IceFishing Chum

[minnowkiller]

Hey guys

I've never been super successful at icefishing and have heard of people using chum to attract the fish. I was hoping to find out what everyone has tried before and what they have found to be the most successful baits. I've heard dried dog bait works really well you just drop a bunch down your hole and they start showing up within 20-30 minutes. I'm sure it might matter depending upon what you're fishing for. Different fish like different baits. Does it matter what depth you are fishing? Like do some baits work better when you're fishing 40-50 feet rather 10 or 15? I will try everything I learn on here.
Thanks for your help! Good Luck this winter!

[doughman]

My uncle uyses this method and has outfished me many of times, not sure if it was his trick or this chum method. He took a quart canning jar, poked a bunch of holes in the top and dumped water from the minnow bucket alonf with about a dozen minnows, he used 50 lbs test mono and tied it to jar somehow and lowered it down to the depth he was fishing. It makes sense becasue you have a school of minnows that the fish would be going after.

Just a thought, I have been telling myself for years I was going to do this but I haven't yet????

marv

[steve ypsi]

My uncle uyses this method and has outfished me many of times, not sure if it was his trick or this chum method. He took a quart canning jar, poked a bunch of holes in the top and dumped water from the minnow bucket alonf with about a dozen minnows, he used 50 lbs test mono and tied it to jar somehow and lowered it down to the depth he was fishing. It makes sense becasue you have a school of minnows that the fish would be going after.

Just a thought, I have been telling myself for years I was going to do this but I haven't yet????

marv
Boy that would have to work,

[wartfroggy]

for pike fishing, I have saved up my dead minnows in old butter containers and froze them through the summer. Drop one down your hole and pop in a tip-up. Works best outside of a permanent shanty, one where you will be using the same hole for days in a row. Doesn't do much the first day, but by the 3rd or 4th, works great. I discovered this when I dumped a bunch of dead minnows down my hole one day. I went out of town for a few days and some buddies thought it would be funny to set a tip-up just outside my shanty door. It was there best hole for 3 days in a row. Since then, I have also used wet cat food. Find the cheapest can of fish flavored catfood and dump it down the hole. Works pretty good too.

I have also heard of guys chumming with oatmeal for gills and crappies, but never tried it.

I know that guys also chum with salmon eggs for whitefish through the ice.

[wartfroggy]

I forgot to mention, when dumping the block of frozen minnows, REMOVE the butter container. You don't need to littler the lake. Run it under warm water to loosen it and drop it out. It also helps if you have a rock or something to weight it down frozen into the minnow block and get it to bottom quicker. Brings in alot of perch, and also the pike and eyes that eat them.

[Jigawhat]

My uncle uyses this method and has outfished me many of times, not sure if it was his trick or this chum method. He took a quart canning jar, poked a bunch of holes in the top and dumped water from the minnow bucket alonf with about a dozen minnows, he used 50 lbs test mono and tied it to jar somehow and lowered it down to the depth he was fishing. It makes sense becasue you have a school of minnows that the fish would be going after.

Just a thought, I have been telling myself for years I was going to do this but I haven't yet????

marv
I have heard of this before. Will have to give it a go this year. Just put a few rocks in the jar to sink it.

[Snocross418]

I heard of using canned cat food. I'm planning on trying it this winter.

[Fishfoote]

When I have wigglers that are not going to make it til the next fishing trip I put them in a large butter dish with enough water to cover them, throw in a handful of pea gravel (to make it sink) and freeze it - I think it helps bring/hold fish.

[TRAILER TRASH]

I have not tried this (yet). An older gentleman told me he used to dump a handfull of regular oetmeal down the hole in his shanty every time he fished his spot. His theory was the oetmeal brought in the smaller baitfish as it disolved, which attracted the panfish for him to catch.

[RyGuy525]

i reak waxworms up and throw them in the hole all the time and that seems to bring in the gills. Also when perch fishing i cut dead minnows up and throw them down the hole. It seems to work very well.

[outdoor junkie]

Put some rocks and dog food in a pantyhose and drop it down and tie off. Works well with most panfish but especially crappie for some reason. I've used this method alot. But beware of them stinkin dogfish, they're nasty little buggers.;)

[Michael Wagner]

Put some rocks and dog food in a pantyhose and drop it down and tie off. Works well with most panfish but especially crappie for some reason. I've used this method alot. But beware of them stinkin dogfish, they're nasty little buggers.;)
Yep, a few yrs. ago up in Frederic an old guy asked if he could use one of my holes I was`nt catching much, he sat down put a nylon with dry cat food in it down one hole and after a while shook it, for the next little while we could not keep up with the perch, every time he shook that line we got hit like crazy. I have done this many times, it dont work all the time but often enough to have it with me.

[Frozenfish]

I remember hearing about the jar with minnows in it from last year. I can picture my ice fishing buddies now when I tell them "don't forget the nylons and dried cat food!?!?" Looking forward to try it.

[snowman11]

I always thought it was illegal?

I've been trying to remember to save my eggshells.

[minnowkiller]

Hey guys,

thanks for the suggestions. Here's the things I will try. I don't know if I will get out this many times but here is my list:

1. Minnow's in a bottle (don't spread this, some guy is selling this if you search perch kit on yahoo)
2. fish flavored cat food (part of the perch kit)
3. oatmeal
4. salmon eggs
5. frozen cut up dead minnows with a rock
6. frozen cut up wigglers with a rock
7. rocks and dogfood in pantyhose
8. eggshells

I hope some of these work. I think I will try them in this order: 7, 5, 2, 3, 8, 6, 4, 1. If anyone else has any suggestions, pass em up! I think everyone should try this this winter and post their results to see if any one thing works better than the rest or if any one thing just sucks and doesn't work. I won't be able to try anything till mid-January, Afghanistan is mostly desert and it warms up too much during the day for ice to stay around long. But I'm almost home anyway so that will be a good time! I'll see you guys on the ice and maybe some fish too!

-Sean:fish:

[ChapstickCharlie]

Come home safe, we'll save you some ice.