I was wondering if anyone has caught Tulibee ice fishing. I have interest in trying it, but don’t know where to start. If you have caught them on ice or open water please feel free to chime in on bait and tackle approach. Thank you very much in advance for any advice. 
Kelly
Find water that has Cisco
Wait until Feb-March
Go to an area that has good depth 20+ feet
Heavy and shiny spoon with a dropper single hook tipped with a waxie
I use a hali jig with the chain dropper and it never fails me but the Cisco/Tullies seem to chase my baits better later in the ice season. They spawn in the fall also. I put a video on youtube last year of my father catching a tullibee on the ice and if you search it very few videos will show up.
Aaron
Kelly,
Surely Tullibee fishing can and should be good through the ice. Mille Lacs has a huge Tulibee ice fishing history. In the 60’s and 70’s especially, several resorts on all sides of the lake stayed open, plowing roads to the Tulibee grounds well into March. Out from The Red Door, for example, it was not unusual to see groups up to 100 or more people chasing Tulibees. And it wasn’t unusual for one angler to fill a 5 gallon bucket with Tulibees through the ice. That era gradually ended the past 20 years with Tulibee populations falling to very low numbers.
But there are quite few there nowadays and can still be caught through the ice. (some had several this past weekend)
If you fish Tulibees like you would Blue Gills, that would be best. They roam open deep water. The Red Door groups years back concentrated between shore and the flats in 30-35ft. of water. Sometimes right below the ice–sometimes within the bottom five feet of water or anywhere in-between. They love anything(small spoons) that flashes too. Wax worms and the like.
These days, the Tulibee smokers stand idle. Maybe things will come back they say as bigger numbers showed up in DNR surveys this past fall.
Thank you very much for the information. My place is near the Red Door so I will stop by and purchase what I need to get after them. I’m pumped! 
Tullibees are usually caught suspended over deeper water. The flash (gold and silver) is very important when choosing a jig or a jigging spoon (anywhere from 1-3 inches). Tip these with a minnow head, minnow tail, maggot or minnow flesh since these fish feed on small minnows, small perch and small insect life. Stay mobile, work different depths and pay attention to suspended fish that are on your locator. They will typically school due to feeding. Work your jig or spoon starting at the bottom of the ice and then jig it downwards until you mark a fish.
Its probably been 10 years since I caught any numbers of them but we used to catch them while fishing for perch.Used to catch them in deep water off of the mud flats and also in the bays.Small jigs and spoons tiped with waxies worked well.Sounds like there was a big hatch last year so maybe they will make a come back.
If you want #’s try Big Sandy late ice.
Quote:
I was wondering if anyone has caught Tulibee ice fishing. I have interest in trying it
Is that really your plan this weekend…target Tulibee?? When we talked I thought you were joking! 
You go catch tulibee and bring them to me for bait. I’ve been craving some fresh muskie grilled over the cedar planks. I’ll bring the cedar shakes and charcoal!! 
BIRDDOG
MM MM good. I do love fresh Muskie with a hint of smokey Cedar, but this weekend is Tulibee-only.
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