What's workin' now Ice...

[Corey Bechtold]

I heard from a tool guy that he saw a few people venturing out a little ways from shore (about 100yds). They are brave because the lakes just froze over 2 nights ago! Use common sense and try and go with a friend in case there is trouble. Also, be sure to have some picks along in case the worst happens.

Good luck,

Corey Bechtold

[Matt Johnson]

I heard multiple fishing reports today at the Ice Show. Sounds like people are getting out and catching some fish!

Please becareful though, as the ice is just forming in many areas and be very cautious venturing out on early ice. Go with a buddy and just be safe and don't risk anything. We have a long winter ahead of us with lots of chances to go ice fishing

But for those of you who do make it out on the ice, good luck and I want to hear the reports!

[fisherdog19]

I was out today, chasing walters. Too my surprise, I saw some suspended fish about 8 ft down in 15 fow and wanted to see what they were. I finally got one to hit my angel eye spoon, and it was a crappie. This is the first time in the 3 years I've been fishing this spot during early ice, that I have seen suspendo's. I'll have a rod rigged for crappies next time I'm out there !

[Corey Bechtold]

Good job dog!!! Next time you'll be in the Walleye-Perch forum talking about how you were out chasing Panfish and accidentally caught a Walleye!

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

[Cyberfish]

Got out to the water to only to find it mostly frozen but not walkable yet so we stayed on the docks and used our ice gear to jig up a nice bucket of specs. also a few bass and sunfish too. bait was a glow ratso jig with a white ratso tail 3 to 6 feet down.

[Corey Bechtold]

Well done Mike! Did you auger holes or use a chisel? I would have been out on the Ice today but opted to go to Church instead. Also got to to to the Ice Show and check out all the fun stuff! I'm ready to go!!!

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

[Cyberfish]

Niether, the ice was thin enough to break with the heel of my boot! We are going next saturday if you want to join us!

[koWALLEYEski]

anyone use chubby darts or raps for big crappies? I caught a few on a number 5 rapala. Didnt catch numbers but did catch some nice crappies

[Corey Bechtold]

I have toyed with Raps and Darters with little success. If you are new to this forum than I'll let you in on a little secret... Power Tubes + Power Minnows!!!

I was out on the Ice tonight after work to try out all the new stuff. I found the Perch to be very active right up until dark. I was catching a fish every drop on the small Ratso's then decided to up-size to see what happened. What happened was this... Bigger Perch! I wasn't doing the numbers game with the Power Tube but did manage quite a few in the 8-9" range. I also caught a few Crappies right at dark. It was a good start to my Ice fishing season but I can't wait till tomorrow! I will be venturing out on a new lake for Panfish. I'll let you all know how I do but you need to do the same.

As for "What's working" for tonight here's the low down...

I really liked the new Berkley Fireline Crystal 2lb. It handled well in the cold and was extremely sensitive. The only thing that is going to take some getting used to is the low stretch. The hooksets don't need to be so "Bassmasters". A simple raise of the rod gets the job done. Another tip is to relax the drag a bit.

I got to use my custom Thorne rod tonight as well! What a great stick!!! I still have my Abu Garcia 300U spinning reel on the rod and it matches it perfectly.

I'll be in touch later,

Corey Bechtold

[Cyberfish]

Got out with Juggs for a marathon ice outing, tried three different lakes, the first did not produce, the second was going, but mostly small fish, the third was the charm, as we got into some nice fish. they were 3 to 6 ft down in 9 ft water. Baits: Genz bug with a glow dragnmag or a white Maki plastic , green glow demon tipped with a 2 inch power minnow, salmo chubby darters.

one good one from the second lake...

The action starts up on slab lake...

nice sunfish

nice bullie Calvinist!

another spec a victim of the mag!

This one really hit hard, so hard that the tip of the lure broke through the lower jaw!

even the bullies liked the dragnmag

Jack and slab

Casey and slab

MT and slab

[Studer]

Man do those pics get me going!!! Pretty cool to see. I will possibly be making it out tomorrow afternoon!!!

[delmuts]

hey corey. where are you getting your power minnows, and what color? i have been having good luck with the color "alewive( sp?)" but found out the company doesn't make that color any more.( no one around here stocks them, so have been odering them from the company.) i've tried several sites, but nobody seems to have them.

[rangerforme]

Corey,

How do you fish your power minnow, short pounding motion or big up and down jigs?

[Corey Bechtold]

Ahh, the Power Minnows strike again! This weekend I was able to sneak out with a friend of mine and search for some Panfish. We started on a lake that I was hoping to find large Crappies. After an hour or two it was obvious that the fish weren't going to cooperate so we moved to a different lake. Weren't we glad we did. We started by looking for a sunken hump and started fishing the edges of it. The fish were right near the edge in 8'-10' of water. We managed a few smaller fish on spikes and a Pounder but switched over to Power Minnows and began catching bigger fish. The key to getting these fish to bite was as simple as letting the bait down to them and fluttering it a bit till the Crappies came to take the bait. Nothing special was reqired specifically other than slightly raising the bait away from the fish till they hit. I was having great luck on the Smelt pattern but also changed up a bit when the fish seemed to slow a bit. The Glow/Chart also worked well. I was using 1/32oz jigheads and occasionally a 1/16oz. The Crappie bite was really good right till dark when the Sunfish showed up on the locators. We down sized as the Gills were acting very sluggish. 1 or 2 spikes on a small horizontal jig was the ticket. We managed quite a few good Sunfish by hovering the bait right on their noses till they decided to commit. The bite was very light but watching your line was the key to noticing the bite. All in all it was a great day to hit the Ice and I'm looking forward to getting out again soon.

Here are a few pictures from our outing...

Josh with a good Crappie.

Me and a Power Minnow Crappie.

Me and a good Gill.

A good way to end the day.

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

p.s.

I'll be back later to add to the "What's workin' now Ice" side of equipment and techniques.

[Tyler Holm]

Arguably my best ice crappie outing ever.

Whooped'ed Weekend Report

[Cyberfish]

Nice pics Corey!

[Vallejo]

Corey what kind of line were you guys using? In some pics the line looks gold like the vanish.

[Matt Johnson]

Great pics and report Corey! I see Josh is putting that new rod to good use

Hopefully I'll have a few pics up soon

[Corey Bechtold]

Here is a gear list from our weekend outing...

Rod selection:

Thorne Bros Sweetheart Plus 27", 28", 32"outside

Berkley Lightning rod 28"L, 29"ML

Fig Rig rod 26"ML

Reel selection:

Berkley 300U, 100U,

Abu Garcia 310X Gold

Mitchell Acvocet

Various Tica's

Tackle:

Berkley Power Minnows-Smelt, Glow/Chart, Chart/White

1/32oz and 1/16oz White with eyes

Maynards Flutter Bug tipped with Spikes

Lindy Pounders with Spikes or Little Atom Nuggies

Line:

Berkley Fireline Crystal 2lb (I am now in love with this stuff! )

Berkley Micro Ice 3lb, 2lb

Berkley Vanish 2lb

Stren High vis gold 2lb

This is how we triggered our fish into biting. We hole hopped until the fish showed up on the locator. Next we lowered our Power Minnows slowly down the hole. When the bait was about to the fish I would pause the bait and flutter it a bit to get their attention. Then slowly raising the bait away from the Crappie until they took the offering. Not all bites were very noticable, often the fish just took the weight off. Watching your line helped detect when the fish was on the bait.

The Sunfish were a bit different than the Crappies. They would slide in on the bait and stare until they hit. Being very subtle was critical in getting the fish to bite. Knowing if the fish was there involved lowering the rod tip when you thought they were there and watch to see if the line would go slack.

I hope this helps you Ice a few more fish this season. I'll be back again to see your success stories!

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

[Matt Johnson]

Corey,

Can you explain a little more about your observations and experience with the new Crystal line? I haven't had the chance to try it out yet under the ice and I've heard mixed reviews. You always seem to have a knack for shooting it straight... thanks...

[fisherdog19]

I've got some of the 3lb strength crystal with is supposed to be the same diameter of somewhere close to .5lb mono. It is sensitive and no stretch, but the one thing I dislike about it is that when using a light jig, the line doesn't come of the spool very well. I find myself having to jerk the rod up quickly or pull line off with my other hand to get line off the spool. Other than that, I like it. One new line I am very impressed with, and will probably use it on all my spools that have mono, is the new Sufix Ice Magic. It handles like butter, has almost no memory, and is very limp. You should give it a try.

By the way, next time I'm in the Cities, we'll have to get out!

[Matt Johnson]

Sounds good Pete. Shoot me a ring when you'll be in the cities and we'll make a latenight run in a snow storm for some crappies again

[fisherdog19]

I look forward to it, I may have to twist your arm into helping me pick out a Thorne Bros rod if I ever get down that way. I can't seem to stop adding to the arsenal that I always seem to think isn't quite "complete" .

[Corey Bechtold]

I got out a bit this weekend and gave the Fireline Crystal a good workout. I was fishing Sunfish and Crappies and had very good luck with the line again. It is very limp and super sensitive. Setting the hook is easy and doesn't have to be like something you'd see on "Bassmasters" . I tried it with a light jig (Little Atom Optic Glow Stealth) and didn't notice any line twist. I even ran around outside with it and compared it with mono. I think the problem with getting the line off the spool isn't the line rather the Ice that was starting to form on my guides. I didn't mine having to strip out the line by hand because I had to do the same with mono.

I'll put my weekend report up later along with some pictures.

How did everyone else do this weekend?

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

[Jim Hudson]

Did fairly well on my trip over to MN for the panfish species... My wife and I went to the Brainerd area to fish with a good friend, where the first day we searched out some 'gill and crappie action... We first hit a large lake in the area with minimal success but I did manage to pick up a few bonus walleyes... We switched gears and hit a small lake nearby and the 'gill and crappie action was fast and furious. A few nice gills mixed into a very average sized fishery for panfish sake. I personally was using a #10 Lindy Genz bug in Techni Glo green along with a chart. micro minnow, also from Lindy. When we first got there, both the crappies and 'gills would take the bait with no extra meat needed. Always a good thing in my mind!! As the day turned closer to twilight, only the crappies would inhale the jig and plastic combination... and a switched to a #12 Chart Genz Bug was needed along with a hook full of spikes to tempt the 'gills. Other people in our group were also doing well on the #13 Orange Fat Boy.... Fish were concentraited on a north facing deep shoreline, holding on the bottom and suspended of a sticky area in 21 FOW.

The second day we switched gears and found ourselves fishing perch... Awesome time this was, with us finding massive schools of nice sized perch in a muck area of 30FOW. Size of fish were schooled together and one had to sort through if fishing smaller presentations. I switched up to a #4 Chubby Darter (in both luminesent orange and yellow metallic dace) to target bigger fish... Again, no bait was needed, and the fish readily hit the bigger offering with no qualms. We caught fish up to 10.5 inches and it was constant action...

Then it was off to Lake Carlos to see the weight in for the NAIFC... What a test of ones anglings ability out there!! A lot of fishless fisherman, but still, some found fish and were able to weigh in and make it to the top... Congrats to the Neuberts for becoming the Ice Fishing Champions...