Going to be an unpopular take

[Rebelss]

I don't run any electronics on the ice either, but I'm not that old yet... maybe just old school 

The kind of fishing I do, if you actually do some legwork and homework in open water time, you don't need them, anyway.

Fish are generally just swimming stomachs... they follow food, and the food follow structure and temperature patterns, it isn't rocket science. 🤷‍♂️

Well, I've been noted to follow my nose and stomach to food too....

[Gamalot]

I don't run any electronics on the ice either, but I'm not that old yet... maybe just old school 

The kind of fishing I do, if you actually do some legwork and homework in open water time, you don't need them, anyway.

Fish are generally just swimming stomachs... they follow food, and the food follow structure and temperature patterns, it isn't rocket science. 🤷‍♂️

Exactly right! 

Where I fish, both in open water and the hard water the fish tend to stick pretty close in all seasons. Some days they feed and other days they have lockjaw. What I find to be most different when Ice fishing is the time of day. In open water my best bet is early mornings and dusk but under the ice things don't follow that plan. Getting on the ice at the crack of dawn doesn't seem to be any better than showing up at 8 AM. Start keeping track of the time of day when you get flags or catch fish and you will probably do just as good at those times a few days after. Just last year we set up at 5 AM and never caught a fish or had a flag until 9:30. The following day we arrived at 8 and again, 9:30 we started getting fish and flags. It seemed to turn off before noon on both days also. The following weekend the lunch bell rang around 11:30. I found things similar while trolling in open water. We trolled around the lake with the same speeds, depths and lures and had no hits and then on the forth pass we slammed them. Our lake is like a big round fish bowl and if you are there when the dinner bell rings you probably will catch fish if all the rest is right.

[zcm_82]

Exactly right! 

Where I fish, both in open water and the hard water the fish tend to stick pretty close in all seasons. Some days they feed and other days they have lockjaw. What I find to be most different when Ice fishing is the time of day. In open water my best bet is early mornings and dusk but under the ice things don't follow that plan. Getting on the ice at the crack of dawn doesn't seem to be any better than showing up at 8 AM. Start keeping track of the time of day when you get flags or catch fish and you will probably do just as good at those times a few days after. Just last year we set up at 5 AM and never caught a fish or had a flag until 9:30. The following day we arrived at 8 and again, 9:30 we started getting fish and flags. It seemed to turn off before noon on both days also. The following weekend the lunch bell rang around 11:30. I found things similar while trolling in open water. We trolled around the lake with the same speeds, depths and lures and had no hits and then on the forth pass we slammed them. Our lake is like a big round fish bowl and if you are there when the dinner bell rings you probably will catch fish if all the rest is right.

I mostly ice fish small ponds to avoid crowds, since just about everyone around here goes to beat the big waters to death when we get ice. Once you figure the structures out, it's mostly just timing. The one I hit the most usually has a good bite shallow from 7-9am or so and occasionally a good deeper bite midday. Afternoons are a bit of a crap shoot on it, so there's others I fish more often for afternoon/evening trips that have better late day action. I'm a bit of an early bird, though, so most of the time I'm out from sunrise and home before lunch.

Well, I've been noted to follow my nose and stomach to food too....

Me, too... a bit too often. My stomach keeps getting bigger for it