01-21-2008, 04:13 PM
[cool][#0000ff]Not sure about Newcastle techniques, but they are taken through the ice in Colorado and at Willard Bay...water levels and fishing savvy permitting.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Wipers will hit almost any tube, grub or spoon you want to jig, if you jig it at the right depth. Some of them cruise through at mid depth. Others move slowly over the bottom, picking up dead minnows and slurping up various invertebrates. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have not taken the time to fish for them through the ice at Willard but two years ago I got first hand reports of guys hooking them...if not landing them. They pull hard and make big circles under the ice so a lot of fish are lost to either tangles with other anglers or to wearing poor/light line through by rubbing on the ice.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]From what I have been able to pick up, fishing wipers is a lot like fishing northern pike through the ice. Send down a minnow or nightcrawler, with little weight, and leave the bail open on your reel (like a tipup). Let the fish move off with the bait a bit before setting the hook, and have everybody close to you reel in their lines.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Wipers do remain active under the ice. I have seen videos of them cruising around down there like it was midsummer. And, with the increased visibility under the ice, after the water clears up, their sight feeding tendencies kick in. They will move a few feet to smack the right jig.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]From what I hear, the wipers in Newcastle are getting pretty good sized. If you find the right pattern for them it could be a fun fishery during the winter.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Wipers will hit almost any tube, grub or spoon you want to jig, if you jig it at the right depth. Some of them cruise through at mid depth. Others move slowly over the bottom, picking up dead minnows and slurping up various invertebrates. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I have not taken the time to fish for them through the ice at Willard but two years ago I got first hand reports of guys hooking them...if not landing them. They pull hard and make big circles under the ice so a lot of fish are lost to either tangles with other anglers or to wearing poor/light line through by rubbing on the ice.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]From what I have been able to pick up, fishing wipers is a lot like fishing northern pike through the ice. Send down a minnow or nightcrawler, with little weight, and leave the bail open on your reel (like a tipup). Let the fish move off with the bait a bit before setting the hook, and have everybody close to you reel in their lines.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Wipers do remain active under the ice. I have seen videos of them cruising around down there like it was midsummer. And, with the increased visibility under the ice, after the water clears up, their sight feeding tendencies kick in. They will move a few feet to smack the right jig.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]From what I hear, the wipers in Newcastle are getting pretty good sized. If you find the right pattern for them it could be a fun fishery during the winter.[/#0000ff]
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