FIND WINTER FISH FASTER !

Authors Note: I am leaving today on a trip to central Wisconsin, and will resume posting blogs when I return Monday, Dec. 1, 2008.

Happy Holidays!

WORK YOUR LURE FOR PANFISH
Don’t Just Sit There, Make Them Bite!
By: Ray Hansen

Sooner or later we are going to get safe ice out on the main lake areas here in Michigan – and when we do, you need to be ready to catch fish. Too many anglers hit the same old spots and fish in the same old way, seeming to believe that “the fish are biting or they are not”. Well… you can accept blind luck to provide some fishing action, or you can try to trigger fish into biting. Here is a trick I use to “make something happen”.

One of my favorite tricks is to head out on a day when there are few anglers on the ice, and lots of open, but unused holes found there. Mondays after a busy weekend are a great time to try this, but it can work anytime.

Set up an ice rod with a small spinning reel filled with four pound test line. Tie on a size 2 “Swedish Pimple” spoon and load the small treble hook with “spikes” (maggots). Put two or three spikes on each hook point. I call this a “spikeball” rig.

Walk along, lowering the baited spoon into each hole you find. Let it sink to bottom, raise it up about six inches, then use that as a starting point. Shake the rod tip as you raise the lure up two or three feet very slowly. Make that lure shake and shimmy like a belly dancer. After reaching that point (about three feet off bottom) let the lure free-fall back to the starting point (six inches off bottom). Hold the rod tip still, watch for bites for about ten to fifteen seconds, then repeat the sequence.

Work each hole for about three to five minutes, then move on to the next. You’ll be exploring the area, fishing actively, and you stand a great chance of finding fish active enough to bite, or fish that will respond to the action you give the lure. A variation of this tactic is to drill a dozen holes along a weedline or other bottom feature before starting to fish. Keep moving between holes at regular intervals, but stay at spots that provide action until the bite slows.

This tactic will work throughout the Midwest, and can produce perch, white bass, yellow bass, crappies, bluegill, rock bass, and some surprises like channel catfish, walleyes, or largemouth bass.
Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008