Home Forums Fishing Freshwater First Ice Fishing Trip Of The Season

Went up to Burnt Stick Lk. today.Fishing started out slow but we finally found the perch in 25 feet of water,having a power auger sure helped in our hunt .Most of the perch were small,I caught one that came in at half a pound.The biggest surprise came about an hour after we were there.I had two rods working when one of mine started coming off the ice,I thought wow big perch.Grabbed the rod,set the hook and got into a tug of war with the fish.I knew this wasn't a perch.After about three minutes the snout of a northern pike came up thru the hole.It's not a big pike,3 pounds but I nailed him on a size 16 bait hook.I'm thinking it grabbed the Swedish Pimple I was using for an attractor,and when I set the hook that bait hook got it in the jaw.That's the first pike I've ever caught thru the ice.
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How thick was the ice where you were at? I have been contemplating going, but with all the warm weather we have been having I figured the ice would still be too thin.


SS

ETA: If you want to catch pike through the ice, I have found that a Rapala Rattlin'Rap in a size 5 or 7 works really well. Of course the old red & white or yellow five of diamonds works good too. Especially if it is tipped with a little fish belly. Wherever there are perch there will be pike...

Sam,

Same here. the weather has been so warm here that the lakes are not safe to be out on.

It is going to -20 tonight so there will be some ice makin' <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Ted

Sam, there was 12 inches of hard ice and a couple inches of soft ice on top.

I've never targeted pike while ice fishing,so don't really know how to go after them,trial and error and alot of luck I guess.Some guys say fish shallower water and known weed beds.

Yeah, fish the edges of weed beds early in the ice fishing season. Late in the season the weeds die (usually from a lack of light penetrating through the ice and snow) and they fall to the bottom and decompose. This uses up oxygen resulting in the fish moving to a different area of the lake. Pike generally cruise wherever you find perch and other baitfish. I have caught them anywhere from 1 foot below the ice to 30 feet. Usually fishing the edge of any structure works. 8-10 feet of water below the ice along the edge of a weed bed is a good place to start. Use something that is flashy or makes noise. The slater hooks (looks like a big jighead with three hooks facing the same way) work well with minnows. Just put the minnow across the three hooks horizontally. It's what I use on my tip-ups quite often.


SS

Went back up to Burnt Stick on saturday,ice is now about 18 inches thick.I caught my second pike now.Was hauling up a small perch by hand,when at about three feet from the hole a northern smashed the perch.Surprised the hell out of me,what started off as a four inch fish on the hook ended up being a 24 inch fish.

The perch fishing wasn't as good as it can be,biggest one was a quarter pound,and tons of six inch perch.Wished we could catch the jumbos consistantly,but haven't figured that out yet.

We catch jumbos in the summer by putting a minnow on a 1/8-1/4 ounce jig head (no tail) under a bobber. Usually we cast that along the edge of the reeds and leave it sit. I haven't tried it ice-fishing, but it should work.


SS

Yea Sam,I finally figured that out this weekend.I cut off the tails of minnows and started to catch bigger perch than when using maggots.I'm a little slow on the uptake but I do catch on eventually.

If you are catching fish that you are going to keep, take a little bit of the belly from the fish and put that on your hook. It flutters like a wounded minnow and has the right color and scent. Generally it is tougher than the minnows too, so you don't have to re-bait all the time.

If you are catching a lot of perch I hope that you aren't filleting them (unless they are really big). With the smaller ones I basically skin them and you end up with a lot more meat. First you cut off the dorsal fins (back to front works the best since it helps to keep them sticking up). Then you make sure the skin is cut along the back from just over the gills to the base of the tail. Cut down behind the head, just through the spine. Use your thumbnail to peel back the skin on both side. Grab the head in one hand and hook your thumb under the spine (inside the gut cavity) and pull the two apart. You should end up with a nice piece of perch with the complete sketeton inside and tail and anal fins still attached. You can cut those off. Once you fry them up, the meat falls off of the bones. My grandfather taught me this way and I use it all the time.


SS

Try just a minnows head under a small spoon like a Swedish pimple or cast master. Blue and sliver or blue and white. Give it a try. A 3" drop line to the hook will work wonders.

That's the rig I'm using Muddog,sans the minnow,but now I know better.

Sam,at first I was filleting the perch,too much work <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />.Although my wife and kids love em,eat em up like it was popcorn when I deepfry em in a beer batter with onion rings,I almost never get to sample any,gotta be quick <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />.

Gonna head over to Svern lake on Saturday and try for trout.It's about an hour east of Airdrie,over by Rockyford.

Also, try topping your hook with a perch eye. That's what I use on a Hali jig. I take the eyes from the first perch caught.

By law we can't use native or game fish parts for bait.We have to use frozen bait fish.

We hammered the rainbows on Svern yesterday,smallest was 13 inches,the biggest were 18 inches and came in at 3.5 pounds.All told we caught 25 and each took home a limit for the smoker.

I'm jealous. It's been unseasonably warm here and there's been no ice fishing. It may be thick enough this weekend...