BY NEAL COTE
Tired of looking down a hole up at Georgetown for a few small
Kokanee? You might find that a
different species and some different tactics on a new to you lake or reservoir closer to home might just be the trick to get you out of the “same old same old” icefishing blues! I know that Georgetown is a great place to get your icefishing fix, but what if I told you that there were some other places that you could get to that might just open your eyes to a whole new world of fishing opportunities? Different species of fish that are very eager to bite darn near anything you can throw at them? Well if you are a little adventurous, have I got some ideas and places for you!
SPECIES NUMBER 1: YELLOW PERCH
Places to go: Placid, Seeley, Alva, Echo, and many other lakes, Crow Creek, NinePipes, Pablo, and Kicking Horse reservoirs are just a few.
Yellow perch tend to eat
during daylight hours and maintain an active lifestyle during the winter, making them perfect for those of us that don’t like
getting on the ice before daylight.
Yellow perch are highly
adaptive and feed on so many different types of forage, it’s important to locate large perch schools with sonar, especially if the fish are suspended or schooled over deep flats. Next, it’s important to determine what forage perch in your waters are
targeting, then try to use a presentation that best emulates the preferred forage. If the perch are feeding on insect larvae or
plankton, small ice jigs tipped with grubs or maggots are the best imitators. Dot, Rocker, Tiny Tears and Rat Finkies are good picks for this type of bite. If the
forage base has a good population of
forage fish, minnow imitating baits should be used. Since perch are most likely to be feeding on or near bottom, a small-hooked, but heavy-bodied jigging spoon should be used to facilitate faster, easier drops without the need for sinkers, and help hold your bait near bottom. There are tons of baits that fall into this category, Swedish Pimples, Kastmasters, and Nils Masters are a few good choices.
PRODUCTIVE JIGGING METHODS
Kamikaze perch will sometimes rise 15 feet to hit a descending lure. Perch can see a long way, especially in the clear water of winter. Use this to your
advantage. Reel your lure up to the hole, and on a slack line, drop it back down again. Let it fall all the way to the bottom. This will usually get their attention,
causing them to swim from great distances to see what’s up. Take the lure away from them again, back to the surface, and repeat the process. Pay close attention to your flasher or underwater camera. If you notice a fish that is rising to meet the lure, hit the brakes, and start slowly pumping and swimming the lure upward. The fish will usually follow and strike. If you see the reverse happening, a fish following the lure down after the lure passes it on the drop, let it sit on the bottom until the fish gets there. You’ll be amazed how many will slurp it off the bottom.
If perch are suspended and
feeding on plankton, using a basic,
small-hooked but heavy bodied ice jig (maggot-tipped) is a good bet. Use the standard quivering technique, just gently wiggling the bait with a slight, gradual upward jiggling motion, followed by a slow, quivering fall. Most of the time perch strike as the bait rises. When perch are feeding on insect larvae or worms on deep mud flats you can use a similar tactic, drop your bait to the bottom, and tap it gently several times to kick up the bottom. This commotion attracts perch who believe other perch have found food and attempt to move in on the action.
If the perch are found to be feeding on minnows, variations of basic spoon and jig and twister tail strategies come into play. Try aggressive, pounding actions with standard jigs first. If the fish appear to be more aggressive, try a more aggressive jigging minnow-style bait like Jigging Rapala tipped with maggots. These baits are more efficient, dropping down faster and allowing a more overall aggressive jigging approach.
Should the perch not be striking the previous methods, use of small flash spoons and walleye-style snap jigging strategies can be effective for triggering strikes. Lower your spoon to the desired depth, snap your rod upward with a sharp, sudden twist of the wrist, repeat once or twice, then pause. Strikes usually occur on the pause. These tactics might also get you a few Large mouth or Small mouth Bass depending on where you choose to fish.
DON’T STAY STATIC
Sometimes Ice fishing for perch comes in bursts where you take a few fish for a while then drops off to nothing. What do you do? Do you stay in your current position
hoping for things to pick up or do you move. If you decide to move, how far or where to? Being mobile, does not mean you have to give up comfort. Comfort is important, and can keep you fishing longer, which increases your chance for getting in on the best bite of any given day.
Portable shelters set-up in
seconds, and are very comfortable,
especially when the wind is howling. Shelters that take longer to erect, keep you from moving as often as you should.
Another key to mobility, is being able to drill holes in a big hurry. Although you can get by with a hand auger, during the early part of the season, it doesn’t take long before a gas powered model is required, to keep you on the move. New light weight models, like the Strikemaster Lazer, and the Eskimo Shark, cut through layers of ice like a laser, and will let you punch a bunch of holes in short order.
Being mobile works for me when fishing becomes slow. Once you have
established a good spot, I think drilling more holes in the same area again and again is often a waste of time and effort so I go for the easy route. I either move to a completely new area or I just leave the fishing for an hour and go and have a snack and start fishing again about a 1/2 hour later. Keep it simple!!!!
When it comes to early season perch action, look to the shallows for the key. Good shallow locations include reefs, bars, and bays. One of the first places to develop safe ice, is in the shallow bays, off of the main lake. They are usually the first place you can get to, and should definitely be checked out. Look for the mouths of bays to concentrate fish, as they are high percentage spots for contacting fish. Start your search as far out as you can safely venture, and begin looking for fish. If you target Nine Pipes or Pablo Reservoirs, remember that these two don’t open for fishing until January 17th
.
SPECIES NUMBER 2: LAKE TROUT
Places to go: Swan,
McGreggor, and Whitefish Lakes
Being a completely missed
fishery, Lake Trout are probably the
biggest bang for the buck that you can get through the ice besides Northern Pike.
Aggressive feeders, Lakers are a lot easier to catch and great eating fish.
Location is fairly important, look for drop offs, rocky edges, and main lake basin areas to hold fish almost all of the time. Lake Trout can also move right up into 5 feet of water or less, so don’t over look any structure. Keep in mind the same tactics that you would employ for Yellow Perch, if you are not catching fish, keep moving!
Ice fishing equipment for lake trout is straight forward. You will need a good ice fishing rod with at least 10 pound test that can handle larger lures. Super line like TUFF line and Fire Line that has very little stretch is a good choice. Don’t forget a 10 to 20 lb. mono or fluorocarbon leader for some shock absorption and you’re set. A variety of buck tail jigs sized from 1/2 to 2 oz. in Glow white, Glow green, white, and bright yellow always seems to work best. Tubes, jigging spoons, large twister tails, and larger swim baits are also good to have along. Make sure you have some variety with you. Tipping them with cut bait will also up the odds in your favor.
Lake trout typically see their prey much better above them than below. Generally, pounding your jig off of the bottom of the lake floor may prove to be a fish less affair. An aggressive Lake Trout will rise to intercept your lure from as much as 40 feet below. This is the aggressive action you are looking for. But don’t limit yourself to just one depth in the water column. There are times when lake trout will be on the bottom feeding on deadbait. You don’t want to miss these fish. If you head up to Swan Lake, you will also attract another fish that can only be kept In two places in Montana, Bull Trout!
While fishing, start with your jig just off of the bottom. Work this depth for a few minutes. If you don’t get hit, bring it up ten or fifteen feet and work that depth for a short period. Keep bring the jig up to a shallower depth and work that area for a few jigs. Continue this pattern and bam! Just remember how many cranks of the reel off the bottom you were when the fish hit, and you will have the start of that days pattern. This way you will scan the whole water column and understand where the fish are feeding. I have caught Lake Trout at the 10 foot depth while fishing in 70 feet of water, so keep an open mind. Often Lakers will hit your jig while it descends, so be prepared. You may have one on before you know it. They can grow to be well into the 20 pound range and make for an unbelievable battle through the ice. If you are prepared and take your time, you could land the fish of a lifetime.
Be Safe!!!
As with all icefishing, be very careful fishing new water. Do as much research on the body of water as you can, call local stores and shops to get any information on ice conditions. Always tell someone where you will be going, and if the ice looks questionable, don’t even chance it. With the cold spell that is hitting us right now, there should be good ice just about everywhere. So, If you were looking for a new challenge, check out these new targets and try something new that might just net you the fish of a lifetime and not the “same old same old!”
