11-07-2005, 09:52 PM
I love ice fishing because it levels the playing field with those who have boats.
Tip#1: Use light line. The fish in the winter have a slower metabolism and there initial bite is much lighter than in the summer. If you use light line you will not only get more bites but you will also be able to see more bites. I use 4 lb, mono on most of my rods and I keep a couple with six lb in case there are a lot of big fish.
Tip#2: I use a large hole. I drill a ten inch hole because I am using light line. I can fight the big fish and get them through the hole. If I had a smaller hole the larger fish would break me off on the edge. The auger is heavy but I believe it is worth it.
Tip#3: Use wire strike indicators. I often see fish on my aqua-view that lift the jig from the bottom to the top. If you use a foam bobber or a regular red/white bobber you will not see the fish lift the jig. The piano wire strike indicators will not only go down with the weight of a fish, but they will also rise when fish come from the bottom.
Tip#4: Meal worms: It does depend on the day what the fish want, but most of the time I catch my fish with a meal worm. I buy them online from rainbow bait company. I buy them by the thousands and give them to my friends. If you fish a lot you will save lots of $ buying them online. I only buy the giants or the red giants. They keep well and last all winter if you take care of them. Drum roll please....the number one mistake most people make with meal worms is the assume the fish want the mealworm because fish just like the looks of mealworms. Your bites will increase tremendously if you will pull the heads off of your meal worms just before you put them in the water. The fish like sent of the oil that they put off. Watch the water as the jig goes down you will will see an "oil slick" come off of them. If you do not get a bite in 10 minutes change mealworms. If you buy them online you can afford to do that.
Tip #5: I like the same ice flies that BrianID mentions. I also like Swedish Pimples in white, silver with pink stripe, and silver with green stripe. My favorite plastics are paddle bugs in white, pink, and chartruse. They do not cost very much and they are very effective. You can twitch the tails very lightly or you can swim the bait with a jigging motion.
Tip #6: The shallower you fish the more quiet you need to be. I often fish lakes with steep drop offs. If you are in deep water. You can walk around etc..., but I have found that if the fish are in less than 8ft of water you need to sit still and let the water settle from the drilling. Then the fish will come back and bite as long as people are not walking around.
I hope everyone else is excited to go ice fishing. I would like to see more of you who are looking at the posts tell us how the fishing is going. The only way this board can be really fun is if we all learn something. The last couple of months I have just seen a lot of taking and not much giving. That is why I quit posting my fishing reports for a while. I will be excited to see some more ice fishing tips in the near future.
Good Luck
Windriver
[signature]
Tip#1: Use light line. The fish in the winter have a slower metabolism and there initial bite is much lighter than in the summer. If you use light line you will not only get more bites but you will also be able to see more bites. I use 4 lb, mono on most of my rods and I keep a couple with six lb in case there are a lot of big fish.
Tip#2: I use a large hole. I drill a ten inch hole because I am using light line. I can fight the big fish and get them through the hole. If I had a smaller hole the larger fish would break me off on the edge. The auger is heavy but I believe it is worth it.
Tip#3: Use wire strike indicators. I often see fish on my aqua-view that lift the jig from the bottom to the top. If you use a foam bobber or a regular red/white bobber you will not see the fish lift the jig. The piano wire strike indicators will not only go down with the weight of a fish, but they will also rise when fish come from the bottom.
Tip#4: Meal worms: It does depend on the day what the fish want, but most of the time I catch my fish with a meal worm. I buy them online from rainbow bait company. I buy them by the thousands and give them to my friends. If you fish a lot you will save lots of $ buying them online. I only buy the giants or the red giants. They keep well and last all winter if you take care of them. Drum roll please....the number one mistake most people make with meal worms is the assume the fish want the mealworm because fish just like the looks of mealworms. Your bites will increase tremendously if you will pull the heads off of your meal worms just before you put them in the water. The fish like sent of the oil that they put off. Watch the water as the jig goes down you will will see an "oil slick" come off of them. If you do not get a bite in 10 minutes change mealworms. If you buy them online you can afford to do that.
Tip #5: I like the same ice flies that BrianID mentions. I also like Swedish Pimples in white, silver with pink stripe, and silver with green stripe. My favorite plastics are paddle bugs in white, pink, and chartruse. They do not cost very much and they are very effective. You can twitch the tails very lightly or you can swim the bait with a jigging motion.
Tip #6: The shallower you fish the more quiet you need to be. I often fish lakes with steep drop offs. If you are in deep water. You can walk around etc..., but I have found that if the fish are in less than 8ft of water you need to sit still and let the water settle from the drilling. Then the fish will come back and bite as long as people are not walking around.
I hope everyone else is excited to go ice fishing. I would like to see more of you who are looking at the posts tell us how the fishing is going. The only way this board can be really fun is if we all learn something. The last couple of months I have just seen a lot of taking and not much giving. That is why I quit posting my fishing reports for a while. I will be excited to see some more ice fishing tips in the near future.
Good Luck
Windriver
[signature]