When the going gets Tough on the Ice
When the going gets Tough on the Ice
By Todd Reed
The weekend is upon us and we have the green light for a trip to the ice. The feeling can be magical on a Friday afternoon. As you drift off in your mind you can see the bluegills piled up beside your bucket, and those big crappies still flopping on the ice after falling victim to your favorite ice jig. Dozens of fish splash you as you release them back below the ice, a perfect and beautiful day in the outdoors will be upon you. As you picture yourself packing your ice gear up, you just imagine…I hope that tomorrow is just like that.
As we all know, dreams don’t always come true. However, when searching for that next bite on the ice, there are several things we can all do as anglers to ensure a good trip and avoid a regretful ride home.
Ice anglers are a unique breed, they choose to walk out on frozen water, sit around and drop tiny lures down a hole in the ice. Most people think that this is one of the most idiotic ways to spend a winter day. Myself, along with thousands of others in Iowa just think of it as one more trip to find some fish and enjoy nature. I simply can’t imagine a winter without ice fishing, especially in the world we live in today with all the modern conveniences. So what separates ice anglers from those that might catch a few sometimes to those that seem to always catch fish, even on those days when the fish seem to be in no mood to bite. It isn’t luck, and it isn’t a $100 ice rod either, it comes down to making small adjustments to our tackle, our presentations and areas of the lake that we are fishing. I hope this article has you catching fish each and every time out on the ice for the remainder of the season.
When the bite gets tough on the ice it is easy to know, just look out on the lake, most people don’t even bother with it unless the weather is gorgeous. A quick drive around your area lake or river backwater will typically tell you if the bite is “on” or “off”. When the fish are biting, everyone is having a good time, pictures are being posted everywhere and people are enjoying the winter bounty. However, when the bite gets tough a lot of those anglers strike out and just chalk it up to “the fish weren’t biting”. There is some truth to that, some days the fish are very negative, but there are a few things you can do to get a few fish on the ice during these tough times.
Go small or stay home
By this time in the year some fish in our great state have been covered by ice for nearly two months. They have seen every jig and spoon on the market, every shape and color, lead or tungsten flash or no flash. It is kind of like eating pizza every day, I could do it but there would come a time where I would crave something else and leave a pizza alone, even if it was placed right in front of me. This time of year it can be crucial to downsize your baits. Not only take your jig size down, but your plastic or live bait offering as well. For example, at the beginning of the ice season you will see me using a 4mm tungsten jig with 3 or 4 spikes on it, bouncing from hole to hole in search of that next red mark on the Vexilar. This time of year that simply will not get me many bites on most days. I am now going to bouncing from hole to hole with a smaller lead jig with 1 or 2 spikes attached. This smaller bait will entice many more bites on those days where the marks on our electronics will just not bite. The same can be said with plastics, tear off half of it, or take some of the arms/legs off your bait to help it appear smaller. This will no doubt turn those finicky fish into fish on top of the ice.
Zoom in
If you are searching for bluegills, perch or yellow bass zooming into the bottom of the lake can help you pick off more fish. Less fish are on the active prowl to search out bait as they swim, many will hang along the bottom and wait for you to find them. Yellow Bass especially are known for swimming in the middle of the water column, but I have seen many times in high pressure areas or those tough weather days that these tasty creatures will hug that bottom and are missed by many hole hoppers. Using your zoom on your electronics, or banging the bottom of the lake if you do not use electronics, will offer those fish something they like and you will be able to pick them off. Once you see them on your zoom you will be much better at offering them the bait and watching the gills, perch or yellows rise above to take a bite.
Live bait
I typically start every ice fishing day with a plastic trailer of some kind on my jig or spoon. When the fish are negative and not biting, it is definitely time to go to live bait. The added scent, and the “chum” left in the water are just what the fish need to help them take a bite. Often times on the really tough days of ice fishing live bait can shine over plastics, don’t forget your bait cups just in case you need them.
On the move
As I have stated above, moving from place to place is important this time of year. If fish are inactive in the area you are at, try something different. It doesn’t matter if they were biting yesterday or the weekend before, it is time to move on if the fish are not cooperating. Many people get to honed in on a certain “spot” to fish expand that territory. Is there a drop-off nearby, if they aren’t in the brush today, then move off the brush a few feet, try deeper or more shallow. Keep moving until you find some fresh fish and no matter the weather conditions they may be more apt to biting your presentations.
These four tips/strategies have worked on the ice time and time again when the bite gets tough in the winter. While we can’t control the weather or the pressure the lake is getting we can control these four components of our fishing strategy. Listen to the fish and your Vexilar, if the fish are there but not biting, then it is time to try something different, even if it may be outside your normal comfort zone. Stay safe out there and always do your best to help the fish populations we have here in Iowa.
