With the arrival of warmer weather during the late ice period, many exciting fishing opportunities arise. Walleyes, panfish, and northern pike have all provided excellent angling opportunities for the hard-water angler, and the exciting news is that the action will only improve as spring creeps closer.
Using your pro-thermal
One of the best times for ice fishing is during the “late ice” period which begins most often in our area, the Wausau/Central Wisconsin region, during the latter part of February. One of the most popular species to pursue during this time is the northern pike. As the days grow warmer and longer and the ice slowly begins melting, pike activity increases dramatically. Not only does the action increase, but also an angler’s odds of catching a trophy-class fish go up also. When looking to target these toothy fiends, look for larger flats containing weeds, wood, or a combination of the two. The best flats early on will be near deeper water, and typically are in depths of eight feet of water or less. As the ice continues to disappear, look for the mouths of bays and marshy backwaters to hold large numbers of northern pike as they migrate in large numbers into shallow water to spawn.
I prefer to use Frabill Pro-Thermal Tip-Ups for this type of shallow water fishing as the design helps to block sunlight from the hole. When fishing in shallow water, unnatural sunlight can make fish spookier, especially in situations with high fishing pressure. In addition, the Pro-Thermal has a large bait clip that acts to hold oversized minnows from creating false trips of the flag. I prefer to rig my shiners or sucker minnows on a treble hook, matching the size of the hook to the size of the bait. A key to being successful in ice fishing with tip-ups is to understand there is no “one-size-fits-all” when it comes to hooks.
Active bait is important when targeting late-ice gators; keep your minnows lively by keeping them in a Frabill Aqua-Life bait bucket – fresh bait can make a huge difference! In shallow water, set your bait so that it is well above the weeds or wood. Pike cruising the area will be able to pick-out the struggling meal silhouetted against the ice; you want your presentation to be over them, not under them. Be sure to have a curved forceps along, as well as a jaw spreader to help making the unhooking portion of your day as quick and effortless as possible.
Whether its slab crappies, bull bluegills, gator pike, or big ol’ walleyes, this is a great time of year to be fishing. As exciting as the fishing can be, it’s important to use common sense and to keep a level head. Depending on the body of water, ice conditions will change rapidly with the arrival of warmer and more sustained spring-like weather. I write about this every winter: use your head – if it doesn’t look safe enough, don’t chance it; it’s always better to live to fish another day! I’ll see you on the water…
One thing I really like to stress with regard to using live or dead baits for large pike (any larger gamefish) on tip-ups, is how important it is to consider how quickly big fish will swallow baits. All recent evidence including studies on several species of fish indicates that swallowed hooks do not simply dissolve as previously thought. If hooks are ingested to the gullet or stomach of the fish, the majority of these fish will experience delayed mortality… at best survival in a weakened condition. So, to achieve increasing hooking percentages in structure