Finding Fish?

[joejamiejop]

I am a younger guy and haven't been ice fishing much more than 15 years. I have read a couple different posts here, especially posts pertaining to using electronics such as flashers, underwater cameras, gps units, and everything else. My question is  how did fisherman find fish back in the day, what tips and tricks are us younger people missing out on with all of the technology available today. I have most of the electronics and I realize that the electronics make finding fish easier, however I would like to hear what some of you old timers did to find fish. Should be interesting. Thanks in advance!

[begs]

well i have no electronics...i would like to know some old timer tricks...i know drop offs are a good spot..and weed lines....and water temp... but what else LOL i have a topo map of some of the lakes that i fish at... and i look for channels and down trees and logs and stuff but what if there is none of that stuff

[sam419]

I have an aqua vu but I dont use it. Best advice would be to keep moving and drilling holes and changing lures if you cant get a hit. also try looking through the hole to see whats down there.

[Rebelss]

That's a great question!! Us "Oldtimers" (Just past the big five-o) used to do what a lot of people still do today..I'll  list what I did and still do when planning to fish a new area. Find a topo/depth map of the area...study like there's going to be a test, noting the drop-offs, weedlines, rocky structures, etc. What kind  of bottom? Muddy, sand, rocky? Vegetation? Is it a eutrophic lake, a mesotrophic, oligotrophic, reservoir, what? Then you can look up species for that specific type of water. Try to fish it in the summer...talk to the bait shop guy...talk to the locals...talk to people fishing there. Try all the spots you can, noting the weather in conjunction with your success. Find out from the DNR what the predominant fish species is in that body of water...is it stocked? Spring fed? And fish, fish, fish!!! Hope this helps! 

[rjbreese]

i thought back in the old days they used dynamite j.k.

[mealworm]

drill,drill,drill

[Greg2ha]

i thought back in the old days they used dynamite j.k.

Good one!

[hrlyridr77]

Us old timers learned patience....


Like Rebel said -
You sometimes have to fish a spot a few times before you figure it out - depth, bottom, weather, bait, rig, etc all factor in. You go fishing, and remember what worked, and what didn't. You go fishing with others, share the info, and learn.

I'm learning again, after years away... got a gas auger, and this website, and a few folks to go fishing with. So far, it's been enough to improve my fishing.

Good luck, and take your time...

 

[1CE]

Find weeds/structure in the spring or fall and the remember (that's the hard part).  Then drill & don't be afraid to move around on that spot until you find them.  Took more work....but today it is the video world.

[countryice24]

pesonally i think the old timers didnt have so much lake pressure and the fish are getting wise to what they see because we as humans have made fishing so much more popular and  if u ask me too many people take unnessesary fish home and they dont keep up on the stocking of the lake so it all adds up to slower days on the hardwater

[slipperybob]

When I find them...I hope I find the fish that are willing to bite. 

[kchamp]

When I find them...I hope I find the fish that are willing to bite. 

you said it

[ice dawg]

Find weeds/structure in the spring or fall and the remember (that's the hard part).  Then drill & don't be afraid to move around on that spot until you find them.  Took more work....but today it is the video world.

That's what I did to find the spot and then would chop a hole with an axe through 2" of ice. As I remember, "run and gun" wasn't even a consideration at that time. I think my jigging rods cost $1.25 each and my ice scoop was a coffee can.

[eriksat1]

I would usually fish the same spots I fished in open water, if you know where the good weed beds are, they are still there under the ice, and bars, drop offs. If fishing entirely new water best to just follow the crowd or take a chance at some spots using a lake map. Unlike open water you need to drill lots of holes to locate a spot on a map. Or ask the local bait shop to show you on a map where its good fishing. Thats how we did it in the old days. The other thing was I had a hand auger only so when the ice got over 2 ft you drilled 3 holes and by god thats where you fished.

[joejamiejop]

I was hoping to hear the "walked twelve miles uphill no boots then used a spoon to dig a hole, then after all that another twelve miles uphill on the way home"
Really though, sounds to me the maps and a ton of holes are what you "old timers" did back in the day. About what I expected to hear, fun nonetheless to hear it straight from you dinosaurs! -JK

Joe