Obviously, ice fishing is much more fun if you fish instead of sitting there, freezing your ass, wondering where the fish are. Follow these helpful tips to find fish under the ice, even when no one else catches.
This article is not about finding any specific types of fish, but about the general locations of all fish in the winter months after the body is frozen.
Most ice fishermen usually go where others catch fish, believing that the other guy should fish where he is. Sometimes you will see a small "village" of fishing traps, because everyone is in the "monkey-see-monkey-up" mode. They can catch fish, but sooner or later the bite will slow down or stop altogether. Now what? Do you collect gear and go home, or do you move and hope you find more fish?
What many anglers do not understand is that all fish respond to fish pressure, and fish under ice is no exception. Another factor in the location of the fish is the "seasons". Just as the fish in the lake moves and changes places between spring, summer, autumn and winter, the fish under the ice does the same from early winter to mid-late winter. Their feeding habits also change during this movement.
The “villages” mentioned earlier will ultimately become “ghost towns” not because all the fish are caught because they have moved to another place. A good fisherman will know where to go to find them again and continue to fish.
In your mind, try to separate the winter into three "seasons." Early ice, winter ice and late winter ice. If you will fish in a certain lake in late autumn and you will find an area containing a large number of fish, mark this place using GPS or on a map or mark a place in your memory using the functions of the shore. Return to this place after the first ice, and the likelihood that the fish will still be there.
Most of the time, when the lake freezes for the first time, the fish will still be in the same general area where they were before freezing. After the first ice there is no sudden outcome of the movement. Even if the fish hang out in deeper water, they will move into the water to feed them. Usually this is the place where the “hilly village” will appear. These places are usually shallow dams near deep-sea, summer weeds, underwater paintbrushes or bloated wood spots. Underwater protrusions with a lid are ideal for storing fish during this period.
Another good place to try at this time is steep falls, where shallow flat areas descend into deeper water. Fish can be organized on these falls, but it is sent to the apartments to feed on baitfish. In depressions on flat areas also contains fish.
A good rule of thumb to remember is that all fish love to be close to some kind of structure, and if you can find these types of areas that have some coverage during spring, summer, or autumn, remember these places. so you can get back to them after the first ice.
If you catch ice on a lake that you never caught, a lake map will help you find the types of areas mentioned above.
As winter progresses, fish tend to migrate to deeper water. The warmest water in the frozen lake is at the bottom, and that’s where the fish will go. Their metabolism slows down as their body temperature drops and they will not swim as before to feed. Use this fact to your advantage.
After some time, depending on the thickness of the snow accumulation on the surface, the oxygen levels at the bottom will begin to fall. When this happens, the fish will stop above the bottom. The fish will sacrifice body temperature for oxygen, and they will go to where they can "breathe." On lakes with a lot of vegetation, this happens earlier than on rocky lakes with a hard bottom. Large lakes contain longer oxygen than smaller ones. Therefore, the location of the fish can vary from one lake to another during the same time interval.
When the snow cover begins to melt and the lake pours over the ice, we are now in a late winter ice period. Melting snow cover allows more sunlight, heating water and increasing oxygen. Now the fish will begin to move back into small spots, eventually reaching the intermediate sections.
As the water in the lake and, inevitably, the fish themselves warm up, their metabolism also increases. This means that they will eat more, and they will fight for your bait, bait or live bait faster and with more energy. The closer a fish comes to caviar, the more energy they have, until they actually “explode” on baitfish or anything else that resembles food.
The most important thing to remember when ice fishing is SAFE. Always check the thickness of the ice, dress appropriately and use the buddy system. Before you set off, read here some useful safety tips on ice.
Happy fishing!
