Ice Fishing Expectations And Tips?

[Haris122]

The limited fishing opportunities in the St. Louis area finally caused my withdrawal to reach the point at which I went Ice Fishing. Wasn't much of a believer in going out on ice and cutting away at it just believing everything will be fine, prior to this week, but I saw last week that the weight could hold me as I stepped on some at a local lake, coupled with the january conservationist article, and stuff I read online on ice fishing, I rolled the dice. I kind of got the basics on minimal equipment and how to proceed down, but now I'm trying to understand, that once you've figured out what's needed to not fall through, what exactly can someone expect in the actual fishing department? As in how active does the bite range, what species are most likely to bite, how close to a fish holding structure do you have to make the hole to recruit fish to the lure/bait, what are some good set-ups, what are some good criteria to determine if the lake will ice fish good or not?

The reason I ask is because I went friday and today to a lake I was confident in holding me, ice thickness wise, and even though I tried jigging 3-4 different types of lures at more than 1 hole (cut out 3 different holes each day for a total of 6, not too close to another), and even though today I resorted to using live bait (worms), I still failed to so much as get a bite from anything. Now I haven't had any luck in the past at this lake either (Preslar lake in Fenton), but nonetheless I doubt the lake is that scarcely populated with fish that I should just write it off. Any input would be appreciated.

[Jeff Olson]

Haris, I am not familiar with any lakes in your area as I am from Wisconsin, and live in Branson now. I mainly iced fished for panfish. so I would suggest for panfish use small ice fishing jigs with a waxie (wax worm ) threaded on the hook or a couple hooked through the head, ( try to cover up the tip of the hook) Use very lite line,1 to 2 lb is best. Electronics ( like a vexilar are a huge help ) if not, try different areas and depths. and slowly work those depths from just a few feet under the ice all the way down to the bottom to find the depth they are at. Especially for crappie. For bluegill usually within a couple feet of the bottom. For other species minnows wok good. I would stay away from worms at these temps. If you know of some bays off of the Mississippi in your area that are froze over good I would try them! In WI. there is some great Ice fishing in those bays as the panfish winter in them, usually is good ,safe ice , and are usually shallow ( under 10 ft ) which makes it easier to fish. And they usually border a road, that makes for a nice short walk out. ,Oh, and also, a spring or strike indicator on your rod tip is a big plus as they tend to bite very lite! Good luck, and stay safe!

[dtrs5kprs]

Haris, I am not familiar with any lakes in your area as I am from Wisconsin, and live in Branson now. I mainly iced fished for panfish. so I would suggest for panfish use small ice fishing jigs with a waxie (wax worm ) threaded on the hook or a couple hooked through the head, ( try to cover up the tip of the hook) Use very lite line,1 to 2 lb is best. Electronics ( like a vexilar are a huge help ) if not, try different areas and depths. and slowly work those depths from just a few feet under the ice all the way down to the bottom to find the depth they are at. Especially for crappie. For bluegill usually within a couple feet of the bottom. For other species minnows wok good. I would stay away from worms at these temps. If you know of some bays off of the Mississippi in your area that are froze over good I would try them! In WI. there is some great Ice fishing in those bays as the panfish winter in them, usually is good ,safe ice , and are usually shallow ( under 10 ft ) which makes it easier to fish. And they usually border a road, that makes for a nice short walk out. ,Oh, and also, a spring or strike indicator on your rod tip is a big plus as they tend to bite very lite! Good luck, and stay safe!

Good advice. Have not tried it since I moved down to KC from IA, but that is spot on. They will bunch up very tightly. Without electronics the best bet is to drill a ton of holes and move until you hit them. You can catch gills and crappie hand over fist when you find them, on anything Jeff described.

Still...I have not been that bored in about 20 years. Always heads to pour, rods to build, boat to work on.

Electronics...flashers are the best. Can shoot right through the ice.

[Haris122]

Cool. Thanks a lot guys. So keep at it with the holes, and eventually I should hit gold. Will do.

[LunkerB]

My buddy told me a great piece of advice regarding safety while ice fishing after seeing all the people at Busch. Up north it is the norm to only make holes 8 to 10 inches wide this way you or somebody else cant fall in the hole after it freezes back over. Down here people make big holes that could freeze over thinly and might get a little snow on them and then it becomes a trap. Just thought I would add this to prevent some one from falling in a hole.

[Old plug]

If your real smart stay off the reservoirs. LOZ was froze solid yeasterday and my area had been frozen solid for 2 days. it was nearly zero here last night and it has not gotten out of the teens here yet today. In the picture you will see a number of open. Spots that appeared last night and today. I was talking to wrench and he thinks there is a current or something forcing the warm water up from the bottom of the lake in places. Can you imagine being way out there and one of these things develope right under your feet. You could go through the ice and never realize it was weakening. my safety advice is stay off the reserviors.

[Jerry Rapp]

dang, another lake turning over!

[Old plug]

Jerry it should have turned already. But that sure looks what its like

[Old plug]

How did my photo get on your posting Jerry.

[Kayser]

I've always fished small farm ponds when it gets cold, mainly for bluegill. Small jigs or jigheads on 1-4lb test tipped with waxworms work well, and I've also had luck on very small minnows for crappie and bass. My favorite is a hot pink or red 1/80oz jighead, with eyes, and a waxworm that has the tail end shredded (hanging guts add action and scent). Use a variety of methods, including just letting it sit perfectly still with the teeniest, tiniest strike indicator/cork/bobber that's weighted to where it almost sinks if you look away. If no luck for 30 seconds, lift it slow, let it fall, repeat. Or jig it fast.

I like to make at least 5 holes, around areas you know hold fish in colder weather- deep brush comes to mind, or a deep drop-off, or sometimes suspended half-way up over the deepest water. Try putting them in different areas, then letting the first set rest so the fish have time to come back, settle down, or whatever- they don't seem to like the axe or auger smacking the ice over their heads.

Catch rate? A fish every 5 minutes is good, maybe great. Normally, I'm satisfied with a fish every 30min or so. Not great, but it beats sitting inside. Best day was 2 guys with 4 holes, and we were pulling up fish as fast as the bait sank back down. 47 bluegill at 8" or better, 7 crappie from 11-13", 3 bass around 15" each, and a 12lb albino catfish in about an hour. 6' deep over 12' of water, stumps on the bottom. Oh, and we were sitting in a boat on top of the ice, because the ice was rotten. Took a 4-wheeler and a rope to get us back to shore. Really wish I had a picture of that.

Safety- I prefer 4" or more of clear, solid ice. When you walk, cracking is bad, but "expansion cracking" is fine. There is a definite sound difference, but I can't really describe it. Stay safe, let people know where you are, and don't fish alone if it's an option. Good luck!