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New guy to ice fishing

3K views 19 replies 9 participants last post by  Zkovach1175 
#1 ·
Well I’ve collected all the gear and have 1 question. For panishfish what’s a good depth to start drilling holes? A local guy told me 2-4’ with tip ups at the drop offs. Is this a fair statement? my lake has about 30-40 yards on the edges of 2-5’ of water then drops to 20’. Any starting info would be helpful.
 
#3 ·
Well I’ve collected all the gear and have 1 question. For panishfish what’s a good depth to start drilling holes? A local guy told me 2-4’ with tip ups at the drop offs. Is this a fair statement? my lake has about 30-40 yards on the edges of 2-5’ of water then drops to 20’. Any starting info would be helpful.
Did your acquisitions include a fish finder?
Do you have a lake contour map?
Lake have an inlet?

Ice fishing locations can change with time amount of ice cover.
An example can be as weeds die.

Your going from 5 to 20 is a drop off a wall. Meaning no weeds (usually) beyond that wall.
IF you had weeds in several to a dozen feet , they'd be an attraction for me early ice and a while after. It takes more than weeds to make for a good location. But weeds relate to most my prior catches.
Exceptions come on marl or similar bottoms with worm or mayfly larva in them ,in deeper water holes.

Thrown on your lake blind , I'd cut at the five foot mark and start there. A very quit deal though.
Cut holes along that edge and out on the drop too. Then beyond the drop.
Then quietly start working the shallows.

Note , some fish will stay deep till dim light. Then ease onto the flat/shallows. If temps ,P.H. ect. are compatible. There can be a flurried short rush of catching perch on minnows if you find where some leave deep water to enter shallower cover/structure//weeds at night.
What route do they take and why? Your lake map can help. But figure they are not just roaming open basin and going from 20 feet to 5 straight up a wall if other options exist.

Deepest water....Depends on oxygen and thermocline.
Sometimes fish are hugging bottom. Other times anywhere from bottom to just under ice.
Start at just above the bottom. Usually.

Hard to beat equipment that can tell you if fish are near bottom , or elsewhere in the water column. Plus the bonus of how they react to your offering and presentation.


Your lakes forage matters. If your shallow weeds have scuds , or freshwater shrimp and that is primary forage , you'll find fish shallow when feeding.
You may find on sample fish , thier gill rakers have green clots of algae looking/zooplankton on them.
What's that tell you about diet and time to fish?

Lots of factors . Learning your water helps. Then jumping about till you locate fish.
A hotspot today can be cold tomorrow. Or , a featured location can give up a fish or two.
Then you hit the right spot at the right time and can't keep a hook down hardly. Maybe.
 
#4 ·
Did your acquisitions include a fish finder?
Do you have a lake contour map?
Lake have an inlet?

Ice fishing locations can change with time amount of ice cover.
An example can be as weeds die.

Your going from 5 to 20 is a drop off a wall. Meaning no weeds (usually) beyond that wall.
IF you had weeds in several to a dozen feet , they'd be an attraction for me early ice and a while after. It takes more than weeds to make for a good location. But weeds relate to most my prior catches.
Exceptions come on marl or similar bottoms with worm or mayfly larva in them ,in deeper water holes.

Thrown on your lake blind , I'd cut at the five foot mark and start there. A very quit deal though.
Cut holes along that edge and out on the drop too. Then beyond the drop.
Then quietly start working the shallows.

Note , some fish will stay deep till dim light. Then ease onto the flat/shallows. If temps ,P.H. ect. are compatible. There can be a flurried short rush of catching perch on minnows if you find where some leave deep water to enter shallower cover/structure//weeds at night.
What route do they take and why? Your lake map can help. But figure they are not just roaming open basin and going from 20 feet to 5 straight up a wall if other options exist.

Deepest water....Depends on oxygen and thermocline.
Sometimes fish are hugging bottom. Other times anywhere from bottom to just under ice.
Start at just above the bottom. Usually.

Hard to beat equipment that can tell you if fish are near bottom , or elsewhere in the water column. Plus the bonus of how they react to your offering and presentation.


Your lakes forage matters. If your shallow weeds have scuds , or freshwater shrimp and that is primary forage , you'll find fish shallow when feeding.
You may find on sample fish , thier gill rakers have green clots of algae looking/zooplankton on them.
What's that tell you about diet and time to fish?

Lots of factors . Learning your water helps. Then jumping about till you locate fish.
A hotspot today can be cold tomorrow. Or , a featured location can give up a fish or two.
Then you hit the right spot at the right time and can't keep a hook down hardly. Maybe.
I appreciate the write up. I do have a Garmin striker 4(portable) and I know the lake well after moving here in the spring. Weeds surround the edges so I figured I’d start there and make random holes. Will my standard transducer work on my Garmin? Also it’s been said oxygen levels on our lake are at surface to 10’ however I have caught fish at 22’ drifting jigs.
 
#5 ·
Winter oxygen after ice cover can/will vary from summer. Usually not a big factor till water has been ice covered for a long time , depending on if there is an inlet ,or springs changing things up...

I don't know your Garmin.

Your transducer needs to hang straight ,and below the ice, Only by trying it would I know how it does. Seems feasible though.
My Vexilar has a rubber stop on the cable ,with a pool noodle type float above it that can be moved to keep transducer below the ice, Gravity holds the puck straight.

Crappie can save the day in some lakes in the deeper basin night fishing.
If forage exists , bigger gills can be there pre dark.

You'll know more after a couple excursions. Should find cooperative fish on the edge of the drop anyways. Move along if you're not catching. Mix up presentations and offerings.
Often a dead stick in one hole and you jigging in one next to it can help.
Jigging can range from slightest twitching on occasion , to aggressive up and down a few inches with frequent brief pauses allowing a bite.
Most fish don't like being bonked on the head.. But sometimes it seems like that's what it takes.. Most rise to bite. Not all though.
 
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#8 ·
I appreciate the write up. I do have a Garmin striker 4(portable) and I know the lake well after moving here in the spring. Weeds surround the edges so I figured I’d start there and make random holes. Will my standard transducer work on my Garmin? Also it’s been said oxygen levels on our lake are at surface to 10’ however I have caught fish at 22’ drifting jigs.
I have the same fishfinder. I opted to not mount it to the boat permanently, and use the ties to attach it to the trolling motor for soft water season, and I just made a T with two 2x4s and mounted the transducer to the bottom for setting it in a hole for hard water. Works great.
 
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