Hi all -
I'm new to this board and for the most part am a novice Ice-Fisherman. This will be corrected this year. A buddy and I recently purchased a used ice-shanty that we will be putting out on Prior Lake this year. It's fairly complete with a propane heater, propane powered lights and four holes. We also have a clam that we've used in the past years. The Vexilar is on order (fl-8se).
I live on Prior Lake and have had great success, especially during spring and summer. For the most part I used a twister on a 1/8 oz. jig head. This lure kills the Crappies and Walleyes. I am pretty familiar with the lake but am looking for some tips on where to fish. The lake has many islands and one in particular has been pretty successful for me in the spring/summer for nice sized crappies and Walleyes.
In the spring/summer I fish fairly shallow, probably around 6-8 feet, but the farther I go off the island, is a basin of about 30-40 feet of water. The island is pretty much surrounded by weeds, and the bottom ranges from mucky to rock/sand. As you go out deeper from the island, the bottom is a greyish/clay. Based on what I've been reading, the crappies tend to stay in deeper pockets, suspended about half way down? Any suggestions would be helpful!
We got our first meaningful snow today, but there's no ice on the lake....
yet....