IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
IceShanty Main => General Ice Fishing Chit Chat => Topic started by: woodyeckes on Apr 08, 2020, 06:38 AM
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Well, most of us have got our ice gear put away (or need to do it yet) and with a bit more time on our hands than usual need to look back at this past frozen water period and see if we got smarter or not. Here is what I learned last season: Fish seem to bite very light, even with a sensitive spring bobber or soft rod. Getting out of the wind was very crucial to see the light bites. Fishing with 2 holes inside a 1 man clam Kennai insulated shack got more action than just with 1 hole. Sometimes more tangled lines too. Half a waxworm worked better than a whole one...am thinking more scent released. A backup rod with a Swedish Pimple or spoon sometimes stirred up the fish or brought them in compared to the smaller baits I normally used. They might not of bit, but getting them back on your locator screen gave you another shot at 'em. Picking up garbage on the ice/at the parking area made the fish bite better. A slow, slow first drop down the water column brought more bites than a fast drop to the bottom. Retying lures at home is much easier than out on the ice. Cheater magnifying glasses from the Dollar Store make guiding wispy lines through dinky eyes much easier. A smitty sled makes pulling any shack or equipment onto the ice, through the snow/slush/blacktop/gravel parking lot easier and a lot less wear on your sled bottom. Taking your kids or grandkids with and seeing them fish or not fish is a joy unto itself. You would like to see them catch a fish or keep fishing instead of other amusements but realizing that forcing them to doesn't work. Ice cleats and cross country ski poles make walking and pulling equipment much easier. A longer pull rope gives you more control. Sharpening hooks turns misses into bites. Light lines that allow your baits to hang straight down the hole signal more bites. It wasn't all catching this year....looking back with our present covid19 situation sure glad I got to go.
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I am still ice fishing almost every day and probably will be for some time to come, since we are staying close to home now. I switched over from the snowmobile to the side X side this week, as my lane to the lake has lost most of it's snow. This was the first winter I have ever put the shack out in deep water to exclusively target crappie (crappie go to the deep basins on our lakes in the winter). With the permanent shack only a mile of so from my house, it was no hassle to go fishing in any weather conditions, fire up the wood stove and fish comfortably, I probably averaged going out to the shack at least half the days since mid December, plus did a fair share of lake trout fishing on other lakes also.
On to lessons learned. I had always been careful to block the shack up in years past and did so again this winter, but since the shack was used constantly, even though I tried to keep the slush scooped up and thrown out, the continual hole drilling eventually was too much, the skids and joists got ice build-up around them, it was not going to be pulled off like usual. Last week I ended up having to disassemble the 8'X12" shack in order to get it off the ice, I see a new redesigned shack in my future next year, there will be some sort of tube system and the new one will be moved periodically (lesson learned).
Since spending so much more time in the shack this winter, I had lots of opportunity to experiment with different baits. I have 4 holes in my shack spaced approximately 2 1/2 feet apart, the Livescope is in one of the middle holes, a set line with jig and minnow in one far hole, with a different bait on the line at the other end of the shack, the 2 lines are over 7' apart, but both can be easily seen with the Livescope. I might use straight plastic, a tungsten jig tipped with a wax worm, a jigging rap, different colors, or whatever on the one line, but was always trying different things. There were days fish would stick their nose up and swim past the minnow and go for an artificial or vice versa, any day could be different. I still think over 50% of the time a minnow is the go-to bait for crappie in our local ice fishing environment , but after a continuous comparison all winter I have much more respect for artificial than ever before and have really been enjoying using them more than ever, another lesson learned.
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I am still ice fishing almost every day and probably will be for some time to come, since we are staying close to home now. I switched over from the snowmobile to the side X side this week, as my lane to the lake has lost most of it's snow. This was the first winter I have ever put the shack out in deep water to exclusively target crappie (crappie go to the deep basins on our lakes in the winter). With the permanent shack only a mile of so from my house, it was no hassle to go fishing in any weather conditions, fire up the wood stove and fish comfortably, I probably averaged going out to the shack at least half the days since mid December, plus did a fair share of lake trout fishing on other lakes also.
On to lessons learned. I had always been careful to block the shack up in years past and did so again this winter, but since the shack was used constantly, even though I tried to keep the slush scooped up and thrown out, the continual hole drilling eventually was too much, the skids and joists got ice build-up around them, it was not going to be pulled off like usual. Last week I ended up having to disassemble the 8'X12" shack in order to get it off the ice, I see a new redesigned shack in my future next year, there will be some sort of tube system and the new one will be moved periodically (lesson learned).
Since spending so much more time in the shack this winter, I had lots of opportunity to experiment with different baits. I have 4 holes in my shack spaced approximately 2 1/2 feet apart, the Livescope is in one of the middle holes, a set line with jig and minnow in one far hole, with a different bait on the line at the other end of the shack, the 2 lines are over 7' apart, but both can be easily seen with the Livescope. I might use straight plastic, a tungsten jig tipped with a wax worm, a jigging rap, different colors, or whatever on the one line, but was always trying different things. There were days fish would stick their nose up and swim past the minnow and go for an artificial or vice versa, any day could be different. I still think over 50% of the time a minnow is the go-to bait for crappie in our local ice fishing environment , but after a continuous comparison all winter I have much more respect for artificial than ever before and have been really been enjoying using them more than ever, another lesson learned.
I believe the"minnow issue" is identical for Lake Trout. I now usually use plastics for the simple reason they do not die or spoil. They are not ALWAYS the best, but usually they are as good as minnows.
QUESTION: How many crappies do you think that you caught this winter, all totaled?
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I learned the importance of fishing new water. Last year, I tried the same thing that had worked the year before that, and had my worst year ever. This year, we made it a rule to try 1 new spot each day, and found several good ones. Also learned that a bigger battery made my drill work better in the cold.
Learned that the perch move in shallow as the water warms end of season.
Fished in a small flip over one cold windy day. Learned I don't like it. Can't see how people sit inside all the time.
Learned how to start my snowmobile with a busted pull rope, how to tow a dead snowmobile, how to winch it back on the trailer with a ratchet strap, and how to clean snowmobile carburetors. :(
Learned that a right handed in-line reel is opposite of a spinning reel. Learned I am not coordinated enough to fish 1 right and 1 left hand retrieve reel.
Learned how to harvest the operculum from perch, and how to age them, (still learning).
Got a subscription to Mystery Tackle Box from Karls for Christmas- will be a great gift for my fishing buddies. Found some winners in the ice fishing lures they sent. https://shopkarls.com/subscribe/
When I washed my Striker Predator bibs, I found a can holder that comes out of the side of the right pocket. Not sure how that can work of you are walking/running- seems like a good way to spill most of a beer.
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I can get skunked even in MN and I was one hole away from winning a new power auger and did not chip it out and check when I had time to.
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I believe the"minnow issue" is identical for Lake Trout. I now usually use plastics for the simple reason they do not die or spoil. They are not ALWAYS the best, but usually they are as good as minnows.
Keeping minnows alive is an issue, especially if spending a few days out at a cabin in the winter like I know we both do. My problem is I am a lazy lake trout fisherman, even though I know jigging is the key to catching more trout, I don't do enough of it. The really successful trout fisherman I know are using artificial, constantly keeping the bait moving, my catch numbers usually pale to theirs.
QUESTION: How many crappies do you think that you caught this winter, all totaled?
I have not kept track of how many crappie caught this winter, but it has been hundreds. The first part of the season is always slow and progressively gets better going into February. Three crappie are as many, or more than two of us want to eat at a meal and we never freeze any, so I give them away when I can, take some to a couple of neighbors occasionally, or just catch and release. Being outside in the winter with something to do between trout fishing, or trips to the outpost cabins is the main goal, eating a few crappie is a nice side benefit.
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I learned Noooothing!! (Like Schultz from Hogan's Heroes)...... Didn't have any ice in Ohio.
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That I should have gone more than once all season.
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I learned Noooothing!! (Like Schultz from Hogan's Heroes)...... Didn't have any ice in Ohio.
X2---- Can't fish without ice!! :%$#!:
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A couple things come to mind,,,,
Learned to keep TWO ice anchors in place when breaking down / folding up my hub shanty on a sunny day with strong wind gusts AND to check aforementioned ice anchors to make sure they haven't loosened up due to the wind/sun action.
Learned to NOT set my pike spear down with the barbed tips resting ON the foam floor mats used to help darken my hub shanty. Spear will shortly have the barbed tips resting IN the foam floor. Learned this situation seems to work in luring a legal sized pike into the spearing hole to which it will casually swim through said spearing hole as you frantically attempt to free the spear from aforementioned foam floor.
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Never trust a fart.
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Honestly not much. It was a short season and I didn’t have much time to fish. The says I did get out were when the weather was unstable and couldn’t find any fish besides little dinks.
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I learned that ice fishing season in Michigan has sucked for quite a few years now.its so short..get on the ice about mid January and off by mid February in southwest mi.
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Need to be extremely mobile on years like last. Gotta have the sled to move up and down the lake to find the fish quickly
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Same thing I learn every year...never buy into the hype...or bite into the hype. ;D Wait, I usually do.
I honestly keep trying noodle type rods...but I will never truly understand them.
Sometimes, it's just being out there. The activity. The set up, drilling holes, settling down, and repeat. Whoops I caught fish. Bonus!
I always reaffirm myself that using a bait casting reel suits me far better than a spinning reel. Even though I have easily 10x more spinning reels to start out with. Slowly throughout the years I own more and more bait casting reels. I'm almost sure it's at the 50/50 mark or so.
I tried using the anchor drill attachment...well that sort of worked, but not nearly as well as expected. Ice is different from wood.
I learned to use my electric drill much better this year.
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I learned that I have got to stop reading the best ice deals thread! I now have enough new stuff that I had to pickup an additional tote to store my ice gear.
I learned how far a directors chair will sail across the lake in even a light wind.
I did not learn how well a smitty sled works. no snow or slush this season.
Keep it safe! JDL
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Same thing I learn every year...never buy into the hype...or bite into the hype. ;D Wait, I usually do.
I tried using the anchor drill attachment...well that sort of worked, but not nearly as well as expected. Ice is different from wood.
I learned to use my electric drill much better this year.
You reminded of one more "learned" lesson,,,,, that the Eskimo ice anchor tool works much better than the Otter tool when using Eskimo ice anchors. Damn Otter gripped the anchor so tight that I eventually snapped the tool in half trying to get it loose. Eskimo tool provided enough play that it easily released.
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You reminded of one more "learned" lesson,,,,, that the Eskimo ice anchor tool works much better than the Otter tool when using Eskimo ice anchors. Damn Otter gripped the anchor so tight that I eventually snapped the tool in half trying to get it loose. Eskimo tool provided enough play that it easily released.
I have too much looseness in my Eskimo tool. Perhaps meant that way so it won't bind. It makes for starting a bit awkward. I'm not that comfortable holding the anchor with gloves. Keep thinking it's gonna snaffu the gloves... Or I just need a much slower speed setting.
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Not having a shanty and living in northern Vermont is not a great idea. I’ll have one next year.
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I finally brought and learned how to use a flasher (Hummingbird helix 5). It definitely makes finding and catching the fish easier!
smitty :tipup:
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Learned that Mother Nature hates me
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I saw a guy next to me set his flip over so it was half opened so it was only acting like a wind break. The day was sunny and nice with only small patches of snow on the ice and the wind was blowing pretty steady with some strong gusts. He got up and went out to cut a few more holes and his hut decided to take off. It took him about a 1/4 mile to catch up to the hut. Lesson he learned was open a flip over fully if you get up off the seat when the wind is blowing and wear cleats so you can run on glare ice.
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perch chacer, that happened to me one time. I learned to anchor my clam if it's even a little windy and I'm on bare ice.
One thing I learned this season... way too many guys don't even look at how thick or safe the ice is as they walk out onto it. Especially if they see someone else out on the ice. Made me realize that I have to be just that much more careful.
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I learned my float bibs work wonderfully :roflmao:
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perch chacer, that happened to me one time. I learned to anchor my clam if it's even a little windy and I'm on bare ice.
One thing I learned this season... way too many guys don't even look at how thick or safe the ice is as they walk out onto it. Especially if they see someone else out on the ice. Made me realize that I have to be just that much more careful.
Saw the same thing this year. Especially given the way the winter went, i could not believe the number of people who were out that didnt spud or continually check the ice. My spud was invaluable this year with the ice conditions being so varied on the different water bodies i fished.
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I learned that, as I get farther into my 60s, I'd rather sit in my Clam flip and probably catch fewer fish than if I was hole-hopping outside. I really like being able to fish without having my line blow in the breeze. Makes it easier jigging with finesse and detecting bites. Plus there's a cold Old Mill Lite in the shack to keep me company. :)
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Something has to change. The ice house (6x10) is a toyhauler type that carries the wheeler to the lake. I use wheller to pull ice house onto lake. I can't drive the truck onto the lake, it's a company truck. Ice house works great early season but the snows of late January/February cannot get onto the lakes here because snow is too deep. Last year I had to 1) back up a half a mile after getting to a ramp area that was not plowed, no way for me to get on. 2) dig the truck out because I drove down a two track gravel road a mile and was 20 yards from the other end and got stuck. Had to unhook ice house turn it around, haul it out with wheeler and then go back and yank truck out with wheeler, then walk back to get truck.
May sell it and stick with flipover, at least can walk out and drag the flipover....
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Something has to change. The ice house (6x10) is a toyhauler type that carries the wheeler to the lake. I use wheller to pull ice house onto lake. I can't drive the truck onto the lake, it's a company truck. Ice house works great early season but the snows of late January/February cannot get onto the lakes here because snow is too deep. Last year I had to 1) back up a half a mile after getting to a ramp area that was not plowed, no way for me to get on. 2) dig the truck out because I drove down a two track gravel road a mile and was 20 yards from the other end and got stuck. Had to unhook ice house turn it around, haul it out with wheeler and then go back and yank truck out with wheeler, then walk back to get truck.
May sell it and stick with flipover, at least can walk out and drag the flipover....
There is always a trade off with bringing more gear. If conditions are perfect, it can work out, but if they are perfect, you don't need that much gear. We always get too much snow for permanent houses, but people still try. A flip over is a good compromise.
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I learned that I love my K-Drill!! Having any auger with a cordless drill setup is huge. I drilled more holes this year than ever before which led to more fish getting caught and me trying new areas. Going around community spots and opening a bunch of old holes was nice too.
Also learned that some of my most enjoyable days were days I took the least amount of stuff, a bucket, 2 long rods, and k-drill, fishing only about 2-3 fow.
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I learned our gouverneur hates up state as we have a break in the break wall coming from the lake to the bay which made for alot of open water and so very unsafe ice out in 30+fow. I learned that a spud bar is your best friend and saved me from going for a swim this past winter. I learned that after 20+ years that just cause the ice looks good and y
I was on 5+ of black ice that with in 100 feet I was on 1 inch and thought I was going swimming. So fast thinking and a short hussle kept us from going in.
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I learned to spend more money on open water fishing than ice fishing. It just makes no sense to invest a ton of money into something that consumes less than 3 months of the calendar, if it also takes away from money for what consumes me 9 months of the calendar.
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I learned to spend more money on open water fishing than ice fishing. It just makes no sense to invest a ton of money into something that consumes less than 3 months of the calendar, if it also takes away from money for what consumes me 9 months of the calendar.
But which one do you enjoy more? I prefer ice fishing over open water, so much so that I got the panoptix ice pack (ps22) and attached it to a portable bracket for the boat. I can get a decent visual of the lure and fish interaction on the sonar close to half the time when casting, and a bet nice visual for vertical jigging from a boat too.
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There was very little demand(SE Pa) for some "extra" gear I was going to sell since winter never showed up !
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But which one do you enjoy more? I prefer ice fishing over open water, so much so that I got the panoptix ice pack (ps22) and attached it to a portable bracket for the boat. I can get a decent visual of the lure and fish interaction on the sonar close to half the time when casting, and a bet nice visual for vertical jigging from a boat too.
I enjoy ice fishing quite a lot, but I think I'd have to give the edge to bass and walleye fishing in the spring through fall. It's so much easier with my schedule to hop out of the truck and make some casts for 15 min-2 hours rather than spend a minimum of 4 hours lugging around all of the ice gear. The payoff for ice fishing is just not up to par in Iowa, the land of over harvested panfish and under managed walleye.
I will still always ice fish, I am just going to really focus my limited budget towards my boat and open water gear. I have a propane auger, a decent clam shack, a Helix 5 and the ability to make ice flies and ice rods, so I am pretty well set with ice equipment for the amount that I plan on ice fishing in the future.
I'd love to get the Panoptix/Livescope for all year round applications, but that is not in the cards for this guy in the foreseeable future.
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Something has to change. The ice house (6x10) is a toyhauler type that carries the wheeler to the lake. I use wheller to pull ice house onto lake. I can't drive the truck onto the lake, it's a company truck. Ice house works great early season but the snows of late January/February cannot get onto the lakes here because snow is too deep. Last year I had to 1) back up a half a mile after getting to a ramp area that was not plowed, no way for me to get on. 2) dig the truck out because I drove down a two track gravel road a mile and was 20 yards from the other end and got stuck. Had to unhook ice house turn it around, haul it out with wheeler and then go back and yank truck out with wheeler, then walk back to get truck.
May sell it and stick with flipover, at least can walk out and drag the flipover....
Hubs are another great way to go, lightened my load by going to a hub and a smaller Smitty sled that holds just what I actually need, hopefully replacing my gas auger with a cordless drill next year to lose a bit more weight.
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I learned that if you finally buy your dream ice shack, there won't be enough ice to use it for the season. Well, I did get 6 days of use at the end of game fish season, what a joy!
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I learned that at 76 I need to spend more time fishing this year and less time working. Who knows how many yrs. we have left to do this. I'll be out there as long as I can get out of my chair and walk to the truck. Good fishing.