By Tom Schlicter
Watch a veteran largemouth bass fanatic work a lake during the summer season and you’ll get a lesson in tactical fishing. He’ll purposefully probe every nook and cranny along weedy edges, poke his bow into dense brush and stick-ups at the back of coves casual anglers fail to inspect, and frequently consult his electronics in search of hidden underwater structure including rocks, submerged stumps, weed-beds, channel edges and shoals – even on waters he has shed a hundred times before.
Place the same angler on a frozen pond with an ice auger and a tiny jigging stick, and a blank stare will likely cross his face.
It’s little wonder that facing a vast and featureless frozen white surface seems so intimidating to otherwise competent anglers. After all, most of us get to spend plenty of time during the warm months patterning our quarry at their most aggressive and using visible structure as our starting cues. When lakes freeze over, however, we pursue fish in their most shy and sluggish state with few recognizable tip-offs as to where they might congregate. That can make starting out a little tough.
Another roadblock to getting started with ice fishing is that many anglers imagine all fish species act alike while trying to survive beneath the ice. Nothing could be further from reality. Even in the dead of winter, each species has individual preferences and tendencies. Sorting out these differences helps maximize your time on the rink. To that end, here’s a brief look at the habits and habitat preferences of some Long Island and Connecticut ice-fishing favorites.
YELLOWS LOVE THE DAWN
Yellow perch are prone to roam, but not as haphazardly as some experts might have your believe. Instead, they simply slide from one piece of structure to the next. When deep water is available, they tend to suspend three to four feet above the bottom – but they will school tight to gravel-laced lake beds in water depths of eight feet or less.
Look for the yellows to also stack up along slopes whenever possible, especially in inland waters such as Candlewood Lake in Connecticut or the New York City and lower Adirondacks in New York. In Long Island lakes and ponds, which generally lack steep slopes, this species often suspends parallel to deep weed beds, especially when these beds border channel edges in four to eight feet of water.
Small, one- to two-inch white or pumpkinseed grubs, red or chartreuse tear-drop jigs, and Swedish pimples interest these fish. Tip any of these with a wax worm or small garden worm. Perch will also hammer small minnows suspended from tip-ups. Hook the minnows under the dorsal fin, being careful not to pierce the spine. This will keep your baitfish lively and attractive. Although live minnow are preferred, yellows are not above eating a fresh dead baitfish.
Often, the biggest yellow perch are caught within an hour or two of sunrise, especially beneath new or black ice. Expect these fish to move deeper under a strong sun and shallower with cloudy skies. They may also trek a little deeper and off the bank for each week the water remains frozen.
DIG IN FOR SUNFISH
Bluegill and pumpkinseed can be surprisingly tough to catch during the winter months. While aggressive to the point of being obnoxious during swimming season, they tend to bite lightly and make themselves scarce as lakes and ponds freeze over. Perhaps that’s because of their tendency to patrol shallow three- to six-foot depths where they are easily spooked as anglers drill new holes.
Look for sunfish to hide in the thickest weed beds you can find beneath the ice. They are especially fond of weedy cove mouths, shallow thats bordered by channel edges, and slope waters alongside pronounced points.
If targeting sunnies specifically, drill several holes over a wide shoal or across the tip of a noticeable point, then head back to the first hole to start fishing. that should give spooked fish time to filter back to their lairs where they’ll hopefully inhale red, yellow, chartreuse or orange tear drop jigs tipped with wax worms. Don’t bounce the jigs for these fish. Instead, slide them s-l-o-w-l-y from side-to-side across the hole.
One great thing about these feisty panfish is that you should be able to find them in the same place for several consecutive days as long as the weather holds consistent. Note that sunfish o en feed best in the waning minutes of sunlight. Frequently, holes that have been fruitless all day will light up half-an-hour before dark.
GET EDGY FOR PICKEREL
Pickerel have a reputation for being water wolves, and the description fits even during ice- fishing season. Fond of shallow water, they can be caught close to shore in two- to five-foot depths along phragmite groves, around submerged stumps and logs, or just off the edges of weed beds and points that slope gradually toward deeper water. Although they will hit jigs pickerel are most fond of shiners, making them an ideal target for using tip-ups while you try to jig bass, perch or trout in deeper water nearby.
If you manage to connect with one pickerel, there’s a good bet others are nearby. These are not schooling fish, however, so leave ten to twenty yards between several fishing holes positioned parallel to the shore. For most ice- fishing applications, six- to eight-pound test leaders work fine – but you’ll need to use a minimum of 15-pound test to deter cut-offs when targeting this species.
BIG STRUCTURE LURES LARGEMOUTHS
Largemouth bass are ready, willing and able no matter what the temperature. Just as in the summer, largemouths prefer to hang around obvious structure such as docks, submerged stumps and weed beds. Find one of these items reasonably close to a school of sunnies or yellow perch, and you’ve located prime bassing real estate. Position a minnow- baited tip-up two feet above the bottom on the fringe of feeding panfish and outwait a lunker. Haul a three- or four-pounder through the ice and you’ll have a great holiday story to tell.
LOOK DEEP, LOOK FLAT FOR TROUT
Think of trout as being the exact antithesis of bass. Instead of gravitating toward weeds, slopes and muddy bottoms in four- to eight-foot depths, they generally prefer open water over that, sandy bottom in eight to 20- foot depths. Find a spot where muddy or gravel-laced bottom borders sand and you’ve got a location where trout and yellow perch catches are likely to overlap.
Like bass, it’s best to play the waiting game with trout by positioning several minnow-baited tip-ups at various depths. If you get lucky and connect, drill more holes in the same area and set your remaining baits to the identical depth. Keep in mind that trout will cruise anywhere from just above the bottom to within inches of the ice. Cover the entire spectrum.
SAFETY FOREMOST
There’s never any guarantee that Long Island or Connecticut anglers will see ice thick enough to allow hard water pursuit each winter, but the past couple of years have been kind to hard water fans and hopefully the trend will continue. Get your gear ready now, because first ice is best ice and you’ll want to head out right away.
Of course, the golden rule of ice-fishing is to stay safe. Don’t step on any frozen surface measuring less than four inches thick. While a lake does not have to be frozen fully across for ice fishing, stay well clear of open water and be wary of thin spots that may develop where rivers and streams enter or exit any lake. It’s also a good idea to fish with a buddy or two at all times, and to carry along a safety line and throw ring just in case someone does fall through.
By Tom Schlicter
