Ice Fishing Site » sunfish

Ice fishing for suspended fish

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:47:46 +0000

There are times when suspended fish dominate the ice fishing world. There are times when it seems that the only crappies you can get to bite are the suspended fish. So what are the best tactics to find and catch these fish? Here is a tried and true method to find them

It is no secret that deep holes (think 20-40 feet of water) are great locations to find wintertime panfish. Target these areas, especially if the hole is drastic and rather small in size. Drill many holes with your auger and use your ice fishing flasher to look down each hole. It won't be hard to find the suspended fish as they will show up on your screen 10-15 feet from the bottom as a fairly sizeable line on your flasher. Once you locate them all it takes to catch them most of the time is to dangle your presentation over their heads. The fish at the top of the suspension tend to be the most willing to bite, so target them first. Simply keep your bait above the top of the school and jig it. The fish will tell you what they want.

Try this tactice the next time you are on the ice. It is a great producer of winter time panfish.

How To Use An Underwater Ice Fishing Camera Horizontally

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 03:02:43 +0000

The most common appoach to using an underwater ice fishing camera is to cut a second hole a couple feet away from the hole you are planning to fish, lower your camera down to the depth you are fishing and point it in the direction of your bait. Once you have done this you will have a view of your bait as it moves up and down and can easily see how the fish are relating to your bait. At times they will want a lot of motion, at times they want it dead still and often they want something in between. Your camera is a great way to see the attitude of the fish that day and make sure that there are actually fish below the hole you are fishing.

As can be seen in this video, not every fish will bite your bait. Some will appear interested and then just pass on by. But once you have a fish that is interested, it is easy to go through the array of motions triggering a strike. And once you catch one you can likely catch others as they loiter around your bait. It also displays the fact that you can see the different types of fish that happen upon your bait. In this clip we see both sunfish and largemouth bass.

Ice Fishing For Sunfish

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 03:22:42 +0000

One of my favorite quarries during the ice season is the sunfish. WIlling biters and excellent table fare, the sunfish is sought after by many ice anglers. Here is a general overview as well as some basic tactics to catch sunfish.

First sunfish have relatively small mouths, so the bait and lure should be a small combination. I like the smallest Lindy Frostee jigging spoon with the treble hook attached with wax worms. Many people like spikes. You can catch the largest sunfish with crappie minnows, but as a general rule they are too big to catch many. The rod and reel combintation helps to be light to ultra light to detect bites and improves the fight for these fish.

Some key areas to target are green weeds next to drop offs. The sunfish is sought after by predator fish, so they do attempt to hide most of the day. The weeds are a big help in this regard. If you can't find any green weeds, try to find a small indentation to the bottom in deeper water. They will often hide down in there to avoid the hungry northern pike.

Try targeting sunfish this ice season. You will find a fish that can be caught in good numbers, puts up a good fight, is not shy of underwater cameras and is great table fare!