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Fished over at Chicken Creek East yesterday between the 6 of us we iced 3 fish one about 13 inches and two at about 18 inches we let them all go. Fish Finder was reading fish all day and showing that we were in 39.2 feet of water but only going down to between 15 and 20 feet. We got there around 9 am and left at about 4:30 pm. I caught the first and smallest at about 9:30 (I was using a glow in the dark 1/16th rooster tail spinner tipped with glow in the dark orange and white powerbait.). The next two were caught at 11:25 am and 2:30 pm I don't know what he was using. At around 4 pm we move closer to the shore and found ourselves in only 10 feet of water we had one hit there. Planning a return trip in a couple of weeks and hope to have better luck.
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[cool]Nice report, cedwardsfan. By the way, who is cedwards? That's too bad that the fish weren't biting for ya very much.
Not to brag or anything, but I don't remember when I only caught 3 fish while ice fishing 'da berry. Probably about 4 years ago before I really knew what I was doing on the ice. Here's some tips that should help you out, but you certainly don't have to take my advice, but hopefully this will help some of the newer icefishermen on the board at least:
First thing is get there just before sun-up like 6:30 or 7-ish. I've generally (more times than not, but not everytime) had my best luck nailing the fishies between 6:30 and 10:00, but sometimes it's great fishing all day.
2nd thing, try using leadhead jigs with a white or chartruese tube jig on it and a minnow chunk (shiners and chubs available in the freezer next to the worm fridge at your local tackletorium), mealworm or wax worm on it. If using a mealworm, try pinching the head off it before putting it on your jig. This will get the juices oozing out of it which generally REALLY attracts the fishies. Other jigs that work well are foxy jigs, whatta crickets (available only at Hooked Fishing Tackle in Kaysville), Genz Worms, and a few other jigs and ice flys, but usually this time of year, bigger jigs are better than the teeny tiny ice flys. Tipping your jigs with the baits described above should REALLY increase your chances over just silly puddy (a.k.a powerbait).
3rd thing, going out as deep as you can isn't always the best spot for the active fishies. The active fish in the early part of the ice season at Strawberry are usually between 10-30 feet deep(sometimes 40). If you don't have a fishfinder, then my general rule of thumb was just stay about 2 reel cranks off the bottom. I just barely got a fishfinder (which should really increase my chances now-especially since it is real time), but I've had decent success in the past just "fishing blind" by staying 2 cranks off the bottom.
4th thing: Sometimes the trout do prefer that you just dead stick it (meaning just keeping your pole on the ground not touching it), but more times than not, they like a little action every minute or two. Try lifting your rod slowly up about a foot or two off the bottom and set back down. Sometimes they like you to bouce your jig off the bottom a time or two and then set it down. Try different things until you find which one the trout are in the mood for that day.
5th thing: STRIKE INDICATOR, strike indicator, strike indicator, and oh yeah, did I say STRIKE INDICATOR??? This alone will probably at least double or triple the fish you are catching because you will actually KNOW when you are getting a bite. They bite a lot lighter this time of year (not always, but generally speaking). Unless you are using a flimsy ultra, ultra sensitive bluegill/perch rod, use an indicator. They work wonders!!
6th thing: KEEP THE POLE IN YOUR HAND and you'll find that you miss less of the really quick bites, and you'll hook more of them! Keep the pole on the ground and you'll miss a lot of bites when they do a quick bite and run.
Hope this helps at least somebody to catch more fish at the berry. I am not the best fisherman in the world, but I don't get skunked either on the ice at the berry. Don't remember the last time I did get skunked out there or only caught one or two fish for the day.
Anybody else got some good tips to share on ice fishing the berry?
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Out4trout did a good job of detailing the main hints for success at the Berry!
Here are a few more suggestions that have helped me:
* Stay away from the crowds!!!
* Move and move often if there is no activity
* Drill various hole locations and depths, determine which hole and depth is most active with finder.
* Use your finder to watch your jig and bring the jig up to the fish.
* Once you find a "Honey Hole" work it!!! As one fish comes up out of the hole have another line going down asap!!
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[cool]Good stuff, dude! I agree with all of it!
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O4T,
I think he's reffering to Carl Edwards the nascar driver. (drives the #99 car). Not my favorite guy but has been doing pretty well the last couple seasons. Better than my guy anyway. Kasey had a kinda rough year. Oh well, At least when I was fishing on race days I didn't wonder to much if he was winning or not...
D-Mack
Oh and BTW, I'll second what you said on Strawberry ice tactics. For me the magic depth has always been 35'.
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My sons-in-law were in the Mud Creek area yesterday, and didn't do much better. One guy on a 4-wheeler came by to make sure they weren't catching any either. Reported that all around him was doing next-to-nothing.
One thing: one of the guys cut a hole through about 8" of ice, and as he stepped back, one leg went right through a soft/weak/thin spot. Scared the %@#$ out of him!
Maybe better next time!
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O4T, Carl Edwards is some sort of wanna-be race car driver who only has any success because of his aging teammates who do everything for him. JK! Cody
Those are some good tips for fishing the Berry.
Cedwards, let me know next time you guys go up there!!!!!!!!
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[cool]Oh, o.k. I really need to follow NASCAR more closely than I do. Especially since the company I work for (Home123) doing mortgages is the official mortgage company of NASCAR. In fact, I think we sponser two cars too, but I forgot what the drivers names are. Don't think they are any of the top 10 drivers or so.
I only know (off the top of my head) Rusty Wallace, Dale Jr., Jeff Gordon, Bill Elliott (does he even race anymore?), and that's about it at the moment.
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Hey O4T i think you just about coverd everything that was awesome
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Thanks for the tips O4T I will have to use them the next time we go up there. Also Carl Edwards in the coming years might end up being the most experienced driver on his team with everyone talking about leaving (like Matt Kenseth when it was [black]announced [/black]that they signed McMurray).
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