By Mike Radice
Western Staff Writer
February 7, 2011
Once the ice forms on local lakes, fishing success increases for most anglers and the playing field evens up a bit. No boat is required so everyone is able to cover the entire waterbody the same way; on foot, snowmobile, or ATV. But there is an advantage to be had in this situation – bring along a fish finder.
Pull the big digital display out of your winterized boat and for a few dollars you can turn it into the ace in the ice hole.
Many fish finder manufacturers have developed units especially designed for hard water fishing. Humminbird has a unit that mounts on a sled with the transducer incorporated inside an extended tube that goes under the ice.
Other brands offer units in nice bags with floating transducers. The business end does not always sit level in the water. What's more, if the transducer is above or within ice level there may be interference or other anomalies that may show up on the screen preventing you from seeing fish hit your bait.
That's right. With the right finder an angler can actually watch a fish signal take his bait in real time on the fish finder screen. Now that is cool.
It takes little modification to get your boat’s unit to this point. Basically, pull the fish finder screen from the boat and get a second transducer line and a power line. Both are available online and from many tackle stores. Add a small, rechargeable 12-volt battery, a box to store everything in and start cutting holes through the ice.
A simple example here shows a Humminbird 560 attached to the top of a surplus ammo box. Some PVC sprinkler pipe left over from summer lawn maintenance makes up the support system that puts the transducer in the water and under the ice.
Simple and versatile, this setup will work not only on the ice but in a canoe, pontoon boat or other small watercraft too. A salesman at one local shop said the 12-volt battery will last for days of fishing rather than only a few hours. The power draw is small so several full days of fishing mean no chargers are required for the day.
One of the biggest advantages to using a boat sonar system is the magnificent detail and sensitivity. It can also be one the biggest distractions, too. Spending time watching fish move through the sonar field is great; many bites but few hooksets.
Transducer coverage is reduced in the shallow depths normally fished for panfish under the ice. Twenty degree coverage at 100 feet will be only half that at fifty feet and so on. Cut the fishing holes in a radius around the transducer for better coverage and early detection for great action.
The challenge with this approach means less freedom to easily use sonar to find structure and schools of fish like in open water. That will require either a good memory from summer success or a lucky spot where an auger clears a hole in the ice and structure is found below. It’s a good idea to mark as many spots as you can on a handheld GPS during open water days. Those waypoints will make it easier to find the same structure under the ice.
For many ice anglers sonar graphs will be merely a depth finder. If fishing reports say panfish are suspended at 35-feet right on the bottom then the sonar becomes invaluable. Nevertheless, simple, basic understanding of fish habitat is helpful. Try points, obvious exposed structure, or where the angler crowd amasses.
Even though fish are cold blooded they do react to environmental changes. Winter temperatures mean mid-thirties under the ice. In response to that fish will slow down. Fast moving bait or fast jumping lures are not natural now. In fact more bite detection in ice fishing comes from the rod tip raising rather then the expected tug.
I find ice fishing quite relaxing, compared to the “stressors” of fishing the rest of the year. This relaxation should be translated into the tactics used, too. Suspend baited jigs. Let them sit there at depth. A slight tip of the rod occasionally is fine, too much will likely scare off fish. They won't expend any more energy then necessary to eat.
If the bite slows move around to find fish. If the action cools try another point or different depths. Proven tackle includes small jigheads. Try one-eighth ounce or lighter. Curly-tailed plastic jigs or skirt-tails offer some movement underwater.
