the results you can get... Man I have to get up there and do that some time!

nice job Matt and Pete!

[Matt Johnson]

Thanks Deitz.

You bring up a very good point and it is something that can be applied to all species some way or another. When attacting a fish to the area it will often take some aggressive techniques added with some flash and vibration, especially when fishing a large body of water over a featureless flat. You want to draw fish in from a distance. Once a fish approaches you don't want to stop aggressively jigging, just tone the sequence down a bit. So instead of popping a spoon in 1-3 foot incriments you might want to start some jiggle-pause sequences, but you still want to remain somewhat aggressive. The fish were drawn in by the aggressive technique and thats what will ulimately seal the deal. Don't just let the bait/jig sit motionless when a fish appears on your flasher, that will sometimes have a negative affect. I prefer to keep the jig moving, but I'll use quick, short shakes and jiggles, and if I get a response or rise out of the fish, then I will add in pause sequences.

I also like to slowly pull the bait away from the fish as I continue to jiggle, this drives the fish crazy sometimes and it will really trigger some reaction strikes. This technique works well on panfish and perch too, not just larger gamefish. But remember, when dealing with panfish and perch you are often times on a smaller scale, so keep that in mind when you determine how aggressive or how large the jigging incriments are. For instance, I'm not going to rip jig a size 10 Shrimpo 1-3 feet up and down the water column to attract fish. I'll use more subtle movements like 4-6 inches. And, when a fish comes in I'm going to use very small quivers to entice the fish to bite. Keep the jig moving and if you have a really negative bite you don't always want the fish to get a chance to scan over the bait too long, you want them to take the bait without fully knowing what it is.

Now, there are occasions when deadsticking and long pauses are needed, but a very common mistake is when the fish appears, to stop jigging or doing what you did to get that fish to show up. Sure, you might have to change the technique and slow things down, but you don't want to cease all movement. Fish have a basic instinct to attack their prey right before the prey takes off. And, if you pay close attention to an underwater camera you will see that the fish's prey will quiver very quickly before it darts away. That quiver tells the fish that it's now or never, and you will more often then not see that fish take the bait right then and there. And this happens on all levels when fish are less then aggressive. Everything from tiny micro-organisms all the way to large minnows. Fins will tense up, feelers will pulse, and then the prey darts off. You can mimic those movements by quivering or shaking the bait while you slowly pull it away from the fish. A simple technique that has helped me land a lot more fish during negative conditions.

Keeping the bait moving is key. Even when a person deadsticks the bait is moving, thats the main point of deadsticking, to allow the bait do all the work and perform all it's natural movements. Those are things that negative fish will pick up on and that's part of the reason why your success can increase with deadsticking. You might think the bait isn't moving, but it is. Even when you use finesse plastics and no live bait, no matter how hard you try, that finesse tail is still quivering and moving, and fish WILL notice that and join your offering for dinner.

The Chequamegon bite for smallies had a lot of negative fish roam through, so I had to use a much slower tecnhqiue when I had fish appear on my LX-3. I used a pretty aggressive jigging tecnhique to draw the fish in, but once they got there I had to really finesse those fish into biting. If I held the bait still those fish would dissapear, but if I kept it moving they would stick around. I even watched some fish move in and dissapear...move in and dissapear...three of four times before the decided to strike. Keep things moving, but simple, and you can increase your chances of landing more fish on negative days.

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Duffer]

great info matt and great video i love these videos keep them comin good work guys.

[Lights]

Thanks for the great info and video.

[Captain B.R.K]

Another excellent production, thanks Matt for the time spent and teaching us about finicky fish! Though I bet being on the ice and catching 19-20" smallies is more fun than what you call work

It was interesting to see how you worked the lure and how you raised the bait from time to time to get those passive fish to bite.

Again....Thank you Pete and Matt!

[Bob Horn]

Great video!!! Now I just need to get up there and catch me a few. Lots of great info, thanks guys.

[Northlander]

I kept losing the video after Matt caught the 1st Smallie. Next time you guys are down here Matt give me a holler.

[Bronze Backs]

Now I seriously have the Chequamey jones. Matt, why didn't I see Pete setting the hook? And did you get a photo of that Brown?

[Matt Johnson]

Bronze,

I thought you made it up to Chequamegon the day before we went up there? I heard the laker trip went pretty good though.

Here's a pic of that the brown...

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Chad711]

Wow what a fight they put up! Great Video fellas...

I bet that Brown was a fighter, I caught one in Boise, Idaho and it was tough!

[I'llTakeWhatiCanGet]

I wish we had a video of Cheffrey and the weasel! It wouldn't be too informative, but it would put me in tears laughing. LakeWinds and i were in my fishhouse when we heard that we were being accused of stealing a salmon. Next thing you know, Cheffrey was running out of his shack shouting "what is that a squirrel? Oh s*&t its in my truck" That varmit spent the entire afternoon basking in the warmth of Cheffrey's engine, he wouldn't even come out when he started it and revved the engine. The best part however, was watching Cheffrey and Quickstrike chase that thing across the open ice (thats when he got the 'escape' picture). Just when i thought the varmit had gotten away, it hopped into that fishhouse and probably cause a few undergarments to become soiled. Then Cheffrey went and aplogized for chasing a weasel into those fellas' shack What a gentleman Fishing was fair that day, but i think the weasel incident will be remembered much longer than the cohos we caught