How does the Berry fish in March compaired to when the ice is first accessible? Do you need to change tactics or depths? Are the fish more or less aggressive? What have you all found in the past? I also have heard that just after ice off is a very good time to fish it. I would like to get there one more time before the ice is off. Would it matter if it is early or late in the month? Thanks for your help. DKSRenegade
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I talked to a guy who stays at the long-term campground from Ice-out to Ice-up, and he told me that in the spring sometime after ice-out there is about a period where you cannot buy a bite. According to him the crayfish molt and the fish feed almost exclusively on the now armorless crayfish. He also said he viewed the spectical with an aqua-view camera. The fish were rooting the bottom looking for the soft crayfish and showed no interest in anything you could throw at them. How true this is I cannot say first hand. At the Berry, it has been my experience that the later in the year the tougher it gets to catch fish. I too would like to know how best to fish the late ice.
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So that just means tie up some very light craws!l
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So do you think that craw patterns are the ticket in March or only after the ice is off? I have felt that the fishing just slows down by March. Does anyone else feel the same or do I just have to try harder? DKS
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My bet would be the craw patterns with a little scent on the offering to sweeten the hook. Its worth a try.
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I fished the Berry in early April I think it was two years ago and we caught tons of cuts. It was the best day I have ever had on the ice there. There were three of us and we each caught at least 30 before we left at noon. The only bad thing was there was a lot of slush on top of the ice. Maybe we just got lucky. I sure hope I can be that lucky again. Hey DKSRenegade, I never did thank you for lunch that one day out on the ice. Thanks
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I was going to say the same thing. My best day at the Berry ever was in March or April through the ice a couple of years ago. It was almost as fast as Perch fishing but the fish were slot sized Cutts. Very fun. It might have been one of those right-time-right-place type of things but it would be nice to duplicate.
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I've been doing most of my icefishin in march & April and it's alot slower that in first ice but you just have to move around alot more and drill more holes in the 24" + ice so its a real good idea to have a power auger! But my main reason in going late in the icefishin season is NO CROWDS and some times you might have them real Hot days where the fish just won't stop biting.
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Thinkfish, I saw you pull more than your share of fish out of the Berry that day. If you go back on a Saturday in March,let me know so that I can sneak over and see how you do it. Do you think that the same spot will be good then? I hope to try the Berry one more time through the ice and maybe catch a fish this time. I might even bring lunch again! DKS
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