News & Stories
Change It Up For January Success!
Posted by director on January 18, 2021
Change it up for January Success!
By Mike Frisch
Early ice, early winter fishing often calls for the use of jigging spoons to call in and catch aggressive fish. As winter progresses, however, fish get more pressured and their metabolism often slows too. For those reasons, the fish usually get less apt to bite as early winter becomes mid-season. There are, however, some things anglers can do to increase their odds for finding mid-winter fishing success.
The first recommendation for increasing your mid-winter successes is to re-evaluate your fishing spots. Those hot early ice bite spots often become “community spots” by January meaning many of the fish that called them home have left in anglers’ pails! And, the remaining fish have been bombarded by lures and are less likely to bite your bait.
Venturing out to new, less pressured areas and staying on the move to try to locate new spots and “fresh” fish is solid advice at this time. If you’re fishing for walleyes, for example, that might mean setting up in new spots several evenings in a row to try to find a productive new spot. Walleyes in lots of lakes are notorious for being lowlight feeders meaning an evening, or morning, bite often is by far and away the best opportunity to ice these fish.
Panfish may be more susceptible during daylight, but again some species on some lakes will have peak bites during early morning and again in late afternoon. So, again, hitting new spots to try to find a new bite is important, but so is fishing those peak times.
Fishing new spots at the right times is a good mid-season tactic, but so is making adjustments to your fishing presentations. Jigging spoons and lures will still attract and catch fish, but often I work them less aggressively now. And, when a fish does appear, I always have a “bobber rod” set up next to my jigging rod. The bobber rod often features a lively minnow as bait. And, a walleye or crappie attracted to my jigging spoon but not willing to hit, will often be attracted to the lively, squirming minnow just next to my jigging bait.
Lightly hooking minnows behind the dorsal fin, using fresh and lively minnows, and then changing out a “tired” minnow is a good way to up the chances that this bobber set-up gets bit. As simple as it seems, a lively minnow on a plain hook beneath a bobber will often be the best fish producer during a tough bite.
Another trick to fooling mid-winter fish with this presentation is to use a barely-floating bobber that easily slides under the water when a fish bites. I use an Ice Buster bobber because it can be trimmed down so it easily slides under water without alerting a finicky fish that might be spooked by a more buoyant float.
A final bit of advice when pursuing fish during mid-winter fish is the importance of using quality sonar. Carefully watching your sonar will tell you fairly quickly if any fish are in present in a new spot. Sonar can also be very beneficial in helping read the mood of any fish present, which can help when experimenting with various jigging approaches in an attempt to find one that attracts and triggers some fish. The new FLX-30 sonar I am using has all the fishing features an angler could want, plus it features a lightweight, long lasting lithium battery.
Anglers wanting to find more fish during mid-winter would be wise to consider exploring to find new fishing spots and then using some of the presentation tips just outlined. Those tips just might, in fact, help lead to a good ice bite on your next fishing adventure. And, as always, remember to include a youngster in those ice fishing trips!
Mike Frisch hosts the popular Fishing the Midwest TV series. Visit www.fishingthemidwest to see more fishing tips and view recent TV episodes as well!
Photo – The author with a January crappie. As winter progresses, anglers may need to adjust their methods to maintain ice fishing successes!
Hannay's Marine & School of Fish Form Partnership!
Posted by director on January 14, 2021
1/14/2021 **For Immediate Release**
Hannay’s Marine joins School of Fish as presenting sponsor!
(Elbow Lake, MN)
School of Fish, the Midwest’s leaders in kids and beginners fishing education, announced today that Hannay’s Marine is the school’s new presenting sponsor and that the program will now be known as the School of Fish presented by Hannay’s Marine.
“Hannay’s Marine has been a strong supporter of School of Fish for several years and is now increasing their support, not only of School of Fish, but of fishing’s next generation,” said Mike Frisch, co-founder of School of Fish. “Hannay’s expanded support will help us continue to educate, equip, and excite fishing’s next generation.”
“The great folks at Hannay’s Marine understand the importance of grass-roots fishing education programs available to kids at young ages,” Frisch added. “We’re excited for the opportunity to continue working together with them to get more kids and their parents involved in our great sport!”
Originally designed as a fishing class for elementary kids, 2 ½-hour Schools are now available for older kids, and other adults as well. Parents are invited to attend with their kids at most classes.
Started in 2013, School of Fish presented by Hannay’s Marine has hosted well over 200 schools in 6 states and has graduated over 6,000 “water ready” anglers in its existence. Taught in a fast-paced, fun environment, students learn about lakes and finding and catching fish, how to tie a fishing knot, and how to rig and use their own slip-bobber set-up. Kids also leave class with a rod & reel, tackle, and a tackle box. This year, they will also receive a stylish School of Fish presented by Hannay’s Marine t-shirt as well!
“At Hannay’s, we know the importance of educating the next generation of anglers. We’re excited to help the School of Fish team bring the joys of fishing to first-time anglers,” said Thomas Quimby, Marketing Coordinator and Brand Manager at Hannay’s Marine. “We love that School of Fish gives children hands-on experience and the confidence they need to take on the water.”
For three generations, Twin Cities-based Hannay’s Marine has been selling new & used fishing boats, pontoons, and pleasure boats. Hannay’s has a full line of boating parts and accessories with a service department of factory trained technicians for worry-free maintenance and repair. For more information visit www.hannaysmarine.com
More details regarding School of Fish presented by Hannay’s Marine can be secured by contacting Mike Frisch via email schooloffish@outlook.com or by visiting the website https://psu95.com/archives22v5.com and selecting the "School of Fish" link.
Halfway Through the Ice Season
Posted by director on January 10, 2021
HALFWAY THROUGH THE ICE-FISHING SEASON
by Bob Jensen
Although it seems like it just started, in many areas across the ice-fishing belt, the ice fishing season is already at the midway point. In many places it’s been much warmer than usual, so travel on the ice has been limited. Despite that, there are lots of anglers on the ice, and numerous reports indicate that the fish have been cooperative. I don’t know what Mother Nature has planned for the next few weeks. Maybe she’ll send cold weather and more ice, or maybe she won’t. I do know there are things ice anglers can do to increase their chances for getting bit as the season starts to wind down. Following are some of those things.
Many anglers, me included, enjoy fishing through the ice during the latter parts of the season. We can usually access different areas easier, and that’s a big advantage. At this time of year it’s not unusual to drill dozens of holes in the ice in our attempts to find fish. In most years the ice is thicker and there’s more snow on it, so the fish aren’t as easily spooked. And, although truck traffic will still spook fish this time of year, it’s probably not as noticeable as it was earlier in the season.
The weather also gets more pleasant as the season progresses, and that makes us more likely to get out and move around. It works well to put an auger, a sonar unit, a couple rod/reel combinations and some baits in a portable shelter and start exploring. Ice fishing is an interesting thing: Lots of ice anglers like to arrive at the lake as a group and fish the same general area, but once that general area has been determined, they tend to move a little bit away from each other. They can cover more area by doing so, and by covering more area, they can locate the fish quicker. Usually. Portable shelters enable these anglers to move around but still have all the needed equipment. They also provide a comfortable fishing position and protection from the elements, especially wind. Clam’s Kenai Pro Thermal is an example of a one angler unit that performs very well.
Sonar is such an important part of successful ice-fishing. Most of the time but especially from now until the ice leaves, it’s unusual to sit on a hole for more than 5 minutes if fish aren’t detected. Other than catching a fish, sonar is the only way to tell if you’re on a fishy spot. Vexilar has created a large number of sonar units. Some have more features than others, but they’ll all let you know if there’s a fish down there, and they do it in real-time. That means that when you see a fish take your bait, you can set the hook almost immediately. Some sonar units display what happened, real-time sonar shows what is happening. Real-time is a very important feature.
Most years by now, the fish have experienced a lot of fishing pressure. They’ve seen a variety of baits so they get a little or a lot finicky. And there are fewer fish because some have been caught and taken home. Now is the time to visit new areas that haven’t seen as much fishing pressure. Try a different area of the lake, or maybe try a different lake. Because of warmer weather this year, some good areas have been inaccessible due to unsafe ice. As the ice gets safer on those areas, they should be good later than usual.
If the fish are playing hard-to-catch, and trying a different area isn’t an option, keep trying different bait types, colors, and move them faster or slower. Giving the fish a different look will usually get them to bite.
The days are getting longer, the weather will warm up, and the fish will be willing to bite somewhere on something. The opportunity to get outside and catch a few fish is an outstanding reason to go ice fishing. Keep moving, keep experimenting, and you’ll find ice fishing success.
PHOTO CAPTIONS---Here’s a nice northern pike that came through the ice half way through the ice fishing season.
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