01-03-2017, 11:30 PM
[#0000FF]There can be a lot of reasons/excuses why someone close by will be catching fish and you won't. The issue of bait has been mentioned. You gotta feed them what they want. If the other person is using the same bait, then it might be a matter of having a bad scent on your hands...like gasoline, sunscreen or whatever.
Were you using sonar? Often the fish will be cruising and biting only a short distance under the ice. If you drop to the bottom all the fish will be too far above your bait and they typically "feed up"...not down. A good sonar will let you see at what depth the fish are coming through...and will let you see and make sure your lure/bait is at the right level.
Sometimes the fish do want movement on the bait. At other times you will do better "dead sticking". A lot of ice anglers like to leave one rod resting in a holder will moving the other one...slowly up and down, jigging, twitching, etc. Let the fish tell you what they want.
And sometimes being just a few feet away from bottom contour, structure or a feeding spot can make all the difference in the action. You can't catch them where they ain't. Guys that know the lake and the fish better often have their own little spots GPSed and can drill and drop into their honey holes every trip...while others who set up around them are out of the fish.
Even more important than size and shape of the lure...or what you tip your lures with...is finding the fish. A good sonar is invaluable. Not only will it find fish for you but it will let you know when you are not getting any action from fish that are there. No bites means you have to fish shallower or deeper, use bigger or smaller lures...or use different bait or different sizes...or work your offerings differently.
In some spots...on some days...the fish are just not active. You have to keep moving until you find active fish. Then enjoy it and try to remember what you did right.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]
Were you using sonar? Often the fish will be cruising and biting only a short distance under the ice. If you drop to the bottom all the fish will be too far above your bait and they typically "feed up"...not down. A good sonar will let you see at what depth the fish are coming through...and will let you see and make sure your lure/bait is at the right level.
Sometimes the fish do want movement on the bait. At other times you will do better "dead sticking". A lot of ice anglers like to leave one rod resting in a holder will moving the other one...slowly up and down, jigging, twitching, etc. Let the fish tell you what they want.
And sometimes being just a few feet away from bottom contour, structure or a feeding spot can make all the difference in the action. You can't catch them where they ain't. Guys that know the lake and the fish better often have their own little spots GPSed and can drill and drop into their honey holes every trip...while others who set up around them are out of the fish.
Even more important than size and shape of the lure...or what you tip your lures with...is finding the fish. A good sonar is invaluable. Not only will it find fish for you but it will let you know when you are not getting any action from fish that are there. No bites means you have to fish shallower or deeper, use bigger or smaller lures...or use different bait or different sizes...or work your offerings differently.
In some spots...on some days...the fish are just not active. You have to keep moving until you find active fish. Then enjoy it and try to remember what you did right.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]