Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

Bass through the ice


graf703

Recommended Posts

I've never targeted smallies through the ice. Is there a pattern or typical location they follow? I'm heading to Mille lacs in the next couple of weeks and would like to try it if Walleyes are hard to find.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All i know is that when you find them you find them. I was out perch fishing a couple winters ago and drilled a bunch of holes. One of the holes everytime you would drop your bait down it would immideately get attacked by a smallmouth. We did it for a while until it got old and then moved on. It was weird becuase it was only that one hole. We had other holes near it but never caught a smallmouth in them. Must have been right on top of a nest or something.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always wondered about this too. From the little bit of reading I did it sounded like they head to deeper water in the winter? Most people don't target them because they are more likely to die if brought up fast out of deep water. Big schools grouped up together like mentioned by fish_hunt_guy. Sure sounds like a good time if you could find a bunch of those upper teens fish and release them unharmed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a spot on the north end of the lake I like to go for smallies in the winter. Its a pile of rocks that is about 50 feet wide and come up off the bottom about 15ft. It has sand all around it. I had the aqua view down and just watched them cruise around that rock pile. Drop a spoon down and they would smack it, then hold on. It's a blast, and I managed a few walleyes out of that spot as well. Can't wait to head back up this winter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can I please have the exact GPS coordinates haha! Just kidding. I'll have to check out some of my rock piles I have marked with a camera sometime. Would love to get into some smallies ice fishing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They seem to be streaky....one year we'll catch tons of them, and then three or four years without anything at all. I have no idea why. Most often we catch ours in fairly shallow water (10' or so) fishing low light conditions for walleyes, but we have caught a few out on the flats.

They sure are fun to catch through the ice, though. smile

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can I please have the exact GPS coordinates haha! Just kidding. I'll have to check out some of my rock piles I have marked with a camera sometime. Would love to get into some smallies ice fishing.

Haha. I will just say it's by garrison reef.....

I stumbled upon it by accident. We got away from a crowd and popped some holes and wam wam...smalllies yet my brother in law wasn't getting squat. We were stumped as to why. I dropped my camera down and notice I was literally on the edge of the rock pile dead on the transition. He moved and started catching fish. Not a shack around either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
    • leech~~
      As I get older it's really not just about sending bullets down range.  Some of it's just the workmanship of the gun and the wow factor. The other two guns I have really wanted which I'll never have now because of their price, is a 8mm Jap Nambu and 9mm German Luger.   Just thought they always looked cool!  
    • jim curlee
      I had a guy hit me with a lightly used 1969 BAR, he wanted $1650 with an older Leupold scope. More than I think they are worth, I made an offer, he declined end of story.   You know if you look at the old brochures, a grade II BAR sold for $250 in the late 60s, $1650 would be a good return on your investment.    Why would anybody want a 50 year old gun, they are heavy, have wood stocks, and blued metal.  I guess mainly to keep their gun safes glued to the floor. lol   You can probably buy a stainless rifle that you never have to clean, with a synthetic stock you never have to refinish, is as light as a feather, and for half as much money, perfect.   I'm too old for a youth gun, although I've shrunk enough that it would probably fit. lol   No Ruger 10/44s.   Jim      
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.