Ice fishing for bass

Help me figure this one out please. I live and fish in
Minnesota and have never found even a half respectable
answer to this question. Al and Ron Lindner ought to be
ashamed.

In the thick of the winter I can almost always find northern
pike, walleye, and a plethora of panfish through the ice.
But I have never caught a bass through the ice. Where the
hell are they and what are they eating? I' ve asked around
and nobody seems to know. Nobody even fishes for bass in
the winter up here.

Bass just dissapear after ice-over it would seem. I've
never caught a bass through the ice. I've never *met*
anyone who's caught a bass through the ice. I HAVE met a
few people who have HEARD of someone catching bass through
the ice but nobody who has witnessed it.

I fished Lake Minnetonka today. I can run this lake in the
summer and catch bass all day long. Nobody even bothers to
fish for bass in the winter though. What do bass forage on
and where are they during the thick ice of the winter? I
know they're in there and at least assume they're eating
something.