Ice Fishing Rig – Run & Gun Perch

By Jason Mitchell     Strong perch patterns occur across the board at late ice.  Typical locations include gravel and sand, subtle rolling structure that is connected to the shoreline is often productive.  During the late ice period, perch often move shallow and if there is atypical rule of thumb regarding shallow perch, it is [...]

Walleye Ice Fishing Tips – Tough Conditions

by Bob Jensen   When you’re ice-fishing, just like when you’re open water fishing, there are days when the fish get finicky.  They might be finicky due to weather conditions, or it could be fishing pressure that has them closed-mouthed.  Whatever the reason, just like in open water, there are some things you can do [...]

Ice Fishing Rigs

by Bob Jensen   In many areas of the Midwest this winter, there has been as much open water fishing going on as there has been ice fishing.  In a region where ice fishing usually dominates in December and January, warmer than ordinary air temperature have enabled anglers to extend their open water fishing.  There [...]

Ice Fishing Equipment – Mobility Tactics

by Bob Jensen   As the ice on lakes, rivers, and ponds gets thicker across the region where ice-fishing takes place, our ice-fishing tactics should change a bit if we want to be successful.  Our ability to harness ice fishing equipment is also very important. Early in the year, when the ice was thin, a [...]

Ice Fishing for Walleye

  By Jason Mitchell       Many ice anglers associate the end of January and beginning of February with mid winter doldrums.  Many anglers believe that first ice and late ice is the best ice for fishing and the in between ice… not so good.  There is some truth to the midwinter doldrums particularly with smaller [...]

Walleye Ice Fishing Tips – Lure Selection

by Bob Jensen Just as there are a lot of ways to catch walleyes in open water, there are several very productive lure types for taking walleyes through the ice. But if a survey was taken among anglers who like to chase walleyes during the ice-fishing season, I’ll bet a spoon would be the most [...]

Yellow Perch Secrets

By Tom Neustrom Late winter brings about opportunities. Certain species begin lining up like 2-for1 day at “Old Country Buffet.” Yellow perch, in particular, become extremely active during the final weeks of the ice season. This is when we use our yellow perch secrets to catch some monsters. Some real monster perch get stuck this [...]

Smelt Rigs for Ice Fishing

By Mitch Eegan More anglers than you’d think eat bait. Not because they have to as a result of today’s hard economic times, but simply because they want to. Now I’m not talking nibbling on waxies and grated white cheddar sprinkled over a wheat wafer, but instead, gorging on a main course of succulent smelt [...]

Ice Fishing Gear – Clothing

by Bob Jensen Winter is making its annual visit.  Some folks really look forward to winter, others don’t.  One of the reasons some people don’t like winter is the cold.  However, with all the improvements that have been made in outdoor clothing, there really is no need to be cold.  Sure your nose and cheeks [...]

Ice Fishing Bluegill

By Noel Vick with Brian “Bro” Brosdahl Few see them. Others either dismiss the sightings as hooey or are cursed to believe but never catch even a fleeting glimpse of one. These, you might call freshwater poltergeists, can be as common as the ghosts of missing mariners on pirate vessels, but still scarcely witnessed. Believers [...]

Walleye Ice Fishing Tips

By Ted Pilgrim with Tony Boshold Some of the best walleye fishing you can imagine is occurring in places you might never think to look. Historic numbers of fish up to 10-pounds, even larger, are today living and thriving in lakes and reservoirs that only five years back were nearly empty of these coveted freshwater [...]

Ice Fishing Gear for Crappie

By Scott Glorvigen In my mind, there’s no such thing as the ‘midwinter blues’ when it comes to ice fishing. Waiting it out until late winter isn’t an option, nor is the thought of lowering my expectations – a willingness to accept a mere few fish to show for a day’s efforts on the lake. [...]

Walleye Ice Fishing – Early Ice

by Bob Jensen Across the upper tier of Midwest states, small lakes and the bays of larger lakes are ice-covered, and the ice is safe for walking on most of those ice-covered areas. Of course you still need to be careful: You always need to be careful when walking or driving on ice. But the [...]

Ice Fishing Techniques – Cameras

By Jason Mitchell   The education we get from ice fishing techniques such as underwater cameras is invaluable.  Having the mental picture of how the presentation or lure looks in the water, how the fish approach the lure and what actions caused particular reactions from the fish sets some anglers apart. Anglers who have this education have [...]

Ice Fishing for Panfish

by Bob Jensen   Ice fishing is getting closer every day.  For the past few days there’s been a skim of ice on the pond early in the morning, but that skim has disappeared by mid-morning.  Today the skim lasted until the middle of the afternoon.  Once that layer of ice has a full day [...]

Ice Fishing Gear Preparation

by Bob Jensen If you live in a region of the world where cold weather is part of the lifestyle, one of these days soon you’re going to wake up to a skim of ice on the pond.  If it stays cold and the wind doesn’t blow, the larger ponds and small lakes will get [...]

Deadsticking while Ice Fishing

By Ted Pilgrim The rodtip of the deadstick springs suddenly and energetically to life. ‘Dead’stick? It seems at once a confusing mix of metaphors for a tactic so reliant on the vigor and vitality of a wild baitfish. Below the ice, dormant or just plain dead minnows take pike, maybe the occasional wintertime catfish. But [...]

Cameras for Ice Fishing

By Ted Pilgrim with Tony Boshold Ice fishing ace Tony Boshold sees the big picture. Give the world champion angler an auger and an underwater camera in the morning, and later that day, he’ll have discovered the lion’s-share of a lake’s secrets. Many of the top anglers fishing the competitive ice fishing circuit these days [...]

Ice Fishing Essentials for Crappies

By Paul A. Nelson The best time to search for winter crappie spots is in the fall, when anglers can capitalize on the mobility of a boat and onboard sonar to cruise around marking spots mentally, preferably with GPS, too. Once the lakes freeze, though, assuming you didn’t conduct autumn reconnaissance, your tools are a [...]

Ice Fishing Tactics for First Ice

By Jason Mitchell We do much of our filming on late ice.  We take a lot of our photos at late ice as well.  The reason is simple, long relatively nice days on the ice where you can expect sweatshirt weather.  When the sun begins to rot the ice, you can expect to get some [...]

Ice Fishing in Clear Water

Three pro anglers make a quiet habit of catching fish from clear waters By Mitch Eeagan When lakes freeze over and fishing pros Mark Martin, Mike Gofron and Mark Brumbaugh can’t launch their Lund boats, you’ll surely find them ice fishing the inland waters and Great Lakes near their homes. The distinguished angling trio, who [...]

Proven Crappie and Panfish Tips for Ice Fishing

By Jason Mitchell Even on lakes with good structure and good weed growth, it seems like a percentage of panfish, both crappies and bluegills will pull out and suspend over holes and troughs at first ice.  On many bodies of water, most of the panfish will be suspending over these deeper basin areas by mid [...]

Ice Hole Drilling Session

Our Outdoors: 180 Ice Holes By Nick Simonson 180 ice holes make an area about the size of a football field look like a giant slice of Swiss cheese. 180 ice holes feel like a P90X doubles workout day followed by a lactic acid soak for the shoulders, back and triceps, even with a lightweight [...]

Ice Fishing Tip Up Tips

By Ted Pilgrim with Tony Roach There’s something satisfying about setting a well-planed network of tip-ups across the icy expanse of a frozen lake. Strategically placed “fish-traps,” each rigged with a robust, frisky live minnow or intentionally motionless stinker like a herring to snare freshwater predators. Get a bunch of dudes together, throw a pile [...]

Drilling Ice Holes

By Jason Mitchell When you look at some of the best ice anglers, there often is some strategy in how and where they drill holes.  Ice anglers might not be able to drift or troll but they can drill holes in a pattern and discipline themselves to fish the holes in a set time to [...]

Ice Fishing Dragging

Poof – The Magic’s in the Draggin’ A sudden stop, drop, drag and lift can produce fiery strikes when all else fails By Tom Neustrom Today’s ice angler has sled-loads of advantages over the pioneers of yesteryear. Take present-day lures, for example. Tackle technology offers the capacity to mimic the size, shape and color of [...]

Forcing the Play

By Jason Mitchell There is something to be said for swimming down stream, pushing the ball down hill… the path of least resistance.  With fishing, we often have much more success by following these same basic principles like fishing when the fish are biting, fishing lakes that have good populations of fish and using lures [...]

Dead Stick Walleyes

By Jason Mitchell There are many environmental factors and conditions that can pin you down and keep you from making a lot of moves on the ice.  Extreme white out conditions, arctic winds, deep slush and heavy snow cover can slow down the mobility concept in a hurry.  There are situations where you can’t go [...]

Pierre SD Ice Fishing Tournament

PIERRE, South Dakota – Recreational variety and creative planning are shaping a unique event to be held next February in central South Dakota. The first-ever Winter Fishing Weekend (WFW) is scheduled for the weekend of February 4-5, 2011, presented by the Sports Committee of the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce The main event of WFW [...]

Panfish Ice Fishing – Burning Through

By Jason Mitchell The speed and intensity of how fish move should play a key factor in tactics and strategy.  Not always, but often when we find bluegills, crappies and perch on basins, flats and suspended over open water, these fish are on the move.  Sometimes, these fish seem to be moving as fast as [...]

Taking Open Water Lessons to the Ice

By Jason Mitchell I have often felt that it is much easier to learn a lake during the open water period. Structure and bottom contours can be broke down quickly when using a boat equipped with good sonar and GPS. Often during the winter (just like during the open water period) the sweet spots that [...]

$500 Ice Fishing Photo Contest

IceFishingChat.com.com is proud to announce the $500 Crappi Candle Ice Fishing Photo Contest! 1st Prize based on 5 species ($100/species) – Species include WALLEYE, PERCH, PIKE, CRAPPIE, and TROUT Before you can enter, you must have a username account here at icefishingchat.com. To do so, see our REGISTRATION PAGE. Entry Rules and Details 1.) Entrants [...]

Hottest Ice Gear on Ice in 2010

By Nick Simonson The ice on most northern lakes is now thick enough for anglers to safely haul out their toys thanks to a cold stretch at the beginning of the month. Though nighttime temperatures have been below zero, new innovations and advancements in tackle, gear and shelters are helping anglers heat up the early-ice [...]

Trolling While Ice Fishing

By Tony Roach When you spend your winters guiding on a huge lake like Central Minnesota’s Mille Lacs, doing all the things it takes to find biting fish can test your resolve. There’s only one way to the fish – drilling lots and lots of holes. My guides and I sometimes spend entire days doing [...]

Ice Fishing Spoons for Panfish

By Jason Durham Bluegill fishing is about balance. Each trip is a constant trial and error to figure out if the fish want a tiny speck of an ice jig – the flash, vibration and, meaty profile of a jigging spoon, or any presentation that falls in between. Each presentation has its strengths and weaknesses [...]

Small Ice Fishing Lures for Crappies and Panfish

By Nick Simonson It’s the evening of the first day when the temperature has stayed well below freezing and I’m sitting in the not-quite-bright-enough light of the living room, squinting as hard as I can in an effort to thread a wisp of one-pound test through the eye of a 1/64 ounce Genz worm in [...]

Ice Fishing Bait

Real or Not? Let the Fish Decide Clever ice anglers are successfully combining traditional live ice fishing bait tactics with artificial approaches By Jeff Gustafson Times are a changin’. Used to be when we went ice fishing, our presentation always included a jig tipped with some type of minnow or hunk of meat, no matter [...]

Ice Fishing for Panfish

Presentation Precision for Panfish By Jason Mitchell By far, the best education we can get to make us better ice anglers is by sight fishing. Sight fishing allows us to watch the reaction of fish and just as importantly, allows us to watch how our presentation looks in the water. When we can see the [...]

Early Ice Pike Fishing

A proven pattern for hooking gargantuan pike during early ice fishing season By Brian “Bro” Brosdahl Up above, I tiptoe across the frozen shallows maintaining a low profile. Stealth is a big part of the game. Down below, however, it’s more like lions in the Coliseum tearing and tossing-down everything with blood running through its [...]

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