Tonight I am going to mark the weedline w/gps b4 ice gets here.

[Sonicrunch]

I'll be doing this on a few of my favorite panfish lakes.

Last year, as I was punching holes all over trying to fing the weedline, I swore I would do this this fall.

Does anybody else do this?

[waskawood]

I do the same thing. I will cruise the inner and outter weedlines. I have a Lowrance GPS in the boat and my hand held is also Lowrance and it saves me lots of hunting with the auger!!!! I just save a trail outlining the weed line, I then transform it to a chip and transfer it to my Handheld.

[chris63]

Very smart grasshopper,A man who walk on side of hill,...........not on level.. c63

[Matt Johnson]

This is a very smart idea for anyone looking locate structure for ice fishing. I'm constantly finding myself making mental notes during the open water season as to where some possible productive ice fishing spots would be. What can I say, I'm always thinking ice

It's a lot easier to cruise around in the boat and mark structure, it can take up a lot of time punching a stack of holes trying to find the spot on the spot...

Great topic Sonicrunch!

[riverrat56]

How accurate will that be in a month and half when there is good ice though?

Great idea either way it will get you close but how much will the weedline die off?

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Dont the deep weeds stay green the longest?

[RobertELee]

riverrat, its not like the weeds will just die off and dissapear, the key is to locate it now, and in that month and a half or so, you can get out there find the weedline quikly and then go about your work at finding the green weeds, if there are any, or like Matt said "the spot on the spot".

[Matt Johnson]

You'll still find some still-standing green weeds at first ice, and usually those are some of the first spots I look for on certain lakes. Having an understanding of where the weed line is will help you when it comes time to begin looking for those transition areas. Walleyes and pike will hold to those weed lines at first ice, as will pannies from time to time. I generally find my pannies just inside the weed line holding to pockets and scattered weeds...

Searching for spots in the boat doesn't have to only be weed line spots, you can look for rock piles, sunken wood, gravel, areas where bottom composition changes, etc... all of which will help you come ice season...

[Jeff Dosch]

We spend a lot of time this time of year locating new structure like rockpiles,sunken islands, fallen timber and even areas of small bottom change. The areas that perch roam on Devils Lake is basically a huge mud flat and alot of the time it only takes a small change in bottom structure to hold these fish in place. Sometimes an area of about only 25' will be deeper than its surroundings by only a foot but perch will hold here because its full of fresh water shrimp.

Jeff Dosch

www.doschguides.com

[Jim Hudson]

Good thinking on heading out and marking up some spots.. Scouting the lake before the ice comes is one of the number one reasons for constant success in my mind.

Locating those inside turns on a weed edge or a big pocket deep in the weeds.. Or it could be that transition zone from rock to mud. Or a rock spine jetting off the main rock reef. All things to look for and will give you the edge once the ice rolls around.

One thing I found this fall that differs from last, is the fish seem to be off structure, a bit deeper, and roaming much more. Water temps are still quite equal throughout the water column and it seems the fish are using this and are roaming a bit more to and from available structure.