Ice Fishing Help - For Small Fish

[scarkner]

Here's the scoop:

I have a cottage on Silver Lake and all summer we see, catch, release, probably hundreds of sunfish, rock bass, perch. We even catch bass and bullheads right off the dock.

Come winter, we go ice fishing and get skunked.

This year was an exception in that we pulled some trout out of the deep water. But fishing shallower yeilded no small fish. Where the heck are they?

The description of the lake going from MY shoreline to the FAR shoreline would be:

0 to 8' depth gradual drop-off with sand bottom and bit of weed.
8' to 15' depth extremely thick weed bed, about 50-100' from shore.
15' depth gradually dropping to 80' as you head to the middle of the lake (about 600' out from shore).
80' depth then shallows up to 8' depth over the span of about 20' at the far shore (extremely steep drop off)
8' to 0' as you reach the far shore (which is actually an island).

We literally fished from shore to shore, with rods and tip-ups. Most had bait on bottom or 1-2 feet above bottom. A few had bait suspended 10-15' below the ice.

Last year we used big minnows. It was bright sun, we fished morning to midnight.
This year we used small and medium minnows. It was cloudy most of the day, we fished morning to midnight.

We had up to 24 people fishing.

We caught NO perch, sunfish or rock bass.
we did get 4 strong hits (one took a tip-up through the ice, one got off after bending the hook straight, and two we iced). Probably all trout possibly a pike.

Does anyone else have experience on one of these typical ontario lakes that is choked with sunfish in the summer. Are they just not biting in the winter? The "family fun ice fishing day" would be way more fun if I could put the kids onto some smaller fish.

There were two other groups fishing along the shore line, they didn't get any small fish either.

Where do the smaller fish go???????????????????

Thanks.

[Yannick Loranger]

That weedbed would be a good starting point. Try worms or maggots, get a flasher, talk to RJ.

[scarkner]

We fished both sides of the weedbed and we also dropped one rig right inside the weedbed. Nothing, the bait wasn't even touched (minnow alive the next day even...)

Hmmmmm...

[Yannick Loranger]

I believe it. Try worms or maggots or I'm sure RJ could suggest some good artifical alternatives.

We fished both sides of the weedbed and we also dropped one rig right inside the weedbed. Nothing, the bait wasn't even touched (minnow alive the next day even...)

Hmmmmm...

[Lvace]

been having luck with gulp alive baits like these in different styles and colors.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pdoY5zpMm4

[steve_rauch]

[quote="scarkner"]Here's the scoop:


This year was an exception in that we pulled some trout out of the deep water.

what.... I have ice fished that lake 6 times or more and have never even had a hit while trout fishing... You caught a laker



sorry i have never tried to fish for anything else out of that lake so no help...

[scarkner]

Check my other thread for pics of the fish which was a "breech" in the hole... it was tasty!

[RJ]

My initial suspicions are you are using the wrong setups. I rarely use minnows for panfish, sometimes for finicky Crappies at night but for the most part you are missing bites because the "small" fish as you call em want nothing to do with eating minnows. Perch sometimes do but certainly not needed. 3 lb test line with light rods, tiny jigs tipped with maggots or a chunk of crawler. Gulp 1 inch minnows are OK but I prefer real meat.

Your lake has a great Perch population. Some real quality fish too as I've personally caught over a dozen 13 plus inch Perch from it.

I'd be looking in the 8-12 fow range. Try to find transition areas from sand to scrub weed. Perch love that. Easier to find these areas in the boat but if you fish all summer you'll probably have an idea where to look. That weedbed is also a good starting spot especially if any of it is still standing.

Hope that helps, I could go on for hours on this...

RJ

[MichaelGA]

When going for the smaller fish you also want to *avoid* areas that are going to have lots of bigger fish in them.
ie. don't try to lure perch into an area where you know that bass / pike / lakers spawn.

Also don't try areas with strong current or deep breaks - narrows often increase current flow so avoid them.

Structure that the smaller fish can hide in are great - any rock cribs, pilings old docks... lost boats or areas with huge boulders?

As mentioned shallow water is your friend but make sure it's not prime spawning ground for pike etc.

---

Other things you can do is start chumming through holes that look promising. Meal worms are cheap when you buy them dried at HomeHardware (bird food section) soak overnight in some salty water then start dropping them down holes - never a lot at once just a couple every minute or so will start to attract attention especially if you use the same area and time.

GL - any more information you can give will help

[scarkner]

Great advice and I am now kicking myself since I had a couple dozen worms with me as "emergency bait" if we ran out of minows!!!!

I do know the structure of the lake around the cottage very well and can also think of a few transition areas that may hold fish in those depths.

This is very interesting and if I can't try it this year, then I will have to be patient and try it next year!

[rod84]

We did fish it last year with worms too and had no luck.

Me thinks that an underwater camera and flasher would be key in there, the camera with fish there would entertain your kids for sure.

I still cannot believe how intently your daughter was watching me clean the lakers.

[Doug]

I would suggest a small jig (as in 1/32 oz, maybe as big as 1/16) with fluorescent chartreuse and red, and a perch eye. Of course you need to catch that first perch.... I have not used maggots in many years but by all accounts they can be dynamite. When I do not have a perch eye I use a small scented plastic like Berkley Gulp.

I think I would hit the outside of that weed bed in over 15 FOW. My favourite depth (for perch) is in the 16-22 foot range, over flats if such a thing exists there.

A flasher would be useful for your prospecting.............

Doug