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SLIP’S 2017 LOGS, STATUS AND STRATEGIES
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Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on
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20170126- ...----~~<")))))><(---*Hard-Water Period*--Transition
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Stuck in a transition period… 10 to 20 ft of thaw from shore to firm ice on area lakes is keeping me grounded till about next week.
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The past few days have been ice in transition period… local lakes and reservoirs have lost up too four inches of ice within a week of record January warm temps in mid Michigan. The forecast shows a below normal temps for the upcoming months February and March should have us back on the ice for weeks.
It has been a record setting pace for me for January thus far. Looking back I attribute it to several key points…
Know your lakes topography and bottom composition…
The local lakes and reservoirs I fish are very familiar to me… in most circumstances I have mapped them extensively with my Lowrance Elite Sonars. Ice fishing is tough enough as it is and you don’t want to waste valuable time on the lake blindly searching for fish. I use the open water seasons to map waypoints on the contour maps to strategically fish during the hard water season.
Don’t neglect the weedy shallows…
Historically in the past I have mainly considered the ice–fishing game as a deeper water experience. The media has nearly always expressed it that way…”Fish the deeper basins” … “this is where they are” blah, blah blah… sure the strategy sometimes works but is it always the best strategy?… not always for me. Lately the shallows have been more productive for me… 8’ or less. This is where the green stuff grows and with that a smorgasbord of food. This is fish’s first choice in my opinion. If the oxygen levels maintain in the shallows thru photosynthesis… more weed growth and less decay then that is where to start fishing. More concentrated food = more fish activity and concentration.
Of course there is also the possibility of low oxygen levels driving fish out of the shallower flats due to thick ice heavy snow cover depleting sunlight penetration and vegetation decay. The fish then retreat to deeper basins with safer unused levels of oxygen and forage on insect larva etc in the soft bottom. You can’t argue the fact there will always be colonies and straggler fish that consistently habitat the deep basins that may have quality… it’s just I haven’t been finding the numbers. If you haven’t been satisfied with your numbers fishing the deep basins switch to shallow mode you might be surprised.
Fish with your electronics…
Fishing with sonar on the ice is basically a necessity if you want to be consistently productive out on the ice. Without the sonar you are basically fishing blind. Drilling the hole and dropping the transducer and bait instantly reveals the answer to the question…are there fish cruising in the water column? And are they active?. Dropping your bait and following its travels and motions also reveals the activity level of the fish. If you drop you bait into the hole and fish speedily rush to meet its decent you are in for a good day!. The whole January ice trips were just this way! I swear by the way fish were moving and attacking the baits I was fishing a hot summer pattern and water temps were in the 70’s. Then there are those more neutral fish that will slowly swim to your bait eyeball it, sniff it then slowly swim back to the bottom. Without sonar you will never notice the distinction of having fish present or in neutral disposition.
I have in the past driven to the boat launch, unloaded my gear and discovered I left the sonar charging on the desk at home and I have driven all the way back home to retrieve it… it is that way. It’s so integral in my productivity formula “working by the numbers for the numbers” anything to increase your odds on playing the Fishing Game is well worth the effort.
An effective auger is worth its weight in gold…
Again a great power auger drills more holes in a shorter period of time. More holes equates to finding more fish and that is part of the “Fish By the Numbers For the Numbers” equation.
Winter of 2014-15 found myself armed with a 6” manual auger and 32” of ice and chronic spine pain extending to arms and leg. Drilling just a few holes was problematic even for the healthy fishermen. I was able to pinpoint my strategic hole placement on key contour areas indicated by my precision 1’ contour lake maps. These waypoints were stored on my GPS combination Sonar. I eliminated the haphazard drilling of search holes if I was fishing without the GPS.
Nowadays I swiss cheese an area with holes… you would not believe a difference 5-10 ft in location would make in fish numbers. One trip Earl and I were fishing the same contour line or depth… he was hammering some quality fish one after another and I couldn’t spot a fish in the hole! We were less than 10’ apart!! Hard water fishing dictates tighter fish schooling and location. Drilling numerous holes improves the odds.
Fish the Solunar Tables!...
One of the simplest and most effective ways to improve, simplify and put efficiency into your fishing trips is use the Solunar tables. These tables are available on Media (In-Fisherman Magazine is a great source) or use a phone App … I use “Fishing Points”. It comes down to spending 8 hrs on the ice tagging your limit or tagging your limit in 2 hrs. It’s been that effective for me. Hey there is nothing wrong with spending the whole day on the lake… I would love that... but just be on your best spots during the major and minor periods… it’s that easy.
Keep bait selection simple and bring at least (3) setups
The last few years has been about fishing small baits and then smaller even still. this strategy has become more popular with me open water fishing and even more so under the ice. Im finding big fish and fish quantities like the littler baits. Two rigs with 2 different weight tungsten and one with the LIL Minnow tied to thin ice-braid are the arrows in my quiver on the ice.
Good Luck and be safe out there on the ice!
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A great source for Solunar Tables and is In-Fisherman Magazine… my subscription is in electronic format downloaded on my tablet.
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20170127- ...----~~<")))))><(---*Hard-Water Period*--ICE
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20170127-looking at the “Fishing Points App” it was a full moon day… a 99 percent fish activity level day and I needed to be out there with the line in the water. Off in the middle channel at the local boat launch is a number of season set ice shanties forming what looks like a small village from shore. Lately the news on the lake has been hit and miss with the fish. I decided to fish that popular local spot first and the game plan was to not settle on a spot if it was not producing. Jump to a different lake if needed.
The shacks were nearly vacant with fishermen doing little good and a few returning to the lot from the morning with little to show. Even though this was a quality spot I’ve already settled in my mind I was ready to move if there was no bite. (6) drilled holes from the deeper basin or second break neatly space to the 1stbreak at the 12- 15 ft drop off.
Minutes into the shallowest hole I tag my Personal best P.Seed at 9.75”… took a few snaps including one on the measuring board for the certificate validation and the fish was quickly released. This was my first Certificate fish thru the ice. Wow I thought… a start to a great day. The next hour played out slowly with a few tags from some micro perch before I started to pack it in.
I decided to travel to a different lake where I noticed a group of fishermen carpeting the ice with fish just a few weekends earlier. Upon arrival I noticed no fishermen in sight and a few holes drilled varied 3” to 9” so I left feeling unsafe with the area.
I then decided to hit one more local lake with some easy on-off public access and immediately stated hitting the b.gills in the 7-8” inch range on the tiny tungstens and live waxie combination. A few fish in and I accidently stepped into an eroded oversized ice-hole that was snow and thin ice covered up to my knee. That ended the other-wise memorable day out on the ice.
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20170201----~~<")))))><(---*Hard-Water Period*--ICE
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February 1st already here and a record breaking January for quality and quantity of fish caught in the books. A great start for what I hope will be a record breaking year for 2017. The first tagged Master Angler Certificate fish thru the ice is now history!
I need that 14” plus B.Crappie… would be nice to get that thru the ice.The strategy will be employing (2) automatic fishermen devices with minnows rigged while I jig with another artificial bait likely the Lil Minnow… (3) Lines in the water to up the odds thru the remainder of the ice season.
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… so doing a little study on what would put some odds in my favor for the persuit of the 14” plus B.Crappie… a (10) year Master Angler Gladwin County study reveals that the most productive BOW is nearly in my backyard and has been the source for the rest of my Master Angler certificate fish. Nearly 50% of the Certificate B.Crappie have been caught in Wixom Lake! … then breaking down even further nearly 40% have been tagged ice-fishing. The odds are currently in my favor!... I need to make this happen!
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20170205----~~<")))))><(---*Hard-Water Period*--14" ICE
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20170205~ took a ride to one of my favorite fishing suppliers yesterday to check out the new Humminbird G2 series of Helix depth sounders… I needed to get some hands on with their display models. They are truly amazing units.
I also brought along my sled and ice gear to try ice fishing a favorite open water lake of mine that has the potential of growing some trophy panfish.
The weather forecast was low 30’s with some wind. Wind could make for a miserable outing on the ice. Stepping out of the vehicle and loading up the sled the wind didn’t seem that bad but once out on that lake it was biting.
I drilled a half dozen hole splitting a portion of the deep basin leading up to 6 FOW. I started shallow and worked my way deep. The Fishing Points App showed I would be fishing the decline off a major Solunar period for the day. Once out on the lake it sure showed it. Very inactive fish were showing up on the sonar… just sniffing the bait. Color changes don’t matter in situations like this… neutral fish are neutral and a very small percentage take the bait.
Without a bite for awhile a two father and two son team showed up and we started a discussion… they had just purchased a shelter, rods, bait, sled and an auger from the outfitters that I just came from. They asked how the fishing was and I reported slow and without a fish. The two children were very interested in the sonar and I gave them all a quick lesson. Showed them my bait jigging over some pretty lethargic fish.
As the fathers continued on setting up the two boys hung around showing keen interest in the sonar. I dropped a heavier jig with a freshly loaded waxie into the hole that showed just under 20 FOW… as the jig was lowering an active fish rose from the bottom to meet the jig. I explained to the boys what was what on the screen and then set the hook into a nice fish with an attitude. After an impressive battle the jig popped loose from the fish at the surface. The fish just laid there all 10” plus of B.Gill. I reached quickly with my gloved hand under the fish … the fish seemed to come alive and slipped down into the depths… missed opportunity!
Still fishing the down tick and lull on the Solunar period I spent some time covering the area of basin with no more biters.
I moved on to the next adjacent basin where I had some good luck with the B.Gill. I punched a series of holes along the deep break and some holes adjacent too and deeper into the basin and along the shallower flat.
Dropping the transducer into the hole showed active fish moving up and down thru the water column at the lower four foot level. I started tagging some Y.Perch of all sizes with some fatties approaching the 11” mark. i wasnt prepared to keep fish today and released a couple dinners worth of some medium to nice Y.Perch.
As sunset approached I dropped the black tungsten jig loaded with a live waxie into the hole and quickly hooked up with a powerful fish… circling down deep with some major resistance I knew it was a good Lepomis sized tag. Easing the P.Seed onto the ice I knew it was going to be close to a Certificate fish. A couple quick camera snaps and then laying the fish on the board it just nicked the 9.0” mark. Another trophy P.Seed!. I quickly released the fish, packed up and left feeling completely satisfied.
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