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I just posted a report about ice fishing starvation. After my first trip to starvy not ending very well, I wanted to try and ask a few questions here.
I went to starvy today targeting the bows. I dont care much about the perch but was really excited about getting into the starvy steelhead. My wife caught one small one and I had a nice one on that got off. Thats all we caught in 5 hours. Nobody else in the area did any better from what we saw.
We fished the bridge area. Started at the west side at 7:30 and then moved to the east side at about 9. We caught the fish on the east side in close to the rocks in about 25 ft of water. Didnt mark many fish all morning nor did any of the several other groups that we talked to. We were going to hit the Indian Bay area at starvy after leaving the bridge but decided to go to strawberry.
To those who can share any info, where is the best area to target the bows through the ice at starvation? I am not too interested in the perch. I am not looking for anybodies honey hole but more a general area?
How is the best way to fish for the rainbows at starvy? Depth of water, distance from shore, structure type (bay, point, rocky, etc), type of lure/jig, bait? Do you fish the bottom in a bay or off a point, or suspend your jig over deeper water?
I have fished strawberry a ton and feel that I have figured it out there, but am very interested in learning more about ice fishing starvation. Any info you can provide would be great.
If you prefer to pm me, that would be great.
Thanks!
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Farther down the west shore south of the bridge. You'll see areas with holes drilled. I target 20 to 30ft depths bite is usually best early in the AM. Fished Sat from 8 to 11am and caught 6 none smaller than 18" biggest was 23". Paddle bugs tipped with a small amount of crawler. Another group was fishing nearby and they did OK too.
Another spot to try is the dam area same depths. Bite there seems to go all day and you might run into a big brown. The key is to drill a lot of holes and move around. You'll eventually find a area that just keeps kicking out fish.
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I was up there today too. My buddy and I were north of the Bridge with red jackets on. Today was definitely slower, but as a general rule I'll second the 20-30' range. Also more gradual inclines and off of points do well for me. Just don't get married to a spot. Move around and see if you can pick out where they're moving that day. 1st goal is to get em on the finder " that's why they're called finders after all. then the right action ( ie: deadsticking slow lift or jigging etc.) and then the bait and lure. Obviously everything is easier on paper than in real life. (or should it be reel life? [laugh]) but don't get frustrated. I find that positivity and confidence are as effective as anything. Good luck out there!
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If you are looking for a better trout bite than the bridge. I would go anywhere on the lake but the bridge. The reason why I would suggest this is because the bank tanglers fished at the bridge all summer long using power bait and I noticed that the trollers that were trolling for rainbow hit that area real heavy too this fall. I hope this helps.
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We have done pretty well at starvation so far this year, other than my cousin falling throught the ice last week! We have been having the best luck for the big rainbows out in the middle south of the bridge. We were in deep water close to 60-70 feet but all of the fish were down about 12 to 15 ft. People always tell us we wont catch the rainbows out there that deep but we always do well. This last trip in a few hours we iced over 16 big rainbows.
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here are a few of the big ones we took home last week, all are aobut 3 pounds.
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Very nice mess of fish. Congratulations. How thick is the ice in the middle and how did your cousin fall through?
[url "http://www.handinhandoutdoors.org"]http://www.handinhandoutdoors.org[/url]
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oh wow... that is scary... very scary... How and where did he fall through? Every where that we fished by the bridge had a solid 7 inches if not more. However, there was a pressure ridge with some breakage around it that seemed to have some thinner ice. It was a little scary crossing anywhere near it.
That is a nice mess of fish. As we were crossing the bridge area I did see a mess of holes out in the middle just south of the bridge... Probably could have been your holes.
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We fished it on a Saturday and we parked west of the dam. Down by the pressure ridge seemed thin but we crossed with no problems. 2 days later my little brother and cousin went and when crossing the pressure ridge in the same area he fell right thought and caught himself with both arms. My brother pulled him out and they got him to the truck. He was soaked up to his chest so they headed back home. It could have been way worse!!! Use caution when crossing the pressure ridge on the southwest side of the dam.
There was an earlier post a few days ago someone wrote about using caution and him seeing someone fall through, that was my cousin he was talking about. It was 7-9 inches thick everywhere else.
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just to confirm you are talking about the dam area not the bridge right? because there also happens to be a pressure ridge and weak spot on the south west end of the bridge (the west end of the bridge and on the south side). I was mighty nervous crossing it and my wife was even more so. She walked a long ways around to avoid it.
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Sorry!!! I meant the bridge! Not the dam ha
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