MyFishFinder.com Just like iceshanty but warmer
That's a trip I'll be doing next February for three days. I'm in Ottawa so it's not too far.Love the uniqueness of being able to ice fish for saltwater species. Could you share the type of rig you use?
I've been fishing in the Saguenay for about 40 years. I was one of the first or maybe even the first one to fish in deep water in the early 70's. Anyway, to make a long story short, I introduced many hundreds of people to ice fishing in the Saguenay through the conferences I held in the mid 70's.For me, the best method is bouncing a 2 ounce jig baited with a small smelt right on the bottom. I use a short rather light rod (36 to 48 inches) and a baitcasting reel large enough to hold 450 feet of 20 to 30 lb test braided line or even a smallish spinning reel with 12 lb test Fireline. I constantly bounce the bottom with short pauses now and then to feel anything biting on the bait. With the spinning outfit, I can feel even shrimp eating my bait. Yes, most of the fish I catch are the bottom feeders. I usually add a 2/0 octopus style hook with bait about 5 feet above the jig for cod and redfish. i also add a bit of florescent orange flashabou to my upper hook. It's very rare I don't catch anything. There is usually always something biting on my bait but they are often very small fish that are hard to hook with a 2/0 to 4/0 hook. If I have time and if there are a few holes in the ice nearby, I will lower a 2 ounce jig very close to the bottom and I will make the rounds every once in a while to make sure the bait is still there and to adjust the length of line because the tides make the depth vary on the average of 15 feet. I like to use Penn style reels on short trolling rods for these setups. Yes, the ideal setup is a hand line with hooks every 20 feet from bottom to about 100 feet deep. The only setup that can handle such a rig is a tip down. They are easy to make and the bottom weight can be from 4 to 8 ounces. You will have to adjust the depth and clear the ice every 10 or 15 minutes. Best baits are raw shrimp, smelt or pieces of herring.