Ice Fishing

BLUEGILLS ICE ANGLERS BEST FRIEND

By Gary Howey

Getting started in ice fishing can be as easy or as hard as you want to make it.

There are some species of fish that are easier to catch through the ice than others are, these are in the panfish family.

One of these is the Bluegill, a member of the panfish family that are generally eager biters at first ice.

In the Midwest, we have several species of panfish that some consider and every once in awhile, you might pick up a Pumpkinseed.  They may differ in size and color, but they all seem to like to nibble on baits such as wax worms, or plastic bait suspended below a jig or a bobber.

In the winter, look for Bluegills, and Green Sunfish in the shallower water.  There are several reasons for this; the first is that they feed on small insects and larvae that live in areas where they find weed growth.

Because of the shallow depth, the sunlight penetrated to the bottom in the shallower water until temperature turned very cold, with the remainder of the weeds vertical allowing the insects and larva a place to over winter. The weeds make ideal areas for the Bluegill to locate and feed on small aquatic life.  Finally yet importantly, is the fact that since Bluegills are a smaller fish and quite tasty, they like to hang out in the shallow water near these weed beds because the larger predator fish have a difficult time locating them and maneuvering in the shallow water and weeds.

To catch Bluegills through the ice, I like to use a Northland GILL-GETTER JIG tipped with a wax worm or some sort of plastic like the Impulse® ZOO PLANKTON.

There is a new Northland lure that I am anxious to try when I am fishing back home in the Glacial Lakes near Watertown and Webster; it is the Northland lead-free Glo-Shot® Jig. It is available in 12 fish catching colors and three sizes, 1/8, ¼, and 3/8 ounce, depending on what species of fish you are after.

The GLO-SHOT® Jig is a luminescent jig that glows because of the Glo-Shot® Sticks placed in the jig that illuminates the entire jig for 8-Plus hours. Anglers who used it, indicated the GLO-SHOT® JIG works great during the day for fishing under snow covered ice, during cloudy over cast conditions, in darker water and when fishing at night.

Anglers I know that have used it say it is very effective bait when tipped with a wax worm, minnow, or minnow head fished vertically, jigged, for deadsticking or below a bobber.

Its unique shape allows it to jig, swim, and flutter below the ice.

Live bait also work well, with the old hook, line, sinker, and a bobber when tipped with wax minnow or minnow head.

As I mentioned in other articles, when ice fishing, this is when you truly want to use “Light” as cold weather has a huge effect on monofilament line, making larger line weights tough to use during the hard-water months as it creates even more memory than the it had before winter.    Lighter line with less memory allows the lighter lures we use ice fishing to flutter and rise naturally.  If you use too heavy line, split shot or jig, the Bluegill will either back off and look at the heavy kinky line or spend his time pecking at the split shot and not your wax worm.  Use small hooks or jigs and experiment with the number of wax worms you attach to the hook.      There are times when Bluegill will want just a tiny little wax worm and at other times, they will take an ice jig with two or more before they look at the smaller offering.

The bobber or float helps you to detect the bite and because Bluegill are cold blooded and in their slow mode, you do not want to overdo it.  All creatures during the hard-water period do not move around much and not require a whole lot of food when the water turns hard above them.

Try to use as smallest bobber if possible.  The key to bobber fishing is to have just the very top of the bobber sticking out of the water; the less bobber floating out of the water, the less resistance the bluegill will feel when he takes the bait, holding on to it longer.

I like to use the Northland LITE-BITE ICE FLOAT, their 3″ and 5″ foam Hi-Vis float comes with its own bobber stop. Adjustable by unscrewing the cork screw base and trimming the foam back so it verily floats above the water, allowing fish to pick up the bait and because there is just enough float to hold on top of the water the fish will not feel any resistance and not spit out the bait.

Fish during winter, will move vertically as much as they do horizontally, so if you were catching bluegills at 3 feet, and the bite quits, do not move to a next spot to soon.  Try going a bit deeper if the sun is out or a bit shallower if it is a cloudy day.

Bluegill and other panfish are fun to catch, great eating, especially when caught from ice-cold water. Bluegills are eager biters, found under the ice on most lakes, ponds or stock dams.

On some sunny warm day, when you’re looking for something to do, grab your auger, a rod, a few lures and the wax worms and give Bluegill fishing a try, it will be worth it.

Gary Howey, a Watertown native, now residing in Hartington, Neb. who is a former tournament angler, fishing & hunting guide Howey and inducted into the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in 2017. He is the Producer/Co-Host of the Outdoorsmen Adventures television series. If you are looking for more outdoor information, check out garyhoweysoutdoors.com or like Gary Howey’s Outdoorsmen Adventures on Facebook or watch his shows on www.MyOutdoorTV.com. 

Photo Caption

Gary Howey with one of the big bluegills caught while ice fishing a small pond in Nebraska.

Posted in Dock Talk

Key tool in winter success:

vertical jigging spoons

Not catching fish? Here’s the worst excuse ever

By Tim Lesmeister

When I began writing about outdoor sports in the mid-1980s I interviewed many of the top anglers who were promoting the sport. One of those premier promoters, Gary Roach, actually invited me to fish with him, and I jumped at the opportunity.

According to Tim Lesmeister, the next time you’re out on the water, be it open or frozen, and you haven’t had a bite for some time, the old excuse that the fish just ain’t biting is no vindication for your lack of success.

We slid the boat off the dock on a mid-sized lake near his home in the Brainerd lakes region and motored to a point where he handed me a rod with a live-bait rig and a leech and we started fishing, telling stories, shooting photos… and not getting bites. Of course this rookie said that the fish must not be biting and Roach laughed, then laughed and laughed some more.

He explained that on any given body of water whether it be a lake, river, reservoir, farm pond, creek, during open water or on the ice there will be fish biting somewhere on something. One just needs to find those fish and give them what they want.

We moved to a couple other spots and eventually found some nice walleyes hungry for nightcrawlers, and we caught some big bass and perch too. It was a valuable lesson that I have experienced many times over the 35-plus years I’ve been fishing with the pros.

Veteran tournament angler Mark Courts described it as a mission to discover the most aggressive fish in the water and catch the biggest ones. He points out that he’s never fished a competitive event yet where someone didn’t figure out how to catch enough big fish to win.

Dave Genz is the Godfather of ice-fishing, and his style of mobile ice angling changed the entire world of fishing on hard water. He never waits for the bite. He actively pursues aggressive fish and discovers the exact locations where he can achieve the best results.

This doesn’t mean the fishing is always great somewhere on a particular water body. Weather conditions and other factors can create a less-than-ideal environment and foster a poor bite, but the aggressive angler willing to adapt to those conditions can still catch fish, although they will have to work for them.

Roach says versatile anglers perform best under those tougher conditions. They can fish shallow techniques, deep presentations, work weedlines and vegetation, troll lures, vertical jig, whatever it takes to trigger a bite when the fish aren’t actively feeding.

It’s tougher when fishing through an 8-inch hole on the ice to be versatile but Genz says in that instance it’s the subtle disparities in a presentation that make the difference in getting fish to bite or not. He might add a few extra maggots to the jig or quiver the lure as it drops. He experiments with his offering in terms of bait option, color choice, jigging technique, and he uses line on his rigs that allows him to maintain absolute contact with the lure.

So, the next time you’re out on the water, be it open or frozen, and you haven’t had a bite for some time the old excuse that the fish “just ain’t biting’ is no vindication for your lack of success. They’re biting somewhere. You just need to find them and give them what they want.

MY NO. 1 LURE FOR MIDWINTER: NORTHLAND’S FORAGE MINNOW DART

By Chip Leer

Yes, I feel your pain. It’s February, and the bite can get a bit slow. Add in the fact that snow is often deep, temps are cold, and you might need an auger extension just to find water, and it’s easy to choose a warm couch over a frozen 5-gallon bucket.

That said, I learned long ago that the fish are always biting — somewhere — and it simply takes dedication to find them, and creativity (at times) to make them strike. Here’s a tip to get you started in the right direction when it comes to the catching part: Whether you’re chasing crappies, perch, walleyes or pike, a properly presented swimming jig can help you ice more fish as the hardwater season progresses into the midwinter doldrums.

Thanks to their ability to swim horizontally, such lures — also called swim jigs or swimbaits — allow you to reach out and trigger more fish than strictly vertical presentations. This makes them perfect for extending the action of peak feeding periods around sunrise and sunset, as well as searching for scattered groups of aggressive fish during the day.

Swim jig options include classic choices such as the Northland Fishing Tackle Puppet Minnow and the classic Rapala Jigging Rap, but my all-around favorite is Northland’s Forage Minnow Dart (below).

This unique jig is one of the only, if not THE only one, designed for use with soft plastics or live bait. The jig features a top-mounted line tie, single tail hook, and centrally located belly treble. Because of the jig’s balance, it swims horizontally when jigged and rocks subtly before coming to rest. Trust me: this action is a great trigger.

What’s unique to the Forage Minnow Dart is that you can make it swim however you like by changing how you tip it. Most often I tip with a minnow head on the treble, and at times I’ll add a full minnow (hooked through the head) on the rear single hook (see photo below).

If I want a different color or extra glide, then I’ll opt for a flat-sided, scented plastic such as an Impulse Water Flea (below) or Impulse Stone Fly. Remember, the more surface area of the plastic, the further the bait will glide. This is why I love this swim bait; I can adjust action and glide to match the fish’s mood.

To fish a swim jig, start with a couple of 12- to 18-inch jig strokes to get the bait swimming outside the hole to attract the attention of nearby fish. Let the jig settle between strokes.

Some fish charge in and hit right away, but others need more coaxing. To turn these lookers into biters, play a game of cat-and-mouse with smaller jig lifts, nods and bobs, or encourage the fish to chase by slowly raising the lure away from it. Obviously, electronics are key to making the right move and the right time.

Keep in mind that a Forage Minnow Dart acts differently depending on the tipping. When fishing a big plastic, I let the jig free-fall on a slack line. With a minnow, it performs better on a semi-taut leash.

While some anglers consider midwinter the time for finesse, I always keep a swim jig tied on at least one rod — and you should, too. These free-swimming, versatile lures catch fish all winter, even during the dreaded doldrums of February.

Posted in Dock Talk

PANFISH ICE FISHING TIPS WITH BRIAN BRO BROSDAHL

Bro’s Icy Hot Tips For Rolling The Bones With
Northland Fishing Tackle’s Skeleton Minnow

Veteran fishing guide and Northland Fishing Tackle pro staffer Brian “Bro” Brosdahl says the company’s soft-plastic IMPULSE® Skeleton Minnow is one of the North Country’s hottest tippings for putting portly winter panfish on ice.

“No bones about it, the Skeleton Minnow is a true utility player that catches bluegills, crappies and jumbo perch in virtually any situation—from reluctant weed-bed bluegills to skittish suspended crappies,” he begins. “The bait’s slender, segmented tail section undulates seductively with minimal jigging. Its frail look and subtle action get even the most tight-lipped panfish fired up.”

Brosdahl threads the Skeleton Minnow’s bulbous, hook-friendly ribbed body onto a proven ice fishing jig like the Northland Fishing Tackle Gill-Getter, Mud Bug, Mooska, Bro Bug or Tungsten Fire-Ball® Jig.

“It’s easy to rig a Skeleton Minnow. Run the hook down through the middle of the body, just like you would an angle-worm,” he says. “To ensure proper hook placement, hold the jig’s hook next to the plastic body before rigging. Visualize the shank’s ideal route of travel through the body, and count the number of Skeleton Minnow ribs to the hook’s perfect exit point. You can also trim away ribbed sections as needed to accommodate short hooks or to downsize the presentation.”

Only rarely does Bro place extra tippings atop the plastic dressing. “The Skeleton Minnow is a solo act 90 percent of the time,” he says. “Fished alone, it looks and acts just like a defenseless insect, while the IMPULSE® formula provides all the scent and flavor you need. The only time I add bait is to bulk it up for supersize panfish.”

Jig strokes match conditions and mood of the fish. “For example, when fishing big bluegills along weed edges or inside weedbeds, I hold the jig a foot above the fish and gently wiggle the legs, occasionally adding a slight swimming motion,” he says. “As a bluegill draws near, I slowly pull the bait up and away an inch at a time. Nothing drives a bull ’gill crazy like a good game of cat-and-mouse.”

For spooky crappies suspended in clear water, Bro impales the Skeleton Minnow on a Gill Getter or Mud Bug. “I drop it down and shimmy the rodtip so the tail undulates. While the tail is moving, I slowly raise the jig about a foot and drop it back down

The 1½-inch-long Skeleton Minnow comes in a variety of colors. Bro advises stocking up on different patterns, so you can experiment to find out what the fish prefer. “Bloodworm is hot in some lakes and situations,” he says. “In others, the green shades of Emerald get more bites. And sometimes Purple Passion outfishes everything else combined.”