Ice Fishing

[merc1997 Bo]

do we have any notherners that can teach us how to go about ice fishing???  well might not get quit that bad, but another week of cold.  all the shad schools have busted up.  some are scattered is very small bunched 60 to 80 ft. deep out in the channel on the lower end of the lake.  pretty much relegates what bites one might get to be more of the shallow variety.  time to get out the jerk baits, neds and grubs.  believe it or not, but a crappie jig can really be a great lure to be throwing for bass.

now is not the time of the year to get many bites in a day of fishing, but can run into a nice one.  have heard of a couple of reports of some of the dreaded a-rig action.  chuming with a bucket of minnows, but work also.  plus, do not forget the effectiveness of night crawlers.

i am beginning to think about just staying home until i go to mexico the first week of march to do a tv show - not!  it is always good to get out even when you know you will most likely not even get a bite.  you can usually find some bald eagles to watch, and that makes it a good day.

for those that do get out and fish this time of the year, always be mindful of the cold water and its dangers.  take care of getting the back of the boat over the water before taking the winch strap lose.  let the boat engine warm up adequately before getting on plane, and always wear your pfd.

bo

[Champ188]

2 hours ago, merc1997 said:

do we have any notherners that can teach us how to go about ice fishing???  well might not get quit that bad, but another week of cold.  all the shad schools have busted up.  some are scattered is very small bunched 60 to 80 ft. deep out in the channel on the lower end of the lake.  pretty much relegates what bites one might get to be more of the shallow variety.  time to get out the jerk baits, neds and grubs.  believe it or not, but a crappie jig can really be a great lure to be throwing for bass.

now is not the time of the year to get many bites in a day of fishing, but can run into a nice one.  have heard of a couple of reports of some of the dreaded a-rig action.  chuming with a bucket of minnows, but work also.  plus, do not forget the effectiveness of night crawlers.

i am beginning to think about just staying home until i go to mexico the first week of march to do a tv show - not!  it is always good to get out even when you know you will most likely not even get a bite.  you can usually find some bald eagles to watch, and that makes it a good day.

for those that do get out and fish this time of the year, always be mindful of the cold water and its dangers.  take care of getting the back of the boat over the water before taking the winch strap lose.  let the boat engine warm up adequately before getting on plane, and always wear your pfd.

bo

Take it from one who relishes winter fishing, there’s a ton of good info here. 

[Lee Stallard]

South Fork of the New River in Todd, NC two weeks ago. Could have used some advice then.

[Guest]

gee, maybe ice fishing is not really a stretch.  way back in 80 or 81, table rock was frozen all the way down to just below cow creek.  up here on the upper end, the ice was thick enough that greg statton was taking off and landing his plane at eagle rock.  i have put in at cape fair before and had to break ice all the way down to piney creek to fish.  that is really wanting to fish, but we caught a good bunch on long bill rebels.  of course, there was a bunch more bass in the lake back then.

bo