Author Topic: how shallow is too shallow?  (Read 11291 times)

Offline chadroc

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how shallow is too shallow?
« on: Dec 27, 2009, 07:27 PM »
hey guys.  just wondering about opinions on how shallow to run baits for pike.  is 3ft too shallow?  also, in southern new england is there a general rule as to how the fish relate to lake depth through the season?  will fish seek out deeper water when the season wears on and the oxygen in a lake tends to drop a bit?

one last question.....does anyone read esox angler magazine and if so can they recommend a back issue which would have information related to depth and pike.  any literature pointers about this stuff would be appreciated.  thanks!
if the trout are lost, smash the state.

Offline taggin out

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #1 on: Dec 27, 2009, 08:48 PM »
Three feet of water is not to shallow at all. I go as low as 1 to 2 ft. I like the 0 to 30 range.

Offline PikeSticker

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #2 on: Dec 29, 2009, 05:42 PM »
A friend of mine who teaches school out in Chevak, AK fishes a lake with 4 feet of ice and only six INCHES of space between the ice and the bottom. They head back to the village with their sleds heaped with big northerns so apparently the pike go wherever they have to for finding food - even in tight shallow spaces.
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Offline deadsmelthead

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #3 on: Dec 30, 2009, 05:20 PM »
I've caught the majority of my pike in the 10-3 fow range, typicaly when I fish in less than 5 fow it's off an island or over the top of a small hump or gravel bar with deep water nearby maybe a weed bed or 2 in the vicinity helps...

I've read that Pike will do one of 2 things when the O2 drops in the lake, it's either head to deeper water or  cruise closer to the ice.
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Offline chadroc

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #4 on: Jan 01, 2010, 12:07 PM »
thanks for the information guys.  you are appreciated.  have had very slow past 2 outings, using a mix of live and dead bait over 3 to 8ft of water.  putting in my time, yada yada yada.
if the trout are lost, smash the state.

Offline stephensonswille

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #5 on: Jan 04, 2010, 10:40 PM »
I usualy find most of my pike in 10fow or less but ive heard of people fishing them in much deeper water along shelves never tried it but seen some nice ones caught in deeper water so they can be anywhere from 1fow under ice up to who knows how deep

Offline GRIZZZ

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #6 on: Jan 19, 2010, 02:28 PM »
Theres a guy that fishes with us that sets his traps in 18" of water and yes he catches Pike.

Offline stephensonswille

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #7 on: Jan 19, 2010, 02:45 PM »
towards the end of last week a group of me and my friends went out to a lake that we always fish and didnt have a single flag in shallow water so the next day we went out into 20 fow and fished around 5 feet of the bottom and had flags most of the day the next day we tried the same spots with no luck so around noon we moved a few into shallow water 10 feet or less and hammered them so now we decided to set half shallow and half deep

Offline Drifter_016

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #8 on: Jan 19, 2010, 03:26 PM »
Late season if you have a foot of water under the ice you can get good fish.
It can be a bit of a pain to get them to turn the corner but I know a guy who catches lots of 20 pounders in real skinny water in March.

Offline JDN

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #9 on: Jan 19, 2010, 06:39 PM »
It depends on what time of the year shallow deep shallow rule.

Offline northernnyice

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #10 on: Feb 09, 2010, 12:51 PM »
4-5 feet is about as shallow as i go, and pike get caught at that depth too :tipup:

Offline GDominy12

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #11 on: Feb 09, 2010, 12:56 PM »
i've caught my biggest pike in over 20 feet of water.
 

Offline DeLiarDaRuler

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #12 on: Feb 09, 2010, 04:48 PM »
I catch most of my pike in 3fow with my bait 12" under the ice.

 I know guys catch pike in 20+' but I never have. I always look for weedbeds for pike and those are usually up in the shallow water 10' or less.

Offline Rotnik

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #13 on: Feb 15, 2010, 05:39 PM »
I tend to fish in depths of 3-15 feet all season. My two biggest fish this year..a 17 lbr came in 2.5 feet of water...and a 21 lbr came in 3 feet. The 1st fish was early ice but the 21 came in late january. I like the shallow weed beds all winter.

Offline esox1

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #14 on: Feb 16, 2010, 07:23 AM »
theres no such thing as too shallow!  :tipup:

Offline mricefish

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #15 on: Mar 08, 2010, 08:39 PM »
I read in a magazine that fish use the ice to trap the bait they are eating.  To a point i think that could be very true, can see where if bait was running close to shore they could use where the lake bottom and the ice meet to make a dead end for the bait fish.  If you get what i mean, not sure if i explained it the best.  but if that was true, then very shallow water lines could work well. 

Offline deadbait dave

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #16 on: Mar 08, 2010, 11:06 PM »
I read in a magazine that fish use the ice to trap the bait they are eating.  To a point i think that could be very true, can see where if bait was running close to shore they could use where the lake bottom and the ice meet to make a dead end for the bait fish.  If you get what i mean, not sure if i explained it the best.  but if that was true, then very shallow water lines could work well. 

you are correct! that is what they do when they don't have anymore trout too eat! (see the state of maine there trout are going fast!) lol.
trout make big pike fat and happy!

Offline tjkpopup

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #17 on: Dec 30, 2010, 01:03 AM »
the fish you see below were all caught in about 4'-6' , works for me!  :tipup:
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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #18 on: Jan 05, 2011, 04:22 PM »
I have never iced fished for pike but i am going to give it a shot the next time i am on the private lake i go to. I have talked to a few people about this lake and they get them at 3 to 5 fow with a large shinner.

Offline spoxick

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #19 on: Mar 06, 2011, 11:26 PM »
Re: how shallow is too shallow?

when you hit rocks with your auger ..

i myself have never had luck in anything less then about 5 f

Offline pwfisher

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #20 on: Mar 08, 2011, 03:25 PM »
right under the ice right off bottom caught them in less than a foot of water

Offline dkillay64

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #21 on: Nov 16, 2011, 12:31 PM »
theres no such thing as too shallow!  :tipup:

I agree with this... I like to set my traps from 2 to 10 FOW and have caught my larger pike in more shallow water

Offline Snakehunter

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #22 on: Nov 21, 2011, 01:07 AM »
Not sure if this helps but I like to relate the story. A number of years ago I was fishing a small lake in southern Ontario that typically gets hit very hard, Puslinch Lake near Cambridge. This particular Sunday I was out hoping for a little peace and quiet when it seemed every guy and his brother had a cellphone going off and one guy must have got a power auger for Christmas as he was drilling holes for everybody. I was actually getting angry with all the damned noise.
I decided to head home so I packed all my gear in my pull-along sleigh and started to walk toward shore. Halfway there is a small island and seeing as nobody was around I figured to heck with it = why am I leaving. I decided to drill a hole near the shore of this island close to the structure I could see. I was using ultra-light tackle and put my little 1/16 oz. spoon with tiny minnow down the hole and was instantly pissed to find only 18" of water under the ice. I did not have electronics at the time :(
I was feeling really sheepish, especially when two guys walked past me heading for the popular area I just left with the 100 fisherman still remaining out there and I could hear one guy say "He ain't gonna catch anything there" . Not two minutes later my little noodle rod was practically bent in half by the biggest pike I ever caught out of that lake. A pike of about 5 or 6 pounds had latched on.  I luckily landed that bugger and managed to catch another personal best out that lake with a 13" chunky perch. That was all I caught for the day. I was dragging my sleigh back to the parking lot when a couple guys walked out and asked me how the fishing was. I could not hide the smile when I told them - "Not bad in the shallow areas!"
My advice to anyone is never dismiss the shallows.
Like I said - I love to retell this story. If it helps great!!



Offline rambo51

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #23 on: Dec 08, 2011, 05:48 PM »
If you can see the bottom you're doing good


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Offline CT-iceguy.

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #24 on: Dec 21, 2011, 07:23 PM »
I usually dont fish shallower that 3FOW, and deeper than 10FOW first and mid ice,, but last ice, I wont hesitate to put my baits in a foot of water. We're allowed 6 traps in CT so I usually put 2 deeper, 2 mid depth and 2 shallow, that way ive coved most of the water the fish will be in. However, I have caught some really nice fish in 20-30FOW while fishing for perch or crappie, so who really knows :P
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Offline coldsteel

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #25 on: Jan 10, 2012, 08:32 AM »
this thread is really helpful and has alot of good points about them chasing bait into shallower water I have never thought of that guess I will be giving this a shot on my trip to Champlain this yr...
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Offline shaun_300

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #26 on: Jan 10, 2012, 11:31 AM »
I usually don't go any shallower than 6 fow. Prefer between 8 and 15.


Offline PikeKing2323

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #27 on: Jan 10, 2012, 09:39 PM »
I think 2 feet is too shallow

Offline dkillay64

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #28 on: Jan 11, 2012, 08:29 AM »
I think 2 feet is too shallow
I am curious why you think this?  I have caught pike before in two feet of water before... they can easily swim throught that amount of water... and as predator fish they may try to trap bait in the shallows.

Offline coldsteel

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Re: how shallow is too shallow?
« Reply #29 on: Jan 11, 2012, 09:23 AM »
do you prefer using dead bait shallow or live bait shallow? How shallow do you like going in middle of the season early FEb? This is an interesting topic seems people have polar different opinions on depth
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