Get High

OK, I am fully aware that our ice-fishing season is coming to an end.  Maybe some of you will not even care, but there is so much more that can be said about ice fishing.  We have not had a long enough season this year for me to say it all.  So, I am going to post this anyway.  If you do not get on the ice again until next year, well, maybe you will remember this.

I love to post a video that has great advice and then make some additional comments.  This one was from Target Walleye. . . .

First of all, what he says specifically about walleyes is very true.  Walleyes are notoriously tough through the ice in Nebraska.  I believe that is because in many of our waters our walleyes are very well fed all winter long.  They have a bunch of cold-water-stressed baitfish to slurp.  However, I can tell you that many of the walleyes I have pulled through Nebraska ice were fish that were way off the bottom!  Listen to Brett, he knows of what he speaks.

Secondly, what the video tells you about presenting baits off the bottom for walleyes, is also true for many other species, especially on late ice.  Pretty much every big channel cat I have squeezed through an ice hole was riding high.

On late ice, as we start seeing some thawing, it is not at all unusual to see panfish suspended high in the water column.  In fact, you might see bluegills and crappies cruising right under the ice.  Oh, and I believe the biggest panfish are the most likely to ride high!

If you have been to any beginning ice fishing seminars I have done, you probably heard me say to start fishing near the bottom.  Yes, that is true, always start there.  However, do not fish too near the bottom and don’t stay there if you are not catching fish!  Pay attention, the fish will tell you!