So I have this problem, I know I need to be mobile when I ice fish so I can move if I'm not catching fish.... But I always go out and set up and then it's too hard to move or I'm too lazy or bullheaded to move... So how do I pick a better spot to start with? Yesterday on Mantua, I drilled a few holes and seen a fish on the graph right as soon as I got the graph working, so I figured good spot, no weeds and etc... So I camped there for an hour plus with only one other fish coming by, which I tried to hook, but broke my line.. sorry another story... Anyway my other pole I had on a jaw jacker and nothing there, so I decided to move a short distance, maybe 50 feet... Drilled another hole and as soon as I got down I nailed a perch, then had a series of three fish as fast as I could get back down... Then things slowed but kept pulling fish in through the rest of the day... When I left the other hole, I put my sonar phone transducer in the hole so I could watch and see if I made a mistake by moving, well nothing showed at that hole as long as I kept watching... Both holes looked the same under water, nothing appeared to the eye through the camera to be any different, but the fish hit the one spot and not the other... Why and how do I find better spots and not waste too much of my day in a dry hole..(so to speak).???? Water is actually fairly murky through a camera, even though to the eye it looks crystal clear. Also I never caught a deadstick fish yesterday, but BrighamFish and Jr got a lot of their hits on the dead stick method... All these questions I can't figure out... Anyway if you can help guide a
icer, I'd appreciate it.... Thanks J
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I think you already found the answer. You have to move and be willing to move quickly. When I go out I usually drill 5-6 holes about 20 feet apart perpendicular to shore. I also take 4-5 poles that are already rigged with two different jigs per pole. I usually start with the two center most holes and try two different rigs. If I either don’t catch a fish, see it on the flasher , or get a bit within 20 minutes I will leapfrog that hole and go to the next until I find fish. Once I find fish I will drill a couple more holes close by and always keep 2 lines in the water. I also try to narrow down the jigs that are working. With 5 poles ready with 10 different jigs it usually doesn’t take too long to find something that works.
Also don’t be afraid to abandon a hot hole that goes cold. Keep trying and switching jigs and locations whenever the bit goes cold.
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I don't even have sonar or anything, but this is mostly what I do... set up lots of poles and drill lots of holes, and don't commit until you are pulling up fish.
Location makes ALL the difference. My big problem is I poke a hole and get a nibble right away. Then I will stay on that hole for 40 minutes trying to get another one. Bad move.
Once at Mantua, I had 8 holes drilled in a semi-circle and was picking up a bluegill or perch here and there by moving from hole to hole. About 40 yards away a guy was pulling up big gills every drop. I asked the usual bait and lure questions of him, drilled a few more holes, and mentioned that he must be right on top of a hungry school. His verdict was simply that my spring bobber (homemade) was not sensitive like his little corky. Eventually he had enough fish, almost a limit, and offered me his spot. He was still lecturing me about equipment and bait "because they are all in through here" when I dropped my jig, got a tap and pulled up a 9" bluegill on the first drop. Then I caught 6 more before he had gathered his fish into his cooler.
The point to me is, sometimes they just aren't biting, but usually just because you are standing over water doesn't mean there are fish there. And just because there are fish doesn't mean there are lots of fish. And just because there are lots of fish doesn't mean they are hungry, etc.......
I go out on the ice and never even take anything off the sled until I have pulled a couple fish in a row out of one or two close by holes.
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I know that's the answer, but it's so hard for me to do. Especially yesterday with only my jet sled it was really hard to set up a proper fishen spot without dragging all the stuff out and then it's hard to pick up and move... I need to get my smitty back on the ice, even if it is big and clunky, it is at least good to have a spot for all the stuff so if I decide to move I don't have to clean up only pick up the finder and reel in the lines and all the junk is stashed in the sled so I just drag it along... I guess that's the thing I need to do, but I was trying to go light... Thin ice ya know... Well I hope it gets thicker soon so I can be more mobile... Thanks for the tips... J
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This is one of the reasons I'm hesitant to buy an ice tent. I like to be lite and mobile so I don't have to much invested in one spot and not want to move to another area. I usually have my sled with 4 poles, a bucket(chair), Nils auger, and fishing bag. The nils is awesome and doesn't weigh much. This way if after 15 mins I'm not seeing or feeling anything I can jump to a new area.
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Going light is a whole nuther thing.
I get by on a childs sled, hand auger, one bucket of gear, and one small cooler, but that leaves behind any shovels, sonar, tents, etc...and makes me do more organization before and after (not my strong suit).
One thing I like about Mantua is the ice is always about 7" thick. Drilling with a hand auger at FG through 22 inches of ice was all I could take before I had middle aged shoulders. Same with the last few years of deep slush at PV.
About all I can say is to just tie on your best jig (which for me is a chart green nuclear ant or green and black spotted glowbug) and lay that pole on top of the stack with the auger. I'd love to get a really good "pocket" sonar unit, though.
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It sounds like you are answering your own question, but here is another tip. Get a GPS and when you ice fish a good spot, record it. It is remarkable how certain spots hold fish year after year during the ice season, especially in large lakes like Strawberry.
Case in point this week. A friend and I ice fished a well known lake and started where the latest report "said" they were at. It was quite slow for us. we then went to a waypoint I have that has been good to me in previous years. It was game on from there as there were fish on the finder almost continuously all afternoon.
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I'm a little spoiled this year, I got the Marcum LX-7 and it shows you everything that's going on underneath you. So if there's fish there you see them. So I don't have to guess on whether it's a lure problem or no fish there. Now if I'm seeing fish and not catching, then it's time to fix my presentation. If there's no fish, then you have to guess whether that's a temporary thing or a general condition. I also don't like to poke too many holes so I drill small holes with my electric until I find good fish, then I get the 10" gas auger out and poke a couple holes I'm going to fish. I hate the noise and don't want to leave too many traps for other folks to fall into. But my method takes too much time and I don't get enough fishing time.
I appreciate your tips and if you see me, come say hey. Sorry it's been long enough I may not recognize you anymore. I have a terrible memory. Thanks J
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I'm with you there. I had an ice tent but hardly ever took it with me or set it up. I think I set it up twice last year. One day was fifteen below zero and everything kept freezing up. The other day it rained and snowed all day so I went inside during the worst parts. But both days I didn't move after I set it up. This year I traded my tent for a flip and I'm hoping it will be more mobile, but it's an extra sled to get on the ice so it doesn't go on light trips. Probably require the snowmobile to pull all the stuff. Tough decisions on when to take extra gear and when not too. Thank you for your input I'm right there with you. J
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I know you're right about the GPS, but the one thing Marcum left out was a GPS function on this finder and I don't want to pack my boat finder out with me too and my old handheld has given up the ghost. Wife will deserve to kill me if I buy any more gear. Guess I have my phone one if I can learn how to mark way points. Nice tip and yet another thing I have forgotten from years past. I had that Navionics Ap for lake maps but they aren't very good on small ponds like Mantua, but I'll try it too. If my year hasn't passed. Thanks J
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Hey Jeff - I'll throw in my two bits. It depends on the lake that I'm fishing and the experience I have on that lake. For lakes I'm not real familiar with or would like to find new areas, I do some pre-trip planning. Bathometric maps (Fish n Map co.) and Google earth are my go to resources to search for potentially good areas. Once I get to know several good areas on a lake, I hit a spot and if it isn't producing I move deeper or shallower. I usually don't make big changes to my location, like to the other side of the lake, in the same trip. Although I probably should. It just takes too much time out of my fishing day. The next trip, I will try another location and so on until I find where the bite is to my satisfaction. I have GPS on my Lowrance fish finder and use it a lot to keep track of the productive spots.
I occasionally use a camera to help fine tune my location and presentation. A lot of times there is that one spot that just out produces the area around it for no apparent reason.
That's Fishing!
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I take all my gear in a large chest that I pull behind my snowmobile. That includes a tent. I will setup the tent and sometimes move around the general location of the tent drilling holes, but generally do not pack up the tent and relocate. Since using a sonar, I find that there are always fish in the area. They don't always want to bite, but they are always there. Seldom are there not fish in the area. To be honest, I seldom get skunked ice fishing. I think it has been 3 or more years since the last skunk. I may not always have a great fish day, but I always catch a fish or two.
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I think Mantua is a really hard lake for picking a good ice fishing spot on. It isn't much more than a shallow bowl with a small stream channel coming in the back. There are not a lot of significant points, rock piles, drop offs, channels etc that many other Utah lakes have to work around that hint at where fish might be. You really do have to limit how much time you spend at any given spot if it's not producing there. Which is hard because I've found Mantua to be more time of day sensitve than a lot of other Utah lakes too. It can be dead for 2-3 hours then give up a dozen fish in an hour. Tricky little bugger that one.
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That's very good tips, just a little hard with not much difference in terrain like mantua. I should try it more in soft water times so I know it better, but I don't so I try to use the tips you suggest the best I can. I'll get the GPS going tomorrow if I find a better spot. Thanks J
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I agree with your thoughts, I think most spots have some fish around and if a few is good enough then no need to move or worry. I had one day where it was terrible cold so I fished in my old suitcase tent. There were two holes about 4' apart. I got 57 fish from the one hole and 4 from the other. I kept switching poles and lures it didn't matter the hole was the only thing that mattered. Ever since then I've wanted to find another hole like that. So I'll probably do a little moving if I don't catch a fish after half an hour. Thanks for your thoughts I think I've been doing like you do for most of my ice fishing days. Later J
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I think you read between the lines, I was talking about Mantua and knowing how crowded it will be I need to start in a good spot because I may not be able to move around for people. But I don't get to stay long so I guess it won't matter much anyway. Thanks for the tips. J
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I do an odd combination of packing heavy with a lot of gear, supplies, tent, food and clothing with extras and redundancies, but after hauling it out, I'll travel light. I'll shed a lot of warm layers based on lots of walking and manual auguring of a lot of holes traveling light and fast with my 4-1/2" Nils auger and two rods and a fish finder. The small holes are quick to make and all that is needed for the fish finder and camera. I use the camera when a sonar reading shows structure differences to see what it actually looks like. But, most holes I don't even use the camera -- just when something is different and I don't understand what I'm seeing on the display.
I figure I can move everything to a productive hole once I find it, but generally don't find that productive hole.
I generally leave the fish finder at a hole where I see fish or fish move past and note the depth. If the hole is unproductive, I'll use the depth reading of fish that swam past to then make more holes and quickly drop a line to that same depth by using a line counter reel. All of that seems to be good ideas, but the comforts of a house near Flaming Gorge with friends and good food means I usually sleep in and say: "the fish will still be wet." I've been getting out near noon to ice fish which I think is the problem because others are quitting about that time after early morning success. Timing is important and I get my timing just right to miss the bite.
This season I have my ice fishing vehicle and might combine that with camping overnight to wake early right there near ice fishing for an early start. Timing seems to be everything and what I haven't been doing.
I also like the idea of using GPS and mapping to mark locations, so I might add that capability by getting the latest Deeper. That also fits with traveling light and fast to make many holes because that is just a little sphere that displays on my tablet.
Probably another mistake I've been doing is not having meal worms or wax worms to tip the lure.
But, I look to improvements this season and learning from others.
One thing I really would enjoy is fishing on clear ice for the first time. My previous four seasons didn't have that. But, with the cold nights and lack of snow so far, I might get that opportunity, so I hope to see more reports of clear ice.
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When I am fishing a lake I am not familiar with, I always have my binoculars handy. When I spot someone who appears to be doing well, I head over and set up near them. Not too close...15 feet or so. Sometimes I have to put up with some verbal abuse, but most times the other party will give up and ignore me or best case, move. If they move I immediately grab their hole before someone else does. Good luck out there!
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I see what you're up to but I'm not buying it. I know you and I'm afraid that's as far from you as it comes, but I'm sure it will get some blood a boiling somewhere. Always a pleasure to fish with you Gary, we need to do it again soon. Later J
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