12-28-2020, 11:48 PM
There have been quite a few smallmouths caught through the ice at Pineview...but not very many on purpose. They usually just wander in to feed on whatever the crappies or perch are eating and open their mouths at the wrong time...for them. So, as a general rule, if you are seeing fish on sonar you have at least a marginal chance of hitting a smallie. Fishing with spoons, blade baits, rattlin' crank baits or craw plastics will increase the odds for a smallie but reduce your catch of the other species.
Smallies go deep under the ice. Don't know of anybody who has caught one in less than about 40 feet of water. And while they do not go dormant, they are also not very active. Their metabolism slows down and they eat less often. But you can sometimes jig up a reaction bite.
Also, you will do better near rocks...either on the bottom or nearby as a cafeteria for crawdads.
If you tip lures with bait, plain old crawlers will work fine. But a piece of perch meat is okay too. And if you use scent, try crawdad flavor.
Smallies go deep under the ice. Don't know of anybody who has caught one in less than about 40 feet of water. And while they do not go dormant, they are also not very active. Their metabolism slows down and they eat less often. But you can sometimes jig up a reaction bite.
Also, you will do better near rocks...either on the bottom or nearby as a cafeteria for crawdads.
If you tip lures with bait, plain old crawlers will work fine. But a piece of perch meat is okay too. And if you use scent, try crawdad flavor.