Winter tactics

[Narwhal]

Flipper, how is the ice travel on cedar? Also, are trucks drive through to West Cedar?

Here's what I know, I have fished Shields, Mazaska, Hunt, with not a lot of luck. It was ok, but nothing great. I broke down and tried French on Sunday AM (I resisted because I hate crowds) I found a good bite on suspended crappies in 20-24 FOW on the NE side of the lake- a ways frow the 2 cities. Still to many poeple for my liking.

Sorry for jumping a little late on these posts, but RD....... I love it! keep the great posts coming, good info and better yet- you stir the pot!!! It gets so many people fired up, and others really appreciate some pointers. So thank you RD

Brotherhood 2000+13! love it! We need to start a thread called "Deep Thinking With Rubber Duckey"!

[flipper]

Lots of people driving already but I am pulling my sled. My 4 wheeler is in the shop right now, I would feel comfortable using that.

[brian6715]

The bite has been decent for me lately on a couple larger lakes, getting a few 9-11" crappies and some decent sunfish. It seems like the little walleyes are thick in our lakes right now, hopefully the bucket brigades can stay away long enough for them to reach a decent size! Look for Roberds to shutdown now that there are a million houses out there. Hopefully I can get the tipups out this weekend and get on some decent pike.

I do think the ice is not as thick as people think, I would say be really careful this year, especially on French and Mazaska.

Sorry this is random, I am typing it at work and multitasking. I'll leave you with one of the odd looking crappies that I pulled up Sunday

Brotherhood 2000 + 13

[pushbutton]

Huh, have never caught a crappie that looks like that. Sure would like to though. Are there any lakes down there that have a sizable population of them?

[frostbite]

that looks a lot like a white bass to me ?

[brian6715]

that looks a lot like a white bass to me ?

Yes

[pushbutton]

[Rubber Ducky]

Good Morning to All,

I appreciate all the feedback. I would like to start this off as what has been working for me. I know most of you guys know this stuff already but what the H*ll lets put a little information out there for the Brotherhood 2013!!!!!

Thank god we live in Minn, nothing better then Drinking beer and jigging your butt off for some early ice eyes.

I Jig all winter, I like to take a fathead or a crappie minnow and pinch it in half on the spoon so that the minnow will float up and make it easier for the walleyes to inhale. Also dont be afraid to use two small crappies minnows on a plain red hook a foot and a half off the bottom. negative fish will respond better to this method.

Just a few rules that I do during the winter months. Last week when we fished that Tournament we could not get a fish to hit a set line. Fish were negative, so we caught everything jigging on small to medium UV buckshots. What everyone knows at creating a strike!!!

Good fishing to all, and Go Brotherhood 2013!!!!!!!!

[Zelmsdawg]

Excellent post RD, very informative (especially for a non walleye guy like me). Hope everyone has a good weekend

[no bait nate]

Great info!

[Mike Dumas]

As always great post rd!

[Hamitupguy]

RD, you are the BOMB. Keep up the great posts!

+1

[Rubber Ducky]

A 9.5 lbs back in the water for another day!!

(A friend of a friend)14' through the night!!!

Good luck all!!!

[Rubber Ducky]

We caught some nice Sunfish over X-mas! Here is a 10" that we put back. Fishing off some rocks in 19'. Caught a bunch of Pike and some Crappies that were up to 14".

[Mike Dumas]

Nice fish rob!

[blue_healer_guy]

[Rubber Ducky]

Good morning all!

Just wanted to say, Happy new year to all, the hard working folks out their. Just wondering how people are doing fishing for the new year.

I myself, have been fishing for Pan fish and occasional eye here and there.

Its crazy to think that we have so much ice out their, it seems like February to me.

Still finding the eyes deep lets say 15' to 22' and the Pan Fish have been hanging in the Mud feasting on the bugs.

Overall a great ice fishing year so far!

I had a friend teach me some new tricks with the Jigging spoon this year.

Thought I had it dialed in, but I guess an old Dog can still learn new trick....

Here is what I learned: Take the biggest spoon out there tip it with a fathead and jig it as far as you can jig pulling it up. All the way back to the hole. Let it flutter straight to the bottom. You will not see it on the Vex.

Seen fish hammer this on the way down without knowing they are there.

As far as Pan fish goes small Trigger X Mustache plastics. Or my favorite tiny Frostie spoon loaded with bugs. We have caught some Giant Sunfish up to 10" and some monster Crappies doing this.

Good luck fishing to all, and cant wait to hear what has been working for everyone out their!!!!!!

Brotherhood 2 14

[Hoglips]

Hi! I don't post much, so I figured it's time I gave a decent report.

Haven't been out since Monday, but had a good time. Met up with a buddy and hammered 10"-12" Crappies plus the occasional Walleye coming through. Most Walleyes were between 12"-17", but in the last 3 weeks have also caught a 19", 20", and two 22"s. For me, the crappies were really liking a small tungsten jig like the new Clam ones with a small crappie minnow, the smaller walleyes I had the best luck with a holographic vertical jig with glow back and crappie minnow. The larger walleyes that I have caught were all on a larger horizontal jig with the biggest fathead in my bucket. I am not one to do a lot of spoon jigging with partial minnow--need to get better at that.

[Gobbles113]

I often have to catch crappies and sunnies on jig/soft plastics combination almost all week. Hardly use live bait. The last outing I went--I got skunked out on all livebait per suggestion by other in which I was willing to give it a chance to serve me a purpose of use, I went back to no livebait approach--back in business. As for the depth of water goes, 17-22 FOW in some lakes while others are at 26-34 FOW. Also, timing is the key as well which plays an important role how active fish is willing to "scream" (bite). Until then, fellas, keep kicking those fish's rear ends and make them screamers!

[Bullhead slayer]

I'm from the Mankato area and a student at MSU and my first two year going to school here I had a lot of success ice fishing my first 2 years living here but now i have been a slump this year along with last year where I have been skunked multiple times or caught very few fish. So I'm looking for a couple of tips on what lakes to go to for the crappie, walleye and northern pike bite. I really want to get on some pike this Thursday of any size so If anyone has any tips it would be very appreciated.

[pikerliker]

Hey Nicklay I know Frances has a lot of pike if your looking for numbers. From what I've heard not the best on size though. Also East Jefferson and German have good pike and better sizes. Couldn't tell you exactly where they are biting as far as depth etc as I haven't targeted pike yet this winter but those would be places to start. I guess I would start in the 8-12 foot ranges and work in or out from there.

[Rubber Ducky]

Nicklay,

I don't fish to much in your neck of the woods. I would hit Harvey up on this topic. I do know that we are still catching Pike on Horseshoe. All the pike are coming off of tip ups with Sucker minnows. 8' to 10' is the key for that lake.

[Rubber Ducky]

Good Morning all,

Just wanted to get some feedback on some new tactics.

Shoreline fishing!!!!

How often do we as people, relay on nothing but looking for those key spots on our GPS, cell phone apps.

How many people do you see sitting over the classic point structures the deep holes, the mid lake flats, divots, rocks.

Let me ask you this when was the last time you looked at a shore line that had no one on it? How many times have you seen a lake that everyone was on structure and the other side of the lake had nothing?

Well I'm guilty of this as well. So starting this weekend I'm going to switch it up and start fishing spots that there is NO one on.

I'll be looking for spots that I have fished during soft water that holds fish. I'm going to start in 5' of water and work my way out. Look for spots that have sharp break lines in shallow water, that may be full of weeds or even gravel or sand. Back in my younger days we used to fish these spots and they were gold minds.

I have seen fish on camera herd bait fish super shallow, just to peg them to the bottom of the ice pack.

Some of the biggest eyes are caught in deaths less then 10'.

How many times back in the days that you would set your tip up in 5' and catch Giant pike.

Just my thoughts, figured that I would like to here what people have to say about trying something new and break from the crowds and be that 1st person that found something all to themselves without relying on someones land mark.

Don't get me wrong someday you have know choice put to fish were the fish are. But I would bet there is a shallow water bite that is out of this world, and we are such creatures of habit that we tend to fallow then try!!!!

Good fishing to all!!!!!

Brother Hood 2014!!

[Savage Brewer]

To be honest when I was younger, there was no rhyme or reason as to where I fished on a lake. Odd enough with that said I used to catch more fish then when I wasn't trying than now when I am. Maybe the lakes had better populations 20 years ago, but oh well its still fun anyways.

[Rubber Ducky]

+1

[JosMN]

You da man Rob. Makes a guy want to try thinking outside the box next time he's out. I'm guilty of kinda following the crowds, mainly because I don't have the luck during the winter that I do in the soft water months.

[pikerliker]

Rob there have been times when I wanted to get away from the crowds and try something different and then for some dumb reason talked myself out of it and hit the "popular" spots. I think if I listened to my own instincts more often it might pay off!!

[ICETP]

I have often wondered why shorelines always seem void of fishermen. I am now inspired by Rob's post to try some out of the way shoreline spots and shallow water presntations. I am going to consentrat on a popular lake I've been fishing this year and work ares void of traffic and fisherman. Thanks for your posts Rob, they are always entertaining and provoke thought.

[hawkeye43]

I have been doing this for years, fish where no one fishes. yes there has been some disappointing times and great rewards also. One year 3 of us moved our big houses everyday just to try something different, if we caught fish or not. Yes we would move back to places that we did well on, just to see if we could get them again.

I hated when you would go out to your house to fish and you can't get to the door of your house because of all the people around you.

A few years ago I started spearing again, not to just kill every fish that came into the hole, but I enjoy seeing how many other fish you can see, what it takes to get them to bite and how they react to each other, all though a 2x3 hole in 7' of water. You would be surprised how many walleyes in the middle of the day you see in shallow water and not small ones either.

[Mike Dumas]

If you haven't been in cedar yet you should see the village... Holy packed together... U can't even tribe between a lot of them. So much for the so many feet away from each other rule. Rice county cedar