Happy New Year:
I'm not sure how you spent the first day of January, but I went out ice fishing with a friend before sunrise this morning. I was dressed like an Eskimo with multiple layers of clothes, insulated bib overalls and a long-tail, hooded parka, knit hat, knee-high felt-lined pac boots and more. We worked depths of 28 to 30 feet along a drop-off on the west side of Little Bay de Noc with three inch shiners we bought Friday evening and stored overnight. This is near my home in Delta County, Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
We took a chance, heading to a part of the bay that is usually not safe to fish until late January. It seemed that the cold weather we have had would have firmed up the ice down that way enough to make it safe. There were others out ahead of us, so we were not exactly riding into the unknown. We found the ice 8 to 10 inches thick, but a large coal boat had come through from open water farther south and broke a channel to the docks about a mile south of us. We rode on a Honda all terrain vehicle to cover some territory in our search for fish.
We landed just two walleyes, one 28" and another 21". Both hit Swedish Pimple spoons (Bay de Noc Tackle Company) tipped with the minnows in 28' to 30' of water. We took my portable shanty because we intended to move around and a portable makes this easier. We had trouble with the wind blowing the thin walls like sails and moving the shack a little. When both of us sat inside on overturned buckets, there was enough weight to keep it anchored, but when one stepped out it could shift position. Honestly, the bite was slow even though we managed a couple nice fish. The wind chill was bad and after shooting just six photos my fingers were stiff and the camera flashed a "low battey" signal. The strong south winds apparently blew water up under the ice and caused several heaves. The first major jolt we felt (and heard) was an extended rumbling boom that shook the shanty fairly hard. Later, another sharp jolt ran a six inch open water crack running right between the wheels of our ATV parked alongside the shanty. When we went out to investigate, we found that we were on a piece of ice about twenty feet by thirty feet or so that had broken free from the surroundings. Several other pieces were around us. Picture a jigsaw puzzle. We were on one of the pieces and surrounded by other pieces. There was no danger of drifting away, but if one of the pieces broke into smaller fragments, there could have been real trouble. We gathered our gear immediately and rode back to shore, crossing several open water cracks along the way. Obviously none of them were wide enough to prevent crossing, but they all allowed water to spout up onto the surface ice and all we could do was open the throttle a bit and fly through them spraying water all the way. We actually did not get wet, because the water froze on our gear fast enough to keep it from soaking through anything.
This area has the potential to be a real "big fish zone", but I guess we are going to have to wait a little longer before going out there again. I have fished there many times in the past, but never this early in the year. One of the fascinating aspects of this part of the bay is that there are several wooden shipwrecks on the bottom (I've seen underwater camera pictures of them) and the resulting bottom structure holds fish there in the jumbled stacks of wood and iron. Drifting through the area in a boat on a spring day is a lot more comfortable, but I wouldn't trade these winter fishing adventures for anything else!
Ray
Showing posts with label shiner minnows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shiner minnows. Show all posts
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
HOW TO CATCH BIG FISH THIS FALL - PART 1
By: Ray Hansen
I like to keep things as simple as possible when chasing larger fish during the fall season here in the Midwest. A favorite strategy is to drift breaklines (drop-offs) with an electric trolling motor ready to provide course corrections, while I work a live bait rig. I’m actually targeting walleyes, but largemouth and smallmouth bass, pike, muskies, channel catfish, and a few other species have come aboard long enough for me to unhook and release them in this way. In this blog I’ll pass along some ideas that can help you catch some heavyweights this year.
THE BASIC RIG
I generally use a six-foot, one-piece medium/heavy action spinning rod and reel spooled with ten-pound test monofilament, or a high-tech line in twenty-pound test, six-pound diameter. You might consider a medium action rod and lighter line, but the slightly heavier action with stronger line is standard. This method targets larger fish.
As a terminal rig, tie on a one-half ounce bottom bouncer like the Northland “Rock Runner”. On the free arm of the bouncer, tie on a three to five foot leader (usually ten-pound test monofilament line) and finish with a size 2 hook. There are a few variations on this set-up, which may more closely fit the situation you are facing. One of my favorites is to use a Northland Tackle brand Gum-Drop Floater jig with the “built-in” stinger hook. This rig allows the use of larger baits such as chubs and small suckers.
Bait should be something substantial. Among my favorites are four or five inch suckers, but roach minnows, chubs, and big shiners will all work. If you can get some jumbo leeches, they are worth a shot. Remember, you can downsize this rig somewhat, using a one-quarter ounce weight and smaller bait if you want to use a smaller rod and lighter line.
BASIC STRUCTURE
As I mentioned, sharper drop-offs leading to main basin areas are a great starting point. You might also elect to follow the base of the breaklines while running a locator, and stop to work any larger fish you show on the screen. On some lakes however, this will result in you spending time inadvertently working a school of carp or other rough fish. Some anglers use cameras to check out what their locators are showing them, but most (including me) just work the area for a while to see if they can trigger a hit.
On some lakes an abundance of structure presents varied opportunities. In this case also try points that taper out underwater toward a deep basin area, and humps or rock piles found out on deeper flats or at the base of the drop-offs you have chosen.
In part 2 of this blog I'll pass along some additional details. Watch for it tomorrow!
I like to keep things as simple as possible when chasing larger fish during the fall season here in the Midwest. A favorite strategy is to drift breaklines (drop-offs) with an electric trolling motor ready to provide course corrections, while I work a live bait rig. I’m actually targeting walleyes, but largemouth and smallmouth bass, pike, muskies, channel catfish, and a few other species have come aboard long enough for me to unhook and release them in this way. In this blog I’ll pass along some ideas that can help you catch some heavyweights this year.
THE BASIC RIG
I generally use a six-foot, one-piece medium/heavy action spinning rod and reel spooled with ten-pound test monofilament, or a high-tech line in twenty-pound test, six-pound diameter. You might consider a medium action rod and lighter line, but the slightly heavier action with stronger line is standard. This method targets larger fish.
As a terminal rig, tie on a one-half ounce bottom bouncer like the Northland “Rock Runner”. On the free arm of the bouncer, tie on a three to five foot leader (usually ten-pound test monofilament line) and finish with a size 2 hook. There are a few variations on this set-up, which may more closely fit the situation you are facing. One of my favorites is to use a Northland Tackle brand Gum-Drop Floater jig with the “built-in” stinger hook. This rig allows the use of larger baits such as chubs and small suckers.
Bait should be something substantial. Among my favorites are four or five inch suckers, but roach minnows, chubs, and big shiners will all work. If you can get some jumbo leeches, they are worth a shot. Remember, you can downsize this rig somewhat, using a one-quarter ounce weight and smaller bait if you want to use a smaller rod and lighter line.
BASIC STRUCTURE
As I mentioned, sharper drop-offs leading to main basin areas are a great starting point. You might also elect to follow the base of the breaklines while running a locator, and stop to work any larger fish you show on the screen. On some lakes however, this will result in you spending time inadvertently working a school of carp or other rough fish. Some anglers use cameras to check out what their locators are showing them, but most (including me) just work the area for a while to see if they can trigger a hit.
On some lakes an abundance of structure presents varied opportunities. In this case also try points that taper out underwater toward a deep basin area, and humps or rock piles found out on deeper flats or at the base of the drop-offs you have chosen.
In part 2 of this blog I'll pass along some additional details. Watch for it tomorrow!
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