Perch
Perch are loved by most ice fishermen. They will feed throughout the entire ice fishing season and they taste great. Because perch hang out in
schools, you can catch your limit in a couple of hours if you can find them. Use your electronics to find schools of fish on the bottom. Perch will
usually be found close to the bottom throughout the winter. Small jigging spoons tipped with minnow heads and maggots are some of the best baits
for winter-time perch. If you see fish on your fish finder, but you can’t get any bites, try keeping your jig a couple of feet above the fish and change
up your jigging methods. More info on Perch. Click Here.
Bluegill
Bluegill can easily be caught throughout the winter, however, catching bigger bluegill is not so easy. To catch big bluegill consistently, you have to
find some lakes and/or ponds that have big bluegill. Many lakes and ponds will have mostly small bluegill and that’s what you can expect to catch.
Check the local fishing reports, call your bait and tackle shop, search online for fishing reports and keep track of what lakes produced bigger bluegill
during the open water season. More info on Bluegill. Click Here.
In the winter, bluegill will typically school up near weed beds. During early winter, you can find bluegill in the same places that you found them during
the end of fall. As winter progresses, bluegill will move deeper. Your keys to catching bluegill through the ice is finding weeds, move frequently if you
are not catching fish, use small jigs and tip your jigs with live bait. Bright jigs typically work better. Red and green jigs work well, especially when you
tip them with wax worms and spikes.
Crappie
Crappie can be caught throughout the winter, but you are going to have to fish deeper water than you will fish with other panfish. In early and late
winter, you can find them in shallower water, often in water less than 15 feet deep. Throughout the middle of winter, look for them in deeper water.
Crappie will suspend higher up than most other panfish. They can often be caught 10 to 15 feet down in 30 feet of water. Start fishing for the early
and late winter crappie in water close to their spring and fall positions. They will be near structure just outside of these areas. If you caught lots of
crappies off of a point in 3 to 4 feet of water, see if there is a drop-off into 15 feet of water. You will probably find some fish here. In the middle of
winter, follow that drop-off into water that is deeper than 20 feet and you'll have a good chance at finding crappies. To help you find fish over a large
area, tip-ups can be used. Once you find a good hole, drill other holes in the same area. Fishing with small minnows rigged with a split shot, hook,
and bobber will take the most crappies throughout the year. Anglers will use small jigs and jigging spoons, however, live bait will catch more fish
consistently. Try tipping your jigs with small crappie minnows and wax worms for the best results. More info on Crappie. Click Here.
Northern Pike
Pike remain active during the winter and they are one of the most popular species to fish for in the winter. The first 2 or 3 weeks after the ice freezes
can provide some of the best ice fishing of the winter. In early winter, you can find pike in shallow, weedy bays. If you can find green weeds, you will
have more success. In mid-winter pike fishing gets tougher. They usually move out of the bays, however, some bays will hold fish all winter if the
water is deep enough. Most pike are positioned off of deep points and drop-offs in the mid-winter. As the weather warms up and the ice starts to
thin, pike will move back into the shallow, weedy bays and they will feed heavily until ice-out.
In rivers, you can find pike in the backwaters and in weedy bays. The fish will be in these backwater areas as long as there is enough oxygen. If the
ice becomes too thick and the oxygen starts to sag, pike will move into areas with some current because of the higher oxygen levels.
Most anglers use tip-ups for winter pike. In states where you can use multiple lines, fishermen will use tip-ups while they jig with another line. Some
anglers will fish in groups and they will set up tip-ups all over to cover an entire bay or sunken island. Popular baits are live bait fish in the 6 to 12
inch range. Dead bait fish also produce good results. When fishing with large bait fish, you must use a single hook with a treble hook set up as a
stinger hook. This will allow you to hook into many more fish. 25 to 40 pound Dacron line or nylon-coated line work best because they don’t soak up
water and they won’t freeze when the line is above the water.
Anglers that prefer to move around should try jigs. You can cover a lot of different holes quickly when you are jigging with one rod. Flashy or bright
colored jigs work best. If the fish are biting short, slow down and try using smaller jigs. More info on Northern Pike. Click Here.
Walleye
Most ice fishermen fish for crappie, perch and bluegill because they are more prevalent and easier to catch than walleye. That doesn’t mean that
anglers would rather catch panfish than walleye. Walleye are definitely desired more than panfish, but many anglers have problems catching walleye
consistently. Good crappie fishermen will catch a lot of walleye as well because walleye and crappie are located in the same areas. Early in the
winter season, you can find walleye in 8 to 18 feet of water. As winter progresses, go slightly deeper and you will find fish.
If you are fishing for crappie and walleye, a small minnow on a jig will work for both species. If you are just focusing on walleye, you can go a little
bigger with your bait. Jigs can be slightly bigger and minnows in the 3 to 4 inch range will work. More info on Walleye. Click Here.
Lake Trout
Lake trout aren’t as popular among ice fishermen because they aren’t as prevalent in many lakes and they can be tough to find. Lake trout are
going to be in very deep water from 50 to 100 feet deep. They will move shallower as you get into late winter. To consistently catch deep-water lake
trout, anglers use tip-ups with smelt, ciscoes and suckers. Heavier line will be needed for catching lake trout. 20 to 30 pound test should work for
most situations. More info on Lake Trout. Click Here.
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