Winter Fish Schooling

[LOWinEYEin]

What fish tend to stay in schools, besides panfish?

Does the winter break it up because the food is scarce, or do they still stay together?

[This message has been edited by WhaTT! (edited 11-25-2003).]

[Guest]

A lot of species will school up under the ice. Not uncommon to see hundreds of catfish piled up on top of each other as well. Perch, walleyes, bass, panfish...too.

Pike typically don't school under the ice as much as most other species. But you can catch several pike out of one hole in a matter of minutes on different occations though.

Ice is coming to an area near you...school is now in session!

Good Fishin,
Matt

------------------
[email protected]
Catch-N Tackle and Bio Bait
MarCum

[Renneberg]

Rainbow and brook trout, in lakes, do school.
Often you'll hear a angler say that the trout seem to come by in waves. What's really happening is a school of trout swam by them.
They don't school in big numbers like some panfish. Numbers may only top 15 or 20 trout per school.

I've seen Brook trout cruse steep shoreline breaks in a school. They seem to spread out up and down the breakline, with a few out away from the break. They are crusing the break lookin for minnows in the rocks.

Rainbows will cruse open water and flats like that too. They don't seem to school in as big of numbers as the Brook Trout do. When there on a flat they tend to spread out when lookin for food.

------------------
"Study to be quiet"

[Bob Cunningham]

I have droped a camera down the hole and saw a school of muskies and the same for bass and walleye. Perch are always in a school it seems and crappie must because when I start catching them I catch a bunch. Here in Illinois we have a couple spots we call catfish holes and when you get them going it's a blast and nothing to catch a 100 or more a day.