A modern shallow water winter approach.
As I travel across the great expanses of Upper Red Lake in route to one of my favorite deep water spots I begin to giggle at my own perception what we as Upper Red Lake anglers view as deep water; a fourteen foot deep pocket with a mud bottom; Upper Red lakes very own Mariana Trench. To say those of us fishing on Upper Red Lake are shallow is not an insult but a fact, a fact that we need to address every time we target walleyes over one of those single digit depth hot spots. Shallow water and the finely tuned senses of the walleye feeding machine serve the species well for both predator and prey application. Our trouble is in the prey sector and the walleyes very own early warning system, a lateral line that mimics some of the best listening devices known to man and light sensitive eyesight equivalent to night vision goggles. We often take these attributes of our finned prey for granted making all other attempts of angler efficiency a waste of time on the ice.
The noise factor
Those of us that have ever lived in an apartment, college dorm or try to relax in the basement den while those upstairs sound as if they are tap dancing or rounding up cattle know about sound transfer and the distraction it creates. Now imagine that same scenario under the ice in a world of eat or be eaten. We as humans have grown very accustom to our creature comforts and we have even adapted several methods of bringing these comforts onto the ice with us. With wheel houses, ice shacks and even some portables fitted with the latest in power generation, lighting, entertainment devices such as satellite TV, iPods and many other amenities of home. We fish in ultra comfort often in disregard to the noise we are creating, or the blaring of warning sounds putting many targeted species of shallow water fish on high alert.
Now I am not asking anybody to leave amenities and the cool gadgets at home but I am asking that we try to use them in moderation and put those items into your conciseness when using the latest and greatest over shallow water.
A few tips to turn down the volume.
Generators are culprit number one when it comes to shallow water and the comfort orientated angler. These little units make huge amounts of power but also create even more noise to the underwater world when their metal frames are placed on the ice sheet, amplifying the hum of those little engines chugging away. Here are a few simple tricks to put an end the noise, place the generator on your tailgate utilizing the rubber tires and suspension system of your vehicle to dampen the noise transfer. Another method I have seen used with great success is as simple as the cushions of that old couch your wife made you haul to the dump. Keep a few cushions and bring them along with a small piece of plywood. Place the cushion on the ice then the plywood and generator on top of that making for a poor man’s sound barrier (I say poor man because your spouse most likely just got new furniture).
We also need to consider the bass produced from any entertainment device. We have all had the neighbor kid who has much more invested into the car stereo system and rims then the entire vehicle. No matter where you go in your house you can still hear the thud of that bass line from the latest top ten songs. The same goes for the fish only on a level so intense it drives them away. I don’t care if you are contemplating the world’s problems with Snoop Dogg via a heavy bass line, listening to the game, a CNN news update or watching a movie on your portable DVD player you are emitting low bass that travels great distances throughout the water column ruining your fishing. The same goes for your feet. We have unintentionally created some of the biggest kettle drums in the world with our ultra light metal framed wheel houses. We take these big hollow noise amplifiers and place them directly onto the ice then walk around in them, a true reproduction of the famed Christmas carol, Little Drummer Boy. Every step, dropped item, shutting of the door or any impact against that floor is just one more note in your new song titled “Go Away Fish”. A simple rubber mat or carpet scrap on the floor will also help to turn down the volume along with the understanding that every move you make is being amplified by your ice house. To put the noise factor in perspective take a Rattl’N Flyer spoon or other rattle equipped jig and shake it within ear shot. That is the sound that will pull fish in from a very long distance as it the maximum sound that should ever be produced either on top of or under the water for success.
Lights are for glow jigs.
I could not tell you how many times I have stepped into an ice house to see the lighting so bright you could get a sun tan or see lanterns and flashlights pointed into the hole to illuminate a bobber always accompanied by the complaint of poor fishing. Walleyes were built by Mother Nature to thrive in the darkness; their eyes are like built in night vision goggles that are ultra sensitive to light. Now we as shallow water anglers have set up in eight to fourteen feet of water in hopes of targeting a species that feeds best in the darkness but yet we chose to illuminate the water column, a very poor choice for success. To put it in perspective just think of resting in bed in the darkness content and comfortable when somebody flips on the light switch that ignites a blinding sun only eight to ten feet away, your first instinct is to hide from the light and the discomfort it has created. You guessed it fish live on pure instinct and they don’t like blinding light either. We have already determined we are shallow so let’s be dim also! Turn down the lights, get the flashlights out of the hole and stop sending headlamp generated spotlight beams into the water column. The fish don’t care if we are having a grand opening or showing a movie, they don’t like beams of light wandering though their home that mimic those coming of the rooftops of any red carpet event. Some of the best shallow water anglers I know refuse to even turn on the lights in the ice house, often times just enough glow from a lantern or flashlight to see what is going on and a headlamp that is only turned on for line tying and unhooking some of the many fish they have caught.
Think inside the box.
We have all heard so many times to think outside the box, which is often a great approach to many situations. When targeting fish in a shallow water scenario we need to concentrate inside the box, the one with the wheels and a hitch. Your entire presentation, location and fishable water is a tiny area when it comes to shallow water ice fishing. It is truly a micro environment that is easily altered by your presence and the actions you take. Just imagine fishing in your residence. As weird as this analogy may sound you are basically utilizing the same square footage as an average living room in some cases even as small as the second bedroom and it only takes a few minor mistakes to render your small area of water useless. Always remember you are within a few feet of the fish at all times.
Treat your shallow fishing just like any successful predator; approach quietly in the dark and remain stealthy leaving with a full belly.
Good luck and enjoy the Outdoors
Very well wrote 
