Crappie & Bluegill - Ice Tempting Treat
Article written by: Gregg Carr | Member - crappie&eyes Continued.... Most lakes that I frequent, contain both crappies and bluegill. I have found that both species can be found in the same areas most of the time. 1st thing that will make or break a day on the ice is knowing the water that you are fishing. Some of the factors to consider are: Does it have deep water? Structure? Forage base? All these and more can tell you a ton about a body of water and whether your in for a treat or just another long day on the ice. One area to really concentrate on is structure. I like to focus on fishing brush, weeds, or standing timber. If these aren't present, I'll look for any break or drop-off I can find. To begin my search, I'll drill a series of holes and check them with my Vexilar Fl-8, 3 color flasher. This could consist of drilling just a few holes or you might have to drill 100 holes to find that sweet spot. With a flasher, I can tell whether I have a hard or soft bottom, brush, weeds, depth, and the list goes on. Having one of these will make your trips on the ice alot more easier and fun. Most of the time I'll be targeting water depths of 8-25'. I generally will find my bigger fish holding close to the bottom in deeper water.
Once I have found my spot, I like to start by using a tear-drop/waxworm combo. This is a good search bait that both crappie & gills love. If you don't have a flasher, drop your bait all the way to the bottom and then bring it up about a foot. I'll bring my bait up in intervals of 1 crank on my reel at a time until I get hit. Once you have contacted some fish, mark your line. This can be done with a bobber stop or a Sharpie marker. I prefer a marker since the bobber stop tends to stop your line from coming off the reel. Just mark about 1" of line just before it goes onto your reel, this will allow you to get right back down to the strike zone. Another great piece of inexpensive equipment(under $20.00) I have discovered to work great on the ice is a Zebco Slab Seeker reel. These reels have a line stop that you set when you get a hit. Once you reel your fish in, just drop right back down to where you were and the reel does all the work. Only way the stop will release is if the drag is pulled. When you find the depth the fish are at, another thing I like with this reel is that I can hole hop without draging the vexilar all over with me. If your having trouble feeling hits, add a spring bobber to your rod. There are many different types and style of spring bobbers to choose from. I really like the new bobbers from Frabil. They are just an actual spring with a tapered plastic end that just fits right in the tip of your rod. Just run your line up through the spring and your set. Once you see that spring start to load up(bending towards the ice), set the hook.
One key element in my arsenol of ice fishing gear is the line on my reels. For panfish, I generally use 1-3# test line. For using lighter jigs, you can't go wrong with 1# Berkley Micro ice. The line is blue in color and seems to be the hardest line to see in the water. Most of the smaller lakes that I fish have really clear water and an invisible line is a must in this situation. I will use some heavier line when larger predator fish are roaming around and this usually consists of line in the 4-6# range. One thing to consider is that the lighter the line you can get away with using, the quicker you can get your bait back down to your target.
Once I have determined what fish and their size are present, I like to switch up my baits. If there are more crappies than bluegill, I like to switch to a little bigger bait like a 1/16oz jig or a spoon. With this I will be keeping the smaller bluegills off my bait and be targeting the bigger fish. Some of the baits I will goto are baby shad assassin's, 1-2" tubes, Kastmasters, Swedish Pimple's, Jigging Rapala'a, and small spoons. I will tip these most of the time with a waxworm, Berkley Gulp!, or a minnow head. If you haven't tried the Berkley Gulp! line of baits, you need to. They are a great alternative to livebait. I use the waxworms, maggots, and earthworms and have had great success with them. Another trick that I have become fond of is to tip my teardrops and spoons with both a waxworm and a chartreuse Gulp! maggot. This has help when targeting larger panfish. It adds some bulk and additional color to my lures.
In Nebraska, we are allowed 5 lines for ice fishing. Another thing I really like to do when on the ice is to use all 5 of my lines. Where baitfish are allowed, I'll use 2 rods for jigging and set the other 3 with small minnows at different depths with small slip bobbers. I'll use a bigger teardrop with the minnow on the end of these most of the time. That added flash and color seems to work the best. When the crappie are really hitting, this can be a really exciting time. Make sure that you have your rods anchored to something so when that wiper or big pike comes by, he doesn't swim off with your rod. The wire ice rod holders work good for this and they are pretty cheap. This same technique works well with bluegill also. All you have to do is downsize your teardrop and tip them with a waxworm or Gulp!. I'll also do this on lakes that don't allow LIVEBAIT. Be prepared though cause them bluegills will have you running around chasing rods all day.
Whether you are fishing 1st ice, prime ice, or last ice, always make sure that you have your safety gear with you when heading out to enjoy this special time of the year. I always carry 100' of rope, ice picks, boot spikes, and 2 Tylenol. I don't like to take any chances when it comes to on ice safety. And if your wondering what the tylenol is for, it doesn't feel good when you fall and bust your head on the ice(been there done that)! Makes for a long trip home when your head feels like it's going to explode.
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