Hardwater Season Is Here

Soon, the cold winds of the North will bring below freezing temperatures to the Midwest, causing the many lakes and river backwater slough areas to freeze over. This is something that many ice fishermen have been waiting for. When this ice over occurs, it signals the start of another season of drilling holes and staring into that hole while waiting for a fish to bite your offering.
When the first safe ice of the season does finally arrive, some truly great fishing can be enjoyed. This time of the year, those scrappy panfish, like the crappie and bluegill, can be taken with good consistency by the ice angler that picks his or her locations wisely.
This month, let’s talk about how you can go out, drill some holes, and hopefully catch yourself a nice mess of panfish. You will want to start your search for bluegill as soon as the first safe ice forms in areas of back bays and shallow channels or in dark bottom backwater slough areas. These spots can be super fish-holding areas when this first safe ice period of the season begins.
Now, I want you to keep in mind, though, that as the ice fishing season progresses, the larger bluegill will have a tendency to migrate from these shallow water areas where you have been catching them, and move to deeper water where they will school according to their year class and size. When this movement occurs, you will notice that the smaller fish have taken over the shallows down to about the 10-foot depth level. You will also find that the larger fish tend to hold in the depths that range anywhere from 10 to 15 feet if they are available to the fish.
As the ice season progresses, the lack of oxygen in the deeper water will force these larger fish back into more shallow water areas. The fish have to make this move so that they can find adequate oxygen to survive.
Over the years, it has been my experience that bluegill baits will vary from area to area. I do, however, find that the best overall success has come when using spikes (maggots), wax worms or mousies for bait. I also prefer to use tiny ice jigs that range in hook size from #8 to #12, and attach my bait to them. These ice jigs come in many different styles and they work well when searching out these scrappy panfish.
When fishing these tiny jigs, it’s best not to use any line heavier than four-pound-test. In fact, most of the time, you can use two-pound-test very successfully. You will still be able to land the big bluegill and the lines smaller, thin diameter is a plus when fishing the clear waters below the ice. This is especially true when the fish are in a finicky feeding mood.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ll take a nice mess of tasty bluegill anytime when ice fishing, but one of my all time personal favorite panfish is the crappie. Since I was a kid, the crappie was fun to catch through the ice. I can still remember the ice fishing trips to Minnesota with my father when we would fish exclusively for those big slab sized crappie from our ice fishing shanty.
When heading out to your favorite crappie water, remember that the crappie will more often than not roam in large schools and like to cruise in and out of suitable areas looking for forage, mainly minnows. Seek out areas along weedlines and drop-offs, as these are some proven spots to look for crappie. Submerged rock piles and stump fields are also excellent spots to check out since minnows will tend to live in these types of areas. When you find minnows, you can bet the crappie will usually be nearby.
Even though minnows are the most preferred bait to use for crappie, they can and often are caught on the same baits I mentioned earlier for bluegill. But for the true crappie purist, it’s nice lively minnows every time.
One thing that I would like to make very clear is that when you get your minnows to use for bait, try to get the ones in the one- to 1-1/2-inch size range. It’s a proven fact that larger minnows tend to catch smaller crappie during the ice fishing season and the smaller minnows take the big slabs.
If you know of a farm pond that contains panfish, the first safe ice of the year is a wonderful time to try your skills there. All across the Midwest, there are numerous ponds that contain some really big panfish that never see an angler’s bait. Take some time to search a few of these locations out. Get permission to fish them and enjoy the rewards they offer.
If you are new to the sport of ice fishing, you will find that ice anglers are a very friendly bunch that are willing to help the newcomer enjoy the sport. Most will gladly help you get started in the correct way. It seems that on waters all over the country where ice fishing is enjoyed, you’ll find an almost carnival atmosphere in and around the groups of anglers that form over the hot fishing locations. Believe me folks, it’s a wonderful way to enjoy the cold weather season and still be able to enjoy your fishing. You can get started in the sport for a relatively low cost. Check with your local tackle shop and they should be able to get you what you need.
So what about it? Why not try one of the fastest growing sports in the Midwest? Ice fishing that is. The one problem you might have, though, is that once you try ice fishing, the fish are not the only thing that will get hooked, you will, too.