Ice Fishing Tips

Mapping your catch

February and March offer productive ice fishing days. Because of fluctuating conditions, check the ice for safety. Large, shallower bodies of water are favorable for sunfish, northern pike, and yellow perch. Northern pike, walleye, and lake trout dwell in deepwater lakes. Brown trout, rainbow trout, and landlocked salmon migrate to deep lakes with cool summertime temperatures.

Tackling the ice

Avoid the ice until it's three or four inches thick. Ice can measure an inch thick in one part of the lake and a foot thick at another. Ice is often weak and hazardous at shorelines.

A hand-powered ice auger cuts through up to 12 inches of ice. More extreme conditions require a gas-powered auger. Anglers fishing for sunfish and yellow perch lean toward lightweight four- to six-inch augers. Lake trout and salmon often require a larger hole. However, an eight-inch hole requires removing almost twice the ice of a six-inch hole.

A fishing we will go

Jigging is done with a jigging rod or hand line and a lure that is baited. The jig dashes about when jerked by the angler. A teardrop jig hangs vertically in the water. Crappies and perch often prefer a horizontal jig. The most common jig movement is up and down. In shallower water, the jig can also be moved around the hole. The jig can go into a light spin by twisting the line between the fingers.

Perch and bluegill feed within a few inches from the lake bottom, where water is warmer. Bouncing bait off the bottom of the lake raises a small cloud of debris to attract fish. Some fish are lured by bait that rests at the bottom of the lake.

Dropping crushed worms and minnows into the hole (chuming) attracts more fish and makes them feed aggressively. Cover shallow-water holes with ice shavings to block light, and use a glow-in-the-dark jig. A power line with no stretch resists abrasions, so you can better feel the bites and hook larger fish.

Reading Your Depth Finder depth finder, fishing, ice fishing, fish, sonar Where'd all the good fish go? Read this quick tutorial on how to spot where the fish are using fishing sonar and depth finders.

How fishing sonar & depth finders work

A transmitter sends out an electrical impulse; a transducer converts it into a sound wave and sends it into the water. The sound wave rebounds off an object, striking the transducer. It is converted back to an electrical signal, amplified by a receiver and sent to a display. The process repeats several times per second. Environmental factors such as wind, wave action, silt, minerals, salt, and microorganisms reflect, absorb, and scatter signals.

Displays calculate the echoes and provide different resolutions, shades, and colors. Pixels determine the clarity of readings. The formula for a 240-vertical-pixel unit in 60 feet of water is: 240 divided by 60 = 4 (one fourth). Targets are then separated by a quarter-inch.

Data determination

Check your batteries. Most depth finders use D-size batteries. The transducer must be level above the hole so you know what lies beneath. This allows you to see the lure and the fish as it approaches the bait. Getting a good reading on your lure allows you to place the bait right above the fish. Depth determines the lure and bait you will use.

Registering a green line (a weak signal) indicates a fish is on the edge of the cone, a yellow line means it's closer, and a red line shows the fish directly below the hole. A line a distance up from the bottom is a fish making his way through open water. Several stationary lines between the bottom and the ice are weeds. Short weeds in deep water could contain fish that show up as additional lines on the flasher. Locating a tight ball of baitfish indicates a predator in pursuit.

A thick bottom line indicates a hard bottom and a thin bottom line registers a soft bottom. Muck at the bottom of the river will absorb the signal. Receiving the sub-bottom echoes helps locate shell beds and other areas where fish hang out.