Crappies and Equipment Issues

[MWScott72]

I'm not going to do a report here.  Suffice it to say that the Crappie are still doing what the Crappie do and are doing it where they are doing it.  Just want to bring up an informational tidbit that might help others out there.  Got out on the ice last night at dusk and the fish were there.  Within less than an hour I had 6 fish on the deck, and it was shaping up to be a banner evening.  I was thinking I'd be off the ice with a limit somewhere around 8:30 and home in bed by 10:30 or so.  That would have been so awesome!  Then my fish finder crapped out (easy fix, but wasn't able / aware enough to do it on the ice).  Fishing blind for crappie SUCKS!!  While I knew generally where the fish SHOULD be, not knowing WHERE they actually were really set me back.  Instead of knowing the fish were at 30 feet or 35 feet, or 40 feet, I was guessing and blindly trying to figure out the perfect depth.  It cost me too.  While fishing does generally slow down the later it gets, I only caught 6 more from 7-10:30.  I did miss as many as were hooked, or more, but it was just hard and frankly, not near as much fun.

Part of what I love about crappies is the interaction between you, the fish finder, and the fish.  It's fun to see your jig go down to where the fish are, and then see the fish react.  Without that feedback, you're just a warm blob on the cold ice hoping for a fish to pass through at the depth your lure is at...and that is neither "fun" or super productive.  Kinda like using dry flies and sight fishing for rising trout.  Sure, I'll nymph if I have too, but it is SO MUCH MORE FUN to sight fish them.  Seeing the fish, putting your fly on their nose, and then seeing the take makes it so much more fun than just beating areas of water hoping for a reaction.

Anyway, that was my epiphany last night as I sat there like a warm blob on the cold ice.  At least there was an ice tent and heater to keep me warm. It was a balmy 6 degrees when I drove off at 11pm.  Brrrr!!!

[wiperhunter2]

Funny how things have changed over time, many years ago a lot of use never had fish finders and somehow we caught fish. There is no doubt finders have increased the catch rate for most of us and when we don't have that tech we feel like we don't do as well. What we use to do back in the day was to mark our lines with a marker, like a sharpie, so we could get back to the exact depth we were catching fish faster. Another method would be to drop down to the bottom, then count how many reel cranks you make to get it up to the spot where the fish were biting. 
Did you end up getting any over 11"

[TubeDude]

I was one of the first guys to ice fish in Utah...right after DWR opened Deer Creek to ice fishing for the first time.  It was perch only...all other species had to be released.  Only after the regular season opened in June could you catch and keep trout.   But by then the ice was gone. LOL

Within a few years, more waters were opened to ice fishing and ultimately the fishing season thing was abolished.  You could fish all waters all year long...and keep whatever species you caught.  Initially guys were using axes and or metal spud bars to bang open holes for ice fishing.  But hand crank ice augers began showing up in local tackle outlets and out on the ice.  And we also had options to buy the short ice rods instead of our one and only trout pole.
There was still the single fishing rod statute and if you took more than one rod you risked getting a ticket...even if you only fished with one at a time.  DWR officers would watch through spotting scopes and ticket you when you came off the ice...claiming they saw you using both rods.  Happened to me.

Very few anglers had sonar in those days.  There were very few, except on dedicated bass chaser boats.  And they were either paper graphs or rudimentary flashers.  They helped but were almost worthless compared to today's options.  None were worthy of carrying out onto the ice in your carry-all white bucket.

There were no underwater topo maps of ANY lake, so we had to try to guess the underwater contours and drill a lot of holes looking for fish.  And we had to experiment a lot by raising or lowering our offerings to different points in the water column to try to find fish.

But...ya know what?  We still caught fish.  Sometimes not so many, but once we found fish and figured out the pattern dujour we often loaded up...even without all the goodies we couldn't live without today.  I have pictures of the ice covered with perch, crappies, trout and even walleyes from trips of the past...with no power auger or sonar to be seen.  Spring bobbers?  We didn't need spring bobbers except for fishing for crappies in the spring.

What's the difference?  More anglers, more pressure and fewer fish.  Sonar and GPS makes it easier to find the lower numbers of fish.  Sonar and cameras allow us to watch their reactions to our presentations.  I suspect that without electronics today I would be hard pressed to catch fish on most trips to most waters. 

There have always been "light biters" when ice fishing.  But sonar and strike indicators (spring bobbers) help increase the odds for anglers in poor fishing conditions.  And then, again, some guys can't catch fish even with he best electronics and strike indicators.  
 

[MWScott72]

Nice write up Pat. Does make one wonder. I'm reading a book on the Lewis and Clark expedition right now (Undaunted Courage). How they managed to get to the Pacific and back with the technology of the day will never cease to amaze me. I guess that logic applies to alot of different scenarios and situations.

I didn't measure the crappie...then again, haven't filleted them yet either (I love how I can be lazy and wait in the wi ter). I suspect a couple are pushing 11" or slightly better.

[Therapist]

Pat!! You need to quit being nostalgic here. Next thing you know you'll be posting pics of us sitting on the ice at Yuba getting a suntan while catching 12" perch. I remember bringing augers into my store and having people look at me like I was crazy, Deer Creek and Yuba were pretty much the only places you could fish. Yuba , Willard, and Utah were pretty much the only places you could fish on the ice prior to Deer Creek being opened. We fished Yuba for a couple of years before Deer Creek opened and our crowd was pretty much the only ones down there !! Ranger Pat would keep the restrooms open so we had a warm place to change before and after going out. Unfortunatly, you were pretty much the only one who brought a camera back then, so you are the only one who has pis of those days !! It was a fun time for sure !!!!