First Ice Out Crappies

[FOOTDOC]

Well, I know my friends in Minny are still drilling holes but here in Indiana, our ice is just about gone! I have a few small 90 acre lakes by my house with good crappie populations and a wide variation of depths. One lake in particular has a max depth of 70' but has a lot of drop offs that come off of 8' flats and gradually go into 20' of water or so. I have caught many crappies on these drops at all times of the year. I have never had open water this early! My techniques in the past have been to hang a traditional two hook crappie rig with a drop weight over the edge of an anchored boat and then to cast an ice fishing jig with a bee moth and do a slow retrieve. Any suggestions on what depth water to hit this time of season? Presentations? Thanks and I would rather be drilling holes.

[CrappieJohn]

We may be drilling holes in most spots, but in the lake I favor for fishing panfish there is a long run of open water and I have fished that already using the lond rod and plastics with good success. I also have a lake two blocks from my back door that is kepth open by a power plant and I fish the three times a week or more, many days hopping over there to cast right after I have gotten home from the ice. I just love to fish.

I use a collar-less 1/32 head- usually black, purple or chartreuse- and a Culprit Paddletail plastic fished under a Mini Stealth Thill float. I seldom fish this deeper than five feet so a six to 6'6" very light action rod will do and 4 pound line is the rule.

My pet lake offers a little less in the deep water as it maxs out at about 45, but much of our shoreline has a radical drop and will go from 4 to 25 feet in a big way. As the ice in bays adjecent to where I start my open water fishing retreats, I look for water that is at least 15 feet deep. Some current is helpful, but the biggest aid I have found yet is a fishing thermometer on a tether eight feet long.

With the thermometer I search for the warmest water I can find and concentrate my search in that area as long as I have access to water with depths of at least 12 feet to start. Sunken wood or deep green weeds might have held the fish while there was ice or immediately after it left, but the wide expanses of open water will mean roaming fish. Structure right now will mean breaks, points and temperature walls (seams in the water where two different temperatures of moving water come together and clash creating a barrier or wall) and eddys. Look for water depth first, then one of the structural elements just mentioned and finally check the temp in a few spots in that immediate area. And immediate area is going to be the key.

These fish will be looking for the warmest water within an area to laze in. Whe you find one area where the water temps are higher than a couple hundred yards away, fish it while you search for something there to act as a physical draw to the fish. When you find such an element you'll be in business. But this will only hold together for this one particular spot. Look at the body of water as a whole and then look at it from the standpoint that it has a hundred smaller micro biomes where you'll find all of these little things come together and find willing fish. You will likely have to move about to find several of these smaller areas to stay busy with fish and the reason is simple: any given area will only hold so many fish. The ice will over time concentrate the fish in one of these smaller biomes, but as open water comes into play these fish begin to move around a little, but they are not going to make any major exodus anywhere just yet. They have their needs met within this specic area. When enough fish have been taken from that local school they will let you know when to move. All you do is go find another micro zone to attack.

Fish travel far less than what most people think when the ice and cold water comes into play. Open water will be several degrees warmer than water adjecent to ice....perhaps as much as ten degrees, but when thew ice is gone open water will warm fairly rapid at the surface. This is where the eight foot lanyard comes into play on the thermometer. Surface water temps will be up and down like a yo-yo and mean little to your fishing at this time of year. The fish avoid the unstable surface water and only very infrequently might sneak up to grab a morsel of food. Don't depend on the water temp gauge in your locator, get a submersible thermometer and learn how to use it. At the very least I figure that water at the eight foot mark is way more stable than that at the surface, hence the cord of that length. I don't look for real consistant fishing until I am finding water of 44-46 degrees at the 8 foot mark and it doesn't take long to achieve this mark. Fish holding in water higher or deeper have found a water temp they are comfortable with, but they will fly out of that zone and nail a bait with a hasty retreat. Fish at this time of year are hungry fish and that fact will show up at the hit. Comfort, though, is still going to be a serious consideration.

Early ice out brings with it some challenges. By finding the warmest available water within a specific area will be one of those, but finding it can be like finding gold. So many times we have to let the fish dictate what the day will be like bite-wise, however at this time of year we anglers actually have the upper hand and can capitalize on the benifits held there IF we take time to do some serious searching.

FOOTDOC, if you need some extra input on the plastics mentioned, the thermometer or the float, feel free to e-mail me at the link in my signature and I'd be happy to help in that regard!