After 3.5 days with no fishing, it was back to square one with finding them. A buddy and I hit the road early hoping for a morning bite. We were on the ice before it was light out and the temperature was below zero. Because there was no wind, it didn’t feel overly cold.
The fishing was pretty slow. We worked over most of the fishable area without ever finding a high concentration of fish. A good hole would consist of pulling out two fish back to back. The longer we fished, the more frustrating the slow bite was. With a good meal of big perch in each of our buckets and a few kicker crappie, we decided our best option was to head out and hit a different pond in search of bluegill and pumpkinseed.
After making the commute, we found fish in no time. The weeds were short but the fish weren’t easily spooked when we punched holes. They were cruising anywhere from a few inches to 3 feet above the weeds. Most holes would allow you to catch several fish before having to move on. It was a great way to wrap up the day that started slow.
The fish were aggressive when you were on top of them. The bluegill were cruising high enough to see plainly on the Vexilar but the pumpkinseed were a bit different. For them, you had to pull them out of the weeds which wasn’t that difficult. All I had to do was work my jig down into the short weeds for a second then raise back up suspending a foot above the weed tops. If they were in there they charged up with no concern.
The color didn’t seem to matter much. Quite a few bass were in the area so I had to re-tie a few times. I used red, white, and orange and they all worked equally well. Mainly, I used maggots for bait. I tried plastics for a bit but the fish seemed to be just nipping at the tail. The meat made them bite and hold on.
Check out Afternoon Gills on our YouTube page for more action!
D & B Ice Adventures 