What's workin' now ICE...

[Stratosman]

We found the bluegills and the crappies hanging out together on Sunday in about 14' of water close to a 5' weedy flat with a sharp break, also found some perch as well with a few pushing 12", a nice bonus. This lake has been very good to us over the last few years. Very nice size all around but a few dinks mixed in as well. Upsizing an plastic definately seemed to weed out the small guys though. Lite biters indeed thought and would often times only barely move the spring bobber. 4 of us caught more than we could care to count but easily into the hundreds. Kept enough for a fresh fish dinner and plenty of big boys still swimmin. I expect them to make the move onto the shallow shelf real soon, considering they are staging close to the break as of now.

Tis the season, hope it lasts a few more weeks... Nothin better.

[Corey Bechtold]

Nicely done!

I went out for an hour with Cole in search of some Crappies. Cole started catching smaller Gills while I hole hopped for some Papermouths. I jigged a Power Minnow and Power Tube while Cole fished a small YBD jig tipped with a micro noodle plastic. There were fish in almost every hole. They were somewhat tight lipped although there were a few fish that would slam the bait.

I managed about 25 smaller Crappies in an hour while Cole did good on the smaller fish with his smaller baits.

The last fish of the evening was an 11.5" Crappie that tood a Micro Tube (white). Cole poses with the fish prior to release.

The late Ice bite is starting to kick into high gear,

Corey Bechtold

[Matt Johnson]

Awesome picture Corey! I tell ya, Cole is becoming quite the angler!

I made it out yesterday again with my dad and tommyk. We went back to where we found the crappies on Monday and it was like a dead sea. We went to all our old holes (all 50 of them) and we didn't mark a single suspended fish. We moved up in shallower and wham! First fish was a healthy 12-inch crappie. Tommyk won the dollar bet on his first fish! (first person to catch a 12-incher won a buck from the other guys ). We then went on to land a couple more in the 9-11 inch range and that was it for the morning.

When then moved out and tried locating some gills. We worked over a few spots and ended up catch a couple nice 7-8 inchers amongst some thick weeds. But again, the fish were not where they were on Monday. So again, another move was in order.

We decided to try a little sight fishing up in the extreme shallows, like 2-4 feet, and sure enough, the gills were there! We sighted about 25 nice gills in the 7.5-8.5 inch range. I also saw what was probably the biggest gill I've ever seen! No joke! This thing was insanely big! It wouldn't come within 4-5 inches of my jig, it just sat there and stared at it. Talk about frustrating! I don't think I breathed the entire time it was there

So after sighting a few gills, we moved back over to the crappie spot to see if they moved in, but like earlier, they were not there. So, we moved out towards the main basin and kicked open a bunch of old holes. Upon dropping down the transducer, we found our selves smack-dab in the middle of a crappie fiesta! The larger fish were not there, but we reeled up as many 7-10 inchers as we wanted from about 3-5pm. I believe we landed a couple in the 11-11.5 inch range during that time-span, but nothing that hit 12-inches. Where those larger fish went I still don't know, but it was still fun nonetheless.

My dad had a blast, and tommyk and I had a tough time getting him to leave

Size 6 Ratsos sealed the deal for us again yesterday on the crappies. No bait, just plain plastics.

For the gills we used size 10 Flutter Bugs or size 12 Little Atom Optic Stealth jigs tipped with a single larva. I know tommyk did well on purple plastics.

Tomorrow I'm off to LOW for the ICE Series, but I think a little panfishin' on the way up is in order

Have a good weekend! And enjoy the late-ice bite!

[Stratosman]

You say ultra shallow huh, 2-4' of water, I take it you were on the inside weed line or just into the weeds on the shallow side? I have been gettin 'em still in 16' of water but real close to the shallows. Might need to check out the shallow bite this weekend.

[Matt Johnson]

The spot I was fishing was actually a large shallow bay, with depths no deeper than about 4-5 feet. The weeds would come up to about 2 feet below the ice, and the sunfish were cruising in between the ice and the weeds. It was crystal clear down there, and what a fun way to catch fish! Some of the fish came through no more than a foot below the ice, and I could see every little spot and scar on their body

It wasn't really an inside weed line, it was just a large bay where the green weeds starting to really bloom and the sunfish piled up in there taking advantage of the forage-rich environment...

[Stratosman]

Nice.. gotta love the shallow water bite. It's nice to not have to strip off 30' of line every time you make a drop.

[Corey Bechtold]

Tonight I was able to sneak out and fish for a bit after work. I wasn't able to find enough safe Ice to drive my truck on so I had to walk. I went out and located a weedline break but the fish weren't there. I wandered over to a shallower flat in search of Crappies but didn't find anything. I moved again and went to the northern corner of the lake that gets most of the sun and fished the mouth of a bay. After searching different holes I noticed some fish on the locator above the weeds in 8' of water (the weeds came up close to the Ice in a lot of areas). Fishing only a few feet under the Ice I noticed a larger blip on the flasher. It smacked my 2" Power Minnow and the battle was on. I thought I might have a smaller Pike till she came up the hole. It was a 13.5" Crappie! I moved around a few different holes and found similar weed growths and fish to be relating to the patches. I caught a few more descent (10") Crappies on the 2" Power Minnow but when it got real dark outside the fish wanted something smaller. I switched over to a size 6 Ratso and fished the tops of the weeds. The fish would sit on the bait and then finally suck it in. Bites weren't hard but watching the line move made detecting bites relatively easy . I managed a few good fish on the Ratso before they shut off entirely. The biggest Crappie I caught on the Ratso was 12".

I have to note that I got a chance to use my Thorne Bros rod tonight and am absolutely blown away on how nice the rod is. It's ultra sensitive, very light, has positive hook setting power and loads up very well. Handling these big fish was no problem! I put a Abu Garcia Cardinal 300U reel on the rod with 2lb Micro Ice. I love this setup!

The rod I was using with the Ratso was a Berkley Lightning rod 28"L with a Cardinal 100U reel and 1lb Micro Ice. It is also a great setup for Panfish.

Here are a couple pictures of the fish from tonight...

Thorne Bros Custom rod, Cardinal 300U, 2lb Micro Ice, 13.5" Crappie

Berkley 28"L Lightning rod, Cardinal 100U reel, 1lb Micro Ice, 12" Crappie

Remember to be safe during this late Ice period.

Good luck,

Corey Bechtold

[Jim Hudson]

Corey

Nice fish man... And great report as usual!!!

Almost time to start hittng some inland waters myself... In search of those big late ice slabs...

[Matt Johnson]

Nice fish Corey! I'll hook-set into one for you this weekend, and maybe you'll do the same for me Talk to you on Monday...

[eyepatrol]

Nice fish Corey, those are some beauties! I got a question for you though. When you say the rod "loads up" real well, what do you mean by that?

[Corey Bechtold]

When a rod loads well on a fish it bends most of the way through but not to the handle. Some rods will only bend the first 4 inches or so while some rods will flex all the way through the handle. A good rod loads well on fish taking some of the stress off the reels drag. The perfect rod will have a somewhat soft tip but fast enough to get positive hooksets.

I hope this answers your question.

Later,

Corey Bechtold

[eyepatrol]

Yes it does. Thank you for that explanation. Would you recommend one rod over the other when it comes to the Thorn Bros and the Berkley Lightening rod, or do each have their own time and place?

[hanson]

basscatcher-

My vote is for Thorne Bros.

And I'll break it down simply. Thorne Bros. is a custom rod. Yes, you can order one off of their HSOforum or buy one in the store but the fact of the matter is that every rod of theirs is made by hand, with the highest quality materials available, right in Fridley, Minnesota.

St. Croix rods aren't bad but they aren't custom either. They are a higher end factory production rod. There has been alot of complaint lately about the tips breaking on the Legend Spring Bobber rods as well as the quality of their ice rods in general. I think the thing to remember with the Croix's is they are NOT a custom rod, they are a production rod and there is a BIG difference there.

I think you'd be fooling yourself to think you could get by with "cheap" equipment "just because we are fishing panfish". I've learned that the opposite is true. We should probably be using higher end equipment for the pannies. You have to remember that we are fishing 2lb line, sometimes 1lb and a smooth drag is of the utmost importance to keep your line from snapping. A good rod is just another part of the total package.

I don't use Berkley rods so I can't really comment. However, I had a Genz Series rod once and hated it. Its gone now.

[eyepatrol]

Thanks for the info hanson. I'll have to look into the Thorn Bros rods as right now I've got the "mass production" rods; don't even know what brand they are.

How about reels? Again, I've got the generic rod/reel combo that you can buy just about anywhere and they aren't the greatest sight to behold, so to speak.

I'll have to look up the costs of these items too. I can't afford to pony-up and buy whatever, whenever, so I'm thinking I'll buy a rod here, reel there, and eventually by ice time next year I'll be good-to-go.

[Corey Bechtold]

I'll chime in a bit here about the Ice rods. I definately have used almost every kind of rod there is. If you are looking for the best rod for the money than it's hard to beat the Lightning rods. They are made overseas which saves you some $$.

The Thorne Rods are absolutely amazing but you pay a bit more (you get what you pay for). They are built in house by guys you can astually go and visit with . They know their stuff and will get you exactly what you need.

You can't badmouth the Lightning rods because they are very useful rods. They are light, sensitive, functional and relatively inexpensive.

The St.Croix Avid series and Legend rods are very nice as well. I have used them and like them too.

There are other outfits that custom build rods in the area. Midwest Rod and Reel is another custom rod company.

There are great options out there for rods and I have my favorites. I will definately have more Thorne Rods made for me but I won't get rid of my Lightning rods.

If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask.

Good luck,

Corey Bechtold

[harvey lee]

Basscatcher

I will agree with Hanson in the rod department.I have numerous rods made by alot of companies.

1-Thorne Bros

2-St.Croix

3-Berkley

4-Midwest

All of these rods work well,but if there is one rod that I like the most it would be the Thorne Bros rods.I like the rods,spring bobbers and I have not broke one yet and I have broke the tip on three St.Croixs.I could show you the repairs.One tip I broke and dont even know how.

As for reels you will get alot of answers.My favorite hands down are the Tica's.The reels give me no problems and the drags seem to work great.

If I was going to buy a new rod tommorrow and a new reel it would be a Thorne bros rod and a tica cetus 500 reel.

[eyepatrol]

Corey,

So with the Thorne rods, you actually call in and tell them how you want the rod built and they make it for you...is that how it works? I wouldn't know where to begin, honestly, just because I don't have that much experience with these sorts of things, if this is the case.

[eyepatrol]

Thanks Harvey Lee.

Can the Tica's be picked up at a Gander or somewhere? How about the rods you mentioned? Gander in 'Kato is close to us and would be the most convenient location, if they carry them.

[Corey Bechtold]

Basscatcher,

What kind of fishing are you going to be doing if you order a Thorne Bros custom rod? They have different actions for different fishing applications. They also make an outside rod which has larger guides. Let me know and I'll try and help you get the rod that best suits your needs.

Later,

Corey Bechtold

[ozzie]

basscatcher- yes gander carries the tica reels and they are very nice!!!!

[eyepatrol]

Corey,

A majority of my ice fishing is for crappies and sunnies. I'd say I spend about 1/2 my time fishing outside the portable and the other 1/2 inside (depends if I am able to find the fish ) I use 2lb test line almost exclusively now, unless I were to make a trip to URL or something where I'd spool on some 4lb test 'cause of the 'eyes. I'm just getting into using spring bobbers, just bought some a couple weeks ago, although they are the flat wire kind that I attatched to my rods with electrical tape.

Ozzie - thanks. I'll check them out next time I'm there.

[Cheeser]

I like the Tica reels, too - got mine at Gander in Lakeville. I really liked that it came with an extra spool.

Harvey Lee, how did you do this morning???

[Stratosman]

I second the Tica vote, I have 3, maybe four of them. I switch a couple back and forth between ice rods and my summer trout spinning rods, I've bought them at Gander and F.F.

[Corey Bechtold]

Man, what a weekend! I fished with Cole and a good friend on Saturday. We started off on a lake that has good Crappies. The fish were on top of the weeds in shallow water (5'-10'). I fished with Shrimpo's to start the day and managed a few nice fish. White head with pink body size 6 was the color. Then I up-sized my presentation to Power Minnows and the fish went nuts for them. Cole was able to watch the fish come in and take the bait. I fished the new colored Power Minnows on a 1/16oz jighead. The fish would just hammer the bait. The bite went on for about an hour till they moved on (guessing the Northerns had them on the move). We landed several fish around the 10" mark and the largest at 12.5". Here are a couple pictures from lake #1...

Cole with one of his catch

Me with a brute that hit my Power Minnow

We then headed to another lake to find the Panfish to be really shallow (3'-5'). These fish were tight to the weeds. Crappies and Sunfish were mixed. The Sunfish were leary of us lurking over the holes so staying back and jigging just below the Ice was the key to get them to bite. I managed quite a few nice Bluegills (8"-8.75") but didn't get any pictures. There was quite a crowd so I didn't want to make a scene. The fish just got returned to the water. The Crappies were also in the weeds but not just sitting down the hole like the Bluegills. They were cruising hitting your bait on the fly. I was using Power Tubes, Power Minnows, and a flutter bug tipped with a spike or two. All these baits did good with the flutter bug doing more damage on the Sunfish. I tried the Shrimpo's but didn't get anything on them. Pretty strange from one lake to another . There were others doing good on minnows and set lines for Crappies.

I wasn't able to make it out on Sunday but went to church and thanked God for the good fishing we had on Saturday.

I hope that everyone had a chance to get out and enjoy the good weather we had the last few days. Be sure to use caution on the lakes these last few weeks of the Ice season.

Good luck,

Corey Bechtold

[Matt Johnson]

This past weekend proved to be tough on the trophy gills. My whole purpose of the weekend (outside of the ICE Series) was to show my dad a 10-inch sunfish. We caught them up to about 9 1/4, but that was it. A lot of fish in the 8-9 inch range, but that elusuve 10 was no where to be seen.

We fished a couple prime spots and we marked a ton of fish, but the change in weather hindered our fishing a bit. On Friday we did the best (right before the storm). That's when we landed all of our fish between 8 3/4 and 9 1/4 inches...

We worked them over in about 24-28 feet of water, and right off the bottom. Again, they're not in their usually late-ice spots. The deep water pattern decided to show its ugly head.

Yesterday was a much tougher day. We managed a few more gills in the 8 inch range, but that was it for sunfish. We did however, hook into several 10-12 inch perch out in the same areas. So things were not a complete bomb

We caught most of our fish on size 8 or 6 Ratsos, Maynard's Flutter Bugs and JB Lures' Charmers, or Little Atom Optic Stealth jigs. The Flutter Bugs, Chamers, and Stealth Jigs were all tipped with larva, while the Ratso's were fishing plain.

Although my dad didn't get to see a 10-incher, he managed a 9 5/8 last weekend, and he landed a stack of 8-9 inchers throughout the week. Oh well, maybe this spring he'll get to see one of those beasts!

Enjoy the rest of the late-ice bite!