01-06-2014, 01:13 AM
My neighbor and I headed to PV this afternoon for the purpose of catching crappie. I had seen other posts on this forum that they can be difficult to get in to in terms of locating them and even enticing them into a bite while fishing through the ice...so challenge accepted.
Setup: On the ice from 1:30pm - 4:30pm. Using the 5900 access and then walking east of the access away from Browning Point we set up shop. Ice was 11" with the first 2-3" being crusty snow. We both used a prism spoon from a Swedish pimple with an ice fly (various colors) tied 6-8" below that, tipped hook with wax worms.
Results: We only caught 5 fish between the two of us, so extremely slooowwww fishing, but we managed to land a couple of crappie which was our main goal (3 perch, 2 crappie). The thing that made this trip most rewarding was the due diligence in research, and the fact that it paid off with locating and landing the targeted species of fish. I'd likely try the same spot again during a different day and time to see whether or not it yields more crappie.
I thought I'd share the methodology of my research and recon so to speak since I am a bit of a newbie at ice fishing. I see on this forum where some people hold their hot fishing spots as guarded secrets and keep the info close to the chest (rightly so). But enough quality information is online, through past posts in this forum and from other people willing to part with bits and pieces of information through PMs, that any newbie who puts in a little effort and time can quickly accumulate "secret" fishing spots of his own.
Research:
1) Dust off the trusty old Fish 'n Map Co. map of PV, EC, Echo and LC.
2) Locate basin areas on fishing map with consistent depths (30-35 ft.) spread over longer distances. Look for identifiable structure on shore or under water (see #4) to help locate desired basin area when on the ice.
3) Look at PV on Google earth.
4) Use historical imagery slider on Google earth to see how water levels have changed over the years. Low and behold some structure that is under water presents itself on images taken during low water periods.
5) Using the historical image draw a line with the path tool from the access point to the side of the structure nearest the basin area to measure the distance and to note the coordinates of the location.
6) Plug North and West DMS into GPS and go on a fishing trip to test that spot.
Feel free to poke holes in any of the above, or add insight into other things that should be considered.
Cheers!
[signature]
Setup: On the ice from 1:30pm - 4:30pm. Using the 5900 access and then walking east of the access away from Browning Point we set up shop. Ice was 11" with the first 2-3" being crusty snow. We both used a prism spoon from a Swedish pimple with an ice fly (various colors) tied 6-8" below that, tipped hook with wax worms.
Results: We only caught 5 fish between the two of us, so extremely slooowwww fishing, but we managed to land a couple of crappie which was our main goal (3 perch, 2 crappie). The thing that made this trip most rewarding was the due diligence in research, and the fact that it paid off with locating and landing the targeted species of fish. I'd likely try the same spot again during a different day and time to see whether or not it yields more crappie.
I thought I'd share the methodology of my research and recon so to speak since I am a bit of a newbie at ice fishing. I see on this forum where some people hold their hot fishing spots as guarded secrets and keep the info close to the chest (rightly so). But enough quality information is online, through past posts in this forum and from other people willing to part with bits and pieces of information through PMs, that any newbie who puts in a little effort and time can quickly accumulate "secret" fishing spots of his own.
Research:
1) Dust off the trusty old Fish 'n Map Co. map of PV, EC, Echo and LC.
2) Locate basin areas on fishing map with consistent depths (30-35 ft.) spread over longer distances. Look for identifiable structure on shore or under water (see #4) to help locate desired basin area when on the ice.
3) Look at PV on Google earth.
4) Use historical imagery slider on Google earth to see how water levels have changed over the years. Low and behold some structure that is under water presents itself on images taken during low water periods.
5) Using the historical image draw a line with the path tool from the access point to the side of the structure nearest the basin area to measure the distance and to note the coordinates of the location.
6) Plug North and West DMS into GPS and go on a fishing trip to test that spot.
Feel free to poke holes in any of the above, or add insight into other things that should be considered.
Cheers!
[signature]