Mantua 2/20

[chrisg602]

Took an afternoon at mantua with my dad yesterday. The edges were fine and the ice was great wherever we went on the lake. We went all around and finally got a few decent rainbows in the middle of the lake that were cruising at 6-8 feet. Neither of us had iced mantua before so we didn’t really know what to expect. I figured someone here would be able to offer some knowledge about this: wherever we went there would be fish on the bottom we could see on the finder. We assumed perch so we used some ratfinkee’s, tungsten jigs, perch talkers, jigging spoons, and did our normal perch jigging strategy and couldn’t get anything off the bottom. They would rise up to look at our bait and stay on it for a while but we only got a couple small bites throughout 5 hours but didn’t land anything (we have some strike indicators on our rods so we can see the light bites). Can anyone offer some insight on what fish those could’ve been and what we can do to get catch them and get revenge for them toying with us all day? Thanks!

[TubeDude]

Took an afternoon at mantua with my dad yesterday. The edges were fine and the ice was great wherever we went on the lake. We went all around and finally got a few decent rainbows in the middle of the lake that were cruising at 6-8 feet. Neither of us had iced mantua before so we didn’t really know what to expect. I figured someone here would be able to offer some knowledge about this: wherever we went there would be fish on the bottom we could see on the finder. We assumed perch so we used some ratfinkee’s, tungsten jigs, perch talkers, jigging spoons, and did our normal perch jigging strategy and couldn’t get anything off the bottom. They would rise up to look at our bait and stay on it for a while but we only got a couple small bites throughout 5 hours but didn’t land anything (we have some strike indicators on our rods so we can see the light bites). Can anyone offer some insight on what fish those could’ve been and what we can do to get catch them and get revenge for them toying with us all day? Thanks!

My guess is that your bottom huggers might have been bluegills.  They can be a bit picky...preferring juicy waxworms or mealworms to most standard perch-catching fare...like eyeballs.  But perch can be picky too.  Unless you manage to drag one up for a visual it is guesswork.

Most who target bluegills go for small jigs and small baits...not fished aggressively as for perch.

[JArner]

I'd second the guess on bluegill, earlier in the season jig-fisher and I were out on Mantua and doing well for perch with various offerings tipped with perch eyes. Some of our jigs were perch patterned as well. We moved spots and marked fish that wouldn't even bump our offerings. We switched up to small jigs with wax worms or spikes and started reeling in bluegill.

[Lamb Chops]

Took an afternoon at mantua with my dad yesterday. The edges were fine and the ice was great wherever we went on the lake. We went all around and finally got a few decent rainbows in the middle of the lake that were cruising at 6-8 feet. Neither of us had iced mantua before so we didn’t really know what to expect. I figured someone here would be able to offer some knowledge about this: wherever we went there would be fish on the bottom we could see on the finder. We assumed perch so we used some ratfinkee’s, tungsten jigs, perch talkers, jigging spoons, and did our normal perch jigging strategy and couldn’t get anything off the bottom. They would rise up to look at our bait and stay on it for a while but we only got a couple small bites throughout 5 hours but didn’t land anything (we have some strike indicators on our rods so we can see the light bites). Can anyone offer some insight on what fish those could’ve been and what we can do to get catch them and get revenge for them toying with us all day? Thanks!

My guess is that your bottom huggers might have been bluegills.  They can be a bit picky...preferring juicy waxworms or mealworms to most standard perch-catching fare...like eyeballs.  But perch can be picky too.  Unless you manage to drag one up for a visual it is guesswork.

Most who target bluegills go for small jigs and small baits...not fished aggressively as for perch.

I went to Mantua Saturday morning to try my new fish cam. I got setup just before 8:00 and fished till 10:40.   Fishing with a camera was a blast and well as educational.  Most of the fish would come up to the lure suck it in and quickly spit it out. The perch, blue Gill ,and bass all did this.  As the mourning went on the bite was slower and more subtle.A catfish swam past my bait and kissed the camera.  A trout came and aggressively went after the lure and missed it twice before moving on.If I wasn’t watching the camera I would have missed most of them. I ended with 3 perch, 3 blue Gill and 2 large mouth bass. (My first large mouths on the ice)
 

[Springbuck1]

  Most of the fish would come up to the lure suck it in and quickly spit it out. The perch, blue Gill ,and bass all did this.  As the mourning went on the bite was slower and more subtle. A catfish swam past my bait and kissed the camera.  A trout came and aggressively went after the lure and missed it twice before moving on.
 

This!!! Exactly this!  Mantua bluegills can be SO FUSSY! But so can other fish, sometimes.

When I first started icefishing, I made my biggest breakthrough watching underwater ice camera panfish on YouTube, and I preach this all the time.  Even with very sensitive bite detectors, a lot of time the tiny "tick" I see on a spring-bobber is the fish spitting it out! Or, I see a tap, "hover-hand" the rod, and try the hookset at the next tiny clue, but miss. That's him spitting it out.  I've seen video of multiple bluegills playing with a small jighead, tasting it over and over, without really moving it more tan a half inch any direction. 

 Often as not, I get nearly skunked on Mantua after the first few weeks of ice, but I also have good days sometimes.  Listen to real experts before me, but I feel like it does help to go way down in jig size (tiny tungstens), use baby-hair fine line, show up real early in the morning, use tiny, wiggly soft plastics (I like a size 14 nuclear ant, but I just mean the kind that shiver underwater when the breeze moves your line), jig "small" not bouncy, and use weird techniques and lures the fish may not have seen.,like flashers and tiny drop-shots, etc.  Waxies are good, but I take spikes, and little tiny mealworms, too.  I've been told to keep quiet, but I still like to move to find fish. 

Good luck!