Lookers not Biters

[nauticaljohn]

In years past, we have seen days ice fishing when the fish come up off the bottom, look, and drop back down. There were a few days each winter like that.

Does it seem to anyone else that it has become the norm this year? Any body of water, any spieces??

I have experienced this phenom on Red, Mille Lacs, LOTW, St. Croix, Canada, and two local lakes. All winter.

I am conscious of gas on hands, noise, all size/shape/color of lures, line size/color, and numerous other variables.

I've always been an aggressive jigger, but have learned the past 2-3 years to slow it down and let it sit in their face before they'll take it.

I've put on a couple thousand miles this year and only hit them one time in ten trips.

I love it too much to get discouraged. I know it's got to be operator error, but I'm stumped.

I was heard to say this last weekend "all the fish in every lake can't get that smart that fast."

Any ideas?

[Eric Wettschreck]

No expert here, but I've found sometimes when you get them in looking but not taking........there are a couple things you can try.

1. If you're jigging aggressively, and that jigging is what got them a lookin.....Don't stop jiggin. Or, have 2 lines, jig the begesus out of one and leave the other alone.

2. If they show up and look, try lifting your lure up slowley about 6-8 inches. Sometimes the fish will folllow. My thinking is if they follow the lure up they realize,"Holy dump, I'm out of my comfort zone and better do something about it." If you're lucky the something they do is hit your bait.

Sometimes these 2 things work for me, sometimes the fish make me look stupider than I already am. No guarantees.

Good luck.

[cisco kid]

boiler, are you using a depth finder to watch both presentations at once?

[Eric Wettschreck]

yup

[cisco kid]

nj, I do find that you will get those few aggressive bitters and then they seem to lose interest . Sometimes the school has moved on but have swithed lures and get one or two to hit again before they do shut down and I have to move around to find the bitters again.

[cisco kid]

10-4 boiler. I do this with crappies, jig one and dead stick a minnow with the other. Today I was jigging perch in 35 fow. Caught what I needed but totally spaced out even using a dead stick. Didnt have minnows with but still could have set a spikes or waxies in front of them. This is one of the reasons I tune in the not only learn new stuff but to say DUH!!! I should have done that!!

[ZapBranigan]

Hey NJ, the reason why raising it 6 to 8 inches sometimes works is also because their real comfort zone maybe higher than you are seeing on you flasher. They are not actually coming up from the bottom to take a look at it. They are getting closer to the center of your hole. They are moving in from outside your cone angle. This gives you the impression that they are rising. They may be actually coming in above the bait and they will not drop down to get it. Alway work your bait above the fish because they rarely will drop down to get a bait. The jiggling will attract them on their latteral line but again if the bait is actually below them they won't drop down. So unless they get red in the screen your actual depth of the fish is higher than you are showing on the flasher. So if the bait is slightly above them that may be their actual depth.

Make sense?

[The Grebe]

NJ.....I have also found this to be true this season? I don't believe it is just me, because I'am a very active fisherman and if something is'nt working, I'll try something else.

The people I fish with have complained about the same thing, lots of lookers and not many biters! I've probably hit 15 different lakes this winter, some more then once and I have yet to get into an a$$ kicking bite of quality fish, like I do at least a few times each winter?

We have gotten fish, but most have been small (Mille Lacs)

small panfish everywhere. Some fellas get them once in awhile, but I don't think they are banging them everytime out?

From the posts, mid-state does'nt seem to be that hot? Maybe I should say 7 county metro does'nt seem to be that hot?

There is only so much time when one takes a trip out of town. You can only try so many things and thats it. Come prime bite time, you want to have your game plan set and hope it works!

If you come onto a spot punching holes during the bewitching hour, someone is liable to tune you up! Try what you can during the non peak and set up on high percentage areas during the peak bite time. If they don't go, so much for the game plan and they don't always go, even when they are there! I don't know, maybe I'm missing something?

[Skipper]

Yep been frustrating. I have been on several area lakes in the Brainerd Area and have experienced the same thing. I chekc the weather, the solunar calender, the barometer, I change lures, bait, no bait and they just come up and look and then disappear. Sometimes they sit there for ever and just look at the bait. I have been out 3 - 4 times a week since January and the luck has been the same. I primarily have fished Crappies as they are my favorite.

Will keep trying.................

got to get hungry sooner or later............

[Bigfife]

I hate to say it, but I have found the exact opposite this year. The fishing has been spectacular for me. Early ice I got into the perch and walleyes and January to now has been very good for crappies. I guess there was a lull for about a week in January. I have been moving a lot this year and finding active fish. When they stop biting, I put down another jig or switch bait. I have found that when they stop hitting the jig they will usually hit the deadstick that is a couple feet away. I have been doing a lot of downsizing this year also. I have caught 90% of my fish this year on a 1/16th oz. jig or smaller tipped with one wax worm. Even the walleyes had no problem taking the waxies. I guess my biggest suggestion is probably to downsize if the bite gets tough. Oh yeah, get a spring bobber too. You will never fish without one again.

[pikerliker]

Hey I had the same vibe this winter. Most of my outings involved fish "looking" at my jig and then going back down to the bottom. I even had several follows when I would lift up, but nothing. This was on several different lakes in the Southern part of MN. Glad to know it wasn't just me!

~piker

[hanson]

ZapBranigan has a very good point. Definitely worth rereading if you missed it the first time. When you think a fish is coming 'up' to your bait, it is actually coming into the center of your transducers cone angle from the side.

There are also many other good points mentioned above:

- When the fish comes in for a look, DO NOT stop your presentation

- Downsize, downsize, downsize

- Finesse Presentations (light line, small lure, spring bobber or noodle rod)

- Get the fish to chase the lure up

- And my favorite, drop the lure down to the bottom. Sometimes these lookers are perch and they love to pick up a lure coming off of the bottom

Sometimes these fish which you think are looking are actually tasting and have sucked your lure in & spit it out so fast you never felt it. Thats where the spring bobber can pay off. This is also a great time to drop a camera down and try to learn something.

[Pete Riola]

Hanson, If this seems to happening a bunch I'd send my jig to the bottom as soon as I think the fish is headed there and then I'd leave it sit on the bottom for a minute then slowly I mean super slowly lift the bait off the bottom making sure to detect the presence of any weight. Seems dumb but lots of fish will either pick the bait up off the bottom or they will eat it when they see it move after watching it rest on the bottom for 30 seconds to a minute or two. My two cents.

[viking_fan]

Keep bringing it up is my thing.

I will bring fish up as far as six to eight feet before they will bite.

My biggest walleyes that I have Iced have come up several feet before biting. The nice part is when you get them to come up that high and they want it, they take it hard.

A slow retrieve with a light jigging action works the best, Just keep it out of reach and let them follow.

after several feet they can't take it any more.

This works with the crappies as well the larger crappies tend to float so you don't have as much room to bring them up that high. The smaller crappies tend to hang onto the bottom so they may not be as willing to come up as high, but they all will follow when hungry and some just because there curious.

[Walterwontfalter]

I learned something this weekend after looking most of the day at my Vexilar and getting frustrated because fish would rise up to my lure and follow it several feet up but then turn and go back down without biting. I switched lure colors, sizes, types etc.. and nothing worked until.. I put on a rattle lure and noticed that the first time I dropped it down a fish rose up and met it about a foot off bottom. After putting that one in the bucket I dropped it down again and while I didn't get a bite right away I lifted it up about 6 feet and let it free-fall until about a foot off bottom and I snapped my bail shut and let the lure sit. Immediately a walley rose up and grabbed my lure. I continued this the rest of the day and when the fish didn't grab my lure on my jigging rod it would often grab my deadstick which was a plain hook with a shiner hooked by the dorsal fin. I went from possibly going home empty handed to a nice dinner of a couple keeper walleyes after 4 hours of scrambling to catch and release fish almost constantly. It's the first time I have tried this and I can't wait to get out and try it again.

[MetroEye]

nj,

I have experienced the exact same thing for the past month on crappies and bluegills. I started using a camera this year and is that a learning experience!!! I bet I have caught half of my fish by sight fishing with the camera. The bite is often so light that I have difficulty detecting it even with a noodle rod. It also amazes me how fast they can inhale and spit a jig. And I have seen "visually" many fish come up off the bottom to check out a presentation so it isn't only fish moving towards the center of the cone.

[uffdapete]

See this article on the home page -

Modern Ice Fishing, The Development of a "LEGEND"

Greg Wilczynski

I had the opportunity to learn about this rod and really a different ice fishing system from Greg at the Backwater Brawl. He is definitely on to something with this system.

This just might be part of the answer to your dilemma. It was for me.

[nauticaljohn]

Thanks to all of you guys. I won't respond to each reply, but have gleened something from each of you.

Recap: down-size even more, re-think sonar images, let bait sit on bottom a minute and raise slowly, spring bob, take away, etc.

If anyone has an opening on a trip, let me know. Metro, Mille, Red.

[email protected]