Ice Fishing Tips & Techniques
Brrrhh! Greetings fellow angler. Whether you have been fishing for ages or a newbie at the whole thing, you can never go wrong with a little preparation. And that is exactly what we from Fishingrex.com want to offer to you, in this article on “ice fishing how to”. A few heads ups and helpful pointers.
You can also check out another of our article that explains to you how to catch a catfish, Best Fishing Headlamps for fishing & which are the Best Ice Fishing Flasher who are makes fishing so easy.
Fishing is already an exhilarating and challenging experience (and also packed with fun!) in itself, and to make it even the more so, there is ice fishing. So let us take a look at this article on ice fishing how to, shall we?
Best Places for Ice Fishing
Let us tell you about some of the places that are best known for ice fishing.
1. Lake of the Woods, Ontario, Manitoba/ Minnesota.
The Lake of the Woods occupies the place where the border of Canada and The United States of America merges, therefore, it is partly in Ontario, Manitoba and partly in Minnesota. Coming second to the Great lakes, Lake of the Woods is biggest freshwater lake that falls at least a little in America. You can expect a bite all year-round and while the walleye is most popular here, you can also be optimistic for northern pike, jumbo yellow perch, whitefish and lake trout. More than 40 fishing resorts are located here, so you can have a comfortable stay here.
2. Lake Simcoe, Ontario.
This lake has one of the most dense fish populations in the country. The perch is a major attraction here since they will grow a pound bigger in size. Other fishes including pike, lake trout and whitefish are very popular here as well.
3. Lake Washington, Minnesota.
Lake Washington is the proud host of the annual Big Bobber Ice Fishing Contest. Crappie is the primary target in this “catch and release” tournament and for a $1,000 prize money for only the 100th place, this competition gathers lots of anglers each year. You can find the lake at 1 hour’s drive distance, west of Minneapolis, and also, this place makes for a perfect spot for anyone seeking to escape the city for ice fishing.
4. Lake Nipissing, Ontario.
With a 330 square miles of surface area, Lake Nipissing is one of the largest lakes in Ontario. It is situated beside North Bay and has an abundant supply of walleyes. You can get walleyes here in all sizes and some of them can even grow more than 10 pounds.
5. Cold Lake, Alberta/ Saskatchewan.
“Cold Lake”. Does not this name just fit perfectly with the whole essence of ice fishing? Placed on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, northwest of Edmonton, Cold Lake is your dream destination if you want to ice fish for really huge fishes. Lake trout is a major draw here, and catching a 10-pound trout is a normal everyday thing here. Big pike, walleye, whitefish and jumbo perch is also pretty common here. Although this lake is a little secluded than the ones mentioned in this list, the trip is worth it.
6. Antero Reservoir, Colorado.
Antero Reservoir is situated north of US Highway 24, falling between Antero Junction and the town of Hartsel, more than 100 miles southwest of Denver. Although it is not as well-known as the rest of the places on this list, it will offer you a wide range of trout fishes. Rainbow trout are the number one attraction here, and along with that, you have brown trout, cutthroat, sparkle, brook and also kokanee salmon. So the thought of catching a variety of trout excites, Antero Reservoir is your place.
Basic Ice Fishing Techniques
Just like this article on ice fishing how, we also have another article that talks about the techniques and tips required to catch a salmon.
a) In small lakes with shallow waters, fishes swim closer to the surface as the winter advances. This is because of the little oxygen supply in deep waters. In deep waters however, fishes will swim to where there is lots of food and vegetation, as usually there is no problem with oxygen. Temperature is also an influencer, so fishes will tend to go deeper, if it gets warm.
b) Fishing in small-sized lakes in the beginning of the year will give a long lasting fishing season, since they tend to freeze at a quicker rate.
c) You should switch to larger lakes as the winter advances, because large lakes have more oxygen supply, which translates to the fishes being more active.
d) Fishes including perch and walleye are known to be bottom dwellers, while other fishes such as sunfishes and crappie stay close to the surface.
e) Regardless of whether you are using jigs, bobber, tip up or are dead sticking, it is crucial that you use live baits for ice fishing.
f) During the first ice, fishes tend to move along the lines that bars that continued from the shore and weed lines. During the middle of winter, fish in places with inward structures, for example, mid-lake humps and rock piles. As the days of spring start to arrive, fishes will return to waters that are shallower; where they were during the first ice.
g) You may want to allure and catch larger fishes by jigging bigger lures off the bottom- about a foot off. However, if you are able to see the fishes yet failing to catch them, then you may try using smaller jigs.
h) Being able to catch a large fish is usually the result of the successful combination of these three influencers:
- A full moon or a new moon usually boosts increased feeding.
- Fishes are generally more active during consistent weather patterns or a barometer that is dropping- which is the signal of a storm that is arriving.
- Walleyes and crappies are more energetic in the 90 minutes surrounding sun up and sun down time. Whereas, fishes like pike and sunfish are more active in daytime.
Final Words
If you have gone through this article about ice fishing how, we are sure that you will have a successful ice fishing venture. Remember, to have fun!