newb needs advice

[QuickDraw]

ok me and my buddy are embarking on our first serious year of ice fishing. we've got a good lake that we know like the back of our hands. so far we've been out 2 days with no bites and very few fish marked (2).

we were out on saturday the first spot we setup in was about a 12' deep channel between 2 points we had waxies and crappie minnows, which we were jigging at various depths, no luck there so we moved to another spot on the edge of a dropoff/weed bed. we set our shack in about 20' and drilled holes at 16' 14' 12' 7' and 4' tried jigging waxies and minnows, no bites at all, what are we supposed to be doing this time of year? we're looking for gills, crappies and eyes, thanks!

[fly651]

Sometimes I just use a plain hood and let it drop down to the depth I want it to be at and let the minnow swim around... usually works for me... just about anything that eats minnow will take em'... you can also use colored beads and glow beads to attract the fishes... good luck!

[CorynTracySellHomes]

Welcome to Fishing Minnesota!

First question is do you have a flasher style depthfinder to use for winter ice fishing? If so, what I do is read through the ice and mark fish especially crappies before you even drill a hole. Keep moving until you spot fish.

Cory Frantzick

[QuickDraw]

yes, i have a flasher that reads through the ice, i'll give that a go next weekend, any advice as to the depth of water i should be fishing in this time of year?

[Eastwind]

QuickDraw,

It can be tough to locate Crappies through the ice, in a new lake on your own even if you are an experienced ice fisherman. To learn the patterns of Crappies in Winter I would suggest that you first go to lakes in your area that are known for Winter Crappies and fish where everyone else is fishing for them. After you do this at a few different lakes you will begin to see the different areas that the Crappies feed in during the Winter and have a mucjh better starting point for the lake that you " Know like the back of your hand".

As far as Sunnies go, know that should be easier for a new ice fisherman to figure out. Find some weed flats or gradual weedy drop-offs on the lake and look for the Sunnies in 8' to 12'. A little deeper on clearer lakes and a little shallower on lakes with stained water. Use waxies and don't give a spot more than 15 minutes without some action. I find the best time of day to be between 2:00 in the afternoon till dark. Of course I hate getting up early enough to be on any lake at sunrise. Tiny ice jigs with about a #10 or #12 hook should be about the right size and make sure you give the bait some jigging action here and there. Also, welcome to F.M. Good luck fishing.

[Eastwind]

QuickDraw,

It can be tough to locate Crappies through the ice, in a new lake on your own even if you are an experienced ice fisherman. To learn the patterns of Crappies in Winter I would suggest that you first go to lakes in your area that are known for Winter Crappies and fish where everyone else is fishing for them. After you do this at a few different lakes you will begin to see the different areas that the Crappies feed in during the Winter and have a much better starting point for the lake that you " Know like the back of your hand".

As far as Sunnies go, know that should be easier for a new ice fisherman to figure out. Find some weed flats or gradual weedy drop-offs on the lake and look for the Sunnies in 8' to 12'. A little deeper on clearer lakes and a little shallower on lakes with stained water. Use waxies and don't give a spot more than 15 minutes without some action. I find the best time of day to be between 2:00 in the afternoon till dark. Of course I hate getting up early enough to be on any lake at sunrise. Tiny ice jigs with about a #10 or #12 hook should be about the right size and make sure you give the bait some jigging action here and there. Also, welcome to F.M. Good luck fishing.

[SFBOY]

It might not hurt to keep track of the FM get toghethers this winter. There is a wealth of knowledge in the group of guys that post on this site. There are guys that fish pike, eyes, crappies, sunnies, perch, trout, etc. If you have never really done too much ice fishing it is always a good idea to hook up with guys that do/have.

If you cant find time to do that, just hit the back bay on Whaletail out in St. Bonnie in the late afternoon. Practice makes perfect even if the fish are on the smaller side. If you cant come up with a ton of crappies on that lake, then definitely hook up with some of the guys on this site. Good Luck.

[QuickDraw]

thanks for all of the advice, i posted a reply last night but it doesn't seem to be here, oh well. i think i'll give it 1 more weekend out on the lake b4 we venture out. my buddy may be getting an aqua-vu for xmas, thanks again! Good luck out there!