Icing bass

[fishuhalik]

  Hey guys, I am stumped.  I spend alot of time on this site and check out posts from all over the country, and it seems like you guys in the eastern part of the country do really well on bass in the winter.  That just blows me away, cuz here in MN bass fishing in the winter is nonexistant.  Which is weird cuz alot of the lakes I fish in the winter for pike are great bass lakes, I often catch 40-60 bass in the summer, but when I have my tipups out in the winter I very rarely catch a bass, maybe 1 for every 100 hours of pike fishing.  Most of the time I use shiners and suckers in the 5-8" size.  I have had some good luck on bass in one lake one time, I think I caught 15 in about 2 hours, but that was on a #14 marmooshka w/ waxies. 
  My question is this.  Is there any reason why this is happening?  Also, is there any minnesota guys out there that consistently catch bass in the winter?  I think it would be a blast to target them w/ med/light tackle. 

[ice_fish]

May have something to do with the water temps in MN are much cooler than the water temps on the East Coast....less snow on the East Coast means more sun getting through the ice into the water....

[Fishin is the Mission]

We catch more jigging than on tip-ups.  IMO, Largemouth especially like the bait to be moving.  We catch more Smallies on live shiners, but most come on smaller baits in the 2 - 3 inch range when we target big perch.  Just my observations on my little neck of the woods.  I hope this helps in yours.

[taxi1]

I don't think temp has anything to do with it. Under the ice temps are pretty much the same wherever you're at. Temps will drop only so far and the ice actually acts as an insulater relatively speaking. Near freezing to freezing at the surface but it gradually warms up as you go deeper to a max of 39 F. which is the temps water is densest.

My theory is the bass are either using much deeper water slightly warmer, which the lakes you fish may have vs, shallower eastern lakes and/or they are being out competed by other species under the ice that are more active in cold temps. In the east they don't have the northern pike populations, if at all, you do in Minnesota.

That's my theory and I could be wrong.

[Danderson]

for me, i target largemouths from 2 to 8 FOW over green weedbeds. i easily catch 5 to 10 largemouths an outing with all the usual pickerel, perch and crappie mixed in. personally, i like a highly active shiner for largemouths, and i'm pretty much moving up to all large shiners to weed out the perch, crappie and small pickerel.

in lakes with pike, i don't catch nearly as many largemouths, but i don't think it has to do with the pike being there, i think it has more to do with the fact that they are highly preassured lakes

[sbfPA_Mike]

Hey Fish,

I believe it is more to do with where you are setting up than anything. I  wouldn't say I killed the Bass in MN, but I certainly caught them regularly. I have to believe the Bass are schooled up and moving slow. I believe they are deeper than the Pike are. I don't know what kind of setup you do when putting out tip-ups, but try one on the deepest edge of a weedbed. I wish I could give you a formula, but I can say I caught Bass in MN.

Mike

[Van_Cleaver]

Here in PA the bass are often in the same water as perch; weedy flats, breaks on the edges, and sometime creek channels can be exceptional. The nicer bass (largemouth) seem to be in shallower water6-12', but that probably changes with various bodies of water. You also might downsize a little just in case the bass are not aggressive. On a good lake in PA it is often easier to catch bass than perch; usually I'm using medium shiners to keep from catching too many small perch. Mostly I jig, and bass will wack a spoon, minnow lure, or just about anything when the mood strikes them. As mentioned above though, a lot of it is location.

[Wellsy]

Seems to be consistent with the Largemouth bass being caught (myself also) in shallower water near or on weed beds. No I don't target them, and yes more LMB on tippers.
Smallmouth for me are usually deeper and much lighter on the bite. The only SMB I have caught on tippers I actually have to pull my rig out of the water and drape the line over the extended flag to see the slightest movement (like you might do for a crappie).
Mostly SMB on "small" jigs.


Wellsy

[fishuhalik]

Well, I'm gonna give it a go this weekend.  I have one little lake in mind that is loaded w/ decent bass, and I'm gonna go out there and show 'em everything i know, from waxies on a #14 marmooshka to 7" shiners on a tipup and everything in between, shallow and deep.  I'll let ya know how I end up doing!

[1MOFISH]

i have caught them as shallow as 18" and as deep as 30' all the same way minnows 1' off the bottom on days they are hittin they will move up in the water column saw them suspend 6' off the bottom in 14' of water,consistantly though 1' off the bottom -in weeds -onthe flat-deep or shallow- in the channel relative to the depth the channel flows through hope you get them     mo

[projoe]

if u wana catch bass through the ice consistanly i would say forget the 7 shinners and go with mediums, maybe even fatheads if u can get them. wen it is cold the fish dont use as much energy so they decrease the size of the food they eat.

[sbfPA_Mike]

Size doesn't really matter a ton IMO. All in all, weeds are key! I prefer a point ot bend, on the edge or in a hole. If the lake is really weedy, you just need to continue to narrow your search.

Mike

[tha_fishin_thang]

what size hooks are most common when fishing for bass on tip-ups ,This lake i fish is packed with huge bass I put the aqua vu down the hole and they were everywhere but wouldnt bite anything I through at them as far as lures tipped with spikes, I didnt have any minnows at that time, so I recently got some tipups, the lake is maybe 10' feet deep at the most, average depth is about 5' most posts I read say use shiners on tipups any other suggestions