Ice fishing question

Ok i am totally bored with this whole winter thing and if it means catching
crappies and perch then so be it. I wouldn't mind an occasional bass
either. Here's my question, I have a small lake by my house. It has a
maximum depth of 12 feet(thats being generous) and its limited to ones side
of the lake. Most of the lake is 3-5 feet deep. The ice right now is about
5-7 inches thick. Would a majority of the fish in the lake be located in the
deeper part of the lake? or with the thickness of the ice at this time is it
possible that the fish will be scattered around? If they locate to the
deeper side then it should be easy pickins considering the size of the lake.
Any suggestions outside of live minnows to use for bait? Lures? I'm pretty
new at this ice thing and really don't want to do it, but I need to feel
some sort of fish on the end of the line. The mark davis playstation two
bass game isn't cutting it anymore. All though I did grab the lake record at
19 lbs : ) On the game of course. Any information is greatly appreciated.

Signed
"Randy The Penguin Fishking"

Alwaysfishking wrote:
I'm pretty
new at this ice thing and really don't want to do it,


DON'T DO IT!!!

but I need to feel some sort of fish on the end of the line


That's why God invented the south.

Ice fishing is evil. It is to fishing as mas... oh, wait. This is a family
group. Never mind.


RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing

Opening Day here in Maine but at least near my house, ice thickness is
real iffy. I drove by the landing at 2:30 and there was no one out;
maybe they were earlier in the day but for their sake I hope they walked
out and didn't snowmobile or ATV on the ice. Of course not a winter goes
by that some idiot doesn't go through the ice in their brand new 30k
pickup...always good for a laugh (assuming no one drowns)

On Thu, 01 Jan 2004 11:34:04 EST, RichZ sent into the
ether:

Alwaysfishking wrote:
I'm pretty
new at this ice thing and really don't want to do it,


DON'T DO IT!!!

but I need to feel some sort of fish on the end of the line


That's why God invented the south.

Ice fishing is evil. It is to fishing as mas... oh, wait. This is a family
group. Never mind.

Gotta go with Rich on that :}


RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing


Remove the x for e-mail reply
www.outdoorfrontiers.com

Ice fishing is evil. It is to fishing as mas...oh, wait. This is a
family group. Never mind

Gotta go with Rich on that :}

Hmm...maybe the group should be retitled
rec.outdoors.openwaterfishingonly.bass

Is there any need to slam ice-fishing?

When I lived in northern Indiana, I did alot of ice fishing, and I
enjoyed it. I did know the lake structure, which made site selection
easier. But unless you plan on cutting alot of holes, you are pretty
well committed to just a couple decisions at best. I found that depth
was not the key factor on the lake I fished, but structure was. We used
a variety of baits....jigs, corn boars, helgamites (sp), and minnows.
Caught a variety of fish, but mostly perch. I never had a full shelter,
but I took a small windbreak, and always had a fire by my "hole" g. If
you just love to fish, it can be alot of fun under the right conditions!
Just my opinion anyway.
JK

Didn't take the advice, went out yesterday with a bucket of minnows some tip
ups and a jigging rod. Went and fished in the deeper side of the lake.
Didn't catch any bass, but did catch a whole bunch of perch and toothy
critters. Gotta remember the pliers next time. I'll try again. gonna target
a nice stump field in about 20 feet+ on the main lake.

randy-
"John Kerr" wrote in message
...
When I lived in northern Indiana, I did alot of ice fishing, and I
enjoyed it. I did know the lake structure, which made site selection
easier. But unless you plan on cutting alot of holes, you are pretty
well committed to just a couple decisions at best. I found that depth
was not the key factor on the lake I fished, but structure was. We used
a variety of baits....jigs, corn boars, helgamites (sp), and minnows.
Caught a variety of fish, but mostly perch. I never had a full shelter,
but I took a small windbreak, and always had a fire by my "hole" g. If
you just love to fish, it can be alot of fun under the right conditions!
Just my opinion anyway.
JK

"alwaysfishking" alwaysfishking@ nospam.epix.net wrote in message
...
Ok i am totally bored with this whole winter thing and if it means catching
crappies and perch then so be it. I wouldn't mind an occasional bass
either. Here's my question, I have a small lake by my house. It has a
maximum depth of 12 feet(thats being generous) and its limited to ones side
of the lake. Most of the lake is 3-5 feet deep. The ice right now is about
5-7 inches thick. Would a majority of the fish in the lake be located in the
deeper part of the lake?

***My guess is that the fish would be holding in the deeper water. But that depends on the lake
itself. If the weeds are still green and healthy, you will probably find pike/pickerel in and
around the weeds.

or with the thickness of the ice at this time is it
possible that the fish will be scattered around? If they locate to the
deeper side then it should be easy pickins considering the size of the lake.
Any suggestions outside of live minnows to use for bait? Lures?

***In Wisconsin, we're allowed to fish with three lines each, so I will usually set out two tipups
rigged with minnows. One will have the depth set roughly one foot off the bottom, the other about
2-3 feet under the ice. The last line will be a short jigging rod, usually rigged for panfish.
Typically I'll have a teardrop jig tipped with a waxworm or other type of grub. Perch and bluegills
go nuts on jig/grub combos, but the larger perch, crappies and bass will take minnows. I vary
depths, jigging styles and locations until I locate fish. The key, until you can establish a
pattern, is mobility and experimentation with lures and baits until you find what the fish want that
day, just as it is in open water. The only problem is that this time of year, that means punching a
lot of holes.
--
Steve
OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com

Maybe we need to schedule a winter tournament here for all y'all yanks.

Don't feel bad about not getting to fish, because I've yet to get out since
November 2nd. Weathers been above average and the waters still in a liquid
state, but there's just too much that needs to be caught up on for me. At
least our tournaments start again in March. I think I can wait a little bit
longer.... I hope...


"Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers" wrote in message
...

"alwaysfishking" alwaysfishking@ nospam.epix.net wrote in message
...
Ok i am totally bored with this whole winter thing and if it means
catching
crappies and perch then so be it. I wouldn't mind an occasional bass
either. Here's my question, I have a small lake by my house. It has a
maximum depth of 12 feet(thats being generous) and its limited to ones
side
of the lake. Most of the lake is 3-5 feet deep. The ice right now is
about
5-7 inches thick. Would a majority of the fish in the lake be located in
the
deeper part of the lake?

***My guess is that the fish would be holding in the deeper water. But
that depends on the lake
itself. If the weeds are still green and healthy, you will probably find
pike/pickerel in and
around the weeds.

or with the thickness of the ice at this time is it
possible that the fish will be scattered around? If they locate to the
deeper side then it should be easy pickins considering the size of the
lake.
Any suggestions outside of live minnows to use for bait? Lures?

***In Wisconsin, we're allowed to fish with three lines each, so I will
usually set out two tipups
rigged with minnows. One will have the depth set roughly one foot off the
bottom, the other about
2-3 feet under the ice. The last line will be a short jigging rod,
usually rigged for panfish.
Typically I'll have a teardrop jig tipped with a waxworm or other type of
grub. Perch and bluegills
go nuts on jig/grub combos, but the larger perch, crappies and bass will
take minnows. I vary
depths, jigging styles and locations until I locate fish. The key, until
you can establish a
pattern, is mobility and experimentation with lures and baits until you
find what the fish want that
day, just as it is in open water. The only problem is that this time of
year, that means punching a
lot of holes.
--
Steve
OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com

Randy,

Look for green weeds and fish the edges, if possible, on the deeper side. I
fish many lakes such as you discribe ( 5 ft or less average depth, some
deeper holes) and most of my bass have come near wood ( the stumps might be
a good bet) but always near green weeds. Dead or dying weeds deplete O2, but
green ones produce it. If you have a remote way to check temps at depth,
look for any increase in water temps. Try small (really small) spoons or
hair jigs tipped with a small minnow or wax worms. Try active jigging, or
dead sticking and anything in between. Mix things up and switch colors. If
you need a selection of baits, try http://www.customjigsandspins.com/
Most of my bass come while targeting bluegills or crappie along weed edges.
The tiny baits they hit are amazing. Think as small as you can imagine and
then downsize. If you use braid on your reels, use a flourocarbon or mono
leader. Try to stay at 6# or lighter. Fish get a really good look during the
winter, since the water is so clear ( in most cases).
And since their metabolism is so slow, they don't feed as often or eat as
much as in winter.
BTW, when fishing for panfish and the bite suddenly stops, it's often
because a predator is in the area. (Bass, Pike, Walleye, or Catfish - I've
caught some big channel cats through the ice on size 14 hooks and a waxie or
couple of spikes or Euro -larva).
Stay near the weeds, close to wood cover, in the warmest water you can find
and fish small and slower than you thought possible. Let me know how it
turns out.
Around here, we're still waiting for winter to set in. We got some ice, then
a warm up. Today it's gonna be 55 degrees, by Tuesday it's gonna be 14 for
the high! Chicago winters are a crap shoot for any kind of fishing.

Tight lines,
Mark


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